


A Song from the Divines

by TheSingingSword



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga), Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Politics, Card Games, Dragons, Duel Monsters, Gen, Heart of the Cards, Kings & Queens, Knights - Freeform, LGBTQ Themes, Lore Fantasy, Magic School, Quests, Summons & Summoning Meta, TCG, Underground Dueling, Wizards, Yu-Gi-Oh - Freeform, there will be duels
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-26
Packaged: 2020-02-28 08:22:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 105
Words: 680,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18752614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSingingSword/pseuds/TheSingingSword
Summary: Once upon a time, the heavens parted and a great song of power was sang by the Goddesses, heralding the birth of hero who would bring light and free the world from the iron fist of the dark lord, Anubis, who blanketed the world with his malice for 1000 years.





	1. Summary

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Yu-Gi-Oh. The characters all belong to Mr. Kazuki Takahashi. However, the OC's and the fantasy world in which they live are of my creation. Original monsters created by me will be bolded.**

* * *

* * *

  **A Song from the Divines**

  **Book I: The Exiled Prince**

* * *

  _I change many things, discard others, and try again and again until I am satisfied. Then, in my head, I begin to elaborate the work in its breadth, its narrowness, its height, its depth... I hear and see the image in front of me from every angle, as if it had been cast, and only the labour of writing it down remains._

_-Ludwig Van Beethoven_

* * *

**Summary**

* * *

_**Once upon a time, the heavens parted and a great song of power was sang by the Goddesses, heralding the birth of hero who would bring light and free the world from the iron fist of the dark lord, Anubis, who blanketed the world with his malice for 1000 years. Then, a year later, a baby boy named Daveed Wallcroft did the unthinkable and summoned the Divine Beast, Slifer the Sky Dragon. The great beast destroyed Anubis and his army of Orcs with one powerful blast.** _

_**For this great deed, Daveed was crowned as the Prince of Termnnia and was destined to wear the coveted Heart-EartH Crown and sit upon the Diamond Throne - the ultimate seat of power in the land. But King Antar Wallcroft, who took the boy as his son, died of cancer just months after this glorious proclamation. The boy's parents - a Wizard and the last of a magical race of women called Celtra - were both murdered by Anubis on the eve of their child's birth. Now with his only guardian at peace, the boy was an orphan and was left without care. Too young to rule, it was decided that he needed a guardian. At once, hundreds of Great Houses rushed to the capital to claim guardianship over the baby.** _

_**But they did not do this from the goodness of their hearts.** _

_**The baby Prince was a great prize. He would soon be granted access to limitless wealth, power, and be granted the ability to wield three of Termnnia's mightiest monsters: The God Cards. Obelisk the Tormentor, Slifer the Sky Dragon, and The Winged Dragon of Ra. Just one of these beasts alone could destroy an army of millions and had the power to wipe enemy kingdoms off the map.** _

_**The Great Houses began to stab each other in the backs. Alliances were broken. Friends became enemies. Families were separated all for the claim to the boy, who would grant the family who could have him unlimited power. The great war known as the War of the Infant erupted. In eight months, it would be the bloodiest, foulest war in recorded history. To make matters worse, assassins threatened the boy's life on a daily basis. Blood was being spilled in great quantities for claim to the boy and to for his safety.** _

_**With no other alternative, High Chancellor Pegasus of the Termnnian Senate and the great wizard, Yugi Muto, decided to send the boy away for his own safety. Nobody knows where the Prince is and for eighteen years the Diamond Throne has remained empty, causing hundreds of power struggles to erupt across the land.** _

_**The land of Termnnia is now plunged in another bloody civil war.** _

_**To the South, Prince Hector Delgado, Daveed's enigmatic cousin, leads a great rebellion, for he claims he has found the key to claiming his hold on the throne and the Heart-EartH Crown.** _

_**To the North, the perverted, power-hungry, tyrant King Forrest Ungard III has launched a Holy Crusade on the Southern Kingdoms. The war is funded by the Covenant of Yeyu, a radical religious cult hellbent on the termination of non-humans, magic, and the game Duel Monsters.** _

_**The Crusade has gained many territories due in part the many kingdoms weakened by another conflict known as the Princess Wars. Princesses, Baronesses, Baronettesses, Dames, and other girls of highborn nobility - even Queens and military generals - wage war against one another for the greatest prize in the continent. The heart of the Crown Prince of Termnnia.** _

_**It is chaos, and now, after eighteen years of interregnum, Yugi seeks to return the boy back to Termnnia...** _

_**But he does so at the risk of those he loves.** _

* * *

**Bakura's Report**

* * *

**_And so they've brought him at last. I watched them as they brought the boy to the doorstep of the orphanage._ **

**_Yugi and all of his little friends have come to say goodbye to the prince. The best part about all this is, they have not a clue that I'm here. No doubt Yugi and his friends believe that I was killed in the battle of Karad-Antha after the boy destroyed Anubis in his sleep._ **

**_Our mission to destroy the Celtra and the Eyar was a success, but its thanks to that boy in that bundle that I am here in this plain and boring world. But I wonder what madness would have driven them to put Prince Daveed in there._ **

**_An orphanage? Yugi. You are such as naïve fool. So many families on this island with great wealth to match that of many of the kings of our world, and you put the Prince of Termnnia in an orphanage._ **

**_While I can see the intent in this little scheme; putting Daveed in a place where the Sisterhood would least expect it and then pray a family takes him and disappears, there are a lot of flaws in this little flim-flam. I've already exploited it. Hopefully, Denethon and his girls don't find out. He is so wrong. Killing the boy would be a tragic waste._ **

**_There is great power in him, why can't he see that? That power was devastating enough to have killed our supposed 'invincible' leader, Anubis._ **

**_Perhaps, with a little influence, I can get the boy to come with us. That will be hard to do, considering Denethon's assassins are scouring the dimensions looking for him. Marik can only hold them back for so long._ **

**_Our Millennium Items are strong, but I fear they are no match for the power of an Eyar. While Marik hides the boy's presence from the Sisterhood, I will do what I can to watch and raise him in my own way. Yugi has failed to see that he practically delivered the prince to me on a silver platter._ **


	2. Soundtrack

 


	3. The Exiled Prince

 

* * *

**Tristan**

* * *

Tristan Taylor felt someone punch him in the face, waking him from his slumber. "OW!" he shouted.

"Wakey, wakey," someone said. Tristan couldn't see anything. Everything was dark. He then realized he had a bag over his head.

"What the hell is going on!?" he yelled. "I can't see anything!"

"Ser Tristan," the voice said in a mocking tone. Other men chuckled. "How are things going?"

"Are you kidding?" groaned Tristan.

"Well, it's only going to get worse."

"Worse!?" Tristan shouted. "How can it get any worse? I was kidnapped by three smelly, big, hairy thugs while I was taking a piss. And the inside of this sack smells like ass!"

"Mmmm," said the voice. "That's a very bad day."

Whoosh!

The sack was ripped off Tristan's head. He looked around and gasped, sucking in the fresh air around him - for lack of a better word. It smelled awfully rank wherever he was, but it sure as hell beat the shitty-smelling sack that was over his face. The room was dark, lit only by candles placed conveniently on shelves, desks, wooden crates, and barrels. In the fiery-orange glow, he could make out his captors.

There were ten of them, clad in leather armor with hooded capes. They wore eerie masks with floral engravings under the eyes and on the cheeks. They each carried four rapiers, each one enhanced with a magical enchantment based on the owner's desire. One had his enchanted with Drain Life, giving his weapon a strange red aura. He swished it around to scare him.

He knew who they were at once. Rare Hunters.

"What the hell?" Tristan groaned. "What did I do this time? If this is for what happened to that Crimson Maiden, I assure you, it was just a kiss. Now that you mention it, she was kind of drunk on the sacramental wine and I took advantage of the situation - uh - nevertheless, she came on to me."

"Shut up," the leader of the group said calmly.

Tristan's eyes widened. Despite the situation, he found that rather rude.

"We're not here to play games, Ser Tristan," the leader said, walking close. "So you can save the satire." He unsheathed a dagger. "We know you've been very busy. We know where you put the Song."

Tristan gulped. "What? How did...?"

"We always know," said the lead Rare Hunter. "There is no hiding things from us. Our Lord always knows what goes on in these lands."

Tristan clenched his teeth together to fight the rage burning within him. "You'll never find him."

"Of course, we won't," said the lead hunter. He walked in circles around Tristan, who started to get nervous. "We can't find him without your help. So be a pal and tell us where he is, won't you?"

Ten years as a soldier in the Royal Guard, he prepared himself for torture. But now that such a situation was at hand, he felt as though all his training went out the window. He felt his legs shaking, his teeth wanted to chatter, but he clamped them down as hard as he could to keep these ruffians from thinking he was afraid. He was, there was no doubt about that. But if these men saw it, there was no doubt they were going to relish in the agony they would inflict upon him.

"I won't tell you a thing."

"Oh, playing the tough guy, I see. I can fix that."

The leader snapped his fingers. One of his subordinates chuckled, wheeling in a cart next to Tristan. It was covered in a white sheet.

"Just pull it off," Tristan said through his teeth. "I know a lot of painful crap is under there."

"You Royal Guards are no fun," said the thug, yanking the sheet away to reveal pliers, serrated blades, clamps, wrenches, and scissors.

The leader picked up the pliers and snapped them over Tristan's face. They were getting closer and closer to his nose. He could practically feel the cold steel brushing against the tip of his nose.

Without warning, the leader took the pliers and clamped it on one of Tristan's fingernails.

"You're going to tell me where he is, Ser Tristan."

Tristan braced himself as the man put pressure on the pliers. The pain grew to be white-hot. He could take it no more and let out a horrible scream until the nail came completely off.

"That's one little piggy," the man said, readying the pliers for another finger. His men laughed. "Now, you are going to tell me where Yugi put the Song. Otherwise, I will take more and more. If you refuse to speak, we will start removing your fingers."

Tristan growled with anger. But then...he started to laugh. "Real smart, dumbass," he said. "Make me even lamer. Ruin me. It's just going to make it harder for me to talk." He leaned forward and laughed in the man's face.

"I say we just kill him now, boss," said one of the Rare Hunters. "He's of the High King's Royal Guard. He aint gonna talk. He's a tough one."

"All men can break," said the leader. "All men have their weaknesses." He snapped his fingers.

A door creaked open. Two Rare Hunters came in, dragging someone by the arms. Tristan couldn't see the person's face, for they had a black sack over their head. But by the timid squeaks and airy gasps, it sounded like a girl. They brought her before Tristan and forced the girl on her knees. They pulled the bag off her head. Chestnut-colored hair flowed past her shoulders and down her back. Some even covered her face. A Rare Hunter grabbed handfuls of hair from the top of her head to lift her face up. She whimpered from the pain.

"No!" Tristan gasped.

The Rare Hunter brushed the girl's hair off her face so Tristan could have a better look at her. But there was no need. Tristan already knew who it was.

Serenity Wheeler gazed at Tristan sadly with red, weepy, eyes. Her nose was cherry-red from constant sobbing. There was a bruise on her cheek.

"Tristan..." she sighed. "Don't tell them anything. No matter what they do to me, please! Don't tell them anything!"

The Rare Hunters laughed at her pleas.

"So, we've got another tough one," said the lead hunter. "Ooooh, I love it when girls like to think they're tough like the big boys. Ollie! Bring in the bone mangler."

"DON'T!" shouted Tristan.

"Tristan don't you tell them a thing!" Serenity begged as they dragged her to the wall on the far left side of the room. Moonlight shone down from the barred windows, illuminating the men as they shackled Serenity's wrists to the ceiling. One of them tried to muffle her with a scarf, but the leader held up his hand in protest.

"No, no, no, no," he said. "Let her squeal. I want him to listen to her squeal." He looked at Tristan as his men struggled to chain Serenity up. "You think because you do not talk...you are strong? There will be no Song sitting on the Diamond Throne, Ser Tristan. It was simply not meant to be. Killing a Dark Lord does not make one a king."

"Torturing a girl does not make you a man," said Tristan. "Coward! Savage! Leave her alone!"

"Tell us where Yugi hid the Song, and she won't feel a thing."

The door burst open. Two more Rare Hunters wheeled in a horrid-looking contraption with straps, vices, spikes, and cranks.

"What should we do to her first, boss?"

The lead Rare Hunter stood up and looked at Serenity. He tsked mockingly at her. "Such a shame. What a pretty body she's got. I certainly hate having to ruin it, but this man is such a stubborn bastard. Hmm, poke her flesh with the hot iron. If the knight doesn't talk, shove it up her ass."

"NO!" shouted Tristan.

A Rare Hunter took an iron from the Bone Mangler's nightmarish tool chest and then held it over one of the torches lighting up the room. He kept it over the flames until the iron burned red hot. Serenity tried her best not to struggle. If she did, she would make Tristan feel guilty. If she showed any signs of suffering, Tristan could break and then talk. And then they would find the Song they were looking for. They would kill it. The Divine Music that saved her world, dead at the hands of these barbarians. She could not allow it.

The iron poker came nearer. Serenity bit her tongue, bracing herself.

"This ain't gonna be pretty," he said. "Would you like a blindfold, love?"

Serenity spit in his face. He wiped it off and slapped her. "Hope you like it hot, you who..."

BAM!

Something burst through the walls. The large cement blocks fell on two Rare Hunters, crushing them to death. The moonlight shone through the cloud of dust. A large figure could be seen walking through the dust cloud. He held up two swords. A flash of red light lit up the room. The swords were engulfed in flames. The swordsman wielding them was a Duel Monster known as Mighty Flame Swordsman.

The Rare Hunters attacked. Mighty Flame Swordsman was quick to counter. He spun to the right, avoiding a man with a spiked club. He then jabbed his orange-glass blade into his back and lit it on fire, burning the man's insides. He screamed in agony and gurgled. He was no more. The Mighty Flame Swordsman saw two more coming his way. With one swing of his sword, the two men's heads came clean off. He held up his palm and launched a stream of fire at five more.

Suddenly, a blonde man came running into the room. He drew a sword with a fiery-orange blade with bright red runes and a deep blue hilt covered in red rubies. The handle handsomely wrapped in black leather. A gold chain hung from the orange-diamond pommel clinging onto a crystal with a flame flickering inside.

He ran towards a Rare Hunter and ignited the blade with a thought. "Nyeh!" he shouted. "HASSAN CHOP!" He slashed the man across the chest. Flames licked his open wounds as he fell dead.

* * *

**Téa**

* * *

**Redflower, Captial of Gardenrealm**

**The Blooming Palace**

Rain violently tapped against the painted glass window that stood high over the pool she waded. The wind howled and lightning flashed. The thunder, thankfully, was drowned out by the numerous fountains and waterfalls flowing into her pool to add warmth to her bath. She sat on the edge of the pool and had her eyes closed in tranquility as her five most trusted handmaidens rubbed sweet-scented oils on her soft peach-colored skin. Another one then sprayed lilac perfume on the lips between her legs and two more on the tips of her breasts and neck. Lady Téa of House Gardner was the name of the fair maiden. She was a princess of the house, but the title meant very little to her. The Vined Throne which her father sat on would never be hers, for she was tenth in line for it behind her cousins.

It didn't matter to her. So long as she remained in the grand company of her friends, she felt like she was the queen of the world. It had been a long time since she had seen them, on the count of the Gate Wars taking place many leagues from her home, but she had a feeling she would see them again soon. Something grand was happening out there. What it was, she would soon find out.

She opened her eyes and looked at the stained glass window overlooking the pool. The glass was just a grand explosion of color around the centerpiece of the display. A Black Luster Soldier-Evoy of the Beginning locked in combat with a Chaos Emperor Dragon - Evoy of the End. Both of the mighty monsters were stuck in combat for all eternity, neither one giving in. Téa had seen both monsters before. The Black Luster Soldier she had seen her friend, Yugi, use during the Eredian Grand Prix many months ago. And Seto Kaiba had used the Envoy of the End, not to her surprise. It's often joked that Seto Kaiba had a fetish for dragons. As she looked at the two monsters above her, she couldn't help but think it represented their tense rivalry. The last time she saw them fight was during the unveiling of his new Generation 3 Duel Disk with its Solid Vision Technology. She smiled as she washed suds off her shoulder, wondering when they were going to Duel again.  

A maid was about to wash her breasts, but Téa refused her politely with a slight wave of her hand. She took the cloth from the maid and did it herself with one hand. The other reached for a tray of cupcakes glimmering with sugar crystals. She ate the little treat with one bite and continued washing herself.

"You are very beautiful, my princess," said one of the maids, who harbored intimate feelings deep inside. She rubbed a cloth down Téa's back with tender loving care, hoping that her movements would give the princess some idea of how she felt. But she was oblivious to this sort of thing, as usual. "Forgive me for being crude, but you've gone up another size it seems."

Téa realized what she meant. True, her bust had gone up but what the hell did the maid care if it did? Why bring it up now? She opened one eye and peered at the maid. "Uh...yeah. What's your point?"

The maid faked a giggle and went red, quickly soaking the washcloth in a bowl of rose-scented oils. "Forgive me, my lady. It's not my place to say. If I may humor you for a bit, I'd say you will attract many young men with your great beauty."

Téa shrugged her shoulders and helped herself to another cupcake. "It's not the time to be worrying about such things. My friends were just rescued from the clutches of Rare Hunters not too long ago. They've been badly hurt."

"Gracious!" cried one of the maids. "Are they all right?"

"They're fine," Téa replied with a heavy sigh. "Just shaken up. But they'll recover soon." She stood up, water dripping from her legs in elegant cascades. At once the maids rushed to dry her and clothe her with a silky white robe with sleeves in the shape of butterfly wings.

"It's about time you got up," Mai Valentine said, leaning against a marble pillar with her arms crossed over her chest. "I thought you'd be stuck in there forever at this rate." She was clad in dark armor with gold accents and a red cape. Her sword and shield were hanging on her back.

Téa laughed as she rapped the robe's rope around her waist. "Damn it, Mai, can't you let a girl bathe in peace?"

"Not in these times, little lady." Mai helped herself to a chocolate cube from a glass bowl beside her. "The Gate Wars may be closing down, but we've far from won. What about these so-called Neo Rare Hunters? Why would they come back again?"

"Because it's almost that time," said Téa, using a pink beaded hairband to tie her hair into a ponytail. "The Song is going to return. They're scared of him. I know with all my heart they're going to do everything they can to prevent him from coming back to Termnnia again."

The doors to her bedchambers opened. A man in periwinkle robes with gold designs walked in and bowed. "Princess Téa. Forgive the intrusion...uh..."

He paused, realizing he had just walked in at the wrong time. Even though Téa was dressed in the robe, it was incredibly short, not even reaching her thighs. But Téa kept her composure and looked at him.

"Yes?" she said.

Mai snapped her fingers. "Get a move on it!"

"Of course, my apologies. I have received an urgent letter from Yugi Muto. He wishes to have a session of congress in Rassay discussing the matter on the Rare Hunters and the return of the prince. He requires both your signature of approval and your presence, as you are now the Senator of Gardenrealm."

Mai leaned off the pillar and walked towards the man. She swiped the letter from his hand and walked to a desk where Téa went to get a quill and ink. In no time at all, she signed the document.

"Thank you, my lady," said the messenger. "And one last thing. The guests are waiting for you. Ser Max Darrenton of Blue Meadow wishes to challenge you to a Duel. For your hand in marriage."

Téa rolled her eyes. "Great. If he was able to make it that far, my aunt and uncle have allowed it. They're so desperate to get me out of the palace. I'm on the road as a Senator and I fought for months in the Gate Wars. What more do they want? Thank you, Berkins, you may leave."

The man bowed and turned to leave.

"Ahem," Mai said.

The man turned.

"This is the princess's private bathhouse. The next time you barge in here without knocking, I'll shave your balls off with my blade, got it."

The man trembled and began to babble. "Gee-gee-Y-yes, my lady. I'm sorry." He hurried out the door. Just then, Serenity walked inside now clothed in a blue, velvet dress. A big blue bow was pinned in the back of her hair.

"Look at you," said Mai. "Lovely as always." She took Serenity's hand and kissed it.

"Mai..." Serenity said, turning her head. Her face blushed bright pink. "If you keep doing that, people are going to get the wrong idea about us."

"Well, sorry if I got a little too worried. How are you?" She ran her fingers through Serenity's hair. "Did they hurt you?"

Serenity shook her head. "No, Tristan got the worst of the torture, but with a little elvish medicine, I'm sure he'll recover. Don't put him out for the count, he's a very strong man."

"And you're a tough baby," Mai said stepping back. "You have learned a lot since the Battle of Rassay. Color me impressed. So, Téa, any word on our little prince? How's he doing?"

"Yugi's looking into him. Thankfully, he's safe. Nobody has gone after him yet. He's safe."

Serenity breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank the Goddesses. But this is no time to relax. They know he's been hidden on Earth. That alone worries me. Is there anything we can do?"

"Not until the Senate agrees for Yugi's motion to bring the prince back. We'll worry about that another time. For now, I've got a cocky knight to take out."  

* * *

**_The Dream_ **

* * *

 

A veiled and vast chapel awaited him at the end of a long and gloomy hallway of ancient stone. The dank air rang with a mysterious unseen choir, singing an eerie tune as the young man marched through the darkness towards the dim, pale light that beckoned him. His footsteps echoed in his ears, though drowned out by the everlasting hymn.

On small displays, candles flickered revealing mosaics of various Duel Monsters from his deck. The hem of his armored black coat swayed dramatically at his heels and the chains that hung around under his neck jingled. Small nooks, which housed lonely wooden pews lined the length of the hallway. The floors of black and white tile were finely polished. Stained glass windows, lit by an eerie blue light outside, lined the hundred-yard chapel.

There were figures painted on them. People the boy knew from his life, and there were some faces which he had never seen before. The characters in the windows were frozen in mysterious poses with the best monsters from their decks behind them in majestic and battle-ready stances.

Black pillars formed a line down the length of the chapel. The rib-vaulting of the ceiling above was intricately designed yet it was too dark to see.

A figure, dressed in the same coat as he, was waiting for him. A pyramid-shaped object made of gold hung around his neck.

"Your Grace," said the figure, removing his hood. His eyes were a rich shade of amethyst. He had blond crooked locks forming the fringe. The rest of his hair was spiked. They were black in color with magenta rims. When the hood went down, his wild hairstyle bounced free.

"Why do you call me that? I am not a King," the boy said, keeping his hood down. Only his chin and the pink of his chapped lips could be seen.

Yami smiled warmly when the young man he so longed to meet stepped out of the shadowy hallway into the chapel at last.

"I'm not so sure of that," said Yami with a smile. His narrow eyes were focused and full of determination. A determination to get through to his guest.

What he knew about the boy in front of him was of the gravest importance. But the boy was too agitated to care, let alone listen to what he had to say.

The hooded boy took a dominant step forward and balled his fists. The leather of his gloves screeched in agony. "For as long as I can remember, all you've done was pester me. You've bored me with your rhetoric. All this crap about my past. And my future as some High King. Why?"

Yami bowed. "It's almost time for you to come home, Prince Daveed. Soon, it will be time to face your destiny." He buried his hand into a compartment in his cape. As quickly as he put it in, he pulled it out and furiously tossed a golden crown at Daveed's feet.

Daveed scoffed and kicked it away. "I don't want that."

"YOU HAVE NO CHOICE!" shouted Yami, furiously stomping his foot on the ground. "Damn it, Daveed. I knew much damage to you has been done, but I did not expect this! What has he done to you?"

"Who?" Daveed asked with a chuckle.

"Bakura!" Yami shouted. "I know you've seen him. I can see your heart clouded in darkness. You have lived a perverted life because of him. I should have known keeping you hidden was too easy."

Another cold and defiant scoff escaped Daveed's lips. "Bakura? He's just a figment of my imagination. Just. Like. You."

Yami gritted his teeth and balled his fists. "Daveed..." he growled.

"Stop calling me that!" The stranger shouted, waving his arm vertically across the air to silence him. "I'm only going to say this once...Spirit. Whoever the heck you are. Go away and leave me alone. Let me dream in peace!"

"You cannot hide from your birthright," said Yami. "Sooner or later you're going to have to come to grips that you are not part of this world. You belong to us. With your people. As High King!"

"Go away."

Yami sighed. "I'm going to have to get through to you one way or the other, Prince Daveed!" Yami held out his arm. An arcane circle glowing purple with a tinge of magenta formed over his wrist and spun slowly over it.

Yami sighed sadly. "I have tried. But the darkness in you is too strong. You cannot become king behaving like this. Perhaps your future servants will do a better job than I in waking you from this madness Bakura has inflicted upon you."

Prince Daveed smirked and held up his right arm. "You sure you want to do this?" An arcane circle of beautiful design and blue in color appeared over his forearm. "This may be just a dream, but it's _my_  dream. I can make anything happen, you know?"

"It's Time to Duel!" shouted Yami.

"You first...Master," sneered Daveed.

"I won't be taking you on alone," said Yami.

His imagine seemed to vibrate violently. From his body emerged a little boy. He looked just like Yami, just shorter and younger.

"Yugi?" Daveed gasped.

"We'll pull through for you," Yugi said. "One way or another. We will cleanse you of the darkness inside of you."

"DUEL!"

**LP 8000**

Yami drew a card from out of thin air. It appeared as gold light but then materialized into a physical card. "I'll begin first! I activate Dark Magic Circle! Next, I place four cards face down and end my turn."

"My turn," said Yugi. "I play the spell Advanced Ritual Art! I send a Dark Magician from my deck to the Graveyard to Ritual Summon the mighty Magician of Chaos! Oh, and I'm not through either, Daveed; for I use another Ritual to summon the Magician of Black Chaos MAX!"

Daveed grimaced at the sight of all those powerful magicians and took a step back.

Yami chuckled. "Looks like the odds are against you, Daveed. What can you possibly do to get out of this situation."

Yugi smiled. "I don't think he can, Yami. He's too weak. He can't even remember his own heritage. And getting possessed by a total creep like Bakura? Ha! I expected a lot more from the Song from the Divines."

"Shut up!" shouted Daveed.

Yugi smiled "Did I touch a nerve there, Daveed? I place a card face-down and end my turn."

"It's about time," Daveed said impatiently. "Draw!" He examined his options. Daveed looked up from his hand at Yami and Yugi, then grinned. "I discard a Dinosaur to Special Summon,  **Two-Headed Kaiser Rex**  in attack mode!"

The two-headed beast burst out of the ground and stood proudly over Daveed. The silvery hair flowing from the back of their heads flowed in the breeze. They roared and snapped their long tail around. The ax-blade at the end of it was thirsty for blood.

**ATK/2400 DEF/1800**

"Now, I use  **Amber Fusion** , this card allows me to fuse dinosaurs from my hand or deck to conjure any dinosaur-type Fusion monster I want. So I'll be fusing Uraby and Trakadon together to form the mighty  **Troodon**!"

The two raptor monsters appeared beside him. One was dark brown with black tiger stripes. The other was blue, striped with lime green. A vortex appeared behind them and sucked them both in.

Out from the vortex jumped out a raptor with shiny, gray, scales and black tiger stripes. The scales faded to black on its claws and feet and the tip of the tail. Its arms, back, and tail were adorned with black and blue feathers and was crowned with two black horns on its head. It hissed, letting out a long black tongue. Troodon's teeth and claws shined brightly in the sunlight. It's neon blue eyes were like fire, burning into the Rare Hunter's spirit, finding the fear deep inside and burning it out. It was a monster he had never seen before. He wondered what it would do.

**Troodon**

**ATK/2800 DEF/1600**

Daveed held up another card. "Finally, I play  **Gift of Melodia** which lets me draw a card for each dinosaur on my field and in the Graveyard. So that's four cards for me. If I had six or more Dinosaurs, I could have drawn six cards. Hmm. I place a card face-down and attack Yami directly with Troodon!"

The dinosaur screeched and sprinted towards Yami. It held out his left claws, the right claws were glowing neon blue and the left ones were neon green. They elongated to more than a foot in length.

"I expected you to do that," said Yami. "I activate my trap card, Magician's Navigation, allowing me to summon my ever-faithful companion, Dark Magician! And I can also call upon Dark Magician Girl!"

"Ah, great," said Daveed. "Very, well, I'll replay my attack and destroy your Dark Magician Girl."

"Predictable as always, Your Highness!" Yami gloated. "I reveal the spell, Dark Burning Magic. Now that I have both a Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl on the field, this will destroy all cards you control."

"NO!" shouted Daveed. "From my hand, I discard  **Regaliazowler** and activate its effect!"

On his field appeared a ceratopsian dinosaur colored brilliant white with gold tiger striped down its body. Its frill was elongated and broad, and was adorned with golden spikes and the horns on its head also shined bright gold. Growing out of its shoulders were golden blades resembling crescent swords with scrollwork inlaid with platinum. It had a curved gold and white ax-blade on its nose. It's bright-green eyes flashed and the creature summoned an arcane aegis of white. It had animated glyphs and arcane circles spinning around in its design.

The Dark Burning Magic spell bounced on the aegis and died down as though it were a gust of wind.

"What's this?" said Yami. "You monster has negated my spell!"

"That's all right," said Yugi. "Because now my Magician of Chaos's effect activates. Once per turn, when a card effect is activated, I can select a card Daveed controls and destroy it. His Troodon is history!"

Magician of Chaos crossed his arms over his chest and summoned his staff, which could move and cast spells on its own. The staff's crystal started glowing bright violet and fired a burning magic laser at Troodon, but the magical aegis Regaliazowler created blocked the effect as well.

"Wait, what's going on here?" cried Yugi. "Your monster stopped the effect of my Magician of Chaos as well!"

Daveed sighed with relief. "Regaliazowler protects all Dinosaur-Type monsters from being destroyed by all card effects for the duration of the turn. Also, when he is sent to the Graveyard this way, he leaves behind a five-hundred point boost to the dinosaurs I have on the field. Troodon, attack Dark Magician instead!"

Now standing with 3300 ATK, Troodon cut Dark Magician to shreds. He grunted, coughing out blood and then shattered to pieces. Dark Magician Girl gasped in fright, shocked to see her master be destroyed so easily by such a primitive creature.

Daveed held out his hand toward Dark Magician Girl. The leather charm bracelet on his wrist jingled. "Don't worry, baby. You won't be alone for long. Two-Headed Kaiser Rex's second head activates."

"Second head!?" Yami shouted.

Daveed sniggered. "Yeah. My prehistoric pet comes loaded with surprises. With two heads, my Two-Headed Kaiser Rex can attack twice per turn, but before each attack, his second head will decrease the attack of the targeted monster by one-thousand points. Oh, and. He gains one-hundred extra attack points for every Dinosaur on my field and in the Graveyard, increasing his attack to three-thousand. So not only will Two-Headed Kaiser Rex destroy your Dark Magician Girl, but he'll take down a big chunk of your Life Points. Now, my beast, destroy that bitch!"

Dark Magician Girl frowned and wrinkled her nose. She watched as Two-Headed Kaiser Rex opened its two mouths and charged two balls of bright blue energy and they hurled towards her. "Hmph!" she said.

Yami shook his head in disappointment. "Did you honestly believe you could insult my monsters and get away with it? For shame, Daveed. I activate a trap! Magician's Combination. Now, I sacrifice Dark Magician Girl to bring back my Dark Magician!"

"What does it matter?" laughed Daveed. "He's still weaker than my Two-Headed Kaiser Rex, on the count of the powerup Regaliazowler left behind."

Yugi took a step forward. "It will matter once I activate this! Magic Cylinder. Now you take damage equal to the attack points of your Two-Headed Kaiser Rex!"

Two colorful cannons appeared on either side of Dark Magician. The attack from Two-Headed Kaiser Rex was sucked inside.

Yami formed a wide grin and looked at his partner. "Thank you!" he said.

"Don't mention it, Aibo!" said Yugi. "Now, Dark Magic Cylinder, fire his attack back at Daveed's Life Points!"

The second cylinder fired the blast towards Daveed. Suddenly Troodon jumped forward and opened its mouth.

Yugi gasped. "It's Troodon!" he shouted.

Both he and Yami watched in horror as Troodon absorbed the entire attack and devoured it. Troodon closed its mouth shut, flames hissed through its teeth. Daveed, meanwhile, was laughing.

"When you try to damage my Life Points with card effects and Troodon is on the field, Troodon will absorb the damage and fire it right back at you!" He held out two fingers towards Yugi as though he were aiming a gun at him. "Bang," Daveed said calmly.

Troodon's eyes burned blue. The black strips on its body started glowing blue as well. It fired the attack with two-times the force. It hit Yugi, knocking him back more than five feet.

"Yugi!" Yami shouted. "No!"

Yugi landed on his back with a loud plop and came to a stop.

**Yugi - 5000 LP**

Yugi struggled to get up. "Incredible power," he said, spitting out blood.

"These cards," Daveed said. "How come they don't exist?"

Yami helped Yugi back up, then turned to face Daveed to answer his question. "They do exist," he said. "But just not in your world. Seeing you use them with ease shocks me, but it also brings me great joy. You're getting better, Daveed. I don't remember the last time you damaged Yugi's Life Points like this."

Daveed chuckled bashfully and scratched the back of his head. "I don't think I ever did. I end my turn."

"All right," said Yami. "My turn." He closed his eyes and put his faith in the Heart of the Cards, hoping it would allow him to draw what he needed to stop Daveed. "My faith rewards me with this," said Yami. "Card of Sanctity. Now we all draw until we have six cards in our hands. Now, I activate Monster Reborn. Return to the field, Dark Magician Girl! And now, I use Polymerization, fusing together my Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl, joining them together to form the ultimate wizards! The Dark Magicians!"

"What's this?" Daveed asked, shocked to see both creatures formed together into a powerful duo.

**The Dark Magicians**

**ATK/2800 DEF/2300**

****

Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl both got new outfits and staves. Dark Magician Girl's hair seemed longer as well. She leered at him with fiery hate in her beautiful, blue eyes. Daveed started to regret calling her a bitch.

"And don't forget," said Yugi, "When a spell is activated, my Magician of Chaos will automatically destroy a card you have, so I will aim for one of your face-down cards."

The Magician fired his spell at Daveed's card and evaporated it. For Yugi, it was a lucky guess.

"Well done, Yugi," Yami said happily. "Mirror Force was his face-down card."

"Yeah, that would have been bad for both of us. It could have sent all our monsters back to the deck."

"All right, Daveed," Yami said sternly. "No more games. I equip my Dark Magicians the Ultimate Wizards with Power of the Ancients. Now, for every time my Magicians are involved in a battle, Power of the Ancients gets a spell counter, which will increase the attack points of my Magicians by five-hundred for each counter it gains. And that's not all, Daveed. I activate the power of Diffusion Wave Motion. Now, my Magicians, attack, and silence Troodon with Dark Burning Magic!"

The attack of both monsters increased to 3300. And now that the effect of Regaliazowler was over, Troodon was weaker. The two magicians aimed the staves at the dinosaur and blasted it to pieces.

**Daveed - 7500 LP**

"Now it's my turn," said Yugi. "Magician of Chaos, attack and destroy his Two-Headed Kaiser Rex!"

Daveed wouldn't let him. "Sorry, Yugi, but Two-Headed Kaiser Rex won't go down that easily. When he's attacked, I'm allowed to special summon a Dinosaur from the Graveyard and shift your attack towards it instead. Rise,  **Noble Swords of Dragon**!"

Two-Headed Kaiser Rex howled at the sky and revived a dinosaur with sleek, metallic gray skin and glowing blue stripes. Its spikes were curved like a saw and elongated at the middle row, raising over ten-feet high. They were colored white with neon blue at the center. Is tail split into three, and were tipped with sword blades. Its head was crowned with ten horns and a beard grew from underneath its chin. It rose on its hind legs and held up its tail, forming a magical ward with beautiful glyphs that deflected the attack of Magician of Chaos.

**ATK/2100 DEF/3000**

"Sucks to be you," said Daveed. "If a monster that attacks Noble Swords of Dragon fails to destroy it, the attacking monster gets destroyed instead."

"Oh no!" Yugi shouted.

Noble Swords of Dragon summoned thirteen swords of light that formed in a circle in front of him. They flew through the air and stuck on Magician of Chaos. He shattered like glass. Yugi was not worried.

"Too bad for you," said Yugi. "When Magician of Chaos gets destroyed, I'm allowed to summon this card from my hand, ignoring his summoning conditions. Black Luster Soldier -Super Soldier, appear!"

"Out of the frying pan," said Daveed.

"And straight into the flames," said Yugi. "Now, I use the quick-play spell, Shrink, which cuts your Two-Headed Kaiser Rex's attack in half."

Black Luster Soldier finished what Magician of Chaos started. He slashed off both of Two-Headed Kaiser Rex's heads with one mighty slash of his divine-crafted sword. Black Luster Soldier - Super Soldier appeared in front of Daveed and slashed him across the chest. His effect allowed him to inflict damage to Daveed's Life Points equal to the ATK of the monster he just destroyed. Daveed gripped his chest and fell on his knees. But then, Magician of Black Chaos MAX joined in on the attack and jabbed his bladed staff through his chest.

Yuri coughed out blood. "You're...killing me."

Daveed couldn't comprehend what happened. He looked down at the blade, his blood dripping down the metal and slithering through the inlaid scrollwork. "No...fair..." he gasped. He looked up and saw that Yami had activated a spell of some kind that destroyed Noble Sword of Dragon. And Yugi had something else that called upon a dragon-riding warrior named Lord Gaia the Fierce Knight. His vision was blurry, so he couldn't see the cards or read what he did. What the hell did it matter what they were anyway? He lost.

Magician of Black Chaos MAX pulled his blade out of Daveed's gut. He looked down at Daveed with those lifeless red eyes. "Hmph," he said. He turned and walked away slowly as Lord Gaia the Fierce Knight flew towards Daveed. The last thing Daveed saw was the dragon he was riding rearing its head and bathing him in flames.

* * *

 


	4. Yuri

**Yugi**

* * *

A bard merrily played his lute outside the inn, soothing the souls of many passersby busy with matters of so on and so forth. The tavern's windows were open, eager for a scarce summer breeze to cool the dining room for the customers, many of whom were merchants, regulars from the town, and even adventurers looking for a bite to eat before setting off to loot another dungeon or explore a cave to deal with a horrible monster that lurked in the darkness deep below the surface of the earth.

But Yugi Muto made himself comfortable on the rooftop of the tavern, brandishing the golden 3D puzzle around his neck. Though he was a boy who looked to be in his teens, he was quite old. Eternal youth was a gift blessed to his people, The Eldori, a magical people dubbed as the Painted Folk, for they were born from drawings created by the Goddess of Arts and Song to live alongside Men.

"Are you all right?" said Yugi's alter ego. The spirit of an ancient king who lived inside the Millennium Puzzle around his neck.

"You Dueled him again, didn't you?" Yugi asked, setting his arm over his left knee, he wanted to avoid talking about the meeting with the Senate. Somehow, despite the evidence of Rare Hunters returning and threatening the prince, things were not going to go into their favor.

"I did," Yami said, standing over him in spectral form. Nobody but Yugi could see or hear him.

"So how did it go?" Yugi asked. "This is like the fourth night in a row that we've visited his dreams."

"The situation grows dire," Yami answered, crossing his arms over his chest. "Even the God Cards have chosen to intervene. Slifer put himself inside my deck to try and get our exiled prince to understand who he is. But I fear our enemy has somehow gotten into his head."

"Impossible," said Yugi. "We would have known if Bakura was messing around with the prince. We have an informant down there watching him, don't we?"

Yami closed his eyes and took a heavy breath. "Bakura is like a shadow in the dark. Not even those with the keenest of eyes will be able to spot him. But why Bakura hasn't made a move on Daveed for so long worries me."

"We should pick him up now," said Yugi. "If what you say is true, the prince won't be around for much longer, and Termnnia will once again be without a High King. And that's the last thing we need right now. His death is going to spark another war I tell you. It's brewing in the minds of many around here. There are hundreds of lords, barons, and kings who pray to the Goddesses for his death so they can seize the opportunity to claim the Diamond Throne, The Heart-EartH Crown, and the God Cards. Hell, the continent broke into a long war just to see who could father him after High King Antar died. Remember?"

"You don't have to lecture me: I know," said Yami. "But have no fear, Yugi. My informant is keen in both eye and sword; he will notify me in case of any dangers."

"I sure hope so," said Yugi. "I find it ridiculous that the Senate has ordered the prince to never come home unless he becomes a great Duelist."

Yami looked down at the boy. "It was a ruse by House Dragonheart to postpone his return to the throne."

Yugi sucked on his teeth, balling his fists. "House Dragonheart. The Senate was bought out then?"

"It has, but as I said, have no fear. Kaiba is going to oversee his training. If there's anyone out there who can forge our prince into a master Duelist, it's him. He'll know what to do."

"Yeah," Yugi groaned as he got up. "I'll bet."

He jumped from the roof of the inn, landing on his feet by the pen were the pigs and chickens lazed about. Feeling proud of his daring feat, he 'humphed' confidently and adjusted the sword belt around his waist housing his golden, gem-encrusted rapier he named Anzu. Yami reappeared beside him with a scowl creasing his face as he scorned him.

"You're going to break your neck doing that!"

"Whatever," Yugi bragged, fixing the belts and iron plate decorations on his leather gear. "You're just mad that you ain't got the moves."

"You can keep the moves," Yami scorned. "I want our bones intact."

"You're no fun, Spirit," said Yugi. "Man, I don't know about you, but I'm going to get myself a burger."

"Again?" Yami said shaking his head in disbelief. "You had two earlier today."

"Nah, those were sliders. I want a triple-decker! With bacon, lots of cheese, and..."

"All right, all right, go!" Yami grumbled. "But don't come crying to me when you end up looking like King Forrest."

"Were I that gluttonous," said Yugi.

He heard something and stopped.

A group of boys, Eldori; just like him, were blocking his path. They looked rather young, and their hair styled in odd shapes and colors. They wore uniforms from Rasaay Academy, a Dueling school near the heart of the city where the best players in the country studied to be masters so they could fly to the East and compete in the Kaiba Dome to become legends.

Someone must have told them Yugi was around, for they had smug looks on their faces. A win against Yugi Muto the Undisputed Champion of Termnnia would not only grant them fame but fortune and immortality.

"I told ya he was around," said a snobbish-looking youngster with gelled blond hair, no doubt the leader of the group. He pushed his gold glasses up the bridge of his nose and walked towards Yugi with his hands in the pockets of his blazer. "We challenge you to a Duel, Yugi Muto," he said. "We won't take no for an answer."

"I have business to take care of," Yugi replied, trying to control his anger.

The boys were still young, however, they seemed well-bred enough, and educated enough to have been taught some manners. They were being very rude to him.

The other boys formed a circle around Yugi, and morphed various states of jewelry from buttons, their wristwatches, and earrings into academy issue Duel Disks, contraptions used to conjure monsters from their cards. No manners indeed, Yugi thought with a scoff. Looks like I'm going to have to teach them some.

"I'll go first," the boy with the gold glasses, named Jonathan, said as he drew. "The fame I shall achieve when I beat you, Yugi, will be glorious. They say that if one does beat you, they can have anything they want. You know, I've had an eye for Princess Alexandra von Klause. The House of Dragonheart will practically beg me to marry her after I beat you."

Yugi rolled his amethyst eyes. Then again, it didn't surprise him that his foe would start monologuing of the rewards they would gain should they beat him. "Just go," he said. "Less talking and more playing. I've got somewhere I've got to be."

"Yes," Jonathan sneered. He bragged about how he was an honor student at the school, showing off the gold badge pinned on his chest. He ran a D/D/D Deck, and on his first turn, his monsters swarmed the field. In no time at all he had the likes of D/D/D Abyss King Ragnarok, who was in the Pendulum Zone. D/D/D Cursed King Siegfried ( **ATK/2800** ), D/D/D Gust King Alexander ( **ATK/2500** ), and D/D/D Abyss King Gilgamesh ( **ATK/1800** ).

"Bet you didn't know I could Link Summon, did you?" Jonathan sneered.

Yugi sighed. "I've seen it before, kid. I'm not a novice. Link Summons are the new trend these days but don't think it'll give you an advantage over me. In fact, I'll take you down with a little old school summoning technique. Watch. I draw!" – Yugi examined the card and smiled – "I play the Spell Card, Fusion Dispatch! I choose a Fusion Monster and then I can Special Summon one of its materials to the field. I chose, Gaia the Dragon Champion, now I can summon Gaia the Fierce Knight!"

The iconic monster from Yugi's Duelist Kingdom days appeared before him. The purple stallion reared on its hind legs and whinnied. Its rider, the legendary Gaia, raised his red lance in the air and grunted.

**ATK/2300 DEF/2100**

****

 

Jonathan slid his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Gaia the Fierce Knight, huh? That card is ancient. He won't stand a chance against the might of my Different Dimension Daemons!"

Yugi smiled. "Not alone, he won't. And he's never alone. I'll show you what I mean but first, I activate the spell, Set Rotation. It allows me to add a Field Spell face-down to your field spell zone and mine. Now, I flip my card over. Behold! The Field Spell, Charging Gaia!"

A ring of red and black fire surrounded them. Jonathan sniggered. "I don't think so, Yugi! My Cursed King Siegfried will negate the activation of your spell. Heh, heh, heh. So much for that!"

Seigfried held out his armored hand and formed a white glyph that muted Yugi's spell and canceled its effect.

"No harm down," said Yugi. "I now use the card, Spiral Fusion! I summon Sky Galloping Gaia the Dragon Champion!"

A flaming portal opened above Yugi. From it, Gaia flew out on top of his flaming red dragon. His armor was wider and was made of solid gold. Yugi's smile grew wider upon seeing the flaming dragon rider above him.

 

"And since I used Spiral Fusion to summon him, Sky Galloping Gaia the Dragon Champion gains 2600 attack points."

"WOW!" shouted Jonathan. "He has 5200 attack points!"

"And I'll use his effect!" shouted Yugi. "But first, from my Graveyard, I activate the effect of my Cursed Dragon - Curse of Dragon!"

"No!" shouted Jonathan. "I don't know what you're planning from there, but your strategy won't come to fruition. I use the spell, Designation from the Grave. This card will now banish your Cursed Dragon! Still think you can win."

"I do," Yugi said with a smile. "I can still use the effect of my Gaia. He allows me to add Spiral Spear Strike to my hand. But first, I summon Bombarding Catapult Turtle!"

Another one of Yugi's Duelist Kingdom monsters returned, this time with a sleek new design and effect. The turtle grumbled as it was rendered to the playing field.

"And then," Yugi continued, "I activate Spiral Spear Strike! Then, I sacrifice Bombarding Catapult Turtle to special summon Soldier Gaia the Fierce Knight!"

A fiery glyph morphed behind Yugi. From it emerged Gaia's newest form. He was a tall, armored giant armed with a golden trident. His black and gold cape waved elegantly in the wind. The sun shined on his armor, making it flash like a radiant star. He spun his staff and forced D/D/D Gust King Alexander into defense mode.

**ATK/2600 DEF/2100'**

****

Soldier Gaia charged and attacked D/D/D Gust King Alexander. Thanks to Spiral Spear Strike, all 'Gaia the Fierce Knight or Dragon Champion' monsters could inflict piercing damage, meaning even if a monster was in defense mode, the opponent would still take damage to their Life Points. Sky Galloping Gaia got to work at once, destroying Cursed King Siegfried. Then, Gaia the Fierce Knight galloped into action and jabbed his saber into D/D/D Abyss King Gilgamesh's chest for more damage.

"Nice playing with you, boys," Yugi said, taking his leave after his quick victory.

After a short walk, he stopped in front of the Blackwing Inn and listened to the hubbub coming from the inside. He heard many voices and the sound of music booming through the thick wooden door. Yugi pushed it open and the noise increased twofold.

The merry sounds of a lute, drums, and fiddle blasted from the corner where the tavern's band played by the hearth. Dancing to the music on a stage lit up with candles was a girl with soft reddish-brown hair tied into long pigtails with little white bows that had bells attached to them, jingling as she moved along with the music.

Her lovely green eyes were large and full of purity, and her skin, the color of buttermilk. She donned a bodice corset of engraved leather with frilly white sleeves and a small skirt that showed off her ruffled undergarments which caught more of the crowd's attention than her lovely dancing.

"Yugi!" called one of the tavern's bar maidens. "Téa," Yugi replied happily. He turned bright red as he admired her racy barmaid outfit. He gulped, pulling the collar of his cape. "Um...I see you're here, too." He croaked timidly. 

"That I am," Téa replied. She was holding up a tray with fresh drinks and a plate of freshly cooked turkey. "The guys are over by the window booths. I'll be with you in a moment; my shift is almost over."

"Thanks, Téa," Yugi said, stretching the collar of his jerkin. "Uh, what's a Princess of Gardenrealm doing working in this place?"

Téa winked. "Ah, what's a little extra coin here and there. Besides, Mai opened this place up. It's the least I can do for bringing me to Emboldor in great style. Have a seat and i'll be right with you, okay?" She patted his shoulder as she walked away.

Yugi looked back at the stage to see the girl dancing to a different song. The girl grabbed the hem of her skirt, teasing the customers with a bit of skin and the lacy garter around her thigh. Yugi smiled, and blushed into an even darker shade of red, recognizing the girl as Serenity Wheeler, the sister of his best friend Ser Joey Wheeler the Black Dragon Knight.

Serenity clapped her hands wowing the patrons of the tavern who gathered around the stage throwing gold coins and a few Star Chips at her feet as they begged her to dance some more.

Sitting in their own booth by a window were four familiar figures whom Yugi quickly identified as his friends. Two of them were playing cards, and the others were watching the game with great anticipation.

Ser Joey Wheeler; Captain of the Royal Guard, and his friend Ser Tristan Taylor; Commander of the High King's Special Security Forces, the Glaive of the Gods. They were playing a round of Duel Monsters. A prize pool of a few rare cards, a sack of silver coins, and a chipped garnet were handsomely laid beside the playing mat, eagerly awaiting the winner of the match.

The other two were a young man and a woman. Duke Devlin, son of the Thane of Devlinshire and Chamberlain of the High King, was helping himself to a tankard of ale by the window. The warm afternoon sunlight made his green eyes glimmer like emeralds, and his spiked, black hair turned a shade of gray in the bright light.

The woman, a golden-haired beauty with eyes of amethyst, was Mai Valentine, who apparently was the owner of the place. She held onto a mug of ale that was barely sipped and still foamed. She took one more sip to see if she could develop a taste for it but cringed when the bitter-sweet beverage went down her gullet. She made a face of disgust and pushed her mug away. She coughed and focused on the match at hand.

"I warn ya, Tristan," Ser Joey growled. "You take one peek at my sista, and we'll settle dis wit swords instead 'o cards, capiche?" He looked at Duke, who did his best to keep his eyes on everything else but Serenity on the stage. "Dat goes fer you, too, Devlin. Just because I let Serenity hop on da stage like dat, does not mean I approve."

"You have to admit, she's earning a bit of gold up there," said Mai. "She has the men of this place wrapped around her little finger. And it looks like she's having fun."

"Ey!" shouted Joey, snapping Tristan out of his hypnosis. "It's yer move. C'mon already, play something."

"Okay, I will," said Tristan. "Try this on for size. My ace of spades, The Cyber Commander, and I'll boost his power with the Spell-Card, Machine Conversion Factory."

"Yeah, dat aint bad," said Joey, looking at the cards in his hands, wondering what to play next. "But wait till ya see dis. I summon Leogun. With an attack of seventeen-fifty, yer Cyber Commander is scrap metal. And dere go da rest of yer Life Points."

"Weak, dude," Tristan groaned, picking up his cards and watching Joey scoop up every coin he wagered in the match. "Best two outta three!"

The music had died down as the song ended, but as quickly as it faded, the band played another tune. Serenity had grown tired and bowed, thanking the patrons for enjoying her show. She bent down and started picking up the coins and Star Chips. She added them to a sack tied to her leather belt where she kept a jeweled dagger in a scabbard decorated with useless ornamentation. The blade could burst into flames with just a thought as well, thanks to its fire enchantment.

Serenity called her dagger, Luthia, after a dearly departed friend of hers. She used the dagger as a means to keep the rowdier men away, and she was not afraid to use it if they got too touchy with her. Serenity joined them at their table once she was done collecting her coin. Beads of sweat fell down her delicate face. Her body glistened and her face peachy-pink with exhaustion.

"Hello, Yugi," Serenity greeted the boy. She took a handkerchief from the table and rubbed it on her chest to wipe away the sweat. "How are you?"

"Looks like you were having a good time," Yugi replied.

A soft giggle came out of Serenity's lips. "Yeah, it was a blast." Serenity looked at the mug of ale Mai had left unfinished. "You going to drink that, Mai?" she asked.

Mai shrugged and pushed the tankard towards her. Serenity picked it up and chugged down the drink with two or three mighty gulps. Ale spilled from the corner of her mouth and poured down her neck and chest. Joey glared at Duke and Tristan, to make them gawk elsewhere.

"How can you drink that piss?" Mai asked. Serenity slammed the tankard on the table and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"It's an acquired taste," Serenity responded, followed by a timid burp. "'Scuse me," she said.

Mai burst out laughing and playfully patted Serenity's backside. "My little baby bird, when we get back to Domino, I'm treating you to an apple martini. It's so much better than this swill these Western Folk drink."

Yugi rubbed the back of his head, feeling rather sad for Mai. She spent most of her life in the bustling neon-laden streets of Domino City. No doubt she wanted to leave the middle-aged culture of the Western Lands and return to flatscreen televisions, shopping malls, cell phones, and holographic technology.

"Hey, Yuge," Joey said shuffling his deck. "So how did it go with our friend? You know...our future ruler."

Yugi sighed, rubbing his Millennium Puzzle. "It was worse than I thought," he said.

Serenity gasped. "What happened? Is he okay, Yugi?"

Yugi nodded. Téa joined them moments later and rested her arm on the top of the booth where Yugi sat. "Did he do it?" she asked. "Was the Pharaoh able to get through to him?"

Yugi gave a weak gulp. "It was even worse than I thought, guys,"

Joey grunted. "Yuge, c'mon. Ya gotta tell us everything."

* * *

**Bakura's Report**

* * *

**_February 1st_ **

**_Year 1 4AOS_ **

_And so they've brought him at last. I watched them as they brought the boy to the doorstep of the orphanage._

_Yugi and all of his little friends have come to say goodbye to the prince. The best part about all this is, they have not a clue that I'm here. No doubt Yugi and his friends believe that I was killed in the battle of Karad-Antha after the boy destroyed Anubis in his sleep._

_Our mission to destroy the Celtra and the Eyar was a success, but its thanks to that boy in that bundle that I am here in this plain and boring world. But I wonder what madness would have driven them to put Prince Daveed in there._

_An orphanage? Yugi. You are such as naïve fool. So many families on this island with great wealth to match that of many of the kings of our world, and you put the Prince of Termnnia in an orphanage._

_While I can see the intent in this little scheme; putting Daveed in a place where the Sisterhood would least expect it and then pray a family takes him and disappears, there are a lot of flaws in this little flim-flam. I've already exploited it. Hopefully, Denethon and his girls don't find out. He is so wrong. Killing the boy would be a tragic waste._

_There is great power in him, why can't he see that? That power was devastating enough to have killed our supposed 'invincible' leader, Anubis._

_Perhaps, with a little influence, I can get the boy to come with us. That will be hard to do, considering Denethon's assassins are scouring the dimensions looking for him. Marik can only hold them back for so long._

_Our Millennium Items are strong, but I fear they are no match for the power of an Eyar. While Marik hides the boy's presence from the Sisterhood, I will do what I can to watch and raise him in my own way. Yugi has failed to see that he practically delivered the prince to me on a silver platter._

* * *

**Yuri**

* * *

**September 2**

**Year 18 4AOS (Fourth Age of the Sun)**

**or**

**(September 2, 2019)**

_Hail to the King!_

Seventeen-year-old Yuri Montgomery woke up with a jump and gasped for air as though he had been underwater for a long time. His body was covered in sweat, drenching his t-shirt and boxers.

He slapped his forehead with his palm and rubbed away the wetness from around eyes. Even though his bedroom was stifling, Yuri felt as though he was trapped in a freezer as he lay in his bed, thinking about the horrors that transpired during the night.

A Duel. He was in a Duel. The monsters that he and his opponent played just came to life. It was just a dream, he kept telling himself. But...but they seemed so real. He could smell them. He could even feel them. He winced, rubbing a burning sensation on his chest. It was the spot where his opponent's monster slashed him across the chest with his sword. He had the dream for more than a year now, and it was getting more and more violent.

He was breathing heavily, trying to calm the beating of his heart which was thumping so fast it caused his chest to burn. He felt like he ran a mile. The morning outside his window was still very dark; much more now, due to the incoming storm that was approaching.

_Hail to the King!_

He looked around wondering who said that. He breathed a sigh of relief when it was just his clock waking him. It blasted the radio station he had it set to, currently playing Avenged Sevenfold's  _Hail to the King._

"That had better be a coincidence," he muttered as he turned the knob to lower the volume. He took off his soaked shirt and tossed it at the corner of his room. A beautiful pendant rocked back and forth over his chest. He grabbed it and held it tightly with his fist. It was a musical locket; gold in the shape of a shield with platinum moldings beautifully engraved on its surface. On the face of the shield was a coat of arms depicting five dragons circling a crown.

Their eyes were made of real diamonds. He opened it, and a soothing melody from a music box inside began to play. He didn't know what the name of the song was, but he called it  ** _Passionate Duelist_** ; for those words were engraved inside the necklace.

"What the hell do you want from me?" he whispered, gasping for air.

The wind howled, causing the frame of the mansion to creak and rumble. Yuri yawned before he gave a long and loud groan. He did not want to get out of bed. It was still the first week of school, and he was recovering from his summer sleep schedule of late nights and sleeping deep into the afternoon.

_Thump! Thump! Thump!_

Someone was walking around upstairs.

Deep down, he hoped his mother had gone back to bed and forgot about him. He was in no mood to go to school today, especially not after the night terrors that took place the night before.

From the dark, an abnormal trait of his was shining brightly. His right eye. That eye was what made Yuri controversial in the school. His left eye was a normal shade of hazel brown. However, the right one was bright green...and glowing. The eye's illumination was so bright, it could be seen piercing the dark. His friends at school made their uses with it.

If they ever hung out in the city at night or went to the beach for their evening walks, they could always count on a green glowing dot floating in the dark to let them know he was around.

Yuri enjoyed his weird trait, but at the same time hated it; for it caused the kids at school to alienate him because they thought a glowing eye was just abnormal. Some refused to sit next to him because they thought it was some kind of disease.

His parents took him to the best optometrists in the world, but his eye left them at a loss for words, leaving the mystery unsolved, though that didn't stop people from trying to figure it out.

Some have even tried getting rid of it. One rainy night a crazy preacher barged into his room and tried to perform an exorcism on him because the people who looked at Yuri when he went to church saw his eye and thought of it as more of an evil than a gift.

"Damn school," Yuri said in a soft whisper in case his mother was nearby. "It starts way too early and ends so late."

He refused to move and remained in bed, still harboring a hope that his mother would find that rare feeling of sympathy and let him stay in from school today. Anxiously, he slid his thumb up and down the crisp edge of his pillowcase, for he loved the feeling it had. Often he would fold it around his finger and thumb to make it snap to relieve him of stress. It was an odd habit, but he enjoyed it nonetheless; he didn't know why.

Again, the wind howled and the mansion creaked against its force. Yuri's window was slightly open to let in a cool breeze to refresh him from the summer heat.

The soothing sounds of the waves crashing on the beach in his backyard were like music to his weary ears.

Even the faint rumble of thunder in the distance was a calming noise for him. He sighed and basked in the ambiance around him. It brought a sense of normalcy to the morning and calmed him down.

Monsters? Men with colorful, pointy, hair? Yeah, right.

Thunder rumbled again. Hopefully, the storm wouldn't catch him on the way to school.

Yuri wouldn't mind if it caught on after his lessons, for he would just travel to the card shop his godfather owned and play Duel Monsters with his friends.

Duel Monsters! He almost forgot.

He turned on the desk lamp on his night table. It brought a soft glow into the darkness of the stormy morning and blinded him almost.

"Aaack!" He waited for the colorful flashes of light to stop flying around in his eyes before he opened the night table drawer and took out his deck. That would be the last thing he wanted to forget on a day like this.

If he forgot his cards, he would be stuck in the card shop without anything to do, and he hated using someone else's deck to play.

It just wasn't the same as using his own deck. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he had a sort of 'connection' with his cards. Every player seemed to think so.

A deck of Duel Monsters cards was like an extension of themselves. Using somebody else's monsters was just not as satisfying if you pulled a victory; for it felt like the victory was theirs since it was their deck, their cards, and their strategies that won you the game.

Duel Monsters wasn't his strong suit. He didn't like the game because he was never good at it, even though his father was the game's creator. But it was still very fun to play against his friends, who weren't that good themselves. They were quite casual. And whenever he heard the song coming from his beloved musical shield necklace, he just felt a motivation like no other to get better at the game; a feeling like he was born to play Duel Monsters. He opened it and laid back on his pillow so he could peacefully listen to the song.

Despite his sudden preparation for an afternoon of games, Yuri was quick to fall back asleep, still praying with all his might that his mother would allow him to stay home from school today.

Or perhaps that she had slept in. Being a model, she went out frequently with her co-workers and business partners going to parties and clubs where she spent the entire night not coming back until dawn.

For a woman who was more than forty-years-old, Yuri had to admit his mother looked quite young, even gaining the affection of his friends when they came over to study with him and play video games in the basement.

Still, Yuri was able to sneak an absence or two thanks to his mother sleeping in. He hoped he could have such an opportunity today.

All was silent. There was not a sound until the sudden groan of the pipes along the walls rumbled indicating that someone was using the bathroom upstairs. It brought his hopes crashing down.

He felt like someone dropped an anchor on his chest. Clearly, someone up there was getting ready for a new day. He then heard footsteps creaking about in the floor above his bed.

"Damn," Yuri muttered. So close. So close. Whoever that is, go back to bed before mom wakes up. It was wishful thinking at best. He knew for certain that it was his mother preparing breakfast upstairs for his father, Jacob.

Yuri heard his mother coming down the stairs with heavy stomps indicating she was angry. Then he heard the shuffling of her slippers on the carpet outside the hall to his room down in the basement where he lived.

Then silence.

Yuri gasped and almost jumped out of his bed when she started pounding on the door of his room. She started yelling at him to get out of bed.

"Yuri! Yuri Montgomery! Get out of bed this instant or you'll miss the ferry! Your father is late for a meeting so he can't take you to work. So move it!"

"I'm already changing, mom!" Yuri yelled back, not in the mood to deal with his mother and her constantly changing mood.

Yuri swung his legs over his bed and sat down on the edge. He rubbed his hands up and down his face. He was so not looking forward to this morning. On top of that, he was still a nervous wreck from the nightmare he had earlier.

"YURI!" his mother shouted again in an irritating high-pitched screech.

"I'm awake!" Yuri shouted back, slamming his foot on the floor in frustration.

His mother did not approve of that behavior. He could hear her muttering nasty and angry things in Spanish as she walked away.

She was of Puerto Rican descent, meeting his father, Jacob, at a corporate party. She had a Latin fury inside of her, and it would release without a moment's notice. Yuri had grown used to that over the years. He hated it, but he was used to it. After all, she was his mother.

Yuri quickly showered and dressed. Afterward, he put on his uniform for school. Or tried to. "I hate this thing," he muttered trying to fix his tie in the mirror.

"Morning, Sport," his father Jacob said, entering the room. "Need some help?"

Yuri let out a soft chuckle. "Please," he said, turning to his father.

Jacob chortled and set his mug down on the dresser by one of the windows. Yuri felt his tight grip tug on the tie. "Not so tight, dad!" Yuri croaked.

"You have to learn to fix this yourself, Yuri," Jacob said with a yawn. "One day, you're going to have to be wearing these on a regular basis. You know I'm not going to be around forever to help you do your ties. How are you going to attend the meetings and speak with the press with a messed up tie?" He laughed.

"I know, I know," Yuri groaned. "I'll try to learn how to do these myself, dad."

Jacob gave a nod. He sighed heavily and said: "Try not to cause any trouble this year, please."

Yuri shook his head. "Dad, all those things I did...That was a long time ago."

Jacob pursed his lips. A grim look came over his face. His muscles dropping in sorrow upon remembering all the trouble Yuri once caused as a youngster. He fixed his son's tie and lightly tapped Yuri's shoulder. "Off you go, Yuri. You're going to be late for the ferry."

"Thanks, Dad," Yuri said, watching his father leave.

Yuri slipped his single strap backpack over his shoulder before leaving the comfort of his warm and cozy room.

Upstairs in the kitchen, he helped himself to a piece of toast and a juice pack for breakfast, much to the chagrin of his mother who started going on another rant about eating healthy and living longer if he ate properly.

He paused and gave a defiant groan, hoping his mother would get the point that she was not helping anyone with her rambling and her raised voice. She finally quieted down and paused, staring at Yuri furiously.

It felt like an eternity before she said: "Go!" Not wanting to be bothered with him anymore.

"Bitch," Yuri muttered, going down the hall to the atrium at the entrance.

He put on a black skull cap beanie as he stepped out the front door. His father's bodyguards greeted him as he stepped out. They patrolled the grounds of the estate with submachine guns, and they wore tactical ponchos over their clean black suits to keep dry from the rain that was ready to douse the floating city Yuri called home.

"Good morning, sir," said McRaven, a former Navy SEAL now head of security to the Montgomery estate. He followed Yuri through their garden, which seemed more like a tropical jungle.

"Morning, Jack," Yuri said, walking through the tropical gardens.

McRaven stayed close behind, holding an itchy index finger over the trigger of his custom AR-15. Yuri couldn't help but notice the hi-tech thermal sights which he thought was a bit much. Then again, it was necessary.

The Montgomery estate was struck by thieves and pirates performing many heists over the years trying to get what they could of the Montgomery fortune, and the most sought-after prize was Yuri. Being the son of the world's only trillionaire had its perks, but there were many downsides to it as well.

The reason for so many hired guns out and about the grounds of the estate was because Yuri was kidnapped when he was just a boy, and he was held for ransom. He didn't remember much of that night, but his parents could never get it out of their minds. Ever since the incident, they made such a fuss for him, insisting that a squad of their mercenaries follow him to school, to which Yuri would constantly refuse.

"Ms. Paula at it again, sir?" McRaven asked, secretly handing Yuri a bar of Snickers from his pocket.

"Thanks, Jack," said Yuri, happily taking the candy bar from him. "Yeah, it seems like my mom goes to bitch-mode when you least expect it. Did you hear all that?"

McRaven laughed. "Hear it? You can hear it from the other islands. Be sure to bundle up out there, sir. The weather's going to be nasty today so I heard."

"Yeah, I heard it on the news," said Yuri. He shrugged. "Or tried to," he said referring to his mother.

"Need a ride to school, sir?" asked another guard, who guarded the center of the garden where a beautiful fountain stood.

"No thanks, Bill, I got it," Yuri said with a wave of his hand. "Happy Birthday, by the way." He tossed Bill his present. A golden Rolex watch.

"Hey, thanks, Yuri," the bodyguard said happily.

McRaven fist-bumped Bill, congratulating him for the gift and wished him a happy birthday. "Yuri, it's been a week since I took you to the gym for your workout? What's going on, buddy?"

Yuri tittered softly and bit into the candy bar. "Some things have happened lately. Weird things. I haven't been myself lately, Jack. But I promise we'll hit the gym this weekend."

"All right, and don't forget we're going to the range so we can do some more handgun drills." He patted Yuri's shoulder.

They neared the gate. McRaven entered a guardhouse and placed his hand on a scanner. The gate beeped and slid open. "Okay, sir. Have a good day at school," said McRaven.

A clap of thunder boomed across the cloudy skies. Yuri turned and waved goodbye to McRaven and Bill before he left the estate. He put on his Beats and searched through the music on his phone, wondering what song to play.

He shrugged when he found his choice and let it play as he stuffed his phone into his pocket. ** _I'm Sorry Miss Jackson_**  by Outkast. Yuri grinned and bobbed his head up and down along with the beat of the song as he walked the gated neighborhood of Sheffield Manor.

The song mixed with the sweet tropical air calmed his nerves, still anxious and upset from the squabble with his mother, and most of all his dream. The images of the man with the colorful hair flashed in his mind. He shook his head and looked at his stealth black gauge watch and grinned when he saw it wasn't as late as his mother stressed it was.

"I've got time," Yuri said, walking to a nearby vendor on the bridge that connected his island to the next one. A ferry waiting at the port would take him to the central island where his school was.

He bought himself a Greek gyro and walked to school with a warm belly and lifted spirits. He stopped by the street waiting for traffic to go by. The crossing guard, an officer in a Kyrptek Neptune BDU and a black vest and helmet, held up his hand to stop the oncoming traffic. "It's all yours, Yuri," said the officer.

"Thanks, Roman," Yuri said, crossing the street.

All of a sudden, he wasn't feeling so tired and angry anymore. And the dread he felt from his nightmare seemed to wash away when he saw the loving faces that greeted him every morning. The pack of Lamborghinis roaring through the streets sure got his attention. Crowds of onlookers stopped what they were doing to film them.

Again, his surroundings brought back a sense of normalcy to the day. Besides his glowing eye and being the son of the city's founder, Yuri was just your average teenager. He smiled and bit into his gyro, then walked to school.

* * *

**Lore**

* * *

**The City of Aquarius**

* * *

**Aquarius. The 'Floating City' built by famed Trillionaire and creator of Duel Monsters (Supposedly), Jacob Montgomery. The city consists of four large islands that form a star around the central island where Phobos Tower, the largest tower in the western hemisphere (2600 ft) resides.**

**Aquarius can move from place to place thanks to hundreds of powerful turbines and thrusters. The city is guarded by a large and well-equipped private security force known as RAPTOR, who effortlessly defends the city against pirates and smugglers.** **They also act as a border patrol, sailing the waters around Aquarius looking for potential Stowaways who illegally sneak into the city. Aquarius is its own country with its own government.**

**Because of the overabundance of luxury and wealth, Aquarius is a city exclusive to the world's 1% with only the downtrodden of the slums built on the edge of the city's fourth island tarnishing its beauty.** **The slums are home to Stowaways; illegal citizens who boarded Aquarius hoping to find work and a better life in the city that has often been called Paradise. But they were denied any jobs since they were not legally affiliated with the city.**

**The Martinetti Family, the mafia of Aquarius, saw a form of profit in this predicament and personally built the slums to house the Stowaways in exchange for having them work for little to no pay in the underbelly of the Aquarius fixing the city's thrusters and systems all the while racketeering the residents for protection from RAPTOR.**

**The city is a luxury resort with extravagant pools such as the Jade Lagoon, the largest pool in the world, beating Chile's San Alfonso del Mar's Seawater Pool. It has man-made beaches, shopping venues, excellent schools for the resident's children, a plethora of nightclubs and state-of-the-art Dueling Arenas which is the key product that helped build Mr. Montgomery's lavish fortune which was also bloated by generous loans from an otherworldly source by the name of Seto Kaiba.**

* * *

 


	5. Band of Misfits

* * *

  **Nick**

* * *

"Today is going to be the day!" Nick Rogers said, looking out the window of his room. He lived in a townhouse in the shanty part of Aquarius where the poor and downtrodden lived in makeshift houses built of wood and junk.

Thankfully, Nick's foster mother, Consuelo, had saved enough money to buy one of the old buildings from the island's original blueprint to use as a home and a place to conduct her business.

Nick and his adopted brother, Sam, lived in separate rooms on the second floor, while Consuelo was quaintly living in the third-floor, which was a studio apartment.

She was an immigrant from Lima, Peru who paid a syndicate known as the Martinetti Family to get her to Aquarius, so long as she paid back her debts afterward.

Lately, she was falling behind on her payments making Nick worry.

"If I can just win the tournament next month, Consuelo will have enough to pay back those jerks," he said, and stared at the Phobos Tower in the distance, the tallest structure in the western hemisphere.

He couldn't help but feel offended every time he looked at it.

It made no sense that there were some in this world who could stand to live in tall and luxurious ivory towers like that and sleep soundly at night while people like Nick and his family suffered from a provincial life in the slums. As much as he wanted to diss the tower, he couldn't, because his best friend was the son of the owner of said tower.

"Yuri," said Nick, pressing his forehead to the glass of the window. "I know you and I are like brothers, man, but can't you do something to help us out?"

Nick had tried to convince Yuri to aid his family with their financial troubles, but even though they were the closest of friends, Yuri was quite spoiled and sometimes rotten to the core.

Yuri always refused him, and his father - though aiding Nick with a few scholarships now and then - was not keen on aiding those less fortunate than himself, especially if they were stowaways who paid crime lords to get them into Aquarius.

"Nicholas! Samuel!" Consuelo called from down below. "Apúrense (Hurry up!). The ferry is about to leave soon. You don't want to be late for school."

Nick quickly dressed and put on his trademark beanie with the symbol of the Earth Attribute in Duel Monsters embroidered on the front.

He slipped on a denim jacket and hurried downstairs where his brother, Sam, was sitting at a booth helping himself to a bowl of Fruit Loops. "What up, bro!" Sam said.

Nick high-fived his little brother. "Hurry up so we can head out, man. The ferry's about to leave soon. I can't be late for school because I'm in enough trouble as it is with Mr. Montgomery."

Sam sneered, his cheeks bloated; for they were full of the cereal.

"Yeah, you almost flunked last year, dude. He was plenty mad at you. If you screw up your senior year, you can forget about going to college."

"It's no laughing matter!" Consuelo said, approaching the booth with a plate of waffles for Nick. "Mr. Montgomery trusted you to have good grades, mi amor, but you constantly failed him. Had it not been for those after-school programs, you would have flunked your junior year. Promise me you'll get Duel Monsters out of your head and focus on your studies."

Nick sat down in the booth, quickly cutting the waffles with his fork.

"But, Consuelo, there's a big tournament coming up in the convention center next month. It has a cash prize of fifty thousand dollars. If I win, you'll have more than enough money to pay back the Martinettis and keep the restaurant going strong."

"I appreciate your trying to help, Nicholas," Consuelo said, running to the kitchen to check on the chickens she had to prepare for lunch that day. "But that is a huge gamble. There are no guarantees you'll be successful."

"Especially not with that deck," said Sam.

"Shut up, Sam!" Nick snapped.

"Hey! Hey!" yelled Consuelo. "I will not have that kind of language here, Nicholas!"

Sam sniggered silently and pointed at Nick. Nick shot him a grim look, baring his yellowed teeth.

Once done with their breakfast, they kissed their foster mother goodbye and walked through the slums dubbed Los Angeles Rojas.

A mariachi song called  _Las Gaviotas_  was playing loudly on the intercoms conveniently placed around the slums.

Sam put his hood over his head. He could not tear his gaze from the size of the Phobos Tower, which stood thousands of feet into the sky. The upper-half was completely covered by clouds.

"Look at the size of that thing," said Sam. "I still can't believe it no matter how many times I see it. Someday, we're gonna move out of here and live in a place like that!"

"It's not a place to live," said Nick. "That's where Duel Monsters is made. But it is on the central island where all the big dogs of Aquarius live. I promise we'll move there someday."

"You don't even have any rare cards in your deck," said Sam. "Let alone monsters with more than thirteen-hundred points."

"Oh yeah, well you just watch," Nick said approaching a vendor selling cards from a caged window to his small convenience store.

Nick bought a Metal Raiders pack with the money he was supposed to use for his lunch. He had enough to buy Sam a pack of candy. He thanked the man and walked back to the road towards the pier where the ferry would take them to school.

"Come on, Lady Luck," Nick said shaking the pack for good luck. "Watch you get nothing," Sam said, eating one of the candies.

"Oh yeah, you just watch!" said Nick.

He opened the pack anxiously and pulled the cards out. There were nine cards per pack with a chance for an ultra-rare or even a secret rare.

He flipped through the cards.

Griggle. Kagemusha of the Blue Flame. Water Element. Wood Remains. Candle of Fate. Zone Eater. White Dolphin. Electric Snake, and finally his rare card.

It was a normal rare known as Furious Sea King, whose name was imprinted in silver letters.

"Oh, yeah," Sam said sarcastically. "Those are real tournament winners in there."

"Okay, so maybe my luck was bad with this pack. But it will get better soon, you'll see."

"Sure it will," said Sam. "You said that last time." Nick pocketed his new cards and gave Sam a stern look.

"One day, Sam, I'm going to make you eat your words."

* * *

**Patty**

* * *

The alarm clock on her phone began to blast its jingle. The motor inside caused the phone to rumble in its perch. It's owner, a very lazy girl, stirred around on her bed, agitated by the noise. She was semi-awake as she started looking for the phone. She sensuously flipped from belly to her back and laid on her side, heavy eyes darting about for the blasted device.

When she saw the phone was out of her reach, she slammed her head back down, stuffing her pillow over her head.

The irritating buzzing woke someone else. A Shih Tzu puppy by the name of Max, who was lying in a foam bed at the foot of his master's four-poster bed with white curtains flapping from he stormy breeze blowing through an open window.

A RAPTOR helicopter soared over the neighborhood, flying so low it shook the house. The girl stirred in bed and let out a loud snore.

The puppy was getting worried. He wanted nothing more than to stop the alarm from wailing; for it was a sound he did not enjoy, especially this early in the day.

Throughout the summer, he was used to long and calm mornings, sometimes sleeping in until noon with his pretty owner; the platinum-haired, Patty McKnight, who was clearly knocked out from clubbing with her friends the night before despite it being a school night.

Worried Patty was going to be late, or was perhaps even dead, Max yawned and stretched before he scampered away from his bed towards Patty, dodging a mess of books and clothes that littered the floor.

Patty snored softly on the naked mattress. The sheets were strewn all over the place when she tossed and turned throughout the night.

The wind outside howled, announcing the storm had arrived. Rain pounded the mansion and thunder rumbled in the skies. Cars drove by making loud swishing noises as they went down the soaked roads.

Only Patty's arm was visible as it hung from the edge of her bed. Max walked to it; his golden tag jingling with each step.

He sniffed her fingers causing her to moan and lightly swat him away. Max whimpered softly at the sudden movement, but he was determined to wake her up.

He licked her hand, this time he got Patty to say something obscene. She pulled her arm back over her bed.

She shifted around in her sheets, clad in a gray midriff top and lacy black underwear to keep her cool from the night's humidity. The lack of air conditioning was the result of her father refusing to pay the bills again.

Her ceiling fan spun at maximum speed, but failed to cool her, as did the fan on her desk. Patty groaned and buried her head even deeper under her pillow to block out the noise and find a cool spot for her face. She was not looking forward to waking up and going to school.

Max lost his patience and began to bark. He hopped up and down while dashing back and forth across the length of Patty's bed.

He knocked over a tin container with a collection of common, non-foil Duel Monster cards which she had neatly arranged the night before.

No doubt she was going to be displeased with the mess he made. He barked urgently, waking her up at last.

"Baby, baby, what is it?" Patty managed to say, forcing herself up.

She leaned over her bed to pick him up. Being a teacup puppy, Max was so small he could fit in both her hands. Patty cupped them together allowing her dog to walk into them. She lifted him up, kissed his head, and rubbed her nose with his before placing him into bed with her.

"What the hell's the time?" she asked, laying on her side as Max curled into a ball, using a large portion of her blanket to lay on.

Patty petted his back gently with her fingertips, then reached for her phone. It lay at the end of her bed, buried under a pile of underclothes.

She finally turned it off and the morning was silent, save for the rain tapping the roof.

"I hate school," she said, rubbing her eyes of the night's discharge. Her butterfly necklace swung to-and-fro over her chest, heavily exposed by the top. "But, I'm a senior now. Pretty soon I'm off to college and I can put this shit behind me. Right, Max?"

She looked down to see if Max was listening, but he was knocked out. The puppy found serenity with the alarm finally off and being in the warmth of Patty's blankets. Patty sniggered softly at the sight of him. He looked like a tiny brown furball.

"Lucky for you, you can keep on sleeping," she said. She gently got out of bed so as not to wake him. "But I have to go out on this shitty rainy day."

Patty lazily got out of bed. Her pace quickened when she heard the bus's engines rumbling in the distance. Being late for school was not how she wanted to start off the day, especially with it being the first week of school.

She skipped her shower, quickly brushed her teeth, and had five minutes to put on her uniform and fix her hair. She put on her backpack in the shape of a black Kuriboh and kissed Max on the head causing his tail to wag joyfully.

"See you after school, baby," she whispered. She left her room and went down to the kitchen. Her black boots caused the floor to thump loudly with each step.

She sulked to the counter to prepare a meager breakfast of toast with plain butter and jelly. Her parents were asleep on the couch, knocked out from binge-watching their favorite television series the night before.

For this, she was glad, because most days she would find them arguing with one another, or yelling at her for not cleaning the mess they made.

Patty filled Max's dog bowls with food and water before she exited the house to take the bus to school. As she got on, she quickly made her way to the back of the bus. Secluded just the way she liked it.

She put on her airpods and started blasting songs on her phone. Many of the other students on the bus stared at her. They could hear the loud riffs of the guitars blasting through her earbuds.

Patty stared at the passing neighborhood and noticed billboards advertising a big tournament set to take place next summer.

She had heard so much about it in the papers. Phobos Corp claimed it was going to be unlike any tournament the world had ever seen. Thinking about Duel Monsters, Patty unzipped her backpack and took out her deck.

At the bottom of the deck was her most prized card. Zera the Mant. A behemoth of blue with a purple cape that had a devastating ATK of 2800.

Patty had won many games with that card, which she could have sworn came out of the blue. She woke up one morning and just saw it in there, complete with the card needed to summon him. A Ritual Spell; for Zera was a Ritual monster that needed to be summoned with a specific spell card.

Ever since she got the card, Patty was plagued with erotic and bizarre nightmares which drastically changed her character and her look.

She found herself going to underground nightclubs, drinking excessively even though she was underage, and making love to anyone who desired her. For this, her reputation suffered at school. She didn't have many friends except for Yuri, who was an outcast himself.

Even though he was the son of the founder of Aquarius and president of the Phobos Corporation, Yuri was not very well thought of at school because of his meager Dueling skills, and mostly for his glowing green eye.

A 'mutation' as the other kids cruelly called it.

There were also rumors that Yuri had an imaginary friend whom he called Bakura. Patty recalled Yuri talking about him when they were in first grade.

One afternoon, Yuri got into a lot of trouble with the school because two boys were found in a vegetative state at his feet. He claimed they were bullying him and threatened to beat him until Bakura came down and saved him. Naturally, no one believed him. Even Patty had a hard time believing his story.

After they entered the third grade, Yuri stopped talking about him. To this day he never said a word about this, Bakura.

Perhaps it was for the best. Patty called herself crazy for falling in love with her Zera the Mant card, but Yuri having deadly imaginary friends took the cake. She shrugged it off, then put her cards back into her backpack. It would be another fifteen minutes before the bus reached the school, so she leaned her head against the window and fell asleep.

* * *

** Yuri **

* * *

"Hey, Yuri. Earth to Yuri…Yuri? Yuri? HEY, ASSHOLE, WAKE UP!"

"Huh…wha?" Yuri snapped out of his daydream.

He was in the middle of a Duel which brought back the images from the dream he had last night.

Truth be told, it was not the first time he had seen the man with the golden pyramid around his neck. The man visited Yuri in his dreams since his seventeenth birthday a year ago, and they only got worse as his eighteenth year was fast approaching. Eighteen.

It was an age most kids in the floating metropolis of Aquarius would brag about and be excited for. It meant independence, the blooming into adulthood, and more lavish and adventurous lifestyles. But because of the intense nightmares, Yuri was feeling more dread than happiness.

Nick sat on the other side of the lunch table. His arms crossed over his chest and his cards quivering in the grip of his hand. He gazed impatiently into Yuri's abnormal eyes. "Let's go, Yuri!" Nick grumbled, tapping his cards on the table.

Yuri. It was a name given to him by his father-figure, Sergei. He wasn't called by the masculine term, Yuri, meaning Farmer in the Russian language. Uncle Sergei teased him by calling him, Yuri, the Japanese term meaning lily flower because Sergei often joked that the boy was like a flower, for he was tender, sweet, very shy, and easily got hurt on the job at the card shop. Yuri gave a yawn and covered his mouth with a polite hand.

Nick began to grow impatient. "Come on man, I ended my turn five minutes ago!" Nick leaned back in his chair. The steel groaning while trying to move along with him. "What's gotten into you?"

Yuri groaned and ran a hand through his jet-black hair. His bangs, hanging on the left side of his face, slid through his fingers and bounced back into position.

He took his eyes off his Dueling hand and looked around the cafeteria of St. Augustus Senior High School, grinning at the paper ghosts hanging from the ceiling and the laughing Jack-O-lanterns of orange construction paper taped to the walls.

A black banner reminding the students of the Homecoming Dance was hung over the hallway leading to the cafeteria with the words in orange glitter and decorated with silhouettes of witches, cats, and a haunted house by a full moon with an orange backdrop.

Nick shook his head, frustration boiling in his chest when he realized Yuri was flat-out ignoring him. "What gives?"

"Sorry," Yuri said in a rather monotonous, yet chilling tone. "I was up all night." Nick scratched his chin and said: "Up all night? Doing what? We didn't have that much homework."

"I had a dream," Yuri said as he sighed.

"Dreaming again?" Patty said with a warm smile. She was watching the game from the windowsill overlooking their table in the cafeteria.

Nick made a nasty sneer as he looked at the pleated black skirt of her uniform. The sunshine in the window behind her made her glow like an angel.

The storm was finally over, so now they would have no trouble going to the card shop to play for the rest of the afternoon. "What was it this time?" Nick asked, scratching his head and admiring Patty's little skirt.

A breath of confusion escaped Yuri's lips. "I saw two men in a Duel."

"You sure it wasn't you?" Patty asked, kicking her legs back and forth playfully from her perch.

Yuri nodded in reply as he looked back at her. "I'm sure it wasn't me. The man's opponent was Mr. Hairdo."

"Him again?" Patty said in shock. She leaned her head to the right in amazement. This was the fourth time Yuri complained about having a nightmare with this mysterious character.

"What did he want this time?" Nick leaned forward. "And are you sure this dude, Mr. Hairdo, was Dueling wasn't you, bro?"

"Yeah, I'm really sure it's not me," said Yuri, scratching his forehead. "He kept calling the other Duelist 'prince'. And I know it wasn't me because they Dueled in a level I haven't seen before. The two of them were masters of their craft. The Duel they played was just beautiful. They used monsters I haven't seen before. Any of you hear about Synchro Summoning?"

"Synchro what?" said Nick.

"What about Xyz Summoning?" Yuri asked.

"Sounds new to me," Patty said with a shrug. "Are they a new concept your father has made up?"

Yuri grunted and shook his head. "I asked him, and he said he didn't know what I was talking about."

"Hmm." Patty scratched her chin. The tiny black stars on her fingernails glimmered with each movement. She narrowed her bright green eyes, heavily outlined with mascara, and started pondering the mystery. "That's odd."

"Yuri scratched his head again, this time a little more hectically. "As I said, he was called Prince. And I'm no prince."

Patty giggled at his words. "No, but you're the heir to the biggest fortune in the world. That kind of makes you a prince. Ah, yes! A Prince of Duel Monsters."

"I don't think so," said Yuri.

Patty leaned forward and patted his shoulder. "You'll always be a prince to me, Yuri."

Nick watched with an ear-to-ear grin as Patty crossed her long legs before he said: "And what did Mr. Hairdo say to the other guy? This prince?"

Yuri shrugged at the question. "He said it was almost time for him to come home or whatever. The weirdest thing I forgot to mention is, Mr. Hairdo is a fucking cartoon."

"A cartoon character with a funky hairdo?" said Nick. He suppressed a laugh because he knew how sensitive Yuri was. His lips trembled and he sniffed. "What the hell have you been smoking, kid?"

"You're so weird, Yuri," Patty said with a shake of her head.

"Well, I too have a dream," said Nick.

"You do?" Yuri asked.

"Yes!" Nick placed a hand over his heart and held out his other hand clutching his cards dramatically. "I have a dream…that, my fellow men, won't be judged by the color of their skin. And that Yuri would finally wake up and make his move!"

Yuri scoffed in annoyance and leaned back in his chair. He felt the back of his head hitting Patty's knee.

"Nice to know your essay on Martin Luther King has increased your IQ by a few points," Patty said with a roll of her eyes.

"Yeah, right, dreams," Nick said laughing out loud. "He knows I beefed up my deck with an arsenal of new butt-kicking monsters for the tournament next month at the convention center. In that case, I don't blame him for stalling. Well, Yuri, are you going to make a move or what?"

"I end my turn," Yuri replied, rather droll.

"Without playing anything?" Patty asked. "That's pretty risky, dude." She waved to flag down two more of their friends who noisily entered the cafeteria.

"Are they at it again?" asked a South Korean boy named Carter Kim. He jogged into the cafeteria after he was done helping his friend with a project in the chemistry lab.

"Yup, this game is just that addicting," replied his lab partner, an African American young man whose name was Tyson.

He stood over Nick, arms folded over his chest. "I was hoping to go up against Yuri, but it looks like Nick beat me first."

Nick sneered, flashing his unhealthy teeth. "Okay, Patty, we'll just see how excellent Yuri is after this."

He rubbed his rugged chin whilst putting on his thinking cap as he looked at his hand wondering what to play next. He had a Burglar, Hinotama Soul, M-Warrior #1, Skull Servant. "Ah," he said when he found the monster he wanted to use.

"Here we go. I summon my Furious Sea King." He slapped his card onto the paper playmat.

"So, loves, tell me again how this game works?" Carter asked. "Yuri's godfather really motivated me to get into the game."

"The cards have attack points on them," explained Patty. "Players can pit their monsters against one another in exciting Duels. Each player starts off with 8000 Life Points. But since this is a casual game and we're short on time, Nick and Yuri are playing with 2000. The one who can get their opponent's Life Points to zero wins."

Nick attacked Yuri's monster; a reptile called Drooling Lizard. Patty did the calculations on her iPhone deducting the difference of their monster's attack points from Yuri's Life Points. She made a worried click with her tongue.

The chibi Zera the Mant keychain on her phone jingled when her wrist jolted from the shock of Nick taking the lead over Yuri.

"Damn, Yuri, Nick's brought you down to your last nine hundred Life Points. You gotta play smart if you want to win this match, man."

"Nice card, huh?" boasted Nick. "And rare, too, notice the silver lettering. Bet you don't have anything that can stand up to him. Yuri." He looked up at Patty and gave a flirtatious click. "Pretty impressive, eh Patty?"

"It's a nice card," Patty admitted with a scowl; for she could see that Nick's eyes were not facing hers.

She glared at him disapprovingly, and she crossed her arms over her chest to block the view from his insensitive gaze.

"But you, sir, need to stop focusing on my boobs and worry about what Yuri is about to play next. I can see it right now, and it's not going to end well for you. So you better set a trap or something."

Yuri would have scorned Patty for giving Nick the warning, but he didn't care. His mind was still fogged by his strange dreams.

Besides, Nick didn't pay any attention to her warning. He was quite confident with his new monster, despite having such a meager ATK, and resorted to flirting with Patty again.

And, again, she rejected his love.

There was no crushing that spirit of his, it was like a piece of iron. Nick never gave up no matter how badly Patty rejected him. She told him once that it did not matter what he did, she would reject her from now until doomsday.

Yuri didn't blame her. Though good friends since a very young age, everyone in the group agreed that Nick was not decent looking. And to make matters worse, he reeked of his own body odor.

He didn't care too much about his person, not even showering after gym class. He, Yuri and the others ran the tracks in the tropical afternoon heat and he was sweating profusely. When class was done, he just slapped some body spray on his person and washed his face in the sink before dressing up for class again.

"God DAMN, Nick!" Tyson said scooting towards Yuri's spot while waving the air in front of his face. "You need to shower after gym class, dawg. You reek like the ammonia in the frog we dissected last year."

Nick grinned. "Speaking of gym class. Hot damn, Patty, I've been meaning to say this for a while. You need to wear sweatpants or something during gym period. Those shorts you wear are too small for your big ass."

Patty narrowed her eyes in fury and bared her gleaming white teeth. "I beg your pardon, PIG!" she nearly shouted.

"Uh-oh!" teased Carter. "Triggered!"

"Uh, we're in a Duel here," Yuri groaned. "Why do we always go from Duel Monsters to Patty's butt every time we play, Nick?"

"He's such an immature child, that's why!" Patty said seething with rage. Her cheeks blushing into a pretty pink, almost matching the highlights in her hair. "Honestly the only reason I'm in the same room as him is because of you, Yuri."

Nick winked at her. "Come on, baby, you've wanted me since sixth grade."

Patty wrinkled her nose and fixed her black bow as it started dangling off her head from her anger. She crossed her arms and looked away. "Humph!"

"As crude as the topic is, I have to agree, Patty," Tyson said, bashfully rubbing the back of his head. "Coach Cassidy called you out twice on that matter and let's face it, the only reason he hasn't reported you to the principal is that he likes what he sees. And that little weirdo, Nelson, was walking behind you while we were running track. I thought something was alive and squirming in his shorts."

"In other words, you make things hard on all of us, Patty," Carter said, sneaking in a kinky pun.

They all broke out laughing. Howling and slamming the table, almost knocking over their decks.

Patty rolled her eyes and groaned. "Oh, you guys are so juvenile! Can we go back to the game please?"

"Yeah, please, I have work later," Yuri said recollecting himself. Nick nodded in agreement. He checked his watch for the time and grinned seeing he had time to spare for the task he had to do later.

Nick bobbed his head. "Well, Patty's good looks almost distracted us from my victory. You're still stalling, Yuri. I can tell you got nothing that can stand up to my rare Furious Sea King."

"Yeah, it's a nice card," said Yuri. "But he's not good enough to contend with this." Yuri slapped the card on the mat. "Black Dragon Jungle King. Attack!"

Yuri's beast was ultra-rare with gold letters and a holographic background, shaming Nick's Furious Sea King and his miserable silver lettering.

Patty whistled and said: "Wow, twenty-one hundred attack points! See Nick? Now THAT'S an impressive monster. Nice moves, Yuri."

"Aw, man!" groaned Nick. "Not him again. With an attack strength like that, he demolishes my Sea King and my Life Points."

"Another gift from Sergei?" Carter asked.

"A reward," Yuri corrected. "He gives me free packs for every 'A' that I bring home."

"Well you are a hard-working kid," said Patty. "That must mean you got plenty of packs last semester when our grades came in."

Tyson gave a warm laugh and playfully slapped Yuri's shoulder. "You sure the cards Yuri has in his deck has nothing to do with the fact that his father created the game?"

"My dad would never do such a thing and you know that," Yuri said, looking up at Tyson. "It wouldn't be fair to the other players if he pulled favors."

"Whatever you say, pal," said Nick. "Why don't we pay the shop a visit? I could use some new powerful cards for my deck. Maybe I'll even beat you."

"Keep dreaming, kiddo," Patty said jumping off the windowsill and grabbing her backpack. "Yuri's twice the Duelist you'll ever be."

Yuri appreciated her comment and patted her knee as thanks. "Well, before we go to the shop, I think it'd be best if we pick up your little brother, Nick."

Nick nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Consuelo, was all up on my grill last time I forgot to pick him up."

They picked up their cards, slipped on their backpacks, and proceeded out the door of the school's courtyard where Yuri squinted after stepping out the door and the bright afternoon sun assaulted his eyes.

There was a tall fountain of silver in the shape of a monk carrying books and scrolls in the crook of his arm.

Outside, a group of girls from the varsity volleyball team was huddled around the fountain awaiting their rides. A few of them were even Dueling, the captain showing off her new Super War-Lion monster.

"Hi, Yuri!" one of them called out. "Thanks again for the packs."

Yuri waved at her bashfully.

"What are you doing giving free packs to girls and not me? Your best friend!" said Nick.

"She's new in town," said Yuri, "Her name's Natalya - She's my uncle's niece. Most of the cards in her deck are from the beginner's structure deck. I just chipped in with a few Magic Ruler packs to help her out."

"That's so nice of you, Yuri," said Patty. "Care to show me the same courtesy someday?"

"Wouldn't she like to tag along with our group?" Tyson asked. "I'd like to get to know her a little better."

"Not a good idea," said Yuri. "Besides, we still have to pick up Sam."

Tyson shrugged. He looked back at the girl with a smug grin.

Yuri breathed out of his nose to let out his frustration. "Don't get any ideas, my godfather was once the world sambo champion back in Russia. So, behave around her, please. For your sake."

Tyson nodded, knowing best not to annoy Yuri. Their first stop was the elementary school where Nick's little brother, Sam, was waiting to be picked up.

* * *

 The weather grew awfully humid. Yuri felt his flesh getting cooked in the light of the sun. He also found it hard to breathe as beads of sweat ran down his brow.

Patty waved her black baseball cap in front of her face to cool herself. She removed her blazer and tied it around her waist. Tyson could no longer endure the humidity. He took a water bottle from his backpack and poured it over his head.

Patty yawned while giving a stretch and putting her arms behind her head. "Hey," she said. "Let's get some water. It's not healthy to be walking around this heat without water."

None of them disagreed. Along the way, they thankfully encountered a vendor truck on the sidewalk. They each bought cold drinks and then continued down a hill where the elementary school was perched right on the beach.

As they walked down the sidewalk in front of the school, Yuri bit his lip trying to ignore the various slogans and jokes the youngsters learned from social media.

His sneakers were wrecked and just as he feared, a child approached him pointing at the footwear of his school uniform screaming: "What are those!?"

"SHOES!" Yuri yelled in frustration, scaring him away.

Nick waved to get his young foster brother's attention. Sam looked like a miniature version of Nick, save that his hair was even more ragged and hidden under a cap placed backward on his head.

He wore a basketball jersey and baggy jeans, and a silver chain around his neck giving him the appearance of a rapper.

"Nick!" he called out swaying his shoulders from side to side as he walked. The boy was ten years old and proud of it by the way he smiled and the energy that radiated from his joy. "I thought you'd never show up. You know Consuelo's not going to be happy about this."

He clicked and gave Patty a wink after lowering his sunglasses. "How ya doin' doll face?"

"Right..." Patty said cringing.

Like his older brother, Sam had a knack for hitting on Patty.

Nick grimaced at the thought of facing Consuelo's wrath. "Sam, if you promise not to snitch me out to Consuelo, I promise to get you a pack at the game shop by the harbor."

Sam's face lit up. Then he turned his head to look at Yuri. "Yo, Yuri, you work today?"

"Yeah," Yuri answered, "I work every day."

"Great, maybe you can give me a discount."

"Let me see your grades," said Yuri.

Sam slid off his backpack and opened it. He searched for his most recent quiz. "Here, I think you'll be impressed."

Yuri took the quiz and examined it. He smiled, bobbing his head up and down with approval.

"An A-plus, huh? Awesome work, Sam, that's a free pack."

"Killer, Yuri, you da bomb dot com." Sam snatched the quiz from Yuri's hand and stuffed it into his pocket. He held his hand up for a high five. Yuri went for it, but Sam ducked his hand. "Too slow!" he teased. His friends mocked him for falling for that.

With Sam now in the group, they left the school grounds to make the journey downtown.

They took many buses and trains through the islands of Aquarius before they made it downtown to the central island where Yuri worked. The largest tower in the western hemisphere, Phobos Tower, dominated everything in sight.

"Isn't it amazing?" Nick said, looking out the window of their bus. "To think that one day, Yuri's going to be sitting on the top of that tower."

Yuri whimpered. "I hope not."

"You're the crown prince of Duel Monsters, Yuri," said Patty. "You have to. Now that your older brother has refused to take the reigns of your father's business."

Yuri shook his head. Tyson sighed sympathetically and patted his back. "Come on, guys, leave him alone. He doesn't have to do it if he doesn't want to."

They decided to drop the conversation for Yuri's sake. The boy was rather sensitive about his inheritance to the family business. None of them blamed him.

Though he played a good game against Nick, Yuri was a terrible Duelist. How could one be the president of the most popular game on the planet and not know how to play it?

"Oh, Yuri, I didn't mean anything by it," said Patty.

"It's okay," said Yuri, trying his best to smile.

The bus dinged. The synthetic woman's voice announced the oncoming destination. "Next stop. Cornerstone Galleria on Fourth Avenue."

Yuri and his friends picked up their things. The bus came to a heavy stop, forcing the friends to jerk forward. The vehicle hissed and then lowered itself to convenience the passengers.

"Have a good day, Yuri," said the bus driver. "Thanks, Mike," Yuri said getting off.

His friends followed him into the megastore, Ruby Dragon Gaming; two floors with shops catering to customers with different tastes in games. They smelled good quality food sizzling in the kitchen of the store's diner.

Nick took a nickel out of his pocket and tossed it into the fountain at the center of the atrium. They went upstairs to greet the man who had grown to be the father of the entire group.

"Yuri!" said a large and muscular man standing behind the counter of glass with an assortment of cards, booster boxes, custom playmats, and figurines. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I work today, remember?"

"Oh no, you don't work till this weekend, my young friend. Remember? Claudia is filling in for you because you needed some time off for your mother's birthday."

Yuri slapped himself on the forehead. "Oh, that's right. I have to buy cake and ice cream later. Well then, I guess I'm just window shopping today, Uncle. Oh, and my little friend here got an A-plus on his quiz."

Sam nodded triumphantly and crossed his arms.

"Oh, did he now?" Sergei said looking down at Sam. He went to the booster box displays and pulled out a new pack. "Well, Ruby Dragon Gaming's policy says, kids with good grades get...a free pack."

"Thanks!" Sam said taking the pack from Sergei. He wasted no time in opening it.

"Remember," said Nick, "Any holos are mine."

"In your dreams, homie," said Sam. "This is my pack!"

"Ah, and this is for you Carter," Sergei said tossing him a water monster structure deck.

"Wow!" Carter remarked in joy, catching it with ease.

Nick was beginning to grow rather flustered. "Hey, what gives Sergei? Everybody's getting free stuff except me."

"What do you mean, Nickolas?" Sergei asked with a sneer.

Nick bellowed in anger. "How come he gets a free deck and I don't?"

Sergei laughed. "Because I saw the grades from your math tests. A-plus beats C-plus, so Carter gets the deck. But here, a card for your effort. It's better than the F you got last year, so I see you're improving."

"What kind of card is it?" Nick asked, lunging for the counter with excitement.

Sergei slid the card across the counter. He sniggered cruelly.

"Spirit of the Mountain?!" Nick whined picking up the card.

Patty laughed when she saw the monster. It was a fat little gnome wearing scarlet overalls with gray sleeves and an oversized green cap. He had a brown horn to his lips covered in a white beard. "Oh, Nick, how cute!"

"He's super rare from the Tournament Pack," said Sergei. "This card is hard to get."

"Yeah, because he stinks!" said Nick. "Come on, Sergei, don't you have a warrior for me like Gaia the Fierce Knight? Or a dragon just like Yuri's Jungle King? Or maybe even a powerful Spellcaster like the Dark Magician?"

"Those cards are only for good students," Sergei said strictly. "You want good cards, I want good grades."

"Yeah, like that'll ever happen," said Sam. "Say, Pats, why don't you blow on this pack for good luck. I might get something good."

"I'll chuck that thing in a shredder if you ask me that again," Patty said sternly.

"Fuck this," said Nick. "Guess I gotta hit the books."

"Da," Sergei agreed.

By five o'clock the friends decided to call it a day and head home. They walked with Yuri back to his estate before saying goodbye to him for the weekend. They said goodbye to Sergei and stepped back outside into the sweltering heat. 

"Fuck me, it's hot," Patty said, fanning her face with her hand. "Hey, Yuri, you play a good game. Why don't you enter the locals or something."

Yuri chuckled. "No way. Just because I beat my buddy a few times doesn't make me tournament ready. Not that I want to mind you. Those guys play aggressively."

Tyson let out a loud laugh and slapped Yuri on the back. "Well, his name doesn't mean flower for nothing."

"Laugh it up, Tyson," Yuri muttered. He hated that name. 

Nick leaned towards Patty and put his arm over her shoulder. Before he got comfortable she walked forward to escape. "Yes?" she said. 

"Nothing. It's just there's a really nice restaurant close by where we can get some good Chinese."

Patty crossed her arms. "I can't. I have a date tonight."

Carter let out his hideous high-pitched twittering. "Girl, who? Who? Tell me who?"

"You serious, Patty?" Tyson asked. "Who are you dating?"

"My shower, my bed, a hot bowl of ramen noodles, and a little snuggle in my favorite pink panties."

"Ooo," said Nick. "Sounds like a party."

"Uh, yeah. One that you're not invited to, jerk. See you guys later."


	6. Parliament

* * *

**Joey Wheeler**

* * *

The Spire of the Kings, the place where the High Kings of Termnnia called home. Ser Joey Wheeler the Black Dragonknight happily made his way down the halls of the castle located at the top of the mountain known as the King's Mountain.

He passed by patrols of Black Luster Soldiers and Buster Bladers who defended the Spire with their lives. He entered the throne room where his friends would be discussing the new alliance which would bring Termnnia together. Two Dragonic Knights had to open the horrendously tall doors for him.

"Thank ya, gentlemen." Joey nodded his head, feeling quite proud of himself for he had just won a Duel Jousting tournament. He coughed confidently and marched into the throne room.

"Mornin' everyone!" he called out so his friends could hear his voice over the thundering waterfalls. They were standing together over a war table in front of the majesty of the Diamond Throne.

Tristan, Duke, Téa, his sister; Serenity, Mai, and Ser Yusei of the Five Dragon Knights surrounded it.

"So good of you to join us," said Yusei.

"We've only been waiting like an hour," grumbled Mai Valentine, the most beautiful Eldori in Termnnia. She was often called the Delight of Termnnia and even The War-Starter because of the countless, foolish wars that many lords, nobles, and even kings, have started to just claim her.

"Yer, lookin' radiant as ever, Mai," Joey said.

Mai smiled and defiantly rolled her eyes. "Don't think you can flatter me just because you're an anointed knight, Joseph."

"Heh, heh, ha!" laughed Joey. He looked around and noticed someone was missing. "So where's Yuge?"

"If you would have been here earlier, you would have already heard the news," said Ser Yusei. "Looks like Master Yu-Gi-Oh took a head start and left for the Senate meeting."

"What?" Joey cried out in shock. "Without us?"

Serenity gently handed him a note.

Joey scanned the note repeatedly with his brown eyes to his brain could comprehend what he just read. He couldn't believe it.

"Maybe it's for the best," said Tristan. "Yugi and the Spirit of the Puzzle work well when they're alone."

"What do we do now?" Yusei wondered as he stroked his chin. "I got my Duel Runner fueled up for nothing."

"Well..." said Serenity. "We're just going to have to trust Yugi. After all, this is a very important task. Prince Daveed is coming back. Soon, we'll have our High King. Maybe then, he'll get us out this mess with those religious radicals from the Covenant up north and the Orcs who threaten war in the East across the sea."

"If the lions don't eat him first," said Ser Yusei. "When we bring Daveed back from hiding, we're putting him in the den. There has been so much backstabbing and corruption over the years. Three times already we have kept bad people from sitting down on the Diamond Throne."

"Ah, we got nothin' t' worry about," said Joey. "The Divine Beasts are just gonna strike down da person dey hate and see unfit to sit on it, right?"

Yusei tapped on the map. "Of course, but that was in the days of the Kings of Old. Nowadays, they just stand idle and do nothing. As I recall King Antilles of Dragonrock summoned Slifer before Daveed was born."

"Yeah, before," said Joey. "But den he came to his senses and went to a real heir to da throne in Prince Daveed. He summoned all three Divine Beasts just as a baby."

"Talk about power," Yusei said sharing Joey's wonder at the boy's gift. "I certainly can't wait for him to come home. I imagine he goes by another name, right Serenity."

"Yeah, he's been given a cute nickname," Serenity giggled. "It means flower because they say he's so sweet and delicate like one."

"What do they call him?" Joey asked.

Serenity giggled. "Yuri."

* * *

**The Grand Council Chamber**

* * *

 

 

The hearing was not going at all like he planned. Yami Yugi placed a hand over his eyes and listened as the voices of the few favoring his notion were drowned out by those favoring the scheme of his opponent, King Antilles Dragonheart of Dragonrock. He stood beside Yami in a metal box with iron rails coiled with vines. He looked at Yami and grinned, knowing full well he had all but lost this battle.

He was tall and lithe for a man his age. He was balding, losing most of the hair in his forehead and dome. The wisps that remained were a pale color of blond mixed with silver. His chin and neck fuzzed by a grizzled beard. The sunlight caused his bluish-green eyes to twinkle with arrogance.

Yami turned his gaze away and looked at the councilors, leaders of the Termnnian senate with Pegasus in the middle as High Chancellor of Termnnia. The Right-Hand of the High King, a title dubbed to those who found themselves in such a position. Pegasus and the Councilors were sitting along a fifty-foot curved wall shaped to look like the wings of a mighty dragon.

The head was where the High King's chancellor sat and dealt with these problems. The throne was carved underneath its mouth. A glowing crystal embedded in its head. That was were Pegasus sat. Surrounding the wall was a deep moat with small lit fountains. Behind the wall, four tall stained-glass windows illuminated the Grand Council Chamber in an explosion of colors. Violet, blue, purple, red, yellow, and green clashing for dominance.

Councilor Jane Chrichton stood and said: "The recent wave of assassins is a matter of great concern. But there is no evidence that Bakura was involved in any way."

Lord Gwendon Smith, another member of the council spoke, too. "The investigations led by the House of Intelligence has turned up no evidence to support your claim that Bakura and other associated members of the Sisterhood are of any threat."

He held up a large stack of papers. "Per command of the council, we have sent an agent to keep an eye on him. Said agent sends us long and very detailed reports of the prince's daily activities. We have read them very thoroughly and thus fall, he reports no wrongdoings or strange activity. The prince is safe and sound."

"Has he seen everything?" Yami countered, pounding his fist on his desk, shaking the green lamp. "What of my friend Joey? He slew a whole group of them the day before yesterday. They tried to torture his sister and Ser Tristan. A Royal Guard. And they carried this!"

Yami held up a hood ripped off from a cloak. A golden eye was emblazoned on the top. Those on his side gasped, while those opposed howled in contempt.

"It's the mark of the Rare Hunters," he said. "They are trying to find him! Come to your senses. Bakura is not the only one involved in this matter."

"The one who should come to his senses is you, Master Yu-Gi-Oh," sneered Antilles. "We are only trying to help the boy."

"How is keeping him in danger going to help him?" Yami retorted. "We must bring him back to Termnnia now!"

"And have him in even more danger?" said Antilles. "You wish to bring him back here without even giving him the time to adjust to his destiny. Think of the trauma you will put upon him."

"He has to find out sooner or later."

Antilles bowed his head respectfully.

"I understand that, Master Yu-Gi-Oh. There will be a time and place for that. But now is not said time. The prince needs to learn how to Duel if he is to survive as High King here. I've read the reports the agent from the special activities division has written. His Dueling skills are quite poor. Lackluster and unworthy of a High King. What is to happen if he returns to rule with his undistinguished skills and someone were to challenge him with the Dueling Pact? He'd lose and the challenger takes everything away from him. All the lives lost and the money spent to keep him secure would have been for nothing."

"Hear! Hear!" shouted a senator on Antilles' side.

"Rare Hunters," Antilles spat. "You said the leader of those so-called Rare Hunters was a poor excuse of a youth who let his own greed and jealousy consume him to the point he was taken over by a vile spirit. The Rare Hunters are nothing but sodding mercenaries picking off the scraps of whatever job they can find. And I am sure everyone here is wise enough not to take the word of a Wheeler seriously."

The leaders who favored Antilles laughed and pounded their desks. Yami turned his head quickly to look at Antilles and snarl at him. Councilor Lockwood pounded on the arm of his throne with a jeweled mallet. "Order! Order!" he shouted. "That's enough! Settle down all of you!"

"No disrespect to your friend, Master Yu-Gi-Oh," said Councilor Kastark. "But the testimony of a knight with a track record like Joey Wheeler's is hardly compelling proof."

Those on Yami's side began to bicker and yell. Senators of the beast folk roared in his defense.

On a balcony overlooking the chambers, the Princess of Dragon's Nest, and niece to Antilles giggled at the chaos. She waved a fan up and down to cool her face and neck. "My uncle always knows what to do," she sneered.

"Order! Order!" shouted Councilor Lockwood.

"You're just mad Slifer the Sky Dragon chose another!" shouted one of the senators.

"Enough!" said Pegasus, finally breaking his silence. "The chosen Duelists of the God Cards is not the purpose of this meeting."

Antilles smiled again. "This meeting has no purpose. Councilors and Senators. Master Yugi and his friends waste your time. And mine."

"You cannot hide behind your cronies, forever, Antilles!" snarled Yami.

"There is still one issue that is most noteworthy!" called a senator by the name of Arthur Hawkins. "Yugi, what about those visions you said you have? Where you visit the prince and Dueled him. Didn't he say that Bakura had some influence on him?"

"A dream?" Antilles said to the councilors. "A dream to be used as evidence? How am I to prove my case in safeguarding the prince with a corroboration such as this?"

"I agree," said Councilor Lockwood. "My apologies, Senator Hawkins, but this testimony is of no good here. The judgment of this council is based on facts and evidence. Not horrible nightmares and the speculations of a paranoid individual."

"Do you have anything else to add to this case, Yugi-boy?" Pegasus asked, before taking a sip of wine.

Yami hung his head. "You've made your decision. I will say no more on the matter. Let the Senate decide what to do with the boy."

"So be it," said Councilor Chricton. "In accordance with the bylaws of the Termnnian Kingdoms, a vote is required. All in favor of keeping Prince Daveed Delgado Wollcroft of the House Plantegrast in the other dimension until his Dueling skills have become favorable, please say Aye."

"Aye!"

"Aye!"

"Aye!"

"Aye!"

Hundreds of Ayes followed.

"All those opposed?" asked Pegasus.

"Nay!" said Senator Hawkins,

"Nay!" shouted a Teegrai, senator.

Hardly any came out.

"The Ayes have it," said Councilor Chricton. "The Senate has found no evidence of any connection with Bakura and the assassins looking to jump for the Gates. Lord Yugi, your petition to have Prince Daveed returned to Termnnia is denied."

Antilles scooped up his scrolls and looked at Yami one last time. "I am glad to see justice was served. If anything, you're the one doing the most harm to the boy, Master Yu-Gi-Oh."

"This meeting is adjourned," said Pegasus.

Yami said nothing and watched as Antilles walked away.


	7. The Banisher of the Light

**Yuri**

* * *

He couldn't let anyone find out. He just couldn't! He splashed water on his face repeatedly, praying that his efforts would dull the color of the dark bags underneath his eyes and relieve his heavy eyelids from the burden of sleepiness.

Dreaming again. What would Sergei and the others think of him? Surely they'd think he was crazy, especially having dreams about the spiky-haired individual, Yami, who kept challenging this poor Prince character and beating him until he turned to dust.

There was a little voice in the back of his head telling him that the prince was him, but Yuri was sure that was not the case, and he forced his entire being to believe in that.

Being the king of another dimension? Real monsters? Magic? Living cartoon characters? There was no way. It was too ridiculous.

"Stupid," he said, splashing more water on his face and slapping his cheeks. He looked at his reflection. "Get a grip on yourself. Next thing you're going to be looking for Roger Rabbit."

There was a loud banging on the door. "Yuri!" Sergei shouted. "You've been in there for ten minutes. Finish whatever it is you are doing and get back to work at once."

"I'm sorry," Yuri muttered, trying to come up with an excuse. "Those scrambled eggs mom made me didn't go down so well."

He heard Natalya laughing, for she was close by and heard what he said. He moaned and scrubbed his hands over his face in embarrassment. Sergei told her to get back to work and rapped on the door again.

"Well, you have one minute to finish what you're doing in there and return to your duties, young man. And everything better be clean when you get out of there. If I so happen to see a shit smear on that toilet bowl, I will personally tell Natalya to shit in your mother's fish pond. She'll do it, you know. She's a rebel."

"What!?" shouted Natalya. "I would never!"

Yuri splashed one last handful of water on his face, dried himself, and then walked outside into the storage room to pick up the latest shipment of figures. He heard Sergei's radio blasting Bryan Adam's song,  _Everything I do_.

That made his stomach feel ice cold. The song was used as a promo for an old Robin Hood movie when he was very young. He recalled all the dreams he had. They were all set in a strange medieval world. Castles, old villages, majestic forests, and people in old clothing.

That just made Yuri laugh. It reminded him of how foolish it was to think these dreams were anything more than just dreams. The middle ages were over and most importantly, monsters and magic did not exist. He looked around at the stockroom, examining all the logos on the boxes. He stopped and listening to the sound of the hanging lamps on the ceiling humming. Electricity. Modern technology. Normalcy. He was just Yuri and this was his home. That was that.

Natalya was leaning against the wall checking her phone, waiting for Yuri. She looked up from her phone and smiled. "Feel better?" she asked, trying to suppress her laughter.

"Shut up," Yuri mumbled, picking up the boxes of Anime figures. "What are you looking at?"

"Patty," laughed Natalya. "She's been hinting a special surprise to her followers on her eighteenth next week."

"Oh, gee, I wonder what it could be," Yuri said, checking his phone to see Patty's update.

She was clad in a Misty cosplay, looking innocent and sweet as she held her stuffed Pokemon in her arms. Natalya swiped her phone to go to the next image, this time it was Patty in a tank top and denim jeans cut so short, they looked like panties.

"That girl is going to run into trouble one of these days," Yuri said, feeling horribly displeased.

"Oh, don't be such a pain in her butt," said Natalya, putting her phone away. "Let the girl have some fun."

"You haven't been here for too long," said Yuri. "You don't know Patty like I do. Sergei chipped in to get her out of jail because we let her 'have some fun'. Eighteen is a dangerous age for girls like her. They think they can do anything now because they're adults. And then RAPTOR is on the news excavating a dead body from the harbor."

"I had no idea it was that bad," Natalya said, pocketing her phone. "What did she do?"

"Party late on school nights, fabricated fake ID's to get into the clubs, attending yacht parties where rowdy monkeys would use her as a plaything That kind of stuff. And we can add petty theft to that list as well."

"She's a bad girl?" Natalya said scratching her chin. "Funny, she didn't strike me as being that kind of person."

"My friends and I have done what we could to keep her straight," Yuri explained, leading her down the hall to the store. "But this whole lewd cosplay scene she's been playing out is making me uncomfortable."

Natalya laughed and lightly elbowed him on the arm. "Come on, Yuri. Patty is a sexy girl. You know you like her content."

"I won't lie, I do," Yuri said nervously. "It's the kind of attention she attracts that scares me. This is how it starts, Nattie. First, she poses in raunchy cosplay, then it's her underwear...scratch that, she already did that last week in a twerking video she posted. Man, then it's nudes. After that, it wouldn't surprise me if she started doing amateur porn."

"Yuri!" Natalya almost shouted. "I'm VERY disappointed in you. How could you think of your friend in such a way?"

"You think I'm happy making conclusions like that? No, of course not! But when you see the ones you love hanging out with certain types of people, go to stupid parties, and act a certain way, what else are you supposed to do?"

"Grow up, will you?" Natalya said, holding open the door for him. "What a stupid way to think. Not to mention dangerous - to both you and to Patty."

"Sorry," Yuri said sadly.

"EEEK!" someone at one of the Duel Tables shouted.

It was Patty.

The Duel Screen showed a monk called Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer spin his staff and destroy her Zera the Mant with ease. Patty's cards dropped out of her limp fingers. Even though he couldn't see her expression, Yuri could hear her babbling and even sniffling.

"And that's that," said a young man, clad in an indigo and gold uniform, showing all in the shop that he was a student from the elite Phobos Academy. "You didn't pose much a challenge. I knew all that talk about you was just crap. It goes to show that those followers are more in love with your ass than your Dueling skills. But I'm not surprised you were so mediocre."

"I...I lost?" Patty breathed. "But...but how? I didn't even get a chance to play my best cards."

The young man chuckled and slid his fingers through his thick, light brown hair. His thick bangs bounced over his forehead. "You lost babe. I won fair and square. Now, it's time to hand over my prize."

"Here," Patty said, handing him an ultra-rare spell Axe of Despair and another called United We Stand.

"Excellent," the lad said, swiping the cards from her fingers. "It makes me wonder how cards like these can find their way to such insignificant specks."

"What was that?" Patty growled, grinding her teeth and clenching her fists in anger.

"Nothing," said the lad. "Tell me, is there anyone here worthy of my talents? I grow weary of you, Patty. Do the world of Duel Monsters a favor and just throw your deck away. Stick to showing off your bubble butt to drooling mongrels. It's the only thing you're good at."

"Now wait just a second!" Natalya said hurrying to the table. "Just what is going on here, Floyd? Don't you have anywhere better to be? A garbage dump perhaps? Or thousands of feet beneath the sea and away from humankind?"

"Natalya," said Floyd. "I'm surprised to see you working here."

"You know this creep, Nattie?" Patty asked, picking up her cards.

"Sadly, I do. He's Floyd Patterson, captain of the Phobos Academy Duel Monsters Team. His skills are top-notch, but his attitude is total garbage. But as far as I'm concerned, those cards belong to Patty. Give it back to her right now!"

"No can do, babe," Floyd said, tauntingly waving the cards in between his fingers. "Patty put them up for grabs; those were the terms of our game. I won, she lost. The cards are both mine."

"Then I'll play you for it!" Natalya dug into the pouch in her apron. She held up her deck.

"You wish to play?" Floyd chuckled. "Very well, but you must put that Simorgh bird on the line."

"Natalya, don't do it!" Patty urged her. "Not for me. Like you said, he's good. He didn't even let me play my Zera the Mant. Don't worry about United We Stand, I can just find another one."

"No you can't," Natalya said with a smile. "You put up a lot of good cards and a handful of cash to get it from Parker. Please, let me win it back for you."

"I can find another one!" Patty continued to argue. "But you won't find another Simorgh. Natalya, that card is special to you. It's a keepsake from your grandmother. I won't stand to see you lose it to this creep."

"Are we going to play, or what?" Natalya asked Floyd, feeling insulted that Patty would think she would lose to the arrogant boy. "Axe of Despair and United We Stand for my Simorgh."

"Nattie!"

"It's a deal," said Floyd. "Sit down. Let's play."

**LP 2000**

"I'll begin first," Natalya announced. She drew. "I set a card face-down and summon Tukuhee in Attack Mode."

She placed her card on the sensor. The screen beside her displayed the large brown bird monster flapping its wings in the ancient Colosseum.

**ATK/1450**

She continued her turn. "Then I equip him with Follow Wind, which increases his attack and defense by three-hundred points. But I'm not done yet, for I use the Field Spell, Mountain. This will increase my Winged-Beast's attack points by two-hundred points."

**ATK/1950**

"I end my turn."

"My turn," Floyd grinned as he drew. "I set a monster face-down. That ends my turn."

"Playing chicken are we?" Natalya taunted.

Patty bit her lip. It was unwise for Natalya to be so overconfident. She made the same mistake before and it cost her dearly. She chose not to say anything to Natalya so as not to rile her.

Natalya drew. "I summon Faith Bird!"

She called on her blue-feathered falcon with a long graceful tail and brilliant white claws.

**ATK/1500 + 200 = 1700 ATK**

Natalya attacked with Tukuhee first. The bird screeched and soared into the air, flying high over the Colosseum. Like a jet plane, it roared as it zoomed through the ice-cold mountain air. It extended its claws. They flashed in the dim sunlight. It approached Floyd's face-down monster. The monster was flipped up.

A man wearing orange robes with an ornate blue shoulder cape and matching hat rose out of the ground.

**Banisher of the Light**

**ATK/100 DEF/2000**

**LV 3**

****

He held out his palm and created a divine-looking arcane glyph with animated rings and flowing runes written in an ancient language. Tukuhee ran into the barrier and was knocked back. It screeched and then landed flat on its back when it hit the ground with a thud.

Natalya stuttered when she saw the battle taking place on the screen. She lost a mere 50 Life Points, but the nasty look and obnoxious chuckle coming from Floyd made her feel like she lost 10,000 points of damage.

Floyd rudely declared his turn. He slowly slid the top card off his deck, chuckling at Natalya's misfortune. "I summon a monster face-down and set this card on my backboard. Your move."

Natalya was nervous at this point. Another face-down monster. She started feeling sweat moistening her underarms. Floyd didn't seem to care if he was attacked or not. What if he wanted her to attack. What if he didn't? What if he was just playing with her emotions. She batted her eyelashes nervously. Losing to him was bad enough, but to know her grandmother's keepsake card was just unacceptable.

Patty was right, she thought to herself. Accepting Floyd's terms was a big mistake. At this point, she would rather deal with his taunting than lose her card. But it was too late now. Forfeiting was still a loss.

She decided to gamble and attacked the face-down monster. This time, Faith Bird was attacking. It screeched and looked like a turquoise blur in the air. It finally struck the face-down monster, which was revealed to be a Needle Worm.

"Allow me to explain what my little friend does," said Floyd. "And hold on tight because his effect is gonna 'bug' you." He laughed at his lame humor. "Needle Worm when flipped forces you to discard the top five cards of your deck. But here's were my Banisher of the Light comes to play. So long as he's out on the field, all cards are banished instead of being sent to the Graveyard. So those cards you have to discard are removed from the game. Go on."

Natalya did as she was told. She gasped. Simorgh was one of the cards. He was banished and there was nothing she could do to bring him back to the game. Just like that, Floyd prevented her from using her best monster. Was it a premonition of things to come? Was she really going to lose her prized monster?

"My turn," Floyd said laughing. "So much for your over-sized chicken, eh? And without him, there's nothing you can do to stop me. I use the spell, Card Destruction. We now discard our hands and draw the same amount of cards we previously held."

Natalya gulped. Her hand only had two cards, so she could only draw two cards. But Floyd still had a full hand pretty much. He had more cards than Natalya did, giving him an advantage over her.

He held up his next card mockingly. "Now, I use the trap card flip up my face-down card, Ultimate Offering. Now we summon more monsters at the cost of five-hundred points per creature. I'll set this monster face-down and offer up five-hundred of my points to set these extra cards. Now, I play the Spell Card, Delinquent Duo. At the cost of one thousand of my Life Points, I can select a card in your hand and discard it. Or in this case, banish it, thanks to Banisher of the Light. Oh, Skull Red Bird. Good card; too bad you can't use it anymore. Ah, but my spell has another effect. If you have more cards in your hand, you have to select a card to discard. And since you only have one card, you don't have much of a choice."

Natalya sighed and sent her Queen Bird away. She bit her lip and tightened every muscle in her body to keep herself from shedding any tears and giving this bully any more pleasure.

"You're in the lead now, Natalya. Silly me. Oh, wait! Never mind, I'm going to get those points back with this card, Poison of the Old Man. This lets me choose to either regain my points or take points from you. I'm choosing to increase my Life Points. Now I gain twelve-hundred."

Natalya wrinkled her nose. Her toes curled in her shoes and her fingers trembled. He was starting to annoy her. Mind games; this she knew. He was messing with her to make her emotional and do whatever it took to take him down. Sadly, it was working. She could not bear to listen to him trash-talking her and belittling her cards. And most of all, she could not bear to lose her keepsake.

 _What was I thinking_?

She attacked. "NO!" shouted Patty. But it was too late. Tuckuhee attacked, soaring towards the face-down monster.

Another Needle Worm. Another five cards were banished from the game. She was too scared to attack the other face-down monster and ended her turn.

Floyd continued using cards to damage Natalya's deck, picking it apart piece by piece until she had nothing left.

"No," she moaned. "I lost."

"That you did," he laughed, picking up his cards. He held up his prized Banisher of the Light Card. "You were worse than the last one. Patty at least did damage to me. Now, a deal is a deal. Fork over your rarest card now."

"Natalya, don't do it," Yuri said, running towards the table. "That card is..."

"No, Yuri," Natalya sniffled. "My grandmother taught me to honor my word. No matter what. And that's just what I'm going to do."

She handed Floyd the card. He quickly swiped it from her fingers.

"Give it back!" shouted Patty. "You don't need that card in your deck. You don't even run Winged-Beasts."

"My deck?" Floyd laughed. "This bloody chicken doesn't deserve a spot in my deck. But don't worry, maybe he'll serve as a coaster for my drink."

Natalya's nails dug into her palms.

Patty slammed both fists on the table. "If I so much as see a wrinkle on that card I'll..."

"Patty, stop!" Natalya said, head still down on the table. "Don't do anything reckless. Just stop."

"You won't get away with this!" Yuri shouted.

Floyd slid his fingers through his silky brown hair. A few locks bounced over his forehead. "You sound like a cheese ball Saturday morning character." He examined Yuri's glowing green eye. "Ah," he said nodding. "You're the Prince of Aquarius. Word on the street is your Black Dragon Jungle King is the rarest card in your deck."

"That's right," said Yuri. "You want it? Then you'll have to Duel me for it. I win, you give BOTH Patty and Natalya's cards back. I lose, you can have Jungle King."

"Sure, nothing will please me more than defeating the son of Jacob Montgomery. And winning your Black Dragon Jungle King will be a great pleasure."

"Fine," Yuri said, crossing his arms. "But, I don't have my deck on me right now, and I'm working all week. So why don't we schedule our match for this weekend? Sunday sound good?"

"Actually, that's a perfect time to face me," Floyd said, stuffing his three prizes into his breast pocket. "There's a new place to Duel over on Naros Island. It'll be completed on Saturday. We will have our Duel there. I sure hope you're ready."

"I'll beat you alright," Yuri growled, narrowing his eyes. "Now get the hell out of my uncle's store. You're not welcome here anymore."

Floyd scoffed, stood up, and put on his backpack. "Not that it matters to me. Once the new Dueling Grounds are complete, this dump will be obsolete. Smell ya later, losers. And you enjoy your Black Dragon Jungle King while you can, Yuri."

He got waved at them and stepped out the door.

Patty placed her hand on Yuri's shoulder. "I sure hope you know what you're doing, Yuri. That Black Dragon Jungle King is the strongest monster you have. Please, don't do this."

"I'm going to whether you like it or not, Patty. Don't talk me out of it."

"Yuri, don't," Natalya sobbed, wiping tears from her eyes. "You saw what he did to me. I don't want the same thing happening to you. Don't do this. Please."

"I'll find a way to do it," said Yuri. "Nobody messes with my friends and gets away with it. I'll get your cards back, girls. Don't you worry."

"Oooo," hooted Patty. "You hear that, Nattie? We've got ourselves a knight in shining armor here."

Yuri froze. Just mentioning the word 'knight' triggered the memory of his dreams again. Natalya's laughing made them go away. "I suppose we do," she said. "I believe in you, Yuri. And thank you."

* * *

When the last customer left and the shop was vacuumed and wiped clean of dust, it was time for Yuri to clock out. He put his apron away and then said goodbye to Sergei.

By the time he walked out the sun had gone down behind the Atlantic. The street lights turned on illuminating the dark sidewalks and roads of Aquarius.

It seemed rather scary, what with the reports of hooded goons vanishing into the shadows, but Yuri had a remedy to make his walk home a lot easier. He took out his phone and put on his black beats trimmed with lime green neon lights.

As he walked home, he listened to Benny Mardones'  _Into the Nigh_ t. If there was one thing Yuri loved more than anything in the world, it was walking home from work, traversing from island to island while listening to songs from the 80's and the 90's. The stars were starting to twinkle overhead as if lighting his way home.

He felt no need to rush home and found a bench to lay on so he could listen to his music, enjoy the scenic ocean view, and wonder if he was going to have another Prince Daveed dream again. He got a text from his mother, asking him to buy a tub of ice cream on the way home to serve after dinner. He stopped into a nearby drug store and found what he needed.

Yuri walked past the park and heard little children's voices from deep in the park calling out monster names. He knew they were just Dueling. He leaned on a railing over the park to see the action, but there was not one Duel going on.

A whole bunch of them were taking place. Kids of all ages were trading cards, Dueling and having lunch, ordering burgers, hot dogs and ice cream from the stands in the park. There were flat-screen televisions near the eating areas so the kids could watch the 3D battles going on as they ate.

Duel Monster Cards had microchips inside of them, and when played on special tabletops, the monster was displayed on the screens. Yuri smiled and leaned on the rusty black iron rail to watch the games taking place below.

"Okay now I summon my Seismic Crasher!" shouted a boy in a black baseball cap. The warrior appeared on the screen making the boy quite confident. Their friends cheered and jumped seeing the monsters on the liquid-crystal display next to the Dueling table. Seismic Crasher did battle with another boy's Musician King, a guitar-wielding spellcaster who used music as his weapon of choice.

Duelists of all ages ran around in excitement, looking for opponents to Duel and people to trade cards with. Underneath a willow tree perched by a pond, Yuri spotted a few boys from the elementary school getting ready for a Duel.

"There's no way you can win this time, Eddie. I bought a lot of cards this week and made my deck super strong!"

The other kids oohed and ahhed.

"If you think you can beat me with your 'new cards', Tim? I say we have a match!"

Yuri smirked watching them march to an open field. The screens turned on making them look like they were playing in a meadow and they were off.

Vendors selling booster packs, clothing and snacks yelled out their wares. Meanwhile, the Duel Screens displayed dragons as they took off into the sky blasting away other monsters.

Yuri gave a chuckle when he listened to the hooting and whistling of glee when beautiful female monsters like G.B Hunter and Gemini Elf were summoned.

"Hey, Yuri!" someone called out. Yuri saw Nick, Tyson, Carter, and Patty on the other side of the street under the light of the lamp waiting for the cars to pass.

When the cars stopped rolling by they all sprinted towards their friend.

"Boy, am I glad to see you guys," Yuri said happily. "I got your text, Patty, why did you want me to come here?"

"Just to hang out," said Patty. "It's kind of hard not seeing you as often, Yuri."

"Yeah," said Nick. "We were hoping to see you sometime, what with you working at the shop now. We have to hang out a little more what with us finishing school."

"Wow," said Patty. "I can't believe we graduate this year. We're on our way to college."

"Damn, already?" Tyson said rubbing his cheek. "I remember us playing at the park pretending to be knights. Pretty soon we'll be going to different universities."

"Don't fret about it, big guy," said Yuri. "It's still the second month of the school year. There's still plenty of time for us to see each other before then."

"What's with the ice cream?" Tyson asked. Yuri looked down at the bag.

"Oh, this?" Yuri answered. "These are some treats for dessert. Where's Sam? Did he go home?"

"Yeah, Consuelo picked him up," Patty replied. "And a good thing too. I was just about ready to toss him into the sea. He asked if we wanted to play basketball right after we left the shop. We did, but it was a quick game thanks to Tyson's keen eyes. Turns out, Sam only wanted me to play so he could look up my skirt as I made my shots."

"What a creep," said Carter. "Nick, you outta do something about that kid, honey."

Nick shrugged. "Boys will be boys. What are you gonna do?"

Patty rolled her eyes. "What do you think, Yuri? Should Sam stop hanging out with us? This is getting way out of hand. Yuri? Yuri?"

"Basketball  _goood_ ," Yuri muttered.

"What are you thinking, Yuri?" Patty sneered.

"Nothing," said Yuri. "How's Natalya doing?"

Patty shrugged. "She stopped crying after a while. But she remains hopeful that you can beat Floyd this weekend. Are you sure you're up for the task, Yuri? Floyd looks way out of your league."

Yuri frowned and crossed his arms. "I said I can, and I will. Come on, let's check out the park. I heard they've got some new stuff down there."

"He's right," said Nick. "Let see what they got."

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Tyson said rubbing his hands together. "Gonna get me some new cards!"

Yuri followed his friends down concrete steps into the park. There were lamps on the sides of the steps lighting the way.

"Hey wait for me!" called Carter.

"Some things never change," Patty said shaking her head.

Children scurried around with excitement, and young adults sat under the trees trading cards or having a snack. There was a song playing on one of the television screens next to the card stand.

It was the latest song of the beautiful pop singer: Crystal Anderson; a blonde girl with stunning heterochromia eyes and a smile that could melt one's soul.

Nick and Tyson were staring at the screen mesmerized by her beauty and her rich and sugary sweet voice as she sang her cheerful love song at the beach, shaking her hips and smiling at the camera. The words came out of her mouth like a whisper just making her look even cuter.

"Ah," breathed Tyson.

"Beautiful," whispered Nick. "One day my Dueling skills are going to be so good, I'll impress her!"

"Will you guys get a grip?" groaned Patty. "She's just another no-talent pop singer."

"I beg to disagree," said Yuri, his cheeks turning red. "She's a cut above the other artists. Unlike them, she can actually sing, and she sings about beautiful things."

"No talent!" barked Nick. "She's the heir to the Anderson fortune, can sing like a goddess and she's the current United States champion!"

"Is that so?" said Patty, raising an eyebrow with disbelief.

"You don't follow pro-Dueling do you?" asked Tyson, placing his hands on his hips and shaking his head.

"I'm more concerned about my art." Patty crossed her arms over her chest. "Not that I'm gloating or anything. I want to make cards more than I want to play them."

"You hope to work for Phobos Corp as a card designer?" Carter asked, biting into a sandwich he just bought with the last of his money. "That's sweet."

"Oh, hey!" said Nick. He ran for a stand that was selling rare cards. Tyson, Patty, and Carter followed. Yuri stayed behind watching Crystal sing her song.

"Oh, Yuri, not you too!" snapped Patty.

"Oh…coming," Yuri said following her.

Nick was drooling over the cards. Their colorful foil sparkled in the lights of the black iron street lamps. "Look at the power on this guy!" He said pointing to a ritual monster called Super War Lion.

"My deck could use a powerhouse like him. I'll take it."

"Uh, you might want to do a rain check on that Nick," Patty said pointing out the price.

"Fifteen dollars!" Nick cried out. "That's robbery."

"Plus his ritual card," Carter said pointing at the Spell Card needed to summon the lion.

"Aw no!" Nick cried. He reached into his pockets and pulled out a dollar. "How much do you have?" he asked his friends.

Tyson reached into his pocket, taking out all the money he carried. He only had three dollars, as he already spent most of what he had on a water-based structure deck for Carter.

Carter only had one dollar, but he was secretly carrying two hundred in emergency money in his back pocket.

Patty scoffed and hitched up her skirt doing curtsy as a gesture to show she had nothing. Yuri shrugged, for he spent all the money he had buying ice cream for his mother's birthday party. That was the last he had of last week's paycheck.

"Five!" Nick groaned. "Not even close."

"You can afford one booster pack," said Tyson.

"Guess you're right," said Nick. "I'll take one pack, please."

"Come on, Nick," said Yuri. "Just keep saving money for your Xbox and to help with Consuelo. We shouldn't spend money on cards anymore; we're too old for this man."

"We're never too old for Duel Monsters," said Nick, taking his pack from the cashier's hand. "I can't spend enough. I've got to beef up my deck so I can Duel in the pro leagues."

"There are no guarantees," Yuri said, shaking his head. He admired Nick's determination, though.

"Yeah, you'd first have to prove yourself in the independent circuits," said Tyson. "And even then, as Yuri said, there's no guarantee big players like the WDF (World Dueling Federation) or Dragonfire will find you. You'd be stuck in the independents for years, maybe forever; and they only pay like fifteen hundred a month."

"Not enough to pay rent man," said Yuri.

"Maybe you guys forgot, I'm good."

"You're sixteen and forty," said Patty. "Not the best ratio."

"Do you guys have anything better to do than to walk all over my hopes and dreams?"

"We're not trying to keep you down man," said Yuri. "It's just the reality of life. Things don't always go as planned for some of us. Why don't you just go to college and get associates so you could at least make a comfortable living? You can't base your life on Duel Monsters alone."

"Easy for you to say," pouted Nick. "You live with the richest man in the country."

Patty scoffed. "But he doesn't leech off his father. Yuri still goes out and works. Don't take Yuri's fortune as an excuse for your miserable life, Nick."

"Oh no, bro, your ice cream," said Carter.

Yuri looked at the bag and saw some of it ooze out of the box all over the plastic bag.

"Damn!" he cursed and quickly ran.

"Where are you going?" Nick called out.

Yuri held out his arm as he continued to run from the park. "I've got to get this back to Paula! See you guys at school!"

He heard his friends call out their goodbyes. He climbed up the steps and disappeared around the next corner.

* * *

**Patty**

* * *

She stood by the fountain, watching as Nick, Tyson, and Carter waved goodbye and went back to their islands. When they were out of the light of the street lamps, Patty gave a heavy sigh and made her way to the docks and ride the Ferris Wheel.

How fast the years have gone by, she thought. How fast. It seemed like only yesterday that she and Yuri met those three in the fourth grade. Now...now they were seniors. And all three of them had aspirations and goals of their own that they would follow.

Despite the wisecracks that they tossed at one another and their troubled pasts, they had developed quite the friendship. And it hurt her deeply to know they would soon go their separate ways.

Tyson, being the son of the owner of a five-star chef, would soon inherit his father's empire and he was going to New York to learn to be a chef at his father's culinary academy. Carter had aspirations of joining the Aquarian Navy and fly in the new F-35's that were recently purchased by RAPTOR.

Nick, well, Patty had her doubts, but she knew Nick long enough to know that if he wanted something, he would work his damnedest to get it. And what he wanted more than anything right now was to be a professional Duelist. If he were to accomplish such a goal, he would go around the world in the WDF.

And Yuri. He was the only thing on her mind. What was to become of him? She looked up at Phobos Towers, dominating everything on the islands. To think he would soon be up there sitting in that office high above the clouds. Would she ever see him again?

"Stupid," she muttered. "I can't have feelings for him. It's just not meant to be. What would Yuri want with a girl like me?"

She started to worry. He would inherit the Phobos Empire at a young age. Regardless of his glowing green eye, there were some girls in the school that found Yuri sexy and his glowing eye added more mystery to him, which they found quite irresistible. To say nothing of how he developed his body.

She heard rumors that he fought in underground fight clubs in their freshman and senior year. And with muscles like the ones he had, she started to think the rumors were true.

She shook her head. "No," she said to herself, biting her lip. "No, no, no. Not after what happened last time."

Patty purchased a ticket to the Ferris Wheel, which lit up the night and the glossy, black waters of the Atlantic in its beautiful rainbow-colored neon.

As she sat there, she wondered if she and Yuri could really share something special with one another. Her doubt would always win.

"If I don't want him...then why am I so worried someone else will take him?" she whispered, staring out into the ocean. She spotted RAPTOR patrol boats zooming through the water and one the floating guard towers far off in the distance that formed the protective triangle-shaped perimeter around the islands.

Anyways, Yuri was young and very rich.  _The richest boy in the world_  his father would often boast. And it was true, with a multi-trillion dollar inheritance in the future, who could argue with those words? The girls would be flocking at his doorstep and for as long as she could remember, Yuri was a boy who was desperate for a girlfriend. She wanted to take that to her advantage.

"We'll see," she whispered, now looking at the city. "Yuri. You're one weird dude, but I know with all my heart, you're going to grow into a man of great importance.

* * *

**Lore**

* * *

**The Islands of Aquarius**

* * *

**Phobos Island: Home of Aquarius's top earners and the center of the island chain. The Phobos Tri-Towers dominate the other islands. The island is nearly the size of Manhattan and is beautifully adorned with natural environments, plaza-sized aquariums, and a skyscraper known as the Bustamante Building, which stands a few feet shorter than the Burj Khalifa and doubles as a waterfall that falls into a grand lake with fountains that shoot water hundreds of feet into the air. On its own, not too far from the center, are the small chains known as Eden Island and Sapphire Island, home to the island's most elite residents and guests.**

**Naros Island: A recreational island where the students of Phobos Academy and St. Augustus Senior High School mostly go to relax after a long day of lessons. The world-famous Ivory Clocktower rules from its spot at the top of Athennia Hill, overlooking the island like a castle fit for a king.** **There are golden beaches, forests of tropical ponds, and the Duel Dome where Duelists can play the game of Duel Monsters with an interesting twist. Naros island has its own small chain of three islands branching off of it consisting of Enron, an industrial zone where ships come to unload and load cargo. Azalea, which houses a vast collection of animals for its safari; and Martin island, which is home to high-end neighborhoods and the little town of Paradiso Prima.**

 **Gondolin Island i** **s where the elite Phobos Academy resides. The school grooms its students to become future entrepreneurs, leaders, and Duelists. The RAPTOR security forces have their base of operations at the harbor to the south of the island.**

 **Then Alejandra Island and finally** **Mobius Island which house the citizens of Aquarius. At the edge of Mobius island, is the city of Los Angeles Rojas, a city constructed by junk and parts of old boats that illegal citizens, dubbed stowaways used to sail to Aquarius and live a new life.**


	8. Roaring Black Tyranno: Part 1

_ **Bakura's Report** _

* * *

_**Though he has made some sort of a family with the likes of Pamela, Nicholas, Tyson, and Carter, Yuri's true companionship lies with two youngsters by the name of Crystal and Ren. These two youths have been by his side since the day they were very young. I find these two individuals highly interesting. When these three are together, there is a grand radiance that causes the darkness within me to shutter and grow ill.** _

_**Crystal Anderson. Crystal is a girl who...tragically lost her father just a year after she was born in an oil rig explosion. She is a girl of great beauty and splendor, and of great skill, wielding the most powerful and rarest dragons in all Duel Monsters, earning her the name of Queen of Dragons.** _

_**Though her love for Yuri is great, she is the one who is furthest away from Yuri for a great deal many reasons.** _

_**One) She is what these people call a 'Pop' Singer. She is known all over the world and the city goes through great lengths to promote her music and her products. After following her for some time, I've learned she takes her academics very, very seriously, dedicating most - if not all - of her free time to her studies. When she's not preparing for an exam, she's working and working, always on the run.** _

_**Two) Her life is under control of the island's mafia, a very violent but well-orchestrated criminal organization operating in the underground world of the city. As I write this, she is dating the young man who had Yuri beaten to a pulp; and forced me to call upon the Paradox Brothers to train him in hand-to-hand combat, although those skills have faded since his Duel with the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle.** _

_**Yuri's Duel with the Spirit was not the only magic behind the cleansing of all that I have taught him. The girl's love for him had a hand in that as well.** _

_**Curious** _ _**or, curiousor.** _

_**I'll look into her a little more meticulously. My interest in the girl has been piqued to say the least. It seems that the main ladies in Yuri's life have strong ties to each side of the spectrum here. Pamela -or Patty- her heart is shrouded in supreme darkness. But Crystal...her heart showers all with radiant light.** _

_**And Ren...well...Ren is a rather difficult one. Very difficult. Curiously, he and his family just appeared out of nowhere. They both met when Yuri was still living in the orphanage. For a moment, those two were inseparable but upon turning sixteen, Ren frequently started vanishing for long periods of time.** _ _**He even dropped out of school, which is odd considering he is one of the top students in his class. Someone or something is tearing him away from his friends and his studies. I have a hunch as to 'who' this someone might be. If my hypothesis proves correct, we may have a problem here.** _

_**The bond in their hearts is a powerful one. Something I haven't felt since my battles with Yugi and his pitiful band. If I let Yuri linger in so much light, I will lose my grip on him, and all these years manipulating him would have been all for naught.** _

* * *

**Yuri**

* * *

After another long day at work, Yuri wearily made his way downstairs to the basement and into his room so he could shower and dress into his pajamas. When his sore muscles touched his soft mattress and the warmth and crispness of his white sheets; his body surrendered to sleep. Little did he know he was being watched by a figure lurking in the shadows.

The figure removed her hood to reveal Serenity Wheeler. She never told anyone, but from time to time she would enter the D.D Gates and check on Yuri; watching him grow and making sure he was safe. Now and then she would slip him all sorts of gifts from candy to little toys and even cards. She could not believe he was now a young man.

"Little Daveed," she said in a whisper as soft as the wind. A wide grin on her face, as this was the closest she had ever been to the boy in all these years. "Or is it Yuri now?" She said approaching his bed. Her boots enchanted by a stealth spell, completely muffling her footsteps. She sat at the foot of his bed and stared at Yuri as he slept.

"It's almost time for you to come home," she said rubbing his shoulders.

To touch him sent a chill down her spine. It had been forever since she felt Yuri. She found it almost hard to believe this boy was the baby she held in her arms so many years ago.

"But something tells me your road back to our world will have many difficult challenges," she continued. "So I've brought you a companion to accompany you on your journey."

She took a card out of one of the pockets on her coat.

"I know how much you love these monsters. Yugi tells me this is the perfect card for you. He said he felt it in his heart that this creature belongs to you."

Serenity got up from the bed and walked to his night table where his deck stood. She carefully slipped the card inside. "I'll see you again soon," she said leaning forward towards him. "Your mother and father would be so proud of you."

She kissed his forehead then got up placing her hood over her head. She turned to get one last glance at him before vanishing back into the darkness.

* * *

Yuri lay on a marble bench listening to music on his expensive headphones. The bench was perched on a small hill overlooking the aquatic garden paradise in the front yard which was his mother's prized possession, having nearly worked two years to make it the paradise that it was. She said she had hoped to make it resemble the Garden of Eden from the Book of Genesis in the bible. She did not fail in that aspect, for the garden turned to be one of Yuri's favorite places to go when he wanted to relax and forget about his troubles with the school.

Yuri opened his right eye; the left closed shut to block out the sun's rays. He looked around and thought his mother did a wonderful job with the garden. Rocky waterfalls, forests of palm trees, colorful flowers and a pond with a fountain and underwater lights.

As he gazed at the koi in the pond, Yuri began having memories of walking home at night alongside a man with spiky pink hair who was looking down at him with a bright smile on his face. He wore a black coat and wore a katana or something on his back. He remembered the man placing a comforting hand on his back.

Was it a dream? Yuri wished he could make that assessment, but the image in his head felt more like a memory than a dream even though the spiky-haired man was a cartoon character.

Soon both his thoughts and the silence of the afternoon was suddenly broken by the beeping of the main gate, followed by the crunching of gravel from the driveway. A jet-black Lamborghini Murcielago arrived, parking right behind Mr. Montgomery's car.

 _Where have you been?_  Yuri thought to himself as the door opened.

The door raised open. Out of the expensive vehicle emerged a young, blonde-haired, beauty. She gracefully stepped out into the tropical sunlight like a Greek goddess. She graced Yuri with a beautiful smile and removed her sunglasses. Her skin was almost tan in color as if kissed by the sun's fiery lips. This was no doubt the cause of her always spending her free time bathing in the beaches of Aquarius. Her skin had not a bump and shone brightly in the light like a mirror from the suntan lotion she had applied earlier.

Her face was delicate and heart-shaped. Her lips, naturally red, were covered with glossy lipstick. What Yuri loved about the girl approaching him were her eyes. She was born with a condition called  _Heterochromia Iridium_  meaning her eyes had different colors. One eye was baby blue, and the other was bright green.

A pendant Yuri gave her was around her thin neck, and there was a jeweled hairpin in the shape of a butterfly on the left part of her hair. She wore a very short white summer dress with a ruffled hem, flapping over her thighs with each movement she made.

Crystal Anderson, the girl Yuri's friends observed in the music video, and a dear friend of his since kindergarten.

She walked towards him, her lace high-heeled sandals clopped on the pavement. She stopped and stood over him, smiling until her lips parted like a curtain and her snowy-white teeth could be seen. Her hair, the crisp color of champagne, went down in sensuous curls down her back and blew gently in the salty ocean breeze creating a sort of halo behind her. A sweet, citrusy smell wafted from it, and the breeze carried the smell to Yuri's nose further exciting him.

The old friends just looked at each other and kept silent, both of them waiting for someone to say something and break the silence.

Still smiling, Crystal tilted her head to the left and giggled. Yuri felt his insides grow ice-cold just looking at her. He didn't know what to say to her.

"Say something, silly," Crystal finally said. "A hello would be greatly appreciated right now."

Yuri sat up and removed his Beats. "You're back from Monaco so soon?" he croaked. "I was not expecting you home until after my birthday."

Crystal stepped forward. She leaned down and kissed his forehead just to make him go red, something she found awfully cute.

"I wouldn't miss your eighteenth birthday, Yuri. We've got to celebrate! I have so many ideas about what we can do."

"You do?"

"Of course, I want to throw a party for you. It's not every day someone turns eighteen."

Yuri smirked and let out a soft chuckle. "So you came back to throw me a party, eh?"

"Oh, well, yeah," Crystal said sitting down on his legs. Yuri bit his lip. He hated to think so piggishly, but her butt was so soft. He balled his fists, doing all he could to keep himself from...

"Ahem," he said. "Any other reason why you're here?"

"Well, it's a beautiful day today. I was wondering if you'd like to head to town with me and, you know, hang out."

"I have time," said Yuri.

Just then a red and black McLaren P1 sped into the driveway. When the car stopped, the door immediately opened revealing Yuri's best friend and neighbor: Ren Kakihara. At nineteen-years-old, Ren was looked upon as the older brother of the trio.

"Going into town without me again?" Ren asked as he removed his ruby-lensed sunglasses. He leaned against his car and folded his arms over his chest. The leather of his jacket screeched trying to keep up with his every move.

"Well, you're almost never around," said Crystal said folding her arms as well. She had a cheeky grin on her face. "I called you twice, but you never answered."

"Had a morning date," said Ren.

"Another one?" Yuri asked.

Ren smirked arrogantly. "Ooooh, I don't like that tone of yours, Montgomery. Jealous much?"

"I forgot how to laugh," Yuri responded with a frown.

"So, where are you two headed?" Ren asked.

"Well, why don't we stop by Sergei's card shop?" Crystal suggested looking down at Yuri. "We haven't been there in forever. Now that my album's finished we'll have lots of time to play Duel Monsters."

"I like that idea," said Ren. "You in Yuri?"

"Of course," Yuri replied.

"Sweet," Crystal said tossing her hair back. "I have a mind to buy a few packs. Let's go. Who are you going to ride with, Yuri?"

Ren smiled and let out a chortle. "Come on, Crystal." He gazed at her sitting on his legs. "The way things look now, we all know Yuri always wants to ride with you."

"Hey, what are you insinuating!" said Yuri.

Ren laughed and got into his car. Yuri followed Crystal into hers. He put on his seatbelt and held his stomach as Crystal sped out the driveway and down the road, crossing the long bridge into town. From the window, he admired the wavy design of the bridge. At night, it glowed in blue neon and white lights. He could see the tall buildings of Aquarius's central island, the home of the island's 1%.

He had been there a couple of times. His father making do with their beachside estate because he hated living in the big city, and that was fine with Yuri since he too was not fond of living there either. Aside from the knots in his stomach from Crystal's erratic driving, he was feeling rather glad to be with his two best friends.

He hadn't seen Crystal and Ren in a while. Ren would disappear and reappear making it hard to spend time with him, and Crystal with her music career was always working and studying while constantly on the run. The fact they also went to different schools didn't help any. Ren and Crystal were attending a private school near the ocean on the central island, while Yuri went to the local one downtown.

"So, how's life been?" Crystal asked, eyeing a RAPTOR convoy speeding past them in the other direction. "I haven't seen you in a while."

"Boring," said Yuri.

"I expected as much," Ren said, through the phone on Crystal's smartwatch. "You always say things are so monotonous."

Crystal sighed. "Oh come on, kiddo. You've had to have been doing something fun."

"I guess not," said Yuri. "You'd think that living with a billionaire would have its benefits but..."

"I know what you mean," said Crystal stopping at a red light. She took the time to fix her hair and apply her makeup in the mirror. She, too, was very wealthy, having inherited her father's billion-dollar fortune when he passed away.

Just then another exotic sports car drove up beside them. A cocky group of twenty-somethings was howling at Crystal. The driver was egging her on for a race. Crystal smiled and revved up her engines to show she accepted their challenge.

"Crystal don't!" Yuri cried out, squeezing his stomach. When the light turned green, the boys sped away at maximum speed down the road, while Crystal was still at the light. She broke out laughing and continued to drive.

When they finally made it to downtown Aquarius, Crystal drove into a parking garage. Ren followed behind them. "So what would you like to do?" Crystal asked getting out of the car. Her voice echoed in the concrete walls of the dark and cool parking garage.

The only light source came from the wall lamps casting a boring white glow to light the darkness. The screeching of rubber on the pavement was irritating as was the beeping of the car alarms amplified in the vastness of the building.

"I am a tad hungry," answered Yuri. "Why don't we get a bite to eat first?"

Ren concurred. "Yes, I think that's a great idea. Duel Monsters can be hard to play on an empty stomach."

Crystal shrugged. She wasn't starving, but she could use a bite right about now. "Great. We'll eat at my mother's restaurant."

"I didn't know she was a chef," Yuri said looking at Crystal.

"Oh, she's not; she just owns the place."

The three friends then traveled through the bustling beach town. Crystal ignored the paparazzi that followed her every step of the way. She and Ren held hands to make it look like they were a couple. It took a while, but at last, they made it to their destination, a five-floored building of white limestone and glass. Once they got inside, the staff ran from their posts to greet Crystal, one of whom was the manager.

She was a chubby middle-aged woman dressed in all white from her blazer to her pants. She squealed with delight and clapped her hands seeing Crystal come in to have lunch at her place.

"Crystal darling, it has been too long."

"Hey, how've you been Maggie?" Crystal said bracing herself for Maggie's hugs.

The woman wrapped her arms around Crystal's little frame, completely enveloping her. Yuri heard Crystal's spine crack, followed by two loud smooches on each of Crystal's cheeks.

Maggie let go of her and admired her two friends. "And who are these handsome young fellas?"

"My two best friends in the whole world. Ren and of course you'll know Yuri."

"Yuri!" Maggie said aloud, placing both hands on her chubby cheeks. The sunlight coming through the windows made her periwinkle nail polish flash. "My, my, my, so finally you come out to see the light of day. You keeping out of trouble?"

"I've turned a new leaf," said Yuri, sliding his finger across his chest. "Cross my heart. Those thug days of mine are over. I did it for her."

Crystal bit her lip and blushed.

"Aww, well aint that sweet," said Maggie. "Welcome to you both."

"Uh, thank you?" Yuri said bashfully.

Ren smiled and bowed. "Thank you, ma'am."

"Do you know a place where I can freshen up, Maggie?" Crystal asked.

"Oh?"

"I'm such a mess," Crystal laughed.

Yuri turned his head so as not to see Crystal's top which stuck to her skin from the sweat on her chest. Maggie giggled uncontrollably when she saw this. "Indeed. You can dress in my office. In the meantime, we'll find your friends here a seat."

"Thanks, Maggie, you're the best."

As Crystal left to clean herself a waiter led Yuri and Ren to a table overlooking the ocean and was nestled by an indoor river with exotic fish. Yuri could see that infinite blue line of the ocean and the long white beach overrun with small colorful specks that were the people below.

"What a fancy place," Ren said, moving his head left and right, eyeing the elegant design of the restaurant.

"I agree," said Yuri. "The architecture here is amazing. The gilded arches. The gleaming white walls and the waterfalls make for a swell set up."

Moments later Crystal came out of the bathroom smiling. Ren and Yuri couldn't help but stare at her as she walked out of the elevator. The hem of her dress seemed to flap with every movement.

"Doesn't she shine like a new penny?" Maggie asked Yuri who did not respond.

Yuri got up and pulled up a chair. Crystal thanked him and sat down as the waiter came and introduced himself. He took out his notepad ready to take their orders. Crystal ordered herself salmon with a baked potato and Yuri ordered prime ribs while Ren had himself a bone-in rib-eye, which cost more than what Yuri made in a month at the card shop.

Crystal twittered and told her two friends that lunch was on her today. The waiter bowed and ran to the kitchen coming back just moments later to serve them their drinks.

"Oh, Pierre," said Crystal.

The waiter turned.

"Yes, my lady?"

"Can you make sure that nobody with a camera is allowed up here? I would like to eat with my friends in peace."

"At once, my lady. I'll send Jonathan down to make sure paparazzi don't come and interrupt your meal." He went back to the kitchen.

"You look amazing," said Ren, admiring the small diamonds sewn onto Crystal's dress. She sparkled with each movement she made.

"Oh, thank you," said Crystal. She picked up her glass of water delicately and drank it. "So how's the business been for your father, Yuri?"

"It's booming all of a sudden," Yuri answered. "There have been pre-orders for some new machine my dad built. I don't know what it is, but he said it would revolutionize the game of Duel Monsters."

"Ooh, sounds exciting," Crystal.

"Mind if I join you?" asked a young man arrogantly walking towards them.

He was twenty years of age by the looks of him, and he also appeared obnoxious in attitude for his state of dress. A blazer, buttoned shirt, and slacks; all colored black. His brown hair was slicked back and caked with gel. On each of his fingers, he wore expensive rings, one of them the signet ring of his family showing off the emblem of a crowned phoenix spreading its fiery wings in front of a shield with crossed rifles behind it. The skin on his face was smooth and gave a soft glow when the sun shone down on him.

Brett Martinetti, nephew of Lucio Martinetti, the head of the mafia who ran Aquarius' underground. The floating city's security did little to phase their operations, which included minuscule things like the shipping of rare cards to terrible operations such as human smuggling. It was thanks to Brett's family that Nick and Sam were smuggled into the city and adopted by Consuelo.

One would think RAPTOR would have done them in by now, but the Martinetti family had enough money to make those mercenaries look the other way.

Brett used his ties with the Mafia to get whatever he wanted, be it money, cars, rare cards, and girls. He had the grin of a cunning wolf on his face as he took Crystal's hand and kissed it.

"Oh, great," Yuri muttered.

"Keep calm, little brother," said Ren. "We don't want to start another incident."

Crystal gave a painful smile and greeted the young man who interrupted their meal. His name was Brett Martinetti, the nephew of a mafia lord who controlled the underground of the city.

Crystal's smile was weak and Yuri saw that she was trembling. She seemed to force her lips into that smile. "Not at all," Crystal responded nervously. "Have a seat."

"What are you doing here?" Yuri asked.

Brett slid the chair back and sat down. "Oh, I was just testing out the new Ferrari father bought for me. That's when I saw you, Ren, and dear Crystal walk into this fine establishment. I just had to join you."

Yuri watched as Brett admired Crystal's dress. Ren folded his arms. He still kept a smirk on his face however it was weak. No doubt he was using it as a diversion to hide his irritation; for he too had little tolerance for Brett's presence.

"So how do you like the new car I gave you?" Brett asked. A curious eye rolled toward Yuri's direction to see his reaction to the news. Ren noticed this too. He could see right through Brett like a window. He knew how close Yuri and Crystal were, and he liked to pull at Yuri's emotions by showering Crystal with expensive gifts and trips to secluded islands in the Keys and in Greece.

Crystal blushed and cleared her throat to answer Brett's question about the car. She, again, forced her pink lips into a smile and said: "Oh, it's dear. I love it."

"You bought Crystal the car?" Yuri asked with a gulp.

Ren nudged him softly in the ribs. He pursed his lips and looked down at him while giving off a stern 'ahem.' It was his way of telling Yuri not to fall to Brett's taunts.

"Indeed I did," Brett said superciliously answering Yuri's question. "For her birthday. And, uh, what did you get her Montgomery?" He looked at the choker around Crystal's neck. The girl saw this and blushed even more, giving her cheeks the likeness of a ripe peach. She looked down at her lap to avoid Brett's cold green eyes.

"A rose-shaped diamond on a strap of leather?" Brett scoffed. "It looks like a collar. What, Yuri, you believe Crystal a dog?"

Crystal's mouth fell wide open.

"Hey it was custom made!" said Yuri. His voice was rising. "I made it the way she wanted it."

"Now, now boys," said Crystal. "I loved both your gifts very much. Please play nice, would you?"

"Right," Brett said, rudely snatching the menu from the waiter who came to attend him. He insolently read his order to the young nervous waiter "Steak; medium-rare, and add extra gravy to the mashed potatoes? And a bottle of your finest champagne. Can you do that?"

"At once sir!" the friendly waiter stammered.

Yuri just sat there the rest of the time listening to Brett boast about his accomplishments over the past few months.

He cut into his steak chewing politely before looking at Yuri. He wiped his mouth with a white cloth napkin and said, "How's the card game business been for you, buddy?"

"I wouldn't know," said Yuri, looking down at the beach. "I'm not part of it. I just live off of it."

"Ah, yes scraping off your father's fortune. Although, I doubt you can call him father."

"Huh?" said Yuri.

"What are you saying, Brett?" Crystal asked.

"Well, mother, tells me Yuri was found dumped in the yard. It makes me wonder who your parents really were. They probably were piss poor if they discarded you into the doorstep of a hard-working family the Montgomerys. Of course, some say that you were first found in the orphanage that was burned down not too long before they found you."

"What! Well, it's not true!" Yuri said, his voice was getting louder.

He could feel anger roll up in his chest. Seeing Brett's grin grow even wider made him want to leap from his seat and tackle him. He could. Though he left his fighting days behind him, he still had the strength to smash Brett's face into a bloody pulp. Brett knew this as well, however, he was not the least bit worried. Yuri was under restraint from the authorities.

One wrong move and it was back to the Black Tower with him. If that happened, the school would no doubt expel him; he was already in enough trouble with all the hell he caused in his freshman and sophomore years.

"Why are you really here, Brett?" Ren asked. "To make a nuisance of yourself like last time?"

"No, relax man, I was just curious. I overheard my mom and Yuri's mom talking one afternoon. Mrs. Montgomery seemed rather secretive about it."

"Maybe you misheard!" said Crystal.

"Whether or not you were dumped in the bushes is not my place to say," said Brett. "If the topic distresses you so much, then I will drop it."

"Good!" said Yuri.

"But, if the event were real..."

"Brett!" snapped Crystal. Slamming her fist on the table, shaking the plates and silverware.

"I'll say it again, guys, I'm just curious. I was rather shocked when I heard them speaking. If the fact that Yuri was left on the doorsteps is true, it leaves a great mystery of who his real parents were."

"Well there is no mystery," said Ren. "So just drop it!"

"Perhaps it can explain why his eye is always glowing?" said Brett.

"My eye?" said Yuri.

"Of course," said Brett. "Nobody in the Montgomery family has a weird glowing eye. I took the liberty of studying the Montgomery family tree just last night. There was no one in the lineage with a condition like yours, Yuri. And get this, my mother said she never saw your mother pregnant."

"Huh?"

"Our moms have known each other for quite some time, Yuri. She said Paula never had a plump stomach. Yet, you came out of the blue. How do you explain that?"

"That's enough!" snapped Ren.

"Well, Yuri?"

Yuri just stared at Brett, narrowing his eyes like a predator ready to strike at its prey. In this case, Yuri was a lion and Brett was a large rhino, who was just as deadly. Suddenly, Brett's phone buzzed. "Pity," said Brett. "Urgent family business. Well then, I believe I must go."

He dropped three one hundred dollar bills onto the table. "I got this one, guys. See, Montgomery, I'm not so bad." Brett turned and left. "Smell ya later, guys."

"What's his problem?" Yuri asked when he was finally gone.

"I'm sorry guys," Crystal said, sadly.

"You going to be okay?" Ren asked, handing her a napkin.

Crystal sniffed and cleaned her tears. "I'm sorry. Poor Yuri deserved more than that."

"Well, what are you gonna do?" Yuri said. "People like him are everywhere."

"I know," said Crystal.

"Want to head for the card shops?" Ren asked. "I'd like to start Dueling."

"Oh, I would," said Crystal. "But...I'm afraid I have some family business to take care of. I just got a text from Mother. I'm sorry guys, but we're going to have to cut this day short."

"Well, I hope all goes well," said Yuri. "And if you're free this week, Crystal, want to go to the beach?"

"I'd love too," Crystal said. "I'll put that as a maybe on my schedule. God, it's been so long since the three of us were at the beach. Just the three of us, together. And hey, I was wondering if you'd like to come with me to a party next weekend, Yuri."

"A party?" Yuri asked

Crystal reached into her purse. She dug around for a moment.

"I don't know, Crystal," Ren said, folding his arms. "Do you think he's ready for the big time?"

"I know he is," said Crystal. She then handed Yuri the invitation. "It's being hosted by Henry Frost. He's throwing another ' _I'm the richest Duelist in the universe'_ party in a couple of months."

"And it's also to celebrate the launch of the new piece of technology from Phobos Corp," Ren added.

"Dad's company?" Yuri asked. "Must be that pre-order thing everyone's talking about."

"Well, Yuri, wanna go?"

"I don't know," said Yuri.

"Pleeeease," Crystal said making puppy eyes.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Yuri snapped. "Don't think those are going to work on me!"

Crystal made the cutest whimper as her lips trembled. Yuri surrendered and said: "All right, I'll go."

"Those eyes," Ren said taking Crystal's hand and planted a soft kiss on it. "No one can ever resist them."

Crystal smiled and playfully rolled her pretty eyes. "You certainly have a way with girls, Kakihara."

"Yeah, a regular Casanova." Yuri pouted.

After they had their dessert, Crystal and her friends had to go their separate ways for the day. She waved goodbye and got into her car and drove off. The echo of her car's engine thundered in the garage, and her wheels screeched as she took off. When she was gone from sight Yuri got in the McLaren with Ren.

"So what makes me so interesting?" Yuri asked as Ren sped out of the garage.

"You're our little brother Yuri. At least that's how Crystal feels about you."

"And how do you view me?"

"The same," Ren said with a grin. "And I also see you as a Duelist with some potential. Don't you think that words on that musical pendant of yours mean something?"

"Passionate Duelist," Yuri murmured.


	9. Roaring Black Tyranno : Part 2

**Yuri**

* * *

Ren drove through town until he found the red sign of the game shop. He chuckled softly when he saw the entrance shaped like a ferocious red dragon guarding a horde of cards. He found a place to park in the shop's newly constructed parking garage, though the fee to use it left Ren really frustrated.

"Five bucks," he said, sliding his card across the machine. "Damn, Sergei, you're killing me. Don't I pay that old geezer enough scrounging pack after pack for the card I want."

They walked down a set of glass stairs into the third floor of the game shop. Ren whistled. "This place is so huge. It's like a fucking mall in here."

"Being a game shop, there's going to be kids, so please watch your mouth, Ren," said Yuri.

The automatic doors slid open, letting Yuri and Ren step inside. They were blasted by a gust of cold air from the store's air conditioning. Their noses picked up food from the shop's burger stand, and the shop thundered from the surround sound intensifying the sounds of the Duel Monsters as they combated one another. Small children were playing by the Duel Tables so they could see their monsters fight on the screens.

"Ah, Yuri!" called Sergei. "And I see you've brought a friend. Ren, old boy, long time no see. It's almost like we don't see your ass anymore, good to see you son."

"Sergei," Ren said, shaking his hand. "I had a bit of business overseas. Which reminds me." He dug into the pocket of his jacket and handed him something wrapped in tin foil. "It's from you-know-who, and it must be put deck you-know-which when the time comes. But take care of them. He wants them back as soon as possible."

"Very well," said Sergei. He took the package.

"What is that?" Yuri asked.

"Nothing to concern yourself with, my boy," said Sergei. He opened the safe underneath the Playboy bunny floormat behind the counter. "They will be safe in here, Ren, trust me."

He stood up and then handed Ren a thick stack of hundreds. Ren flipped through the bills with his thumb. He cut the wad in half.

"Half for you," he said.

"You are very generous. How is the old boy doing, Ren?"

"I wouldn't worry about him. And don't ever mention him again."

Sergei looked at Yuri and nodded. "Right. You two have fun. I believe Patty and the others are waiting for you, Yuri."

Ren bowed respectfully. He put an arm over Yuri's shoulder and led him away. Yuri wanted to know what in the world just happened. A million questions were just lining up at his tongue, ready to bash Ren until Yuri got answeres.

But something in his gut told him that it was probably best to stay out of Ren's affairs. He heard rumors that Ren was probably running as an errand boy for the Martinettis. If that was the case, then he really didn't want to know what went down between him and Sergei.

"Yuri!" Patty called from a table upstairs. "Over here!" she was waving her arms to get his attention.

"Friend of yours?" asked Ren, following Yuri upstairs. His eyes on Patty, who was sporting black tank top and a ruffled pink and black skirt.

"Yup," Yuri answered.

"Pretty."

"Don't start," Yuri said, going up the steps.

"Whoa," said Nick, looking up from his Duel with Patty as Ren and Yuri came up the stairs. "Is that Ren Kakihara, the former champ of Aquarius?"

"How do you know Ren, Yuri?" Tyson asked, shaking Ren's hand. "Pleased to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine," said Ren.

"What gives, Yuri?" Patty asked. "A former champ is your friend and you didn't tell us?"

"You must excuse him," Ren chuckled, softly. "Yuri has a knack of keeping his female acquaintances from me. Especially the cute ones, Miss…"

"McKnight. Pamela McKnight, but my friends call me Patty."

"Pleasure to meet you, Patty," Ren said, taking Patty's hand and kissing it.

"Oooh…" Patty swooned.

"Can you focus on the match please?" scoffed Nick.

"You'd best concentrate on those face-down cards she has," Ren said, gently letting go of Patty's hand. "I wouldn't attack if I were you."

"Dude," said Nick. "You think because you're a champ you can tell me how to Duel?"

Ren frowned at him. "Calm down, I'm just trying to help."

Nick brushed him off with a wave of his hand. "Whatever. I summon Destroyer Golem. Pretty, sweet move, huh?"

"No, not even for a beginner," scoffed Ren.

"I wasn't asking you, hotshot!" said Nick.

"If you want to survive her next turn, you should play that card in defense mode."

"It's your move, Patty," Nick said, ignoring Ren's advice.

"I summon my Dark King of the Abyss," Patty said, slapping her card onto the table.

"Please," Nick laughed. "Your skeleton man can't stand up to my golem. Why don't you quit while you have the chance?"

"Because I'm playing these cards," Patty answered, flipping up her two face-down equip-spell cards. She put them on her monster. "Sword of Dark Destruction and Dark Energy!" she boasted.

"What are those?" asked Nick, scratching his head.

"The Sword of Dark Destruction is a vile blade forged for Dark monsters," Tyson explained. He took a sip of his soda, trying his hardest not to laugh and make Nick feel bad. "It gives them a juicy boost in power. And Dark Energy increases the power of Fiends too. With those powerful artifacts equipped to her monster, Patty can wipe out your golem, and then some."

"Uh…no!" babbled Nick.

He looked at the Duel Screen next to their table. Patty's skeletal sorcerer raised up his new sword and shattered his golem to pieces.

"That brings your Life Points down to zero, Nick, once again I win."

"Man, you suck at this game, Nick," laughed Carter. "And you expect to get into the pro leagues."

"Not if he keeps making mistakes like that," Ren jeered again.

"I would have won had it not been for you, Ren," Nick said raising his fist. "You broke my concentration. How's about you and I have a match?"

"You don't want to do that, Nick," said Yuri. "He was crowned the Champion of Aquarius for a reason."

"Back out of this, Yuri!" snapped Nick. "He's not so tough. Crystal Anderson saw to that when she kicked his ass three years ago. He hasn't been able to win his title back since. So, what do you say, Ren?"

"Very well," Ren said sitting down after Patty got up. He sniffed the air. "That's a lovely scent you're wearing," he said to Patty. "I believe it's the latest from Crystal Anderson's newest perfume line. Very classy."

"Oh…thank you," Patty said blushing.

"I'll let you start first," Ren said, turning his attention to Nick.

"Fine," said Nick. "I summon Armaill in attack mode!"

**ATK/800 DEF/1300**

"And he screwed up already," Patty said shaking her head and adjusting her bow.

"Can you beat that?" Nick asked.

"And how," said Ren. "I summon the mighty, Gray Wing." Ren played a dragon with brownish-black scales and a white underbelly. Its wings were a dull gray color.

**ATK/1300 DEF/700**

"That's a good card," Carter said looking at the screen to see the dragon rendered in 3D. "But don't you usually use a Warrior deck?"

"I usually do," Ren answered politely. "But not against amateurs like this guy."

"Amateur!" snapped Nick.

"This is a random deck I play with for fun," said Ren. "It's an assortment of my favorite monsters in the game. If I used my real deck, this Duel would be too easy. Now, Gray Wing, attack his Armaill!" Ren commanded.

The dragon soared over the arena and showered Armaill with a blast of its fire breath.

Ren snorted. "I set a card and end my turn."

"Okay, that was a good opening move," Nick said sending his monster to the Graveyard. His Life Points were now at 1400. "But you're going to have to do better than that if…"

"Please," Ren interrupted. "That attack doesn't even count as my best. So do us all a favor and cease with the 'you can't beat me' crap. As far as everyone's concerned this match is already over. I place a card face down and end my turn."

"Already over, huh?" Nick said drawing his card. "I think not because I'm summoning my Wolf Axewielder to the field."

**ATK/ 1650 DEF/ 1000**

"His attack strength is sixteen-fifty. That's more than enough to slay your Gray Wing. Attack now!"

"You are such a dunce," Ren said, flipping up his face down card. "Activating my spell card: Rush Recklessly. This card will boost my dragon's attack by seven hundred points. Making him more than a match for your Wolf Axewielder."

"No!" Nick said. He looked at the screen and saw the dragon burn his wolf warrior to a crisp. He lost 350 Life Points dropping his score to a mere 1050 Life Points. "Well, my wolf won't be gone for long. I activate the spell card: Monster Reborn. Now my wolf comes back to the field. And you got nothing to protect your dragon."

"Again, you are just plain pathetic," said Ren. "You just made your wolf nothing but a big target for my dragon."

"As if," sneered Nick. "My wolf's got sixteen-hundred-fifty attack points, while your Gray Wing has only measly thirteen hundred attack points now that the effect of Rush Recklessly is over. Do the math, ya dope. My wolf's gonna win."

"So you, say," Ren said drawing his card. "You think this game is all about who has the strongest monster. You just rush in head-on, thinking because your monster is a few points stronger that you're going to win the fight. I'll show you the error of your ways, kid. I play the spell card: Dragon's Gun Fire. When I have a dragon on the field, I can activate this card and choose one of its two effects. And I'll choose the first, which will deal eight-hundred points of damage to your Life Points."

"Oh no!" cried Nick.

His points dropped to 250.

"Now for another spell card. Block Attack. This card will force your monster from attack to defense mode."

"So what?" said Nick. "If you attack my monster I won't lose Life Points."

"Until I activate this," Ren said equipping his dragon with a card called Fairy-Meteor Crush. "Now with this card, my dragon can inflict damage to your Life Points even if your Wolf is in defense mode."

And with that attack, Nick's Life Points went to 0.

"Holy crap," said Tyson.

"Well spank my ass and call me Charlie," said Patty, placing her hands on her hips. "He creamed you with one monster, Nick."

"You ought to be ashamed," Ren said, shuffling his cards and stuffing them back in a leather deck case. " Gray Wing is one of the weakest cards in my deck. If you can't stand up to him, you have no business in the pro leagues."

"Argh, but how?"

Yuri sighed and said: "I told you, Nick, you need to utilize spells and traps. Traps to keep your monsters safe and spell cards to boost their power. Combing is an important aspect of this game."

"This isn't over, hotshot," sneered Nick. "I'll beat you yet."

"Humph, challenge me when you win an official Duel. I don't waste my time with arrogant fools too stuck up to know they lack the skill to play."

"What?!"

"I was only trying to help and give you some hints. But you thought so highly of yourself and blew me off. I can tell when I'm not wanted. Yuri, I will make my leave."

"Are you sure, Ren?" Yuri asked.

"I'm sure. Do you have a ride home?"

"I'll take him home," said Patty. "We can drop him off, after closing time."

"Well, it was a pleasure meeting you guys, some of you anyway. Yuri, maybe next time we can go on our card buying spree."

"I'm sorry, Ren. He'll be better behaved next time."

"Let us hope," Ren said, walking downstairs.

"Nice job, ya creep!" said Tyson. "All he wanted to do was give you some pointers for the match."

"Do you always have to be such a jerk, Nick?" Patty said, sternly folding her arms. "Show some respect. He's the state champion."

"I know all those rich-boy players," Nick, shuffling his cards. "I could have taken him if my good cards weren't at the bottom."

Patty scoffed and rolled her eyes. "You need to have good cards in order to have good cards at the bottom."

They continued to play until sunset. By then, all the customers were going home, and Sergei was ready to close the game shop. Patty went outside to find her vehicle.

Yuri then got a text on his phone. "Hey, guys, I have a ride home after all."

"You sure, Yuri?" Patty asked, putting on her jacket.

"Yeah, someone I know is coming to get me."

"Well, okay, hon. I guess I'll see you at school."

"Yeah, see you in school, Yuri!" called Nick, as he followed his friends out the door.

Yuri gave a long sigh, picked up his cards and said goodbye to Sergei and the others before stepping outside.

"Be here on Tuesday after school!" called Sergei.

Yuri waved his arm as he exited the shop. A gesture to show he heard and understood. Once he got outside, he saw that it was raining heavily. "Curse this tropical weather," he pouted.

He heard a soft ' _ahem_ ' mixing with the torrential downpour.

Yuri turned around to find Crystal leaning against the wall of the shop still clad in her white dress, but she had a denim jacket over it to shield her from the chill of the stormy wind blowing about. Her flower-shaped diamond was looking like a star around her neck as it reflected the light.

Crystal looked up at Yuri. Then she smiled. Her cheeks blushed red, and her eyes flickered in the dull white light of the fluorescent lamp underneath the arched awning of the store.

Uh-oh, thought Yuri. He knew that look, and it meant trouble.

"So. Want to know how to really play Duel Monsters?"


	10. Roaring Black Tyranno: Part 3

**Yuri**

* * *

Yuri followed her to her car. Night had fallen by the time they arrived at their destination. Crystal took Yuri by the arm to a domed arena with floodlights moving back and forth in the rainy night sky.

"What is this place?" Yuri asked.

"Wait till you see," said Crystal as they walked past a fountain of silver and glass.

"You're gonna yank my arm off woman!" he cried out as she dragged him down the path to the building.

"Hey look," Nick said spotting Yuri and Crystal going into the dome. He, Tyson and Carter stood in line ordering hot dogs from a stand nearby. Patty was in her car, waiting for them to get their food.

"Wasn't that Yuri?" Tyson asked. "What business does he have in that new Duel Dome?"

"And who was that girl?" said Patty. "She looks awfully familiar."

"I don't know," said Nick. "But we're going to find out. I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I think Yuri's been keeping secrets from us. Come on you guys."

"Wait up!" Tyson called out, chasing Nick down the street. Carter was gasping for air, running to try and catch up. Patty got out of her car and pulled her jacket over her head before chasing down her companions.

"Hey, what about your hot dogs, kids?" called out the vendor. "Kids? Hey!"

Meanwhile, inside the dome, Yuri began to feel his heart beating. The Duelists in the building looked out of his league, many of them had arrogant looks on their faces.

Crystal said they were the best players in the world, many of them traveling from afar to try out the new technology that was being shown off in this strange Colosseum-like building. The dome rumbled as if shaken by an explosive. For a brief moment, Yuri heard a powerful roar booming from down the halls as if a horrible monster was being kept inside the walls.

"What is this place?" Yuri asked, nervously.

"Come on," said Crystal taking him to one of the desks in the central atrium. "What arenas are free tonight?"

"We have arena one-thirty-three available, Miss Anderson," The pretty receptionist answered.

"Thank you. We'll take it."

"Okay, just sign your names here."

Yuri and Crystal signed their names on the list then sat on cushions by the giant colorful fountain at the center of the atrium. "Crystal what the hell is going on?" Yuri asked.

"How do you not know about this place?" she asked.

"I do. It's just my dad told me to steer clear of it."

She laughed and then leaned her head on his shoulder. "Well, you've got a big mouth after all. You can't keep secrets even if your life depended on it. Well, I've got to say, I missed you, little guy. I'm so glad to be back home."

"How long before you leave again?" Yuri asked, knowing well enough to know that Crystal's visits were always brief. If there wasn't a big tournament for her to play in, it was another one of her concerts that dragged her away.

Crystal did not reply, and instead pulled out a bar of chocolate from her jacket. She unwrapped it, breaking off a small brick which she offered for Yuri. He took it and ate it in. He looked at her, still awaiting a response when: "Eek!" she yelped.

She looked at Yuri and started laughing. "Oh, damn! A piece of chocolate fell in between my boobs!"

Yuri rolled his eyes. "And what, pray tell, do you want me to do about it?" he asked.

Crystal punched his shoulder playfully before digging through her purse for a napkin. "You could help or something, dude! Oh man, I can feel it melting! My bra is going to be ruined! Do you have any idea how much it cost?"

"Want someone to lick it off?" someone asked obnoxiously. "Well, well, well, Crystal Anderson. We meet again."

"Oh no," said Crystal, turning to see a young man with gelled blond hair dressed in a clean pin-striped suit.

"I thought I'd find your lovely little ass here," he sneered.

"Yuri, this is Randall Lawson," Crystal said with disgust. "He won last year at regionals."

"Oh," said Yuri. "Pleased to meet you." He extended his hand.

The boy cackled. "Ha, you're not worthy to shake my hand!" Lawson said, refusing Yuri's handshake.

"Is that so?" said Yuri. "Then excuse me."

"Well that was rather rude," said Crystal. "What do you want, Lawson?"

"I want a rematch. You know, that Duel we had back at the Phobos Corp Ball? I would have won if you didn't shuffle my deck wrong."

"Oh, give it up," said Crystal.

"So what do you say?" said Lawson. "You game?"

"No, but my friend here is."

"Wait, what?" Yuri said in shock.

Lawson laughed. "Please. This guy probably couldn't even Duel his way out of a paper bag. I'd have a rougher time playing a game of solitaire. I want a challenge, Crystal. I want the champion. I want the Queen of Dragons. I want you." He licked his lips. "Yeah, damn right I want you."

"Then face my friend," said Crystal. "Come on, Lawson, you're always bragging about your power. Why not show it off tonight?"

"All right, fine. I'll Duel him. But if I beat him, you and I will play, no questions asked."

"It's a deal then."

"Good, then let's get started."

Yuri and Crystal followed Lawson to an arena down one the halls. When Yuri walked through the sliding metallic doors, he felt his breath getting sucked right out of his body. Lawson led him into a stadium big enough to hold more than a hundred people and the arena had two platforms. One was red, and the other was blue.

Lawson chose the red one and hopped on.

"Hold on," said Crystal. "I know he's no dinosaur, but, I want you to have this." She reached into her purse and took out a shimmering card from the Premium Gold Series.

"Wow, thanks," said Yuri.

Crystal planted a kiss on Yuri's lips. "Good luck, now go kick ass, honey."

Yuri eagerly jumped onto the platform. It rose high up. The height caused Yuri to grow uneasy. He heard the machinations hiss and whir as the platform took him higher above the arena. He set his deck down on some hi-tech interface. A scoreboard above the field read 2000 in white numbers.

Crystal looked up at the VIP box and saw Brett staring down at the arena with a scowl on his face. She sighed heavily. It didn't surprise her that Brett would be here tonight. "You can do it Yuri!" she cheered him briefly. "I'll be right back."

"Wait, you can't just let me do this alone!" Yuri called out.

Crystal turned and blew him a kiss and climbed the stone steps to where Brett was going to watch the match. He was not happy. Crystal remained oblivious to Yuri's pleas for her to stay.

She reached the top of the stone steps to the VIP box where Brett was waiting. He grumbled impatiently pouring himself a glass of champagne.

Suddenly, the lights in the arena turned off leaving everything in darkness. It was dark. Too dark. Yuri almost felt like going into a panic, for he couldn't see a thing. And then the playing field began to light up, illuminating the stadium in an eerie green glow.

"You're putting him up against the regional champion?" Brett asked.

"I have a feeling he can win," said Crystal. "I know he can..."

"What's wrong with you?" Brett asked. "You think you can just scheme your way into making Yuri a good Duelist?"

"Scheming? Whatever do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb, Crystal," Brett said walking so close to her they went face to face. "I saw you putting a card into his deck. If you think that monster will be enough for Yuri to defeat Lawson, you are sadly mistaken, kid."

"Well, if he's so skilled, what reason do you have to get so angry?" Crystal said with a cocky smile. "And what if Yuri wins and proves you wrong?"

"You better hope he doesn't," snarled Brett. "Lawson is my protégé. I spent a lot of time and money getting him where he is. And if he loses to Yuri because of your interference, there will be consequences."

Brett tapped on his engraved platinum and gold belt buckle. Crystal gulped then frowned and stomped her right foot forward causing Brett to back off. "I don't care what you say!" she said with spite.

Brett backed off, surprised at the girl's sudden outburst of courage.

"If Yuri wins tonight it's because he's gotten better at the game. Sure I may have given him a card, but you're right; it won't be enough to ensure a victory. That just proves that if Yuri wins, it's because he's got the skills to beat your protégé and to participate in the tournament this summer."

"Never!" said Brett. "I will never allow it. Leon will allow it.

"That's not up to you to decide," said Crystal. She looked down at Yuri on his platform as he drew his cards. "Come on, little guy. Kick his ass."

"Let's do this!" cried out Lawson. "I summon Master and Expert!"

There was a glow on Lawson's side of the field. Suddenly a man in red armor and bright green scarf appeared alongside a four-legged beast with a hungry look on its face, with a bright gold mane.

**ATK/1200 DEF/1000**

When Yuri saw the beast he yelped and almost fell backward. Whatever was going on, the monster had come to life. It was snarling, breathing, grinning and laughing. The arena even seemed to produce the creature's odor.

"It's real!" Yuri shouted. "The monster's real!"

He wanted to jump off and run away, but he saw how high he was. He wasn't going anywhere. The beast was so realistic it was frightening.

"It's not real you idiot!" sneered Lawson. "It's holographic technology. The scanner on the interface reads the cards we play and renders them in holographic form."

"Your father just started using it in last year's tournament," Crystal called out from the VIP box. "That's why business was booming Yuri."

"Why am I the last to know?" said Yuri.

"That's what you get for not paying attention to the game, Yuri," said Brett. "How the hell are you Jacob's son?"

"Wait a minute did she just say your father was the one behind all this?" said Lawson. "If that's so, then you're a Montgomery." He snapped his fingers. "Of course, that explains that weird glow in your eye. Jesus, Yuri, you really are a freak." He shivered with excitement. "Wow, this is going to put my name on the map when I beat both a Montgomery and the Queen of Dragons in one night."

"You're not beating anyone yet," said Yuri. "I summon Armored Lizard!"

Yuri's field started glowing too. Then out came a two-legged lizard in armored blue flesh armed with razor-sharp claws. It screeched upon being rendered on the field.

Nick, Tyson, Carter, and Patty ran into the arena. What they saw caused them to stop in their tracks.

"LOOK!" shouted Tyson.

Patty gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.

"No way!" said Nick. "Real monsters!"

"It can't be," said Carter.

"Great," scoffed Brett. "Yuri's little lackeys are here polluting this beautiful arena with their filth."

"What is your problem?!" shouted Crystal.

"Don't you raise your voice at me, little lady!" Brett said furiously, slapping the back of his hand.

Crystal grimaced and looked back at the field in time to see Yuri command his monster to attack.

**ATK/1500 DEF/1200**

"Armored Lizard attack!" commanded Yuri. But he said it with such enthusiasm. It felt like he was commanding the monster to attack and do his bidding. The holograms did bring a new feel to the game. It wasn't like casual games at the card shops. Yuri's heart was racing. Sweat was coming out of every pore in his body. His hands shook, and his legs were quivering. This match felt like a real battle.

His monster gave a shriek and ran to its opponent. It used its sharp claws to cut Master and Expert into ribbons.

"Yes!" cheered Crystal.

"Hmm," said Brett. He took a sip of his champagne. "Not bad."

Lawson's Life Points dropped to 1700.

"Okay, so you have a little fight in you. Time to step things up a bit. I summon the Mystic Clown!"

Lawson summoned a strange, mad fiend wearing a purple leotard decorated with eyes and a weird colorful mask.

"Mystic Clown?" said Yuri. "But his attack points are the same as my Armored Lizard's. They'll destroy one another."

"That may be so," said Lawson. "But I'd have to be a fool to send my Mystic Clown on a head-on attack with your Armored Lizard. That's why I'm performing a combo. I use the equip spell card, Dark Energy. This spell card boosts the attack and defense of Fiend monsters by three hundred points."

The clown had a dark aura glowing around him. He gave a hideous cackle and began to dance, taunting Yuri as his attack increased to 1800. The creature shot out a ball of black energy at the Armored Lizard. Yuri's monster shattered like glass upon being struck by the energy blast. His Life Points dropped to 1700 as well.

"Now we're tied!" said Yuri.

"Don't make me laugh!" said Lawson. "I use the spell card, Goblin's Secret Remedy. It will increase my Life Points by six hundred points."

Lawson's Life Points went up to 2300.

"Oh no!" gasped Crystal.

"I told you, little lady," said Brett. "Yuri's got no chance against my student."

"Oh come on Yuri!" shouted Nick. "You didn't have any traps or anything!"

"Come on, Yuri!" coached Crystal. "The game is still young. You can do it!"

"Pipe down!" Brett grabbed her by the collar of her jacket, pulling her back from the window.

"That girl again," Patty mumbled to herself. "Just who is she?"

So far Yuri had a bad draw.

"Drooling Lizard!" he cried out, summoning a yellow-skinned lizard with a hard green shell and a long black tongue. "Defense Mode!"

"You think that pathetic reptile will be enough to hold out against my clown?" laughed Lawson. "Go, Mystic Clown! Attack his lizard!"

"Oh-no," Crystal said again. She watched in horror as his array of Reptile monsters were slaughtered.

Three turns went by.

Yuri lost his Ancient Lizard Warrior, and then his Lizard Soldier followed by his Mechaleon.

"Stop wasting my time!" shouted Lawson, after the Mystic Clown destroyed his Krokodilus. "If you have nothing that can stand against my clown, then forfeit the match!"

"You leave him alone!" shouted Patty. "God, this jerk is all talk!"

"Okay, here we go," said Yuri. He drew. "Giga Gagagigo, Attack!" Yuri shouted summoning his new monster. It was a tall human-like lizard with a green-skinned body toned with large muscles. It had a thick tail swinging behind him. The beast was protected by thick, polished metal armor.

With 2450 attack points he made short work of the clown. The damage to Lawson was 950 dropping his Life Points to 1350.

Yuri gave a leap. "YES! Now I'm on the offensive, Lawson! I will play a card face-down and end my turn."

"Now it's my turn," said Lawson.

"So far you've been getting your butt kicked Mr. Regional Champion!" teased Nick.

"I don't recall letting you dweebs into the arena!" shouted Lawson. "I would kick you out, but defeating this poor excuse of a Duelist in front of his peers just sweetens my victory which is now upon me."

"Oh yeah?" said Patty. "There's probably nothing in your deck that can stand up to his Giga Ga-Ga whatever-the-fuck-it's-called."

Brett, meanwhile, drummed his fingers on the bar top. "Ultra-Rare; twenty-four-fifty attack points; I suppose that Giga Gagagigo was your doing, Crystal?"

Crystal twiddled her thumbs and looked away to avoid his stern gaze. "Well...I had to, Brett. Yuri needs an edge."

Brett nodded. "It's a good card, but I'm afraid it won't do him any good. If that cybernetic lizard is the only powerful card Yuri has in his deck, then this Duel is over."

"How do you figure that?"

"Watch."

Lawson held up a card. "I now activate the ritual spell card: Garma Sword Oath!"

"Augh!" gasped Crystal. "A ritual monster!"

A tablet rose from the ground, shaking the arena. Nick, Tyson, Carter, and Patty hung onto the rails for dear life. After the tablet towered over the field, two golden torches with a wdjat eye appeared on either side of it spewing purple flames.

"Now I'll tribute from my hand my Ancient Brain and Masked Sorcerer in order to ritual summon the mighty Garma Sword!"

The two monsters appeared on the field. The flames then engulfed the monsters, sucking out their life forces which turned the flames blue. The torches spewed out their icy-blue flames onto the field. From the flames, Yuri saw a silhouette. The flames dispersed revealing the creature.

A monkey-faced warrior, wearing a midnight blue head ornament and a skirt. It had pearly-white armor over its torso and had six arms holding onto sharp curved white-gold swords.

**ATK/ 2550 DEF/2150**

"That's an impressive monster!" Patty said, after a loud gulp.

"Damn right he is, my dear," boasted Lawson. "Garma Sword is the rarest and most powerful card in my deck! He has won me countless victories, spelling doom on my opponents when he arrives on the field. And how's about I boost his power with Malevolent Nuzzler!"

A green-skinned fiendish maiden appeared behind Garma Sword and put her arms around his neck. She whispered in his ear a spell that sent him into a rage that boosted his attack by 700 increasing his attack to 3250.

"His monster's attack just boosted to the top of the charts!" Crystal yammered.

Brett gibbered making his wolfish grin. "Lawson's just showing off now. He's never had to boost his monster's attack like that before. It looks like he wants to make an example of your friend. So unless you sneaked a Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth or a Gate Guardian in there; Yuri's got no chance."

"Oh...I'm so sorry," Crystal said sympathetically.

"ATTACK!" roared Lawson.

His Garma Sword ran to Yuri's field. The six-armed warrior slashed off Giga Gagagigo's limbs and tail. Yuri lost 850 Life Points dropping him to 850.

"And now I'll burn you good with a little Ookazi. This will deal 800 points of damage to you, Yuri. Feel the heat!"

The flames surrounded Yuri. They were dangerously real. They fooled his brain and his senses to make it feel like he was being burned. Yuri screamed in agony then fell to his knees.

"Brett we have to stop the match!" cried Crystal. "The holographic systems are too much for him."

"You brought him into this, Crystal," Brett said with a sinister smile. "And why should I stop the match? He's down to his last fifty Life Points."

"Don't give up Yuri!" cheered Nick.

"Come on, you're still in this man!" cried Patty.

Yuri drew his card.

"Swords of Revealing Light!" shouted Yuri.

"YES!" cheered Crystal. She jumped and clapped her hands.

Swords of pure light fell from the sky and encased Garma Sword. The swords prevented Lawson from attacking for three turns.

"Oh man, the excitement." Crystal jeered.

"This isn't your ordinary children's card game, kiddies," Brett agreed, looking down at the frozen monster.

"What good will a three-turn delay do you?" sneered Lawson. "You're only prolonging the inevitable. Well, while you cower behind your swords, I'll boost my Life Points back up with the power of Dian Keto the Cure Master."

Lawson's Life Points increased to 2350.

"I then summon my beautiful, Succubus Knight!"

Lawson summoned a six-armed woman wearing a red leotard the revealed her shoulders and the upper half of her breasts. There were two bat-like ornaments over her chest and crotch. She smiled at Yuri, and provocatively licked her lips.

"That will end my turn," sneered Lawson.

"I draw," said Yuri. "I summon Black Dragon Jungle King, with an attack strength of twenty-one hundred."

Yuri's dragon impressed his friends. It was one of the strongest cards in his deck. It was a wingless, chubby beast with black scales and a royal purple underbelly. It's claws, spikes and horns were made of ivory.

**B. Dragon Jungle King**

**ATK/2100 DEF/1800**

"Attack his Succubus Knight!" Yuri commanded his dragon.

His monster belched purple flames that fried the female monster to a crisp. She cried out in agony. Her colorful leotard ripped away in the flames along with her flesh. Lawson lost 500 Life Points bringing him to 1850.

"Ha!" laughed Lawson. "That's fine with me. But I'll take some more Life Points with a little Red Medicine for good measure."

The spell increased his Life Points by 500 now raising him back to 2350.

"Hey, that's not fair!" exclaimed Patty. "No matter how much damage Yuri does to him; Lawson just increases it on his next turn."

"Now he's just toying with him," said Tyson. "There was no need to boost his points by that much. He's already got Yuri on the ropes."

"This guy is nothing but a bully," Carter growled. He felt like beating the stuffing out of the arrogant rich kid.

"And now I'll get rid of your dragon with the spell card: RAIGEKI!" Lawson cried out, dramatically holding up his card in the air.

Dark clouds swirled over the battlefield. Then bolts of lightning fell from the clouds striking the field until Black Dragon Jungle King was hit The monster roared as the powerful bolts of electricity cooked his body. The dragon shattered like glass. Yuri and his friends stared hopelessly at the smoldering crater on the ground where the dragon once stood.

"So much for your dragon, Yuri!" Lawson said, followed by a laugh.

"I play a monster in defense mode!" said Yuri.

"My turn!" said Lawson. "Ha! That defense monster won't do you any good. Look at this! I drew the spell card, Stop Defense. Now, on my next turn, when I'm free of your swords, I will activate this card and force your pathetic monster in attack mode so my Garma Sword can finish you off once and for all. I end my turn!"

The swords vanished. Now Garma Sword growled and stretched his arms and swung his blades through the air to warm up his muscles.

"Ugh, I can't watch," Patty said burying her face in her arms.

"Don't cover your eyes, babe," sneered Lawson. "You're going to miss one hell of a show." He followed his taunt with a cartoony laugh.

"I wish there were something we can do to help," said Nick.

"All we can do is put our faith in his next draw," said Carter.

"Come on," said Crystal.

"I draw," said Yuri. "Huh...what's this?"

"Just end your turn already!" shouted Lawson. "It doesn't matter what card you drew, kid, this match is over!"

"I think not," said Yuri.

"You've got nothing that can stand up against my Garma Sword. Just forfeit!"

"I won't," said Yuri. "I drew just the card I needed. The Black Tyranno."

"What the hell is that!" shouted Lawson.

"I've never heard of that card before!" Brett whispered.

"I didn't put that in his deck!" Crystal whispered. "What the hell is that?"

Everyone stared in awe as the ancient monster appeared to the field. The creature stood over twenty feet high. It had black armored flesh; spiked bands on its arms; a long tail; thick, powerful legs; teeth as long as swords and bright golden eyes. It roared so powerfully that Lawson felt a trickle of urine go down his pants.

**Black Tyranno**

**ATK 2600 DEF/1800**

"I don't know what he is or how you got it," said Lawson. "But color me impressed. Having said that, he's still not tough enough to take on my Garma Sword."

"Who says my Black Tyranno will attack your Garma Sword?" Yuri said with a confident snicker.

"I have no other monsters for you to attack!" shouted Lawson. "You have no choice but to attack my Garma Sword!"

"Not until I activate this!" said Yuri. "I've got a spell card called Block Attack. This card is the exact opposite of that Stop Defense spell you have in your hand. The spell forces your monster from attack position to defense position."

"What's the point in that?" sneered Brett from the VIP box. "Yuri may destroy Lawson's Garma Sword, but no Life Points will be lost."

"And for my final trick," said Yuri. "I use De-spell and destroy your Malevolent Nuzzler."

"I still won't lose points, Yuri!" Lawson arrogantly repeated himself.

"And now for my Black Tyranno's special ability!" Yuri announced loud and proud. "When you have nothing but defense position monsters on the field my Black Tyranno can attack you directly."

"WHAT!" shouted Lawson.

"No way!" Brett said, with a change in tone. "Incredible power! Where did he get a card like that?"

"Yuri?" Crystal whispered. "You're actually going to beat him."

The Black Tyranno gave another roar then dashed for Lawson. He stomped Garma Sword and then gave a mighty whip of its tail dealing 2600 damage to his Life Points. No one could believe it when Lawson's scoreboard dropped to 0.

"I lost...but...but how? I... I'm the regional champion. There's no way this nobody could have defeated me."

"All right, Yuri!" shouted Nick. "You did it!"

The platform lowered. Yuri collapsed to the floor.

"Whoa, whoa, give him some air guys," said Tyson, seeing Yuri sitting on the edge of the platform, exhausted.

Sweat fell from his forehead in large drops. His body was quivering as though he was out in the cold.

"That was sick man!" Nick said, fist-bumping Yuri.

"Yuri!" cried Patty. Her legs were quaking. "You were amazing. I can't believe you pulled it off."

"Not only did you win," said Carter. "You beat the regional champion!"

"Let's hear it for Yuri, guys!" Nick shouted as he and Tyson picked up their friend and paraded him out of the arena.

The two of them began to sing:

_For he's a jolly good fellow! For he's a jolly good fellow!_

_For he's a jolly good fellow who kicked the champion's ass!_

* * *

**Crystal**

* * *

"He did it!" Crystal laughing with both excitement and disbelief. "You really did it!"

She was about to go down to congratulate Yuri but she felt a vice-like grip on her wrist.

"Come on. I'm going to take you home," Brett snarled.

"But I just want..." said Crystal.

"NOW!" shouted Brett. And with another powerful yank, he dragged Crystal down the halls and out of the arena. Crystal had no choice but to follow him. She looked back down the hall towards the entrance to the arena and smiled.

 _You were great tonight, Yuri. But I have a feeling you'll only be getting better_.

* * *

**Yuri**

* * *

It was a good thing he lived in the basement. Otherwise, someone would have heard him screaming.

Yuri, sitting up in his bed, was breathing slowly, drenched in a cold sweat. His heart racing in his chest; biting, gnawing and thumping as if escaping from his body. He was surrounded by darkness causing him to whimper in despair, thinking the creatures in his nightmare were probably lurking in the shadows ready to murder him. He fumbled through the dark, looking for the damned lamp.

He felt the table beside his bed, knocked over his deck, spilling the cards all over the floor. He found the bottom of the table lamp and caressed the stem all the way up until he found the chain and tugged it illuminating his room with its soft light.

There was nothing but his room.

He buried his face in his sweaty palms and softly cried. The numbers on his clock read 3 AM. He dressed into a pair of jeans and slipped his denim jacket over his bare torso and ran out of the house. He needed to get away from his room. He needed to see his world. A stroll past the shore would calm his thoughts hopefully. The crickets chirped alongside the hissing cicadas in the trees. He heard the soft hum of cars in the distance. He put his hands in his pocket and slowly strolled down the sidewalk towards the bridge into town. The lights of Aquarius's central island lit up the ocean. The pearly-white metallic street lamps lit his way, washing him in their dull orange glow.

"Yuri!"

"Ren," Yuri said, turning around to see his friend walking behind him.

"Damn man, it's almost four in the morning. What are you doing out so late?"

"I just wanted to go for a stroll," Yuri answered, sheepishly.

"You look distraught," Ren said, lighting a cigarette. "Everything all right?"

"Yeah...sort of."

"Come on, let me join you."

The two men made their way down the bridge. A few cars rode by disrupting the silence for a brief moment. Yuri then stopped and leaned on the black railing, resting his chin over his crossed arms to look at the dark sea. The moon, slowly fading into the horizon, caused the water to glimmer. A bouey was ringing somewhere in the darkness. He heard waves crashing against the shore not too far ahead.

"What's with that getup?" asked Ren. "You're not exactly in the kind of shape to be walking about shirtless.

Yuri looked down at his bulging belly. His knack for eating fast food after school was finally nipping him in the bud.

"How's Crystal?" he asked. "I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to her after my victory against the regional champ."

"She's fine," Ren responded, exhaling smoke. Yuri coughed, causing Ren to chuckle. "If it bothers you so much, you could just tell me to put it out."

"I can handle it," coughed Yuri, fanning the smoke away from his face. "Was she able to get home safe?"

"Yeah, Brett took her home."

"I hate that prick," Yuri grumbled. "I can't believe he has the audacity to do what he did and just hang around us like nothing happened. The way he treats her. You'd think he owns her or something."

"To some extent," Ren said, flicking his cigarette into the sea. "His family does manage her music career,"

"You should make a move," said Yuri. "Before it's too late."

"I should say the same about you," Ren said leaning back on the rail beside Yuri.

"What are you talking about?" Yuri asked.

"Oh, you know what I'm talking about. Remember when we were kids? You and I would go through hell competing against one another for her affection. Who could run faster, who could Duel better, who could buy her better gifts."

"And you would always beat me," said Yuri. "As of right now, I concede. I knew it was hopeless since the day we met her. She's always liked you most. I see the way she looks at you."

"Me?" Ren said with a grin.

"Mm-hmm," said Yuri. "What chance do I have to get a girl like Crystal? I'm just a delicate little flower, remember?"

"Yuri don't..."

"I don't care, Ren. Do something before Brett beats us both to her. Damn...sometimes...sometimes, I just want to kill him."

"That's a pretty strong statement, kid; you really feel that way?"

"I can't help it," Yuri replied sadly. "Not after all he's done. I think it's because of these feelings that I've been getting these dreams."

"Patty told me about that online last night," said Ren. "She said you've been talking about them all month."

"They're horrible," said Yuri. "It also explains what I'm doing out here."

"You had another one?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I guess," said Yuri.

"What happened?"

"I saw..., Well, I don't know what I saw,"

"That's pretty vague," said Ren. "And here I was, on my toes, expecting a real horror story."

"It wasn't a clear picture," Yuri retorted. "Not at first, but over the past couple of weeks, they started getting a little more transparent. I could see...a city on fire. It looked like it was being attacked."

"A city?"

"Yeah, but it looked medieval,"

"Medieval?" Ren asked again.

"Yeah, ramparts, castles. It was dark. The rain was falling from the sky. Then these...horrible monsters just burst through and started attacking. They began killing people...butchering them. Men, women, children...babies."

"That's horrible," said Ren.

"I could even smell the fires...I could hear the people screaming. Those monsters...grunting...killing...eating. The weird thing is, these feel more like memories than dreams. Like I've been there before."

"Deja vu?" Ren asked.

"In a manner of speaking," Yuri replied. "But that's impossible, right? Castles, monsters, magic. There is no way I could have led a former life in some dungeons and dragons bullshit."

"No," Ren chuckled. "No, not really, no. What else did you see?"

"I saw cartoon characters looking down at me."

Ren burst out laughing.

"Yeah, pretty dumb, huh?"

"Man, and I thought I had problems," Ren said, breathing slowly to catch his breath.

"Don't tell, Crystal," said Yuri. "She's worried about me enough as it is,"

"I won't say a word," said Ren, laughing again. "Do you feel better?"

"A little," said Yuri.

"Come on then," said Ren. "Let's go home."

They started walking back. Ren stopped.

"You know, Yuri, despite all your flaws, I love having you for a friend."

"Likewise," said Yuri, following Ren back to the estate.

* * *

**Yami**

* * *

**_Domino City, The Kingdom of Eredas_ **

**_The House of Gray_ **

* * *

The famous tri-towered skyscraper known to all as the House of Gray dominated the city and could be seen for miles around. Yami observed the city of Domino from the glass walls of the elevator that took him to the top floors where the King and Queen would be waiting for him and discuss the alliance with their son, Michael Octavius Dalton the Crown Prince of Eredas. The skyscrapers looked like mere toys from where he was. They glittered from the countless windows that went down their structures, and the neon of the lavish Queen's District lit up the ground below in pinks and lustful red. He formed a grin when he spotted the Kaiba Corp towers in the distance with searchlights crisscrossing back and forth behind the building. It was Kaiba's way of distracting the folk of Domino from the dominance of the House of Gray which towered so high into the sky, some rooms had views that were blanketed by the clouds.

Yami's host, the young Yugi Muto appeared next to him in phantom form. "You sure it was a good idea to leave behind the gang?" he asked. "They were really looking forward to helping us with this mission."

Yami kept his gaze on the city lights below. "It was better this way," he responded blankly as if he wanted Yugi to drop the conversation.

"Whatever you say," said Yugi. "But if you ask me, I think it would have been best if we stuck together."

"I understand your concern," said Yami. "But the assassins from the Sisterhood have been activated again. I fear traveling together could put our friends at great risk."

"Well, if you say so," said Yugi. "It doesn't feel right without them by our side."

"We will see them again when our business with the Termnnian Princes is done. And if we make our progress without any interruptions or delay, we should be able to invite them all within the month."

"Sure is a long way to go," said Yugi. "And we barely got King Augustus to allow his son into your alliance. I sure hope you know what you're doing, Spirit."

Yami cleared his throat, remembering the intense negotiations he and King Augustus went through to allow his son into the Alliance. He looked at Yugi and said: "Orcs are gathering in numbers across the sea in the Black Continent. And if Termnnia remains divided by petty politics, we will not survive their onslaught. If Termnnia falls, the whole world will follow suit. And the age of shadow shall return to rule us once again. And this time, it will be on a more permanent basis. My alliance is our only hope to unite our broken land. And Prince Daveed needs all the help he can get when it's time for him to return and put on the crown. These boys will no doubt aid him in becoming the ruler he is destined to be. The Goddesses have chosen him to sit on the Diamond Throne, Yugi. And I will do all in my power as an Eyar to see their plan come to fruition."

"These means a lot to you, huh?" said Yugi.

"This isn't just for me," said Yami. "Or Yuri. The fate of the world depends on their friendship."

_Ding!_

The elevator came to a stop and shook when it reached its destination. Yami turned around as the doors slid open, revealing a long hallway of glass and walls of black with gold ornamentation. A line of iron lamp posts went down the length of the halls with benches of polished wood perched in front of them. Every ten feet down the hall a chandelier of the finest crystal hung lighting up the majestic and gloomy halls of the Dalton Family's home. The light of the three moons shined through the glass walls and cast shadows of the window's grids on the floor. A troop of tactical soldiers stood at attention and shouldered their assault rifles in respect for Yami Yugi.

"Atten' Hut!" shouted the captain.

Yami bowed as he walked past them. A man awaited him, dressed in a suit and tie with gold armor plates placed here and there. His jet-black hair was growing silver in the roots and his eyes weary with the troubles of so on and so forth that he constantly had to deal with as the king. His wife bowed in respect for the ancient wizard. Her hair was honey-blonde and highlighted with black. Curled bangs swirled down her heart-shaped face.

"Your Grace," Yami said, kneeling.

King Eldon smiled and gestured politely for Yami to stand. "How many times must I tell you, my old friend, there is no need to bow."

Yami laughed and shook Eldon's hand. "Pardon me if I feel it necessary to show respect to the king and queen of my home country. Queen Nanna, you look as radiant as ever. Age has done nothing to you it seems."

Queen Nanna giggled bashfully and held out her hand. "Master Yu-Gi-Oh, you sure do have a way with words."

Yami bowed before taking her hand and kissing it. The diamonds on her fingers glittered brightly before his eyes, almost blinding him. When the pleasantries have been exchanged, King Eldon extended his arm down the hall, signaling Yami to follow him. White-robed guards holding up rifles that doubled as banners followed by a squad of black tactical knights who looked like modern-day soldiers in armor plating.

"I trust you are here to see my son," King Eldon said.

"You sound disappointed," Yami said, sensing the dread in the king's voice.

"You must forgive me, Master Yu-Gi-Oh," said King Eldon. "We tried to communicate with you, but you don't seem to carry a phone. I fear the prince has gone off into town again."

"He has not come back, My Lord?" asked the captain of the guard.

"I wonder where he's gone to with his new bike?" said Queen Nanna. "Ser Diego, please send your best men into the city and see if you can find my son."

Ser Diego bowed. "Why must he worry us?" he said speeding away with three of his men.

Yami smiled. "So, Michael's gone off again."

King Eldon nodded. "I'm afraid so. He's been rather rebellious since turning eighteen in May. All he does is go the clubs with his friends, Duels late into the night, and hangs around with that girlfriend of his, Crow."

"Is she a love interest?" Yami asked.

"Heavens, no!" Queen Nanna replied briskly. "He had the audacity to bring her into the towers one afternoon. A very brutish girl born and raised on the streets. She wore a top that showed off her belly and had on these shorts that were so small half her buttocks were sticking out! And in OUR royal court! Can you believe that? But there is no doubt in my mind that there is something going on between them. He turned down our offer to marry him to the Princess of Glassnesse and the Baroness of Wheatmeadow; both of whom are very lovely young girls. Yet he still stays with Crow."

"He is in love then," said Yami. They made a turn down the hall toward a glowing fountain.

"He cannot," said King Eldon. "I forbid it. And he knows better than to defy me in this prospect. Still, it irks me to know he just up and left knowing full well of your coming. I cannot begin to thank you for all your doing, Master Yugi. This alliance is what we needed."

Yami nodded. "We can discuss the terms of the alliance with or without Prince Michael's presence," said he. "So, you have agreed to lend all authority of your military towards Michael should the day come that the High King requests aid?"

"I shall," Eldon agreed, "provided the High King sees to his end of the bargain and uses his Divine Beasts to ward off our enemies during the time of war."

Queen Nanna sighed. "I pray to the Goddesses that no such a time comes."

King Eldon spat at her prayer for good fortune in the future. "Your prayer is all for naught. It's in our nature to fight, my love. But let's hope our enemies are Orcs and not our neighboring countries. I am baffled you managed to get Katina to get into this alliance, Yugi."

"They had no choice in the matter," Yami said, following them past the fountain and up an escalator toward the throne room. It was dark in there with only the lights along the sides of the escalator illuminating the way up, but they were so small and dull that they did a poor job of doing so.

"What makes you say that?" asked Eldon. "You didn't bribe them did you?"

"No, of course not," Yami answered. "It's just that while the Orcs are still far away, we have another enemy here on our own soil. The Covenant of Yeyu."

"Ugh," scoffed Queen Nanna. "Those radicals of the Church. Hang them all I say!"

"Indeed," said Eldon. "I am beginning to make sense of Katina's predicament. They are so close to Naralia, that the Church no doubt sneaks its way into the kingdom to spread their message."

"But, it's illegal for us to spread our faith in their lands!" said Nanna. "Talk about a double standard."

"Nevertheless," said King Eldon. "We will be happy to allow our son control of the armies should the need arises. You have my word."

"Thank you, Your Grace." Yami bowed and left them.

* * *

**Crystal**

* * *

The drive back Brett's seaside mansion was a long and silent one. Brett remained in his seat, face glowing red in anger and no doubt humiliation for seeing his prodigy get beat by Yuri, who was often called out for having no skill whatsoever in the game. He breathed heavily like an elephant after a powerful spring. Deep down, Crystal started getting scared. Normally Brett would be kissing her and fondling her as they were driven back home. If he was in no mood for that, then she really was in trouble.

The stretched limousine stopped in front of the lavish golden gates of Brett's mansion. Two guards wielding AR-15's waved, welcoming their young employer back home while the gatekeeper pressed a red button forcing the gates to fold open.

A chill of fear ran down Crystal's body when the limo jerked forward and moved again. She felt her heart whacking against her chest, demanding to be let out and escape the punishment that was about to take place.

The limo made a slight curve to go around the pond with the glowing fountain in the center of the courtyard. Four of Brett's security guards went down the steps in unison and split off to go on each side of the limo to let out Brett and Crystal from their own doors.

"Welcome back, sir," said Santiago, his twenty-two-year-old right-hand-man.

"Ma'am," said the guard escorting Crystal. Something wasn't right. They were meaner than usual tonight. They walked on either side of her as they followed Brett to the backyard to his private golf course overlooking the moonlit ocean behind the palm trees. Crystal was forced to stand on top of a hill watching Brett shoot balls into the night with his club.

"I'm very disappointed in you, Crystal," Brett said, putting another ball on the tee. He readied himself for the shot. "Very, very disappointed. You know how much time and money I put into making Randall the Duelist he is now?"

Crystal remained silent, eyes glued to the moonlight. Brett scoffed at her muteness and whacked the ball.

"No, I didn't think you would." He set up the tee and put another ball on it. "Do you know how much money Randall's family paid me to make him the powerhouse he is? Or sorry, I mean was." He whacked it away, and again he set another. Crystal guessed he was doing this to control his anger, and she prayed it was being cooled by his game.

"Crystal, Randall's father is the son of the Secretary of Defense! I got paid a bundle to make sure his kid was good at something because before I came along, Randall was shit. Randall was nothing but an embarrassment to his family. I whipped him into shape with Duel Monsters. When he won the regionals, his father was so proud and offered a four-year contract to my uncle's PMC. We're talking three hundred million dollars, babe."

He laughed and whacked another ball away. He leaned against the club as he let out his laughter. "You can imagine my disdain when he called and yelled at me for the loss." He laughed so hard he snorted. "The internet can be a cruel, cruel bitch; I'm sure you can relate."

Crystal narrowed her eyes.

"Word got out of how Yuri beat Randall with that Black Tyranno. Quite an impressive monster that Black Tyranno. Pity he's in the hands of a weak Duelist like Yuri."

"If he's so weak, then why did he beat Randall?"

"So you're gloating at me now, huh?" chuckled Brett. "Naw, naw, go ahead. Have your moment. Have your moment. You earned it. You made Yuri make me look like a complete fool. So...how did you get Mr. Montgomery to make Yuri that card?"

Crystal gasped, gingerly placing a hand on her chest. "Excuse me! You think I gave him that card?"

Brett looked at her and grinned. "I don't think," he tapped his temple with a ringed finger. "I know. I know you gave it to him. Of course, after Mr. Montgomery printed it. You two never liked me. No doubt you'd send that punk Yuri to go do you dirty work."

"You really are insane," said Crystal. "I had nothing to do with the Black Tyranno and neither did Jacob."

Brett leaned back, waving his golf club in circles. "So the card just came out of nowhere, right?"

"Get a grip on yourself! So Randall lost. It's just a game."

Brett narrowed his eyes. His smile faded. He looked at both the guards standing beside Crystal and nodded at them one-by-one. Before she could even ask what he was doing, they grabbed her by the arms and slammed her to the ground.

Brett tossed Santiago a golf ball. The young mercenary caught it and laughed maliciously, ordering Crystal to pucker up her lips so she could hold the ball up with her mouth. She whimpered and shivered in fear, wondering what they wanted to do with her. She felt something hard and cold tap against her skull.

She looked up. Brett was looking down at her, his cruel smile back on his face. The golf club waving back and forth over her nose. He was going to hit her with it. She whined, shaking her head. "D-d-don't do it. I'm sorry," she said. The ball rolled off her mouth. Santiago slapped her and put the ball back on her lips. She sobbed.

"Randall's father was not too pleased with his son losing, Crystal," Brett said, still waving the club over her face. "He cut off the deal, costing us millions. I promised him Randall would be undefeated. And he was...Until now. Losing to a nobody just shows how weak he truly is. Your interference with that match cost me my reputation. My family's good name. This game is so much more than a moronic children's card game, Crystal. I don't know how I can make you understand that. Look at all I have. Look at all Yuri has. Look at what you have. This game brings power to those who know how to play it. The more you win, the more power you gain. Everyone wants to sponsor you. Everyone wants to be you. The commoners worship champions like you and me as though we were gods!"

He held out his arms dramatically and sniffed the air as though he were breathing in his own power like a drug.

"And there's one thing you have to understand, tootsie. Yuri's father may have invented the Duel Monsters, but that doesn't mean he owns it. No, no, no. It's my game, Crystal. My game." He raised the club over his shoulder with a loud woosh. "You understand?"

WHACK! The ball was launched off her mouth and zoomed into the night. Crystal yelled and rolled to her side in agony, for the club hit her right on the lips. Blood trickled from the side of her mouth.

"This thing isn't over, Crystal," Brett sneered, admiring his work. "Thanks to you, Yuri has a big target painted on his back. That Black Tyranno sure is something. One way or the other, it's going to be mine." He tapped the club against her temple. "And if you ever interfere again, I'm going to nail your blonde ass to my office door! But before that happens, you're going to see Yuri well acquainted with the fishes; forgive me for being cliche."

He rubbed his chin.

"Ah, I've always wanted to say that though," he said fixing his tie. "Makes me feel like a real gangster. All right, fellas. Pick up the bitch and send her to her room. Oh, and you better clean that up, baby. You've got to shoot a video tomorrow for your new album. Sweet dreams."

Santiago and the other guard picked Crystal up. "Get up!" he growled, yanking her by the arms, and dragging her away.

* * *

**Mai**

* * *

The Royal Guard could not help but follow her with their gaze as she passed by the vast halls of the Spire of the Kings. Clad in a royal gown of deep violet embroidered with gold trim, Mai Valentine was a beautiful sight. She was called the Delight of Termnnia, for she was the most beautiful woman on the continent. Her hair was like molten gold, and her infatuating eyes shone like rich pieces of amethyst.

Her lips were the color of rose petals and her skin a fair shade of cream. She had the body of a goddess as well and had no shame in showing it off with racy attire as she attended Court, or when she took her strolls about the Spire. Every step she took, men bowed and would say to her: "My Lady" even though she was not of nobility.

She used to be, belonging to the Great House of Valentine, whom without her would be now extinct. She blamed herself for that. Though her family were well-known for mining diamonds from the roots of the Great White Mountains and had a formidable fighting force, they were wiped out during the Maiden's Crusade; a small conflict that was started when five Great Houses rallied together and attacked Mai's family. Not for the gold mines, the golden rare cards in their library, or the extravagant jewelers who worked for them, but for her hand in matrimony.

The war which caused the deaths of thousands was to see who could have Mai Valentine as a wife. But none of them could have her; for she fled the violence and sought refuge with High King Antar, who was a dear friend of her father.

Antar punished the Houses involved in the war by summoning his Divine Beast, Slifer the Sky Dragon, and obliterated the armies of her enemies whilst they fought in the Fields of Red outside of her estate. However, the mines were pillaged and her castle and home destroyed, leaving Mai with nothing. But, she was allowed to live with Antar in the Spire of the Kings.

Soon after, High King Antar personally made it law not to bother Mai, under pain of death. For this, she often smiled, not believing there was a law in the Archives that was made just for her.

"My Lady," more love-stricken men would say as she passed through the halls with rivers flowing on either side of the path through the spire. One man tried to approach her with a bouquet of flowers and a diamond ring, but he was stopped by a Black Luster Soldier who blocked his path with a massive sword.

"By order of the High King, none must bother the Lady Mai of the House Valentine. Turn back now, lest you wish to suffer the consequences."

Mai heard this and turned to look at him with a snicker, breaking his heart. She continued her walk to the throne room so she could look at the Diamond Throne before she went to bed.

"We are about to lock down the throne room for the night, My Lady," said a warrior of the Diamond Guard, elite knights who guarded the High King, The God Cards, and the Diamond Throne.

For this honor, they wielded magical swords made of diamond and rare Ellenanian Steel with their choice of enchantment from fire, frost, lightning, or a more devious one that could suck the life out of the victim and be transferred to the wielder for healing purposes.

"I will be quick. I promise." Mai said with a wink. She puffed out her chest to show off her round bust so as to infatuate the guard. "Please," she begged playfully. "Just ten minutes. For me?"

The knight blushed. "Very well, My Lady, for you. But, remember, ten minutes."

"Very well," said Mai, walking past him. "Oh," she said seeing Serenity up ahead looking at the Diamond Throne.

Serenity Wheeler, the younger sister of Ser Joey the Black Dragonknight, was clad in her engraved silver armor of the order she used to fight for, The Silver Paladins. A blue skirt trimmed with gold designs wrapped around her hips. Her legs were covered with black leather leggings. A dark blue bow was placed on the back of her head with the greatest of care.

It was dark in the throne room. All that lit up the massive chamber was the pale platinum glow of the moons outside and the lights which shined in the pool that surrounded the Diamond Throne. Two waterfalls fell on either side of it and it was surrounded by statues of the five greatest kings in the history of Termnnia.

Mai only knew the identity of two of them. The first was Norman the Conqueror, who was a Supreme King in the Dawn of Time, thousands of years before the Diamond Throne was even built. The second was Tiberius Pendragon the Uniter; he was the first High King and founder of the Spire of the Kings and builder of the Diamond Throne.

"Hey you," Mai said approaching Serenity. Still midway through the hundred-yard-long rectangular pond with large fountains shooting hundreds of feet into the air. "What are you doing here?"

Serenity turned to look at her. "Hey, Mai," she said, almost in a whisper. She looked back at the Diamond Throne and smiled in absolute wonder at the incredible craftsmanship. "Isn't it beautiful?" she asked. "I can't imagine what it must be like to sit on that pretty throne."

"It must be pretty tiring," Mai chuckled, looking at the golden stairway that led up to the throne, which towered twelve feet above the hall.

It was surrounded by small fountains. The back of the throne rose fifty feet into the air. Fifty feet of pure gold with a glowing gem centered in the middle. It was by far the most precious gemstone in all the known world of Keya. The Tear of Horakhty, which was blessed to High King Tiberius when he unified Termnnia and fought back the Norman Invaders thousands of years ago.

"All the High Kings and High Queens who have ever sat on it," said Serenity.

Mai scoffed and stopped right next to Serenity so she could marvel at the throne, too. "Queens. Not so much. The days of the High Queen ended after House Pendragon went extinct with the passing of the Star Queen. But don't you get any ideas about sitting down on it now. The God Cards will wreak their vengeance on you and turn you to ashes."

"Were I that crazy," Serenity replied emotionlessly. "I can't believe that in a few months, we're finally going to have a High King again."

"You mean Daveed?" said Mai. "Well, not just yet. Remember, to be a High King, one must be an elite Duelist. So first, our little prince has to attend Duelist Academy. You got your certificate, right?"

"I did," said Serenity. "I am now a qualified teacher in the arts of Fusion."

"Fusion, huh? Why's that?"

"Well, my new Red-Eyes Black Dragons are based on Fusion. I have Black Skull Dragon and Meteor Black Dragon as my main monsters. Prince Marcel of House Walston promises to give me the newer cards if I prove myself as a Duelist."

"So, you're finally getting your Red-Eyes?" said Mai. "Honey, I'm so proud of you." She kissed Serenity on the cheek. "I know it must have taken a lot of practice."

"You have no idea," said Serenity, counting the diamonds of the Diamond Throne. "I found out the hard way that I can't use cute or pretty little monsters the way I used to when I was a little girl. There's only so far a Fairy's Gift can take me in a match."

Mai laughed. "And the dozens of times my Harpie Ladies tore that pixie to shreds didn't teach you that lesson already?"

"I guess because we only played for fun," said Serenity.

They heard footsteps. Both of them turned to see who their visitor was. It was Téa coming to join them in front of the Diamond Throne. "I thought I'd find you guys staring at the throne again," she said. "So, just a few more months, huh?"

"Summer just can't get here any quicker," Serenity said impatiently. Her shoulders trembled as if she stood out in the cold. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms and her feet stamped on the ground.

"What are you doing here?" Téa asked.

"Just getting a look at the throne before we go to sleep," said Mai. "What are you doing here?"

"The same thing, I guess," Téa said, admiring the throne. "Our little guy sitting down on that thing. Kind of hard to imagine, huh? That little thing we used to hold in our arms."

Mai chuckled softly. "You don't have to remind me, hon. Those are my fondest memories. I just wish his mother and father were alive to see this."

Téa nodded in agreement. "I'm sure they'd be very proud of what we've done for their son. Hell, there were times I thought of Daveed as mine. Or, what was that name you said they gave him in the other world?"

"Yuri," said Serenity. "It means lily flower. Isn't that cute?"

Mai raised an eyebrow to show how awkward she thought of his nickname. "Uh...I can't imagine having a High King with a cute name," she said. "We have the Conqueror. The Uniter. The Knight of the Sun. But...the flower?"

"Why not?" asked Serenity. "Either way, I'll still be so glad to see him. Wow, I can't believe eighteen years have gone by so quickly."

"And here you thought it was going to take forever," said Mai. "Any word on Yugi?"

"Nope," said Téa, her face scrunching into a scowl to show her frustration at him leaving their group the way he did. "But Grandpa is here."

"Solomon?" Mai asked. "What for? I thought he was in Katina looking for scrolls."

"He had to come back," said Téa. "He said he's preparing for a voyage further west across the ocean. There's something of great importance over in Normandia."

* * *

 


	11. In the Woods Somewhere

**Mai**

* * *

Mai got out of bed and wrapped a dark red blanket around her naked body. She approached the balcony silently, walking on the balls of her feet so as not to wake Serenity, who was sleeping like an angel in her bed across the pool in the middle of her room.  She opened the glass and gold doors and stepped onto the balcony to overlook the Bay of Kings. In the distance shined Dallian Academy, a private school for students looking to enter the elite Duelist Academy far across the sea to the East. Helios -The sun- had not shone over the mountains yet, but its glow announced its arrival. The three moons were slowly fading behind the sea and the sky was a mix of warm gold and lavender. Mai smelled the sweet, salty air to calm her nerves. 

She was outraged that the Senate would agree to Antilles's ridiculous terms. While it did have some merit behind it, it was foolish to keep the little prince stuck in the other world. Deep down, she knew sending him there was a bad idea. It was one thing getting him in there, but another getting him out. After all, Gates were not to be used as many times as one desired. There were rules and laws all over those blasted things. For one, no one from the other dimension was allowed to know about the other. Yes, there were few who fled through the Gates during the reign of Anubis, but they were stuck in their dimensions forever under pain of death.

She felt the blanket slip and reveal her back and buttocks. The cold air wasted no time kissing her exposed flesh. She shivered and pulled the blanket up over her shoulders. 

"I hate politics," she mumbled. She looked over the railing and saw a familiar little boat sailing towards the sea. It couldn't be. "Yugi?" she whispered. "Where the hell is he going?"

"He's going to begin setting up his Alliance," Téa said, walking out the darkness clad in a pink night tie. "I'm glad I'm not to late. I was hoping to see him before he left. I have a feeling we're not going to see him again for a very long time."

"Why is he going to look for them now?" Mai asked. "It's way too soon for that. "

Téa shook her head. "If Yuri can't come back yet, then he might as well get the Princes ready."

"Has he already found candidates for such an honor?" Mai asked.

"Oh yeah. He's already got the best of the best to be in the Royal Termnnian Table with Yuri when he's High King. Seven powerful and, may I add, very handsome princes." She giggled. "Prince Michael Octavius Dalton of Eredas. He's the master of The Hundred Dancing Swords and is an elite Duelist. His Archfiends swarm the field and dominate his opponents with a deadly array of effects and restrictions that keep them from attacking or activating effects. Prince Jon Jahangir of Riftgaard. The Thunder Prince they call him because he wields a massive ax forged by the Thunder Goddess. And his a master Thundermancer as well. On top of that, he has a mighty Eidolon who fights by his side. Gearfried the Iron Knight. Last year, he went on a quest that unlocked Gearfried's true power. So at a whim, he can transform him into Gearfried the Swordmaster. He won a great victory against King Forrest not too long ago with the help of his Swordmaster. And, his sister gained the power to summon a great beast known as The Spirit of Silver Mountain."

"Whoa..." Mai whispered. 

"And from the Kingdom of Uzumé is Prince Jaeyoung Shim. He was trained in the arts of war since he was ten years old. He's also trained in martial arts by the Red Dragon Monks of the Imperial Mountains. That young man was also born under the Star of Might. Once in an eon, the Goddess of War will bless a great warrior with incredible strength and speed. Jaeyoung can punch mountains and cause them to crumble and he took down an army of bandits with the help of his Senka Warriors."

 

"He's a Summoner, too?" Mai said. "Wow. What a talented young man."

Téa nodded. "Yup. He is sure to be a thorn in the side of our enemies. Antilles especially. He has a hate for the Uzumenese."

Mai wrinkled her nose in displeasure. "Who doesn't that man hate who isn't Dragonheart?"

Téa sighed, her eyes still on Yugi's boat, which was now a little dot in the distance. "It doesn't matter. Jaeyoung is going to be the least of his worries when they're all assembled. Alongside great fighters, we have talented spellcasters like Prince Ryon Balor of Katina. He is skilled in every form of elemental magic. Ice, fire, lightning, earth, wind, light, you name it, he can do it. King Forrest's troops tried to lure him into a trap by conquering a city where his fiancee was living in. To draw him out even further, the Fat King raped her and recorded it."

"That fucking pig!"

"Oh, that was the worst mistake of his life," said Téa with a half-grin. "Ryon charged into the fields alone and summoned a great firestorm that burned 5000 Naralian soldiers in a matter of minutes. All that was left of them was a giant field of ashes that took weeks to clean. Forrest never attempted to conquer Katina again. And then we have the handsome, and...handsy, Prince Anastasio Trevelyan, Prince of Mondé. When I say handsy, I mean handsy. He grabbed my butt a few times when we danced at the ball in honor of his birthday. He as only fourteen."

Mai laughed. 

"He's a good kid nonetheless. I just hope Yuri and the others can teach him a thing or two about manners. He's skilled in the arts of White Magic and swordcrafting, meaning he can enchant weapons with fire and lighting at his whim. Also, he holds a unique archetype of monsters called the **Crystal Dragons**. His main monster is the Diamond-Burst Dragon. I've seen it before, and let me tell you, it's a beauty. Speaking of beauty, from the Adamantium Citadel, there's Phoenix Lockheart. I personally recruited her into the Alliance. It's only natural that we do, considering mages are being persecuted all over the continent by the Covenant's Witch Hunters. Hmph. Phoenix will show them what for. When I taught at the Adamantium Citadel, she was my brightest student. Mai, I've never seen a girl with so much power before. She can animate fire, summon Phoenixes to do her bidding, and is also a cunning Duelist using a Phoenix deck. I guess you can guess where she gets her name from. Aside from being a master pyromancer, she's also skilled in White Magic as well. Rumor has it she can put a stopper in death."

"Now that's a very useful skill," said Mai. "Good call bringing her in, hon."

"Yeah, and just between you and me, I think the Alliance could use a woman's touch." Téa winked. "And on top of skilled warriors and magicians, we have Prince Marcel Walston of the Kingdom of Akuuda. He goes by the name the Dragoon of Red-Eyes. Akuuda is the last place on Earth that still thrives with True Dragons. And they're Red-Eyes Black Dragons to boot."

"Yes," said Mai. "They gave Joey and Serenity the cards for their service to the kingdom many years ago."

"Right. Marcel has a fierce companion. A Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon. Now that's an Alliance, eh, Mai?"

Mai laughed in excitement. "I'll say. You know, I'm kind of feeling better already. I guess I should follow Yugi's example and keep a cool head in these trying times."

"That's all we can do," Téa agreed. "I guess while Yugi is out to get the princes ready, we have Serenity's little quest to go on."

Mai tapped her finger on her lip. "Hmm, I wonder what that little darling has in store for us?"

* * *

**In the Woods Somewhere**

* * *

The Platinum Knight coughed as he sat in front of the fire. He could taste the iron flavor of his blood on the top of his tongue. He did not want to get up from his spot in front of the fire, but he knew he had a job to do. The new Crown Prince of Termnnia depended on him. He removed his helmet so he could eat the last of the stale broad rolls inside of his pack. This was it. If there was no food inside of the castle, looming eerily above him from the top of the mountain, he would starve. Crickets chirped in the long, yellow grass all around him. An owl screeched from somewhere in the forest of dead trees. Lightning flashed in the blood-red sky, followed by a blast of thunder that disoriented the knight.

He did not want to get up. Too long had he been in this shadowy abyss. Too long had he been without seeing the sunlight. Since hearing the sweet melody of birds. He did not remember the touch of grass. The taste of cold water from the river. The taste of food. Good food. Hot meats roasting on the fire with a tankard of golden ale made of juniper berries and topped with cream seasoned with cinnamon. Then again, save for the Prince's spirit guiding him, he had no memory of pleasant company. No. For almost two decades he had been trapped here in the dark recesses of the Shadow Realm searching. Searching for pieces that led to a great and wondrous treasure. And one of those pieces was hidden inside that dreaded castle.

The thought of finding food and water in its dark halls brought some strength to his legs. He soon found himself standing up and heading for the castle. As he wandered through the cemetery, he encountered horrible undead Duel Monsters, such as the annoying Clown Zombie, who would bounce out from behind tombstones and dance atop his acrobatic ball. It made a horrible cackle and attacked the knight with its rusty scythe. The Platinum Knight encountered about a dozen of them and slew them all one by one. Then, out from the ground, arose a skeletal warrior with a giant claymore for a weapon. Then another and another, each of them draped in ragged tunics of purple, teal, black, or red.

The 13th Grave. Following them were battalions of Zombie Warrior, skeletons with iron pauldrons and sharp axes.

 

Those beasts proved a nuisance, but it was nothing the knight could handle. One swing of his giant diamond blade and he slaughtered them, scattering their bones all over the cemetery. It was a long and difficult journey into the castle, but he finally made it. He stopped in front of the castle steps to regain some energy and catch his breath. But he would not rest for long, for a fiery portal opened and from it appeared the guardian of the castle entrance.

 

 

Cir, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss. The boar-like monster was gigantic in size, with muscles like boulders and large wings to create gusts of wind that caused trees in the courtyard to collapse and fall.

Cir thumped his chest and squealed, challenging the knight to combat. He had no choice but to accept the monster's challenge. They battled for hours on end, neither one showing any signs of stopping. The knight, even though clad in colossal armor, moved like the wind, proving difficult for Cir to catch. He landed a few lucky blows every now and then during the fight, but he proved no match for the knight's speed. Their battle shook the foundations of the castle. Bells, hanging sadly in their towers, rung loudly. Cir was bleeding magma-like blood from its wounds. The knight's armor was cracked and chipped in various places. His magic cloth-of-gold cape, which shielded him from the cold of the Shadow Realm, was tattered and dirty. No matter how tough he was, no matter how badly Cir wanted to win, the Platinum Knight would not allow the monster to win. Never!

Finally, The Platinum Knight saw his chance. He struck Cir on the knees, causing him to kneel forward in agony. The Platinum Knight jumped and held up his sword, infusing it with the holy light of Horakhty. The blade started to glow and grew ten-fold its original size. And finally, he struck the monster and decapitated it. Cir's head flipped over the castle walls and rolled down the mountain. His body writhed about for a few seconds before it collapsed, smashing the ruins of a once beautiful fountain. Dust slowly rose into the air. Seeing that the battle was over, the knight felt his legs turn to jelly. He fell on the ground, exhausted. He crawled towards a tree and leaned on it, gasping for air. An arcane circle formed next to his resting place. He grabbed his sword, ready to strike whatever came through the gate. He sighed with relief when he saw that it was his old friend.

Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss. He was an expert on the Planes of the Shadow Realm, especially the Burning Abyss, a realm where terrible pets of Odiva, Goddess of Perfection, were said to lurk. So legendary were his travels, that he was forever immortalized in the game of Duel Monsters. Each beast that was part of the archetype was documented by him and given to Maximillion Pegasus to create into cards.

"You have arrived," said Dante. He examined the knight. "Hmph. You look terrible. Here."

He gave the knight a purple handkerchief with three buttered scones inside. The knight grabbed them at once. He took off his helmet and scarfed them down. The shadow of the tree above concealed his identity from Danter. The Platinum Knight chewed his morsels loudly and grunted with each bite. Dante smiled and opened another sack, taking out a bottle of wine to wash down the scones.

"How long has it been since you had food?" Dante asked, helping himself to a buttered scone.

"Too long," the knight replied.

Dante was getting worried about the knight. "You need to rest."

"I'll rest when I find all the pieces," the knight replied, eating the last of the scones. Dante handed him another napkin, this time with apple slices, grapes, and cubes of sweet cheese. "Thank you," the knight said wearily. "Besides, there is no rest to be found here. Every shadow is a hiding place for some kind of a monster. I fear more will be on their way now that I have killed the guardian."

"They will not come here," said Dante. "Not now that I have arrived. The blessed light of Horakhty and the Almighty Andu radiate through me. I will go with you into the castle and seek the piece you desire so much. But first..."

Dante cast a spell that mended the knight's wounds, regained his energy, and even fixed the cracks in the knight's armor. The knight suddenly found himself jumping up and stretching. He felt rejuvenated. He even dared to fight with Cir two more times with his bare hands. Dante took out a pendant from around his neck and his clothing changed from his red tunic and black slacks to brilliant robes of white and gold. He had a staff infused with divine, magical energies, which granted him power over the dark monsters of the Burning Abyss. Now, they were going to help him here, in this pointless world.

The two companions went inside the dark castle. Upon entering the atrium, they were ambushed by a terrible monster.

Dark Balter the Terrible! He was a Fiend with dark brown armored flesh, shielded by plates of golden armor. He wore a green cape and a white decorative collar. On his brow shined a crown with rubies and emeralds. He let out a terrible laugh and pumped his fist. His ragged, gray mane whipped in the gust he created to unleash his slicing wind attack. Dante and the Platinum Knight dodged the attack. Dark Balter the Terrible was a towering beast - the top of his head almost reaching the ceiling. The rusty iron chandeliers that hung from the stones above waved back and forth, fiercely.

"You cannot stop us both!" shouted Dante. "Hand over the treasure, and we will let you live!"

Dark Balter the Terrible reeled back in laughter, then started swinging his claws all over the chamber. They were lit on fire to deal terrible damage on his two foes. "Watch him!" shouted Dante.

Back and forth for more than an hour, the three combats went. Dark Balter was not keen on giving up his piece. No! He could not. The Pink-Haired Master was relying on him to keep the piece safe. But he failed. After another grueling hour of battle, Dark Balter was slain by the Platinum Knight and Dante. He fell with a loud crash on the ground and disintegrated, leaving behind a rusty, iron safe.

"At last," said the knight.

Dante touched the emblem on his cloak and his clothing returned to normal. "That should be all for the evil that lingers here," he said, checking for enemies with a life-detection spell. Meanwhile, the knight smashed the safe with his fist and pulled the door open. "There you are," he said, reaching inside.

What he pulled out was a great treasure indeed. A photograph.

"Will that save him?" Dante asked.

"No," the knight responded, putting the photo in one of the compartments in his cape. "Look around you Dante. If the world looks like this, he will never come home. But I see great hope."

He looked at one of the cracks on the floor. A flower was beginning to grow out of it. The knight typed something on his gauntlet. A holographic computer screen revealed windows of data, graphs, pie charts, and pages of an internet page. He then saw the anatomy of a young man.

 _Restoration at 15%_ said the cool, female voice.

"Your hold over him will soon be broken. Don't let us down, Della."

* * *

**Yuri**

* * *

"Come on, give me something good," Yuri said, opening his new pack.

Killer Needle, Tongyo, Bottom Dweller, Deepsea Shark ("Hey, I got a complete Fusion," said Yuri), Corroding Shark, Skull Stalker, The Drdek. Finally. It was time for the rare card.

"SHIT!" Yuri shouted.

Nekogal #2

"So much for that," he grumbled.

Sergei let out a loud laugh from behind the counter. "What's the matter, Yuri. Didn't get anything good?"

"Nope. I think Black Dragon Jungle king is going to be my only rarest card."

"Oh, that's too bad," Sergei said, washing the glass counter. "You know, since you did a good job on your test last week, I think I can give you something for free."

"Really? Gee, thanks."

Yuri got up from the table. He hurried toward Sergei to see what the new card was going to be.

"Ta-da!" Sergei said, holding it up. Actually, he had two. "Behold, the Field Spell, Gaia Power. Since you run a deck with lizards and a few dinosaurs, I figured this would come in handy. It will increase the power of all your Earth monsters by five-hundred points. But there is a big drawback. It will increase the power of your opponent's Earth monsters, too. And it will decrease their defense by four-hundred. So use it wisely. And here's a good card to go along with it. Gilasaurus. You can special summon it any time you want, meaning you can also conduct a normal summon if you haven't already. He'll go along well with your Gaia Power spell, but he also comes with a drawback. He allows your opponent to special summon a monster from their Graveyard. So don't summon it with its ability if there is a high-powered monster in the opponent's grave."

"I'll remember that," Yuri said, taking the cards. "Thanks, Sergei."

"Wanna try them out?" Patty asked, watching Yuri from behind a shelf with a cherry soda in her hand. "Nick's looking for an opponent over at Table Two."

Sergei grinned. "Ah, you see. A perfect opponent for you to play against. And an easy one." He let out a loud laugh.

Patty led Yuri to the table where Nick sat. She walked with a limp.

"You okay, Patty?"

Patty turned her head to look at him and smiled. "Yeah, I just hit my shin on the dining room table today. Come on, the table is right over here."

She pointed it out to Yuri. Tyson and Carter were opening a big pile of packs they just bought, handing Nick their commons and repeats.

"Yuri!" Nick called out loudly. "Glad you could join us. I just got some new cards for my deck. Want to go against them?"

Yuri was more than happy to oblige. After all, he wanted to see what his new Gilasaurus and his field spell could do. He took out his deck, sat down, and placed it in the drive recognizer on the table. The giant screen beside their table lit up. A holographic playmat was displayed from the projector above their table. The screen then showed the default colosseum where the monsters were to do battle.

Their Life Point meters displayed 2000 and they were ready to go.

"I'll start off first," Yuri said, after he and Nick rolled dice to see who would start the game. He drew six cards and smiled. "Okay, Nick. I'll start things off a little heavy. I summon Grappler in attack mode."

He placed the card on the mat. The screen beside them showed a tall, two-legged, purple lizard with a red cape. His yellow eyes glowed like two headlights. His forked tongue slithered from his yellow sharp teeth.

**ATK/1300**

"Not bad, Yuri. But let's see how it handles this. I summon the Mystical Elf in defense mode."

He summoned a beautiful elf with silky blue skin. She was draped in a green dress and had long, flowing, blonde hair. Her hands were locked in prayer as she muttered divine words.

"With a defense of two-thousand, you sure are going to have a hard time getting through that," said Nick. "And I think I'll play these two cards face-down. It's your turn, buddy."

"Way to go, Nick," Patty cheered. She sipped her cherry soda. "You've learned how to defend."

Nick enjoyed Patty's compliment a little too much. He bobbed his head up and down confidently. "Ah, see how much I've improved, Yuri? Even Patty's starting to dig me? So, where do you want to go for lunch after our Duel, babe?"

Patty rolled her eyes and walked away from him. She stood over Yuri and patted his shoulder. "I think I'll keep my mouth shut from now on. Yuri, teach him a lesson."

"Will do," said Yuri. "I draw. Perfect! I play the Field Spell, Gaia Power!"

The field turned into a dense forest. The monsters were in a clearing where a gigantic magical tree stood dominating the other trees. A sound of bells rang from its branches as the wind blew through the leaves.

"With this card, all our Earth monsters will gain a five-hundred point boost," said Yuri. "But they lose four-hundred defense points."

"You sure you want to do that, Yuri?" Nick said with an ear-to-ear grin. "That means my Earth monsters will get the field power bonus, too."

"I'm sure my monsters will be able to defeat anything you've got," said Yuri. "I summon Mammoth Graveyard!"

The forest trembled with the great call of an ancient mammoth. From the trees walked the giant skeleton of the beast, still protecting the grave of its herd from those foolish enough to steal from it. It towered over Grappler and waved is head around, flashing its great tusks to intimidate Nick.

Tyson clapped. "Nice, Yuri! With the field spell, your Mammoth Graveyard's attack points climb to seventeen-hundred."

Nick laughed. "It's still not enough to get through my Mystical Elf's defense."

"Until I give my Mammoth Graveyard this," said Yuri. "Invigoration!"

Mammoth Graveyard's bones were outlined with a beautiful multi-colored aura. It bellowed triumphantly, feeling its power growing.

"With this card, Mammoth Graveyard's attack will increase by four-hundred and decrease its defense by another three-hundred. But, thankfully, I'm not going to be using him to defend. Now, with my Mammoth's attack at twenty-one-hundred, your Mystical Elf goes bye-bye. Attack!"

Mammoth Graveyard reared on its hind legs. It then lowered its head and charged toward the elf. Nick chuckled.

"Not so fast, Yuri. I activate the trap, Castle Walls! This will increase Mystical Elf's defense by five-hundred points."

Mystical Elf prayed to the gods for help. Her prayer was answered, for a beautiful arcane circle appeared in front of her, acting as a shield. Mammoth Graveyard slammed against it. He could not break the barrier. The impact caused him to tumble to the ground.

Yuri bit his lip in embarrassment as he watched his Life Points dwindle to 1600.

"Wow," Carter said, his eyes glued to the screen. "Nick outsmarted Yuri."

"I guess there's a first time for everything," said Patty.

Nick's move made him rather cocky. "See, what did I tell ya? You guys are looking at the new and improve Nick Rogers."

"It's amazing what a few commons and repeats can do for an amateur's deck," laughed Carter.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up." Nick waved his hand pretentiously to show he did not care what Carter had to say. "It doesn't change the fact that I have the lead in the match. And it's my turn, too. Oh yeah, watch this. I use Polymerization, fusing together Mystical Elf and Curtain of the Dark Ones to become Kamionwizard!"

He summoned a sorcerer in red and black armor wielding a large scythe. Long blonde-hair came out from the back of his head. His face was concealed behind a vile black and red mask.

**ATK/1300**

Patty slurped the last of her cherry soda while making a confused expression with her face. "Uh...Earth to Nick. Have you not seen Yuri's Mammoth Graveyard? Plus, your Kamionwizard is a Dark monster. He won't get the field power bonus."

"Gee, thanks, Lady Obvious. But with this card, I won't have to worry about it anymore. I activate Mystical Space Typhoon. Your Field Spell goes adios!"

"Ah, crap," said Yuri.

Nick nodded. "That's right. And your Invigoration card still makes your Mammoth much more powerful, but I've got a little spell of my own. I equip my Kamionwizard with the magic power of the Malevolent Nuzzler. The magical charms from this sexy enchantress will increase the power of my Kamionwizard by seven-hundred points for a grand total of two-thousand."

Patty slowly clapped her hands. "Congratulations. You can add."

"What's the matter, Pats? Mad that Yuri's not as strong as you say he is. Go, Kamionwizard! Slice and dice his Mammoth Graveyard!"

Kamionwizard let out a horrible laugh as he ran towards his opponent. He jumped into the air with a mighty bound and lifted his scythe. He then slashed it across Mammoth Graveyard's skull. The great beast bellowed in defeat and exploded, dealing another 400 points to Yuri's Life Points. Now, he was at 1100 and Nick was standing tall with 2000.

"See, I've taken no damage this entire Duel," Nick boasted. "Got anything to say about that?"

"Don't get cocky," said Patty, taking a stick of very sweet bubblegum out of her baggy cargo pants. "You have the lead, so find a way to maintain it."

"I draw," said Yuri. "I summon Emperor of the Land and Sea in defense mode and switch Grappler to defense as well."

Nick snapped his fingers, he felt he had all he needed to prove his point to Patty. "Running scared, Yuri? I summon Bean Soldier in attack mode!"

He summoned a bean with a small sword, skinny arms, and legs with small curved, brown boots.

**ATK/1400**

I'll attack your Grappler with him! Go, Bean Soldier!"

Bean Soldier jumped and then scurried towards Yuri's Grappler. He sliced his head off with a mighty blow. Then, Kamionwizard made short work of Emperor of the Land and Sea. The big, blue, reptile roared in pain and exploded.

"And down they go!" Nick said pumping up his fist. "Wait till everyone hears I beat the Prince of Aquarius without a sweat. Your move, Yuri."

"I draw," he said. Patty smiled at the card he got and patted his shoulder. Yuri looked up at her and winked. "Well, I think it's time to shut you up, Nick. I used Pot of Greed, letting me draw two cards."

"Seriously, why does everyone have to explain what it does?" Nick wondered.

"Now, I activate the spell, Magical Stone Excavation. I discard two cards to add a spell card to my hand."

"Uh oh," said Nick. "Does that mean...?"

"Yeah, Gaia Power comes back." He played the spell at once, returning them to the enchanted forest with the great tree. "Now I summon my old pal, Black Dragon Jungle King."

"Yes!" Patty clenching her fist in excitement. She looked at the screen and saw the wingless dragon stomp out of the forest. With the field spell, his 2100 ATK became 2600.

Black Dragon Jungle King roared and breathed purple fire at Kamionwizard, completely obliterating him. Nick's Life Points fell to 1400.

"Oh no! I hate that fucking dragon! He always ruins everything! I'm switching Bean Soldier to defense mode."

"Is that all you have for a turn?" Yuri asked, drawing his card. "That's not going to work, Nick. I Special Summon Gilasaurus to the field in attack mode."

"Sweet!" said Nick. "Thanks to him, I can bring a monster back from the Graveyard. My Mystical Elf Returns to the field in defense. Now, you can't strike my Life Points, Yuri."

"Oh, I think he can," Patty retorted with a wink.

"See this?" Yuri said, showing Nick the card.

"Stop Defense!" Nick cried.

"That's right. Now your Mystical Elf is switched from attack to defense mode. Black Dragon Jungle King attacks and that's game."

"Aw, crud," Nick said. The Duel Screen showed Black Dragon Jungle King destroying the poor Mystical Elf with his purple flames. "Nice moves, Yuri. I think I still got a' ways before I can beat you. But mark my words, that day is gonna come soon. I'm going to get stronger."

"You'd better," said Carter. "Watching Yuri beat your ass is getting so old."

"Hardy, har, har," Nick replied. "Say, Patty, you game."

Patty shook her head. "At the moment, no. I gotta use it, man."

"Just a quick game?"

"No, bro. It's urgent. Last night I had a one-pound beef burrito and a plate of nachos the size of a monster truck tire. And if I don't find the bathroom soon, this place is going to be called Brown Dragon Gaming, know what I mean?"

Yuri held up his hands. "Just...use it," he said.

Patty's eyes widened. She held her stomach. "Oh, God!" she squealed and ran away.

"Sheesh," said Tyson. "If she keeps eating out like that, she's gonna lose them curves, you dig?"

"I sure as hell don't want her to lose 'em," Nick said, picking up his cards. "She has to look good for our first date."

Carter pinched the bridge of his nose. "You can't still be thinking Patty is going to want to go out with you, do you, Nick?"

"She digs me. She just doesn't know it yet."

"What the hell do you have to offer a girl like Patty?" said Yuri. "Sure, she's foul-mouthed, lacks decent manners, and may dress like a skimpy punk, but she comes from a very wealthy family. Her dad is a top-ranking officer from RAPTOR. She's a millionaire. And you..."

Nick paused. He stared angrily at Yuri. "What? Say it. Go on. Say it!"

"You're a stowaway," said Yuri. "The kind of people her father is paid to hunt down and deport from the island. Do you really think Lt. Commander Troy McKnight is going to want his daughter to go out with a stowaway?"

"But your dad and I are really tight," said Nick. "That's got to count for something."

Tyson sighed. "Nick. You saved Yuri's life, and for that, you've made Mr. Montgomery forever grateful. But I've seen first hand how Troy deals with stowaways. He shows no mercy. He doesn't care who is on your side. In the end, you're just another dollar on his paycheck. And if something happens, God forbid, Mr. Montgomery ain't gonna do nothing. The Lt. Commander is one of the best he's got. He's ex-military, quelled the great Pirate Raid of '97, stopped the robbery of the Aquarian Bank. Come on, Nick, I don't mean any offense, you're cool, bro." He locked hands with him. "But if things got heavy, Mr. Montgomery would choose him over you. 'Cause he's worth more than you."

"Ex-military," Nick scoffed. "A drunk like him? He probably cleaned the shitters or something."

"Troy McKnight?" Yuri retorted loudly. "No. He didn't. He was in Somalia."

"Huh?"

"Mogadishu. Black Hawk Down? Does that ring the bell?"

"You mean like the movie? He was there?"

"He was," Tyson said nodding his head. "He was about as young as we were. He's seen shit. Really bad stuff. Of course, he drinks it away. Aside from being a vet and a hero here in the city, he also saved Yuri's life."

"He did?"

"Remember when I was kidnapped by those terrorists?" Yuri crossed his arms and leaned back on his chair. "Maybe not. We were little kids at the time. But Lt. Commander Troy led the team that saved me from them." He looked at the ceiling. "At least, I think it was him who saved me."

The memories of a man with grayish-pink hair flashed in his eyes. His maniacal sneer. His demonic eyes. "Bakura," he whispered.

"Huh?" said Carter.

"Nothing. The point is, Patty is way out of your league, Nick. You've got to stop chasing her. Otherwise, you might get hurt."

"I appreciate your concern, guys, but the Lt. Commander doesn't scare me. He may do a good job at tossing out people he deems unequal to himself, but he ain't a good father. Patty came into class with another bruise on her arm."

Yuri, Tyson, and Carter sighed at once. They did notice that. And it possibly explained the limp she had today.

"I talked to my father about it," said Yuri. "Patty denies anything happens."

Nick slammed his fist on the table. "Oh, gee, I wonder who made her say that."

"She does a good job of hiding it," said Carter. "I was with her in the bathroom at school last year. I watched as she applied makeup to one of the bruises on her shoulder. When I asked what happened, she told me to shut up and mind my own business. I was hurt. She never talked to me that way." Tears formed in his eyes, messing up his eyeliner. "OMG, what a bitch. Anyways, Nick, honey, she doesn't want to admit anything is wrong."

"More likely she doesn't want to lose that fortune of hers," said Tyson. "If Lt. Commander Troy goes down, Patty's going down with him. She'll lose everything."

They heard the toilet flush in the bathroom. Patty walked out and stretched. "Phew," she said in relief. "I wouldn't go in there for a couple of days...Or weeks."

"You nasty, ho," Carter said, covering his nose, for Patty drowned her clothes in perfume.

Patty laughed and smacked his back. "So, what are you guys up for right now? I don't feel like spending the whole day here playing?"

"OMG, I know," said Carter. "Come on fellas, let's hit the beach or something. Head to the park. Check out the mall. I don't know. Anything is better than hanging out here all day."

"I'd rather stay and work on my deck," said Yuri.

"Same," said Nick. "I was this close to beating Yuri. I want to try again."

"Well, let's see," Patty said, taking out her deck. "You wanted to play against me, right?"

"Yes, I did!" Nick said, shuffling his deck. "Beware, Patty. I am gonna be unstoppable with these new cards in my deck."

Patty yawned. "You sure about that? You said the same thing when you played against Yuri, and you got your butt kicked seven times."

"I was going easy on him. Let's do this."

Many turns later, Nick was about ready to end the match.

"Okay, Patty," Nick said choosing his next card. "I summon Celtic Guardian in attack mode. And he'll clear the field of your That Which Feeds on Life. That brings your Life Points down to 300, babe, one more deadly attack from my elf guy and you lose. Give it up!"

"I draw," Patty said calmly. "I summon Baron of the Fiend Sword." She summoned a demon resembling a bulldog, dressed in a fine black tuxedo and top hat. He carried an exquisite sword made of shadowy steel that looked like darkness made solid and outlined with a dark red aura.

"At Fifteen-fifty attack points, he won't do too much damage. But once I give him this card, he'll end the game. I equip him with the Axe of Despair."

"Where did you get that?"

"It's ultra-rare," Yuri answered as he held a basket of fries. "You're going to have a hard time finding it. And for good reason. That card boosts the power of her monsters by one-thousand points."

"Wha-wha-what!?" Nick babbled.

Patty smirked. "That brings your Life Points down to zero, Nick. I win and you suck."

"Aw, lame!" Nick groaned, smashing his face on the table. "You really do know how to bring a guy down, Patty. How did you get such luck getting that powerful card?"

Patty chuckled, shuffled her deck, then fixed her bow. "I didn't get it through luck. My grandma gave it to me yesterday. She's more of a collector than a Duelist. She's got like seven copies of this card in her Spell Card binder."

"Yeah?" Nick said, launching himself out of his chair.

"Don't even think about it," Patty warned him. "My grandma is no charitable woman. I had to help her paint a mural on the tool shed in the backyard all weekend to earn this, and a hundred extra bucks."

"Man, you guys just rake in money, huh?" Nick sighed sadly. "I never get anything."

"Because you don't work for it, baby," Carter said, fixing his makeup. "You just expect all good things to fall on to your lap. Life doesn't function that way."

Nick wasn't satisfied. "Easy for you to say. You guys were all born here and have rich parents to live off of."

"The Prince of Aquarius living off his father's fortune?" laughed Tyson. "Come on, man. If that were true, Yuri would be driving Ferraris and spending money like crazy. Not to mention he wouldn't be working here to earn his keep."

"He's still got more than I've got," Nick countered.

"There is just no satisfying this guy," Patty stood up. "Anybody next?"

"I'd like to play," a boy in a very fancy uniform said, walking towards their table. He was no more than eight-years-old but the uniform he wore was from Phobos Corp Academy. A school Yuri's father would have wanted him to go, but due to his troubled past and horrible marks, he was denied from going there, much to the shame of Mr. Montgomery.

"Who are you?" Patty asked.

"Seth Conroy, my dear," the boy said, handing her a flower.

"Do you always carry these?" Patty asked.

"Always, for the beautiful women whom I encounter. Which one of you is worthy of my time?"

"Think you're a real hotshot, do you?" said Nick. "Sit down and let's play. I can take you one."

"After your last performance, I think not," the boy said with a devious smirk. He pointed at the Duel Screen, still showing replays of the last Duel between him and Patty. I'm looking for much worthier game. Which one of you lot is the Prince of Aquarius?"

"Figures," Carter said, jerking his thumb at Yuri.

"Me?" Yuri said, pointing at himself.

"Yes," Seth said with a nod. "Ah, there's no mistaking that green eye of yours. Extraordinary functions you've got there, Yuri. You're the first human in recorded history to be documented with bioluminescence. But that's not why I'm here. I heard you started Dueling recently, and I want to see your skills for myself."

Nick got out of his seat. "Yuri, obviously we're dealing with a snot-nosed punk over here. Show him proper manners, would ya?"

"Oh, contra ire," Seth said, taking his seat. "I don't expect to lose. See, I'm a prodigy. Not only have I excelled through school, but I'm a very capable Duelist. I've earned my place in the Duel Monsters championship next year."

"At such a young age?" Patty asked, cocking her hip to the side. "And that uniform is from Phobos Corp Academy. Isn't that a high school?"

"It is," Seth replied, looking at Patty amorously. "But, being a boy genius, I've been skipped right into your level."

"No way," said Tyson. "That's lit."

"Ah, lit, indeed. Yuri Montgomery. I think we've wasted enough time. Come, let us Duel."

**LP 2000**

"You may start," said Seth, not bothering to want to roll the dice.

"Okay. I summon Tomozaurus in attack mode."

A theropod roared as it stomped into the colosseum. Its scales were the shade of chewing tobacco and it had glowing yellow eyes. Despite its fearsome presence, the dinosaur had mere 500 ATK points.

"Next, I set a card face-down and end my turn."

"Ah, trying to bait me into a trap," Seth said as he drew. "Nice try. I use Mystical Space Typhoon to blow it away."

Yuri discarded his trap. It was a Draining Shield card, which could have increased his Life Points if he attacked with a monster.

"I play Polymerization, fusing Monster Egg and Hinotama Soul together to create the mighty Charubin the Fire Knight."

A wall of flames appeared before Tomozaurus. From them emerged a tall and lithe knight wearing silver-steel armor and a ragged red cape. His weapon of choice was a massive spiked ball and chain, which he wielded with a long handle that required him to use both his arms.

**ATK/1100**

"Attack him, Charubin!"

The Fire Knight spun his massive weapon and struck Tomozaurus in the gut. The dinosaur growled and shattered to pieces.

Nick cringed from the impact. "Ouch, that had to hurt."

Yuri's Life Points fell to 1400.

Seth chuckled, amused by the devastation his monster had caused. "I set a card face-down and end my turn. Your turn, dear boy."

"Okay, that was a lucky shot," Yuri admitted. "I summon Armored Lizard in attack mode. With an attack of fifteen-hundred, your Fire Knight will be torn to shreds. Attack!"

"I think not," said Seth. "I reveal my face-down card. Reinforcements. This will boost my monster's attack by five-hundred points."

Charubin smashed his spiked ball into Armored Lizard's chest, cracking the thick armor that gave the creature its name. Yuri was now down to 1300 Life Points.

"Attacking without considering your opponent's face-down cards is a childish move," said Seth. "Fool. As the heir of the game and your father's company, you should know better than that."

"I'll keep that in mind," said Yuri. "I set two cards face-down and end my turn."

"Very good. See, you're learning now. But that won't do you any good. I use Heavy Storm to clear your face-down cards."

"No, you won't. I counter with Magic Jammer. By discarding a card from my hand, my trap will negate your spell."

"Okay, so you managed to counter my moves. But it won't do you any good. I use Pot of Greed to draw two cards. Next, I use the effect of Monster Reborn to bring back your Tomozaurus in attack mode."

Yuri blinked. "Huh? What would you do that for?" He then realized the purpose of that play. "Oh, shoot!"

"That's right. But that's not all. I use the magic of Polymerization once again, fusing together Mystic Horseman and Battle Ox to create the mighty Rabid Horseman!"

His fusion conjured up a minotaur with the body of a centaur. The Rabid Horseman roared, pounding his boulder-sized fist on his chest. His right frontal leg clopped on the ground eagerly for battle.

**ATK/2000**

"And with this attack, I end the Duel."

"That easy, huh?" Yuri asked.

"What?"

"Didn't you say it was childish to attack when your opponent had a card face-down? I still have one left if you haven't noticed. Wall of Disruption. This will cause your monsters to lose eight hundred for each one you control."

"Oh, drat!" cried Seth. "No matter, my Rabid Horseman is still stronger."

"I know," Yuri said calmly. "But I'm still standing. Can't say the same for you after this turn."

"You bluff? I don't lose to rookies like you."

"There's a first time for everything."

"Why you. You will not defeat me. I set Charubin in defense mode and end my turn."

"I draw," said Yuri. "I play Pot of Greed. Next, I use the spell, Stop Defense. This will force Charubin back to attack mode."

Seth gasped. "No! He has only zero attack points."

"That he does. He'll be of no help against this. Black Dragon Jungle King."

With that attack, the Prodigy of Phobos Academy lost his first match in many, many, months.

"I...this can't be."

"So how come it is," Patty taunted him.

Seth sighed heavily. He picked up his cards and stood up. "It seems I have much to learn. Yuri. Thank you. And good luck. Perhaps you'll be as good as me one day."

Yuri laughed. "Thank you for playing against me. If you ever want to play again, we'll be here."

The boy smiled and waved, then made his way out the door.

Yuri felt very pleased with his victory...until.

His head stung as though someone shot an arrow into it. He saw flashed of the man from his dream. Yami. He was smiling at Yuri and gave a thumbs up.

"Yuri!" Nick cried. He handed his friend a bottle of water. "You okay, man?"

Yuri gasped for air. "I'm fine," he finally said. "It's okay. I just...I just got a headache. Tyson...my pills."

"You sure, bro?" Tyson said, handing Yuri his medicine. "We should get you to the doctors."

"I'm fine," Yuri said, taking them and then gulping down water. "I think we've been in here for too long."

Tyson patted Yuri in the back. "You know what, guys? I think the beach sounds like a pretty good idea right now."

* * *

**Joey**

* * *

"Well, that was pathetic," Joey said, staring at a glossy black sphere that showed replays of Yuri's Duel with Nick. He was sitting at an inn with Tristan and Duke, all three of them exhausted after a long hunt to bring down Skullbird monster that was terrorizing a town. The Earl paid them handsomely with a sack of gold coins and a chipped ruby, but those went directly into Serenity's account for the expedition she was saving up for.

Still, they had enough silver and a large coin called a Plate, which bought them a week at the inn.

Joey took a long gulp of beer from his tankard then asked: "Is that really all they have? All that they can play with?"

Duke nodded his head. "Sadly, yes. Kaiba doesn't want to give them access to the new cards until Yuri improves."

"That sucks," said Joey. "Why hold the whole world back because of one guy? I thought the game paid for that whole island he lives in."

"That island was a gift to those people," said Duke. "Paid for by Seto Kaiba. Why? I don't know. The whole history of that place is covered in black ink."

"Why?" Tristan asked, cutting into his pork sausage.

"Can't answer that," Duke replied with a shrug. "I may be the High King's chamberlain, but even that information is above my pay grade. I do know that Duel Monsters wasn't that popular of a game until recently. Ever since Yuri's twelfth birthday, the game increased in popularity with the Magic Ruler, Pharoah's Servant, and Dark Labyrinth booster sets having been released."

"What!" cried Joey. "You've gotta be kidding me! Those sets are ancient!"

Duke shrugged. "It's all Seto wants to give them. Maybe it's for the best Yuri starts off this way. I think Pendulums, Synchros, and that other stuff we play with are way out of their leagues."

"Argh, that Kaiba," said Joey. "Didn't he recently send a hundred cards into the Void so he could teach aliens how to play the game? What makes these people any different?"

"The people of that world aren't that smart. Despite their intelligence, they use it to make each other lazier and upgrade useless things like phones and music players. Had it not been for Kaiba, the technology that keeps that city moving and afloat would not even exist. You know, they can get clean unlimited energy from the sun but continue to kill each other for oil and pollute their planet with toxic power plants. The people of Earth are way too greedy and way too sensitive."

"You don't think that's affected Yuri in any way, do you?" Tristan asked. He shoved a cut of sausage into his mouth.

"Our Agent is keeping a close eye on him. And based on the reports Pegasus gets every week, Yuri's doing just fine. He's had a shift in character, thank goodness."

Joey finished the last of his ale. "I know, man. What was up with him all those years. He turned into a thug. A violent thug."

"Bakura's work, no doubt," said Duke. "Thankfully his Duel with the Pharaoh cleansed his spirit and cleared his mind. He's no longer tainted by darkness."

"But that's a big whoops on our part," said Joey. "How could we not anticipate Bakura would be there? How could we not have seen him? It makes me so angry."

"You're not the only one, Joey," Duke said with a heavy sigh. "I cut my arms for weeks when I found out. Chastisement for being so cynical. For thinking putting Yuri in another world was going to be enough to keep him away from all evil."

Tristan wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and set it on his lap. "What's done is done, you guys. The Spirit of the Puzzle exorcised all the evil out of our Prince with that Duel."

"But what's to keep Bakura from coming back?" said Duke. "If he corrupted Yuri once, what's to stop him from doing it again?"

"King Antilles, that's who!" Joey slammed his fist on the table. "I can't believe he barred us from going in to help him. If that doesn't prove he's bought out the Senate, I don't know what can."

"Well, they're all on his side and there's nothing we can do about it," said Duke. "The only thing we can do is hope Serenity can get through to the other world with that card. And hope that Yuri uses it well."

"Of course he can," said Joey. "I've watched Yuri's Duels for quite some time now. He believes in his deck. He's got the Heart of the Cards on his side. So long as he's got that, he'll be unbeatable. And before you know it, he'll be back home in no time. I trust in him and so should you."

He looked at Yuri's image in the magical sphere. Joey clenched his fist, his spirit burning passionately. "Come on, Yuri," Joey muttered. "Don't let us down, man. The whole world is countin' on ya."

* * *

**Patty**

* * *

Later that night, Patty watched the city from her cab, high up on the Ferris Wheel perched on the city docks. It was raining heavily as it usually did when Aquaris sailed past Florida's waters. Thankfully, it was nice and warm in her cab. She bit into a cheeseburger and sighed. Patty made it a habit to sit on the Ferris Wheel before she went home and reflect on the day's events. Reflect on her mistakes. Cherish the memories she made today. And most of all, think about Yuri.

"What could his dreams mean?" she wondered. "The same guy. They're always Dueling. I get that Yuri's important around here, but could there be more to him than I thought? Maybe he's meant for more than being the future president of his father's business."

She looked at the tower looming over the island. The top half was concealed in the clouds.

"What does this Mr. Hairdo guy want with my friend? If he was real, I mean. He's not, but Yuri has had that dream far too many times for this be pure coincidence. And he's getting more and more frightened."

She looked at her Zera the Mant card at the bottom of her deck. "You have answers. I know you do. So...talk to me."


	12. The Monster Hunter's Guild

**Happiness is ideal, it is the work of the imagination.**

**-Marquis de Sade**

* * *

**Joey**

* * *

**Rasaay, Captial of Emboldor**

Once the clock struck 10, a mob of adventurers stormed to the notice board on the wall, looking for work. Some went to the pretty receptionist at the front desk of the Hunter's Guild headquarters to see if there was better, high-paying work to be had. Amidst all the chaos, Ser Joey, the Black Dragonknight sat on a table in the corner of the mess hall where the hunters would order hot foods and drinks to feast while they swapped stories of their latest adventures.

The building, which had a grand view of the Bay of King below the cliff it was perched, smelled of the finest tobacco in the land being smoked by mages and knights to calm their nerves after a long and difficult hunt.

The herb-encrusted pheasant, duck, and hen being roasted in the kitchens perfumed the guild's headquarters with an enticing smell that made a hundred bellies rumble, and their owners quickly rush for the order window to buy the sweet meat with a side of baked potatoes and chips and mashed potatoes.

Joey was the only one not enticed by the smell, for he was already full from eating a stack of Elvish bread. He took a large gulp of ale from his tankard, one that was passed down by his family for generations.

It was decorated with intricate, leafy patterns and had a clever magical enchantment that kept the beverage as cold as the winds of the Arctic Kingdoms, so he never bothered to pay an extra copper for ice since his drink was forever in a refreshing briskness that cooled both his throat and his mood.

He tapped his finger against the side of his tankard and traced one of the curves engraved on the surface, wondering where the hell was his companion Tristan with today's work?

Joey scoffed. No doubt in his mind Tristan was in the bathroom again. He practically seemed to live there these days thanks to the luxury the extra coin and chip had provided them. They had breakfast a mere hour ago, perhaps less, he didn't know, all he knew was it wasn't that long ago. Now he was missing the best work because his bowels were going out of control.

"That damn, Tristan," Joey mumbled. "He eats like a pig but shits like an elephant."

He noticed there was an arrogant hunter - a high-ranked one at that - was standing by a table of female hunters, one of whom was his sister, Serenity.

The hunter was still young and he proudly showed off his armor, enameled in a fine azure polish and engraved with brilliant ornamentation, and trimmed in dark orange. His weapon of choice was a halberd with a glowing, green blade, a masterwork craft of magic and smithing.

"That's right ladies," he said arrogantly. "I single-handedly took down a Sword Arm of Dragon that was terrorizing the Baron of Emeraldshire's lands. I was too quick for him if you don't mind me saying. Those tails of theirs can pack a fierce punch and he ran as fast as a horse, but he couldn't catch me." He slid his hand down his spiked, orange hair. "Don't you think I'm amazing? A Sword Arm of Dragon, ladies. That's not beast a mere newb can tackle. I guess you can call me a Dragon Slayer!"

Serenity laughed. "Impressive," she said, trying to trade a few of her cards for a Meteor Dragon card one of the girls had. "Sorry to disappoint you, but Sword Arm of Dragon is technically classified as a dinosaur, not a dragon."

The boastful hunter gulped nervously. He quickly reformed his cocky grin and scoffed. "Well, you know what they say about dinosaurs. I mean, they are closely related to dragons, aren't they."

"It's still not a dragon," said a young girl with blue, swirled, pigtails, accepting Serenity's Wingweaver and Flame Champion cards. "So you can't be called a Dragon Slayer."

The hunter laughed. "Smart girls," he said. He leaned against the table. "But of course you are. You three are the fabled Sword Maidens of the Kinglands. Your reputation precedes you, ladies. You're as beautiful as the tales the bards tell. Is it true that you slew a Dungeon Worm up in the mountains?"

The girl with the blue pigtails nodded.

"I'm impressed," the hunter obnoxiously said, crossing his arms over his chest. "I could take one on if I had the time, but the lords and ladies of the capital need my services here, I hope you understand. You know, I just picked up a contract to tackle a pesky giant that's been harassing pilgrims on the road and stealing the virgins so he can feast on them in his cave. I can take him on myself, but I thought it would be fun if you lovely ladies would tag along. We can share the profit fifty-fifty. I'm pretty sure the giant has a juicy treasure horde in there, too."

"We'll go if we can lay claim to that," said an archeress with a long, reddish-orange ponytail. "You can keep the guild's reward."

"Really?" said the hunter. "Then how about we Duel? I win, we share the treasure. You win, you can keep it for yourselves and I will make do with the guild's reward of five hundred Star Chips. Deal?"

"Deal," said a lovely paladin with golden hair. "I will play you since I lead this party."

Serenity got out of her seat. She got what she wanted anyway, but decided to stick around and watch the game. They didn't look like they had Duel Disks, not that she cared. She preferred a tabletop Duel anyway. It was too early for Phantoms.

"I'll start first," the arrogant hunter said taking out his deck from a pouch on his leather belt. "I play this card. M-Warrior Number Two in attack mode. A brave warrior such as myself. Your move, paladin."

"I draw," the paladin said, tossing hair over her shoulder. "I summon Blackland Fire Dragon with an attack of fifteen-hundred. Your M-Warrior is no more."

"Hurk!" The hunter squealed.

He was not expecting something so tough. He lost a good chunk of his Life Points from that attack. Half in fact, since his M-Warrior was at 500 ATK.

He drew.

"Ah, he said. "Perfect. I play the Spell Card, Premature Burial, which will resurrect my M-Warrior at the cost of eight-hundred of my Life Points. Then I play Polymerization, fusing him and M-Warrior Number One to become the mighty, Karbonala Warrior. Now our monsters are even. Your move."

"Our monsters will not stay even for long," said the paladin.

She waved her cards in front of her face, fanning her sweet perfume into the air, which made its way to the hunter's nostrils. He grinned, enticed by the beautiful smell.

The paladin laughed. "I equip my Blackland Fire Dragon with the Black Pendant. A beautiful trinket, one I wish I could wear, but I'll let my dragon have it instead. It will boost his attack points by five hundred, raising his power to two-thousand. Attack!" She said, tapping her card delicately with the tip of her polished fingernail.

"Oh no!" cried the hunter. "I...I lost?" he smiled. "Well, I went easy on you. Still, a deal is a deal. "You can keep the treasure."

"A man true to his word," the paladin said, shuffling her deck. "That's a very rare commodity these days. You have earned yourself a hunting party. When do we leave?"

"As soon as possible, beautiful," the hunter flirted. He saw Serenity turn to leave. "And where do you think you're going, love? Don't you want to go on an adventure?"

"I would that I could," said Serenity, turning around to look at him. She bowed apologetically. "But I've got other business to attend to."

The paladin bid Serenity farewell and started to sing as she grasped a pendant around her neck.

* * *

_Our world is still. No light is seen_

_And happiness a trait unseen_

_There's nothing good. There's nothing bright,_

_Then Norman woke and walked that night._

_A mighty hero of power untold,_

_A crown was made to claim his Hold._

_But Elven-kings all mocked and laughed_

_For in their eyes, he was riffraff._

_Away they sent our hero poor,_

_And behind him slammed the door._

* * *

_Our world is dark. The Light it fades,_

_The filth of Zorc Necrophades._

_No warrior stands against the beast_

_But then a light shined from the East._

_The Celtra sang and dragons roared_

_As The Conqueror on Slifer soared,_

_To challenge the demon of the Shadow Realm_

_The light of the Goddesses shines on his helm_

* * *

_The Winged Dragon bathed dark in flames_

_The Orcs all cried when Slifer came!_

_Obelisk smashed all foes to hell_ ;

_Evil ran from Ancient Beast as well!_

_Creatures of power now at his whim_

_No force on earth could stop him!_

* * *

_A king he was of Holy Light_

_His armor fair had Goddess might!_

_His sword of sun, no man can wield_

_And runes of power upon his shield!_

_His cape contained the light of moon_

_And hordes of gems on plate were strewn_

_No mortal had dared to claim his right,_

_For they all fell under his might!_

* * *

_Our world now shines. The light is strong_

_As Norman King rules Nelerond_

_The people dance, and Celta sing_

_For praise of their Supreme King_

_A castle fair was built for him_

_To house his warriors and his kin_

_The dancers danced. The Nymphs they sang_

_And at his gates the trumpets rang!_

* * *

_Our world is sad. The Light is dim._

_The world now weeps and mourns for him_

_The Gods no longer hear his calls_

_The darkness dwells now in his halls_

_No light shines upon his tomb._

_Forever now in Darkness' womb._

_The Nymphs don't dance. And bells don't ring_

_Forever of his might, they'll sing!_

_There lies our King far in the deep._

_Forever in eternal sleep._

* * *

"Ah," said the hunter. "What a beautiful voice. I see we have ourselves a patron of the Temple of the Conqueror."

"I owe him my life," said the paladin. "Norman the Conqueror has always blessed me in battle. The least I can do to repay the favor is to sing his song before I go to fight. His blessings give my sword arm strength."

Serenity walked to Joey and showed him the trade. "Finally," said Serenity. "I can finally make the Meteor Black Dragon with this card."

"Good fer you, sis," Joey said. "I don't mean to boast, but I got myself a high-paying job. Just waiting for Tristan and Duke to finish up some paperwork."

"What kind of a job?" Serenity asked.

"A high-paying one," Joey lied. "Don't worry though. We got dis one covered."

* * *

Joey licked his dry lips and looked around. He stood up from where he had been sitting on the small patch of grass of the Crown Beach. Here and there he was attacked by small swarms of insects.

The ruins of the ancient battleship, The Sea Goddess, sat ominously on the rocks far off in the distance, reminding the citizens of Rasaay of the ancient battle that took place hundreds of years ago in a civil war started by four greedy princesses vying for the Heart-Earth Crown.

"High paying work?" he grumbled. "We're on pest control!"

Tall palm trees swung back and forth in the wind. For such a beautiful beach, Joey thought it was an ugly place. Man, how can someplace so serene be home to so many annoyances? Every now and then, the beaches would be closed because of goblin gang wars or a sea monster would wash up and snap at the swimmers.

"Ey, Tristan!" he shouted to his companion.

"Yeah?" Tristan called back, scanning the sands carefully. His hand kept a firm grip on his battle axe.

Joey stretched and put his hands on his lower back. "Nyeh!" he cried out, listening to the sickening song of the pops. He groaned. He squinted in the harsh light of the sun burning his face.

He hated it. But most of all, he hated the sand.

Ugh. It was everywhere, and it was no doubt going to seep through every crevice in his armor and pour into his forbidden places. He could already feel it accumulating in his boots where it crunched between his toes. "Goddesses, I hate dis place."

"You do?" Tristan asked, kicking a rock into the sea. The sturdy metal of his boot clanked upon impact. "Huh, that's odd considering this is where you met Mai."

Joey moped the sweat dripping on his forehead with his cape. "I mean it, bro," said Joey. "I'm from da Crystal Mountains. The springs are soft and sweet and all I gotta worry about is a pack of wolves or giant spiders. But down here, man, seems every foul creature is drawn to the hot sun. I shouldn't be here. I should have stayed in Roseville snuggling with a nice tavern wench by the fire during the cool winters, ya know what I'm sayin'?"

Tristan shot him an irritating glare. He suddenly laughed inside his throat and continued his search. "So why didn't you just stick to hunting monsters there instead of following us here and annoying me?"

"I can't leave Yug all alone with da likes of you and Duke. Not to mention Mai, Serenity, and Téa have been actin' very bitchy lately with dere treasure hunt, am I right?"

"I guess," Tristan said, looking away from Joey. "Look, less yaking and more hunting. Crab Turtles burrow through the sands. They could pop out at any second and drag me down for breakfast. Besides, once the beaches are cleared, they'll be open to swimmers. And the girls, Joey. They will be parading their way down, man. Some are vacationing from Eredas. Come on, think about it. Itsy-bitsy bikinis, you know what I'm saying? Maybe some of them are available. Come on, I'm going to need you at the top of your game here."

"I can't be at da top of my game while I'm stuck in da sand," Joey continued to bellyache.

"How did you become a knight?" Tristan groaned. "It's not even noon and already you're annoying me."

"I just hate it here, man. I hate the sun. I hate sand." He sniffed the air. "Ugh, I hate the stench of salty seawater. I hate it all. And most of all..." He slapped his neck, feeling something crawling on it. "I hate these fucking bugs! I mean who doesn't hate bugs. My hate for them is hotter than the blaze of the brightest suns in the universe."

"Will you shut up?" Tristan shouted.

"Come on, I..." Joey stopped talking. He hated to admit it, but Tristan was right. There was a dangerous monster lurking in the sands beneath them, and Pegasus was paying them a hefty bounty in gold to get rid of it. With this last contract, they could begin with the expedition his little sister, Serenity, was planning.

If what she said was true, it could finally get them out of Rasaay where they had been toiling for years working as monster hunters. Ever since the defeat at Karath Antha, his reputation as a Termnnian knight suffered and knowing that somewhere out there, far in the East where towers touched the sky, Seto Kaiba was laughing at his failures.

Just as he pictured himself jabbing his dagger into Kaiba's throat, the monster he was searching for popped out of the sand and gave out a horrid screech. Crab Turtle.

In the game of Duel Monsters, it was a Ritual Monster with 2550 ATK points, making it a formidable foe to go up against. It had a strong, green shell, eight crab leg-looking appendages -four on its belly and four larger ones on its back.

It had two powerful legs, colored purple with a shiny green shell that was used to shield his soft flesh. One slimy, yellow eye wriggled from a stalk forming from its head. The monster was as tall as a man and was equipped with two powerful pinchers that it used to grab its prey and drag deep under the sand. They could also be used as awesome weapons, and the creature wasted no time in chasing after Tristan.

Tristan flipped out of the way, the hem of his brown trench coat flapped over his legs as they lifted into the air. The Crab Turtle's charge missed him by mere inches. Mid-flip, Even though it weighed a lot, Tristan swung his axe gracefully, cutting off one of the Crab Turtle's legs.

Dark green liquid oozed from the severed limb. Crab Turtle shrieked, waving its body from side-to-side. Tristan landed feet-first on the sand and wasted no time in lifting himself up with another powerful leap. He flipped through the air and smashed the family axe into the shell with enough force to crack it.

Crab Turtle shrieked again, going into a frenzy. It spun - a move Tristan did not expect - and smashed him in the back with one of his pincers. Tristan was thrown a few feet through the air and landed on his face in the sand.

He got up, spitting thousands of grains out of his mouth. Crab Turtle snapped his pinchers repeatedly to intimidate Tristan. The sounds they made resembled that of hedge clippers snipping in rapid motion.

"Hang on, Tristan!" Joey called, jumping off a rock standing over the Crab Turtle. He raised his sword and ignited the blade with fire with just a thought, thanks to an Elvish charm that dangled off the end of the pommel - a gift from his sister.

"YEAH!" Joey said, flipping for the sake of showmanship. "HASSAN CHOP!" he shouted, attempting to slice off another of the Crab Turtle's legs. But it was too smart for him; much too smart. The Crab Turtle used its long legs to jump up high. "Nyeh!" Joey grunted in confusion.

He saw a white light flash through his eyes when the Crab Turtle's foot smacked him square in the face. Joey rocketed at the boulder, smashing his back against it. The searing pain forced his fingers to open, dropping his sword.

It fell with a clang on the ground. He grunted in agony. Blood dripped from his nose. "Aw man," he groaned. The impact caused him to see double. "Aww, man, I don't remember there being so many of them."

Tristan charged, smashing his axe against Crab Turtle's shell again. A direct hit. Tristan gritted his teeth when he felt his wrists stinging from the impact. He put all his strength into that swing.

Though it caused massive damage to the Crab Turtle, he wound up hurting himself. Crab Turtle made a blood-curdling shriek and backed-kicked Tristan away. Tristan rolled to a stop, again, he lost grip of his axe.

Joey could see that age was starting to catch up to them. Even though he was young enough to be seen by his elders as a teenager in Eldori years, he had been in this world for more than a hundred years.

Ten of those years were spent lazing away in his summer home after the defeat at Karad Antha. He could kill men with the greatest of ease, yes, none would dare mess with him. But monsters were starting to become too much of a challenge for him.

There was once a time when he would take on two Crab Turtles or even a Wyvern in the mountains with the greatest of ease. But now. He did not know what was happening to him. As much as he wanted to take down the Crab Turtle by himself, he realized that he needed help, and fast, or he and Tristan would surely die.

Using the charm his sister gave him, Joey mustered all the Mana he could and summoned a flaming warrior.

**Mighty Flame Swordsman**

**ATK/1300 LINK-2**

The warrior was an alternate form of the Flame Swordsman Joey once used in his early years as a Duelist. His look was more powerful and his armor a little exaggerated in terms of craftsmanship, and instead of one flaming orange sword, he carried two. Crab Turtle knew it was in trouble.

It tried to burrow back into the sand, but Mighty Flame Swordsman - in a cloak of flames - dashed for the creature and stuck it in the soft underbelly with both his flaming swords. The seared the creature's insides. It shrieked one last cry and was finally gone from the world.

Mighty Flame Swordsman removed his swords from the monster's body, crossed them over his chest and vanished in a column of fire. Joey spat blood out his mouth and sat up against the rock. "Damn it," he whispered. "That was too close."

Tristan slowly got up. He hunched over, placing both hands on his knees as he gasped for air. "You know, you could have saved us both a lot of trouble had you just summoned him earlier."

"I can't," Joey whispered.

Just summoning the warrior made him feel like he ran around the city wall four times. Plus, his bones were hurting and his back ached from the impact. He cracked a few ribs but cured them instantly with a gulp of some medicine given to him by the Elves when he hunted a Snake Hair that stalked their burial grounds.

"I aint cut out for monster hunting anymore, Tristan. No matter how hard we try, they just keep comin' - each one more threatening than the last. I'm still in my prime, man, but I feel as though I were in the twilight five-thousand (The final years of the toon-folk). The days are gettin' darker, bro. Every day the Diamond Throne sits there empty, we're one day closer to dark times - and I mean darker than usual. Monsters are crawlin' from every pit and stumbling closer to people. Without the light of the Heart-Earth Crown and the God Cards defending the world, they grow bolder and stronger. We need Prince Daveed back and we need him now."


	13. Hunting Yami

* * *

**Bakura's Report**

* * *

_Success! I was able to find the boy a new home. I had to slice a few throats and burn down that orphanage, but I found him a family. Not with just any family. I don't mean to brag, but I managed to convince the Montgomery's, the Lord and Masters of this floating metropolis. Damm, I'm good._

_They're trillionaires from what I understand. Hopefully, life with them will be a little more comfortable, and help grow the little wimp into a man. Perhaps this overabundance of wealth will help give the boy an understanding of what life awaits him beyond the Gate._

* * *

 

_Pathetic. Utterly pathetic. Prince Daveed is nothing more than a crybaby. A weakling. Pathetic. He cried when someone took a black crayon from him of all things. He cries when he doesn't get the toys he wants. He ran away screaming from the photographer as though the camera was going to take his soul away._

_He wets the bed constantly and was forced to wear diapers! He is six-years-old for Odiva's sake! It's gotten to the point where the other boys have started bullying him. They call him names and push him and shove him away. Is this the boy who killed Anubis? Is this wretch the boy whom the God Cards have chosen as master?_   _Is this pathetic excuse for a human being the supposed High King of Termnnia?_

_A few months have passed, and Daveed's life with the family has grown beyond my expectations. They love him as though he were one of their own. The paparazzi have claimed him as the new Prince of Aquarius._

_They follow the child like he was royalty._

_What am I saying? He is royalty. Oddly enough, the child spent many years living without a name. The caretakers of the orphanage dubbed him James, after some English King. Fitting, but nobody in the Montgomery household call him that. They developed a new name for him._

_….Yuri._

* * *

**Yuri**

* * *

"Congratulations," said Sergei, pacing back and forth in front of the new associates as though he were a military general leading his troops to war. "I bet you little cherubs think it's time to make your mommies and daddies proud, no? That the paycheck they wasted on you was worth every penny because you found yourselves a job. But don't get your hopes up, kiddies." Sergei took a large sip of coffee from his black mug that read: BOSS in big, white letters. "I am sure you think of yourselves as full-grown adults because I gave you opportunity to land job here in Ruby Dragon Gaming, the best gaming store in all Aquarius."

He chuckled boastfully at the sound of that. He worked really hard to earn that title. That was no boast he spewed out. That was a fact.

"This is just a job. It's foot out of your bedroom door. You aint out the front door yet, my young comrades. If you want to set your foot out the door, you need to find a career! But this! This is not a career, my little birds. No! No! No! If you want a career and stand where I am standing in the next ten or so years, then lend me your little ears and listen! Listen closely. Listen veeery fucking closely, kids, to the words that are coming out of my mouth because Uncle Sergei is about to hit you with your reality! I am not your friend. I am not your daddy! I am not your shoulder to cry on if you have problem. I am your boss! And every morning when you walk through those doors...your ass is mine!"

"Oh, uncle," Natalya said, spraying Windex on the glass counter. "Always so over-the-top."

"Ahem," Sergei said looking back at her. "So long as you are on the clock, there will be no cellphones. There is to be absolutely no conversation impertinent to your work. There will be no bathroom breaks taken unless authorized by me or my veteran workers such as Yuri. Yes, this is Yuri Montgomery, son of Jacob Montgomery. But don't think you're here to make friends with him or ask him how the son of the richest man on Earth works at a game shop because if you do, I will kick your ass out of this store. You will not look at Yuri! You will not walk next to Yuri! You will not TALK to Yuri unless it has to do with work. You want to talk to my Godson, then you have to earn that privilege. Am I understood? Excellence! I demand it and I expect it. Now, get to work, kiddies. We got games to sell."

The nervous associates gave nervous glances at one another and walked slowly to their designated areas to do their jobs.

Natalya laughed. "Man, it wasn't too long ago that I was in that position. How did you feel when Uncle Sergei hired you for the first time?"

"Nervous," said Yuri. "Even though I get yelled at from time to time, I have to tolerate it."

Natalya gulped. "I know I'm breaking a major rule here, Yuri, but I am curious. How is it that a boy as rich as you stooped to working a mere retail job?"

"I'm not rich," Yuri answered, setting up the new shipment of booster boxes. "My parents are rich. My father is not to keen on raising lazy little bastards who choose to do nothing but live off their parent's fortune. If I want money, I'm going to have to invest, create a business, and get a job. And with my track record, I can't create a business. I don't know shit about investing either. So, all I have left is my godfather's card shop. I can't complain. At four hundred every two weeks, I'm good."

"That's wonderful," said Natalya. "So, how come you don't spend money to make yourself a kick-ass deck to play in the big tournaments. You could earn a good rep that way and it could lead to contracts with major Dueling Leagues."

"I tried," said Yuri, setting up another booster box. "But luck has never been on my side. While everyone around me got super-rare cards, I got stuck with normal rares. While everyone else finds gold, ghosts, and secrets, I get silver. The only holo I ever got was a Mirror Force."

"Hey, that's a good start," said Natalya.

"I guess so," Yuri replied in a droll voice. He looked out the window, splattered with raindrops. The smell of the coffee downstairs and the soothing jazz music on the intercom relieved him of his stress. But, the bags under his eyes revealed how much rest he got the previous night.

"Did you have the dream again?" Natalya asked.

"I see Patty couldn't keep her mouth shut," Yuri keened as he rubbed his eyes, still heavy with sleep.

"What did he want?" Natalya asked, leaning against the countertop. "This Mr. Hairdo everyone talks about.

"The same as usual," Yuri replied opening and setting up another box in no time at all. "He talks about birthright. God cards. A kingdom waiting for me."

"Sounds like you've been playing Dungeons and Dragons with Carter again," Natalya chuckled. "But, it doesn't stray too far from the truth. I mean, this whole city will be yours one day."

"Maybe that's it," Yuri said with a soft chuckle of his own. "I guess it's the stress of having to take over my father's business. I...I don't think I'm ready for such a responsibility. Like I told you, I had three options to make money. Build a business, invest, or get a job. Unfortunately, I only have enough skills for the latter. If I can't even make the other two options work, then what hopes do I have of running a huge business empire?"

"Those things take time," Natalya said, brushing her chestnut hair over her ear with her fingertips.

"And I'm running out of it," Yuri said sadly. "I'm about to graduate soon. Huh. After all the shit I've caused, I'm surprised I'm even a senior right now. I got arrested a lot, you know."

"But those days are over. You're a changed guy from what Sergei and the gang tell me. And I'm more than sure Jacob won't throw you into the company without some training. There's still some time left to groom you for the responsibilities as President of Phobos Corp."

"Da, there is much time," Sergei said approaching the two. "But Yuri's position as President of Phobos Corp has nothing to do with work."

"Ah, but Uncle," Natalya replied. "This is Phobos Corp. Duel Monsters. And aren't we in the business of Duel Monsters?"

"I suppose so," Sergei said, rubbing his bushy chin. "Still, it is in no way associated with my game shop. Enough talking and get back to work, lest I make you clean the bathrooms again."

That was the last thing Yuri wanted. He looked at Natalya and said: Sorry, we'll talk about this later."

Natalya nodded her head repeatedly. "Okay. I understand. We'll talk later."

Later came, but Natalya had other company to be with. As soon as she and Yuri walked out of the store, a Lamborghini Aventador colored dark red and tinged to black at the front rolled up on the sidewalk in front of them. The door slid up. A good-looking young fellow from Phobos Academy came out and put his sunglasses over his forehead.

"Natalya!" he called out. "Wanna take a ride? I just got it this morning."

Natalya jumped up and down as she squealed with delight. She ran to the car to examine it. "Oh my God! It's incredible!"

"Ain't it something?" the lad boasted. "Come on, the others are at Nefeli Island having a barbeque on Frederico's yacht, let's go!"

"Hey, Yuri, I'll see you at work tomorrow, da?" Natalya said.

Yuri shrugged and waved her goodbye. "Da," he replied sadly.

"Wait a minute," said the lad. "Yuri? As in Yuri Montgomery? So it's true. You are working retail. Whatever for, my man?"

"Reasons that are too difficult to explain," Yuri managed to grumble. Despite who he was, he could not afford a luxury such as an expensive car or his own yacht the way the other rich kids on the islands did.

"Man, I'm glad I don't have that kind of problem," the lad said as Natalya slid the door up and got in. "Okay, it was nice meeting you. See you around. Perhaps we'll Duel sometime."

"Oh, sure!" Yuri began. "I'd like to..."

Before he could finish, the young man got into his seat and closed the door. The Aventador's engines growled and then it sped off. "Woo-hoo!" Natalya shouted as it zoomed down the street and leaving Yuri alone on the sidewalk. He sadly shook his head and walked home.

* * *

**Yami & Yugi**

* * *

Wayshrines. Without them, traversing the continent would be impossible. Thankfully, the Senate was much more lenient with these ancient traveling devices than the Gates. Wayshrines were a necessity for everyone who had to travel long distances such as merchants, politicians - who often buy them out as their personal means of transportation - and even large armies.

Of course, there were also Airships and the smaller much more expensive Star Jets, which left crisscrossing contrails in the skies above. But if you needed to get to a certain point with the greatest of haste, the ancient Wayshrines the Normans built thousands of years ago was the best way for travel. They were heavily guarded, however, so as to check on who or what wanted to use them.

There were those, such as little Yugi, who hated traveling through them. Yugi just didn't like the feeling of being materialized and zoomed hundreds of leagues away in a matter of seconds. And there were those who feared that something could go awry with the highways and send them to another dimension. Or worse - The Shadow Ream.

"We are getting close, Yugi," Yami said, examining the map as he rode atop his horse down the dirt road through the Scerion Forest. The golden surface of his Millennium Puzzle flashed in the sunlight that peeked through the canopy of leaves above. Beside him ran a roaring river with salmon jumping out of the water to make it over the rapids that formed a barrier between them and their nesting grounds.

He pulled the hood of his cloak over his head. His wild hair bounced free from their stuffy confinement. The lightning bolt bangs bounced over his face. He felt relieved feeling the fresh air again. It was probably safe to keep his hood off now, since there was nobody around for miles.

"Oh, good," Yugi said, hovering over Yami's shoulder. "There's an inn just down the road. Do us a favor and go in. I'm starving."

"Yugi, we cannot afford to waste any time. There is a lot of ground to cover before we reach Eredas."

"What!" Yugi cried. "We're not there yet!?"

Yami shook his head. "No, we're not even close to the border."

"Aw, come on! We've been riding for months now! How can we not even be close to the border of the country?"

"We'd get there quicker if it weren't for you asking to stop at every inn marked on the map, Yugi. We have much to do; you know this. Once we finally gather the Princes for the alliance, we can rest and eat all you want." He stomach rumbled, giving off a growl like an angry dragon. His eyes widened. He placed his palm over his belly and rubbed it. "Uh..."

"Stop and rest, will you. Nobody says we have to spend the night there."

"Looks like me might have to," said Yami. He looked at his watch, displaying the numbers in holographic numbers. It also displayed windows full of information, a GPS, even the temperature. "If we order a meal now, we're going to have to stay, for it is getting really dark. The Fiends will come out, and we don't want to be on the road when they're around."

"Yeah, good thinking," Yugi agreed. "Let's lock Penelope up for the night and get some food and some shut-eye. Maybe even a nice tavern wench if we can help it."

Yami slowly rolled his head to the right. His eyes rolled to the top of his head to look at the boy. Yami's face was masked in an expression that read:  _Really_?

Yugi laughed at him, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Ah-ha, just kidding of course. What would Téa think of us, huh?"

"We wouldn't hear the end of it," Yami said. "I'll go to the inn and rent us a room. But you're taking the reins tomorrow."

"Fine with me," Yugi replied happily. "I really need to get out of here and get some fresh air. I'm still beaten up by that Duel you had with the Prince. That took a lot out of me."

Yami gripped the reins even harder. He shut his eyes out of guilt and let out a deep sigh. "Oh, I'm sorry, Yugi. But what else can we do? The Senate refuses to let us even care for the boy anymore. And I sensed a great evil lingering around him when we Dueled. It was never my intention to get the Divine Beasts involved, but they did. Slifer wanted to show off his power for Daveed and show him it was just a taste of what he could gain if he accepted his royal lineage. Even they start to grow restless. They want their king. And they want him now."

Yugi balled his fists and growled. "Why can't the hoi-polloi in the Senate understand this isn't a matter of political interests? The whole world needs Yuri right now."

Yami smiled and looked at the boy. "Since when did you grow to like his earthly nickname?"

"I just do," Yugi answered strictly. He crossed his arms and looked away, lips puffed in a pout. "Besides, it kind of sounds like my name. I like the kid. He has so much potential, and it's being wasted in the other world. They don't Duel like us, Spirit. They're horribly old school."

"Perhaps it's for the best," Yami responded, darting his head to the right when he heard a rustling in the bushes near the road. It was just a curious fawn that wandered too far from its mother. It saw Yami and scampered back towards the herd. Yami ducked his head to avoid a low-hanging branch. "Our monsters and rules will prove a little too difficult for them. Kaiba assures me he wishes to teach them somehow."

"Oh, sure. Teach them to play Duel Monsters and do nothing to help Yuri!" Yugi spat.

Yami looked at him sternly. "Kaiba has done enough. He modernized the game for them. He gave them the blueprints to make their city evolve in what it is today. He gave them the means to make holographic technology. Think next time you claim that Kaiba has done nothing."

Something on the road caused Yami's horse to rear on its hind legs and whinny in fright. A net rose out of the ground, covered by the leaves, and blocked Yami's path down the road. He drew his sword when suddenly another net flew up from behind and blocked the way behind him. He was trapped. He heard sniggering and laughter coming from behind the rocks, trees, and fallen trunks.

Slowly, a gang of bandits marched towards him, brandishing their crude and blunt weapons.

"Look 'Ooo We got 'ere boys!" sneered the leader, a tall and stout fellow with an iron tooth. "There's no mistakin' that ridiculous hairstyle. It's him! The King of Games!" His words caused his companions to look closely at Yami. When they saw his outrageous hair and Millennium Item, they broke out laughing and then held their arms up and cheered.

Yami raised his weapon high, threatening to strike at them if they didn't let him go. But the bandits were not keen on letting him off easy. They would let him pass if he surrendered his gold, his Duel Disk, his deck, and his Millennium Puzzle. Those were terms Yami could not follow. Not wanting to take no for an answer, the bandit leader called upon his Conjurers to come forth and show Yami that he was in no position to decline their terms.

Two females wearing pointed hats and revealing leather robes sniggered when they were called to perform their duties. They held out their hands which caused dark blue glyphs to appear over their palms. One of them summoned a monster known as Pale Beast (ATK/1200) and the other summoned beast known as Synchar (ATK/800), which resembled the Pale Beast in every way, save that its flesh was red.

On the other side of the road, two more scantily clad witches appeared conjuring their own monsters to attack Yami with. They were fiendish creatures in the game known as Skull Stalker (ATK/900) and Megirus Light (ATK/900).

The bandit leader laughed, confident that Yami was going to surrender to the terms and relinquish the Dark Magician that was so revered and so legendary. But Yami was no ordinary Duelist, as they would come to realize soon. He was a master wizard, gifted in every school of the arcane arts. Smiling, Yami held out his arms. Arcane circles and magical glyphs circled over his arms and over his palms. One even hovered over his forehead. Ornate runes started to glow on his flesh and his eyes lit up in bright purple. A violet aura slithered out of his body.

"I will give you one last chance," he said, his voice radiating as if metallic. "Step aside, and you may live. Persist to do me harm, and you will certainly die."

The witch who summoned Skull Stalker was so pleased with her monster, that Yami's words had no impact on her. Big mistake. She commanded her Skull Stalker to charge towards Yami. Just inches before Skull Stalker could reach him, a spellcaster rose out of the ground and blocked his attack with his beautiful white staff.

**Legendary Magician of Dark**

**ATK/2500 DEF/2100**

**Rank 7**

****

The magician pushed Skull Stalker with his staff then kicked it in the gut to put distance between them. Skull Stalker grunted and stumbled backward. Legendary Magician of Dark pointed his staff at the monster and launched a black ball of dark magic that lit up with spectral hues on its glossy surface. The ball smacked hard on the Skull Stalker's chest and blew him up.

The witch who summoned him gasped, for in seconds Legendary Magician of Dark stood in front of her. He spun his staff and jabbed it into her chest. The witch gasped from the sudden agony.

The magician released his staff from her abdomen and swatted her away with a powerful whack. Megirus Light howled, charging for the magician and releasing a dark piercing light from the tip of its wooden staff.

Legendary Magician of Dark held up his staff and blocked the light with a runic shield. He then jabbed his staff into the monster's mouth. Megirus Light choked and screeched from the horrid pain. The magician pulled his staff out, spun it dramatically and blasted him with a purple beam that made a low metallic hum.

Megirus Light exploded. Then, the Magician spun his staff again and hit the witch with a dark magic attack. She screeched for half a second before she turned to dust. Her bones and clothes scattered in all directions, followed by the hum of the attack.

Meanwhile, the Pale Beast and Syncar rushed down the rocky slope over the road, hoping to maul Yami. Yugi called for him to watch out.

Yami turned in time to see the two beasts climbing down towards him. He held out his other hand conjuring two arcane circles and glyphs which opened the gates of this world and the monster world, allowing a beautiful Magi Magi Magician Gal (ATK/2400) to come to her master's aid.

Beside her was a Sorcerer of Dark Magic (ATK/3200).

Magician Gal created a glyph with her hand, forming a wall to protect Yami. The two beasts smashed into it. They howled and were knocked backward.

The Sorcerer blasted Pale Beast's summoner with a bright ball of light from his staff, turning her to cinders. With her gone, Pale Beast howled, losing the strings that connected him to this world. He vanished.

Yami held his blade in front of his face and slid his hand down the length of it. The sword was engulfed by pinkish-purple flames. He flipped off his horse and landed in front of the bandit leader. He jabbed his flaming weapon into his gut, burning his insides.

The bandit leader squealed like a beast to slaughter. Yami removed his sword from the bandit's flesh and cut off his head with a mighty blow. Another bandit charged for him with a spiked bat.

Yami spun out of the way, his cape whooshed behind him, then he stuck the bastard in the back and lifted up the sword, cutting the bandit vertically in half. Yami kicked another bandit in the stomach, then punched him and beheaded him. The bandit's body jerked around, arms flailing in the air, as it wondered what happened to the brain that controlled it.

Some bandits with crossbows aimed their weapons at Yami and fired. Magi Magi Magician Gal formed a round shield with hexagon-shaped tiles to protect him from the oncoming missiles.

She then fired a black ball of energy at one of the marksmen. Direct hit! He howled as his flesh sprinkled off the bone like sand. Yami heard the sound of reinforcements coming from behind. Ten bandits bravely -or stupidly- charging toward the wizard.

With one final move, Yami summoned possibly one of the most powerful of all the magicians. The Magician of Black Chaos, who only lent his strength to those who he deemed worthy of asking for his power.

After a dazzling display of glyphs and runic circles, he appeared behind Yami's horse and stood at the ready. "Destroy them!" Yami shouted. "Chaos Scepter Blast!"

The Magician of Black Choas spun his staff and slammed the head on the ground, launching a black ball of shadow energy that jolted toward the large formation of bandit reinforcements.

It struck them and exploded. A cloud of smoke rose into the air. Trees shivered and birds flew away crying out in fear of the explosion. They were gone. Not a particle of them remained. All that they left behind was their shadows burned on the dirt where they once stood. Yami extinguished the flames of his sword and sheathed it back into its scabbard.

He smiled, but then grimaced when he heard a loud growl. He thought another monster was still lurking in the shadows, but then his face turned bright red when he realized the growling sound was his stomach.

Yugi appeared behind him and sighed. "Can we eat now?"


	14. Winds of Divinity

**Bakura's Report**

* * *

_Despite my best efforts to help the boy grow, he is still a glorified wimp. He started his first day of kindergarten today and was already pushed around by some of the boys. Even though he wears the best clothing, has the best supplies, and is a child of the most powerful family in the world, something about him seems punchable. I can't help but want to wallop the boy myself. The bullying I fear may contribute to his lack of confidence._

_Today, was a grim day for the prince, and for me. A group of bullies tied Yuri to a tree and punched him repeatedly for standing up to another outcast in the class. A little girl by the name of Pamela (Nickname Patty). This is too much. There is only so much a person can take. In order for Yuri to grow, it seems I must break a few rules._

_I intervened and saved Yuri from the bullies, but I did my job a little too well. The boys were so frightened of my display that they went into a vegetative state, and their hair turned bleach white. Needless to say, Yuri and his family got into a bit of trouble with the school. The press is eating this up as well. The kids in school have started calling Yuri a monster, and have dubbed me The Pink-Haired Demon. I chuckle because I am now known as the island's official boogeyman. The kids spread rumors not to bother Yuri, otherwise, Bakura will get them. This is working out better than I thought._

* * *

Love is nothing without  **Action**

Trust is nothing without  **Proof**

Sorry is nothing without  **Change**

* * *

"A dear friend," The Platinum Knight muttered, his weary eyes gazing into the fire. He spat blood into it, the iron-like taste soured his mouth. "What a load of crap. Yeah, he was until you found something better to do. Found other people to be with. Then you broke him and caused all of this."

He stared up into the amber-orange sky, splotched with ivory clouds, rapidly moving north over the mourning mountains, broken and scarred from the apocalypse. His heavy plate armor cracked and clanked with each movement. His cape was tattered and dirty, reeking of death and his own sorrow. How did he let it come this far? Why would he allow things to fall into such disarray? What sort of vile power could cause this much destruction in the world? Heartache. Heartache caused by lies and deceit. That's what. But he had no time to ponder all the hows and whys. He was not a cartographer or a lore keeper. The world was the way it was, and it was up to him to fix it.

The hour was late. It was time to move on. But he did not want to proceed. He was exhausted and his body ached, weighing him down with a deadly burden. He had been through so many trials to get here. Now that he was close, he felt like giving up. The castle was up ahead. It was once a gleaming beacon of hope, love, and friendship. Now, it was in a heavy state of decay. A few towers had collapsed when the Weeping Floods washed over the countryside and took everything away. It stood like a giant silhouette against the blood-orange sky. Banners, now looking like eerie black ghosts, fluttered in the howling winds. Even though the castle looked abandoned, there were still lights glowing through the narrow windows. But The Platinum Knight would find no friends in there. No, he knew the halls were being stalked by horrible monsters guarding the treasure deep inside. And they were tasked with stopping him from getting to that treasure by any means necessary.

The Platinum Knight gulped down the last of a very sweet elixir the princess gave him before he left. He felt his body rejuvenated, but God only knew how long he would be this way. He still had to trek through a graveyard of ghouls and phantoms and past the courtyard and high walls before he could even think of getting inside the castle. This should not be happening. The Castle of Grief was once a place of learning. A place with radiant gardens decorated with glowing trees ringing like silver bells and fountains of silver and myrrh. Where bluebirds once sang, now crows squawked. Beautiful flowers that dotted the neverending sea of green with blue, red, purple, and gold, were replaced with thistles, twigs, and sticks. The Platinum Knight remembered a time when a beautiful, blue sky once haloed the castle and its majestic towers. The ragged black banners were once blazing red embellished with the gold insignia of the King of Light.

He thought about a time when the sun possibly radiated off the gleaming, white, limestone of the castle, making it shine like a pharos of hope for all to see and come. The halls where the monsters roamed must have radiated with the laughter of a hundred guests having dinner in the great golden halls during the peaceful days. What could have happened that could have turned the world to hell?

How could he let this happen? The Platinum Knight wondered. He paused.

Before he left for the Castle of Grief, Della, Lady of the Embers of Friendship, said to him: " _He does not have a bad heart. It was just broken by the people he trusted the most. The Queen of the Stars proved to be no friend to our King._   _Her **Betrayal**  drove him mad and all we know is now in ruins. Once the light in him was gone, the monsters began to rise out of every crevice and stinking pit. All this suffering for what? I still cannot understand how some people can be so insensitive. Before the light left, I tried to confide in him. I did my best to convince him she was not for him. Any fool who seeks revenge for puny mistakes is no friend to keep."_

_"Why did he stay then?" The Platinum Knight asked. "If he knew the Queen of the Stars was such a deceiver, why did he stay with her?"_

_"Because he always looked for hope. He wanted his bond to remain forever. She said her friendship was one she would take to the grave. But they were empty words. She was a liar. She fed him false hope. And just look at the consequences."_

He left the campsite, ate the last of his stale Elven bread, and moved on. He jumped down into a bog guarded by Zombie Warrior, normally a very weak and useless Fusion Monster in the game. But they had grown to be a thorn in his side ever since the Great Heartbreak folded up the world and turned it into ruin. The pestersome monsters howled and groaned, slashing at him with their axes. The Platinum Knight was too quick for them, growing used to fighting the beasts. But every now and then, they would knick him hard. He slashed through waves of the damned things before a new creature rose from the putrid pits to take him down.

The 13th Grave. A skeleton whose bones had blackened and browned from so many years of decay. The creature wore teal-colored rags and wielded a rusty greatsword. More than ten of them would rise from their graves and attack him. He dodged them easily despite being burdened with heavy armor. He used a spell to light his sword on fire and deal extra damage to the horrible beasts. Not only did this fiery enchantment hurt his enemies more, but it also lit the darkness around him.

The Platinum Knight hurried through the bog and finally made it to the courtyard where the first beast would be waiting for him. The Platinum Knight used his anger to slash through the hordes of enemies. He fought through the ramparts and courtyards of the castle until he finally found a way to get inside. He traveled up to the top of the castle, fighting past terrible Fiends and Zombies to reach the throne room. And there, his foe awaited him. The Guardian of the Castle.

_**Prometheus, King of the Shadows** _

_**** _

Once the Platinum Knight pushed past the doors, Prometheus stood up and chuckled. He had no legs, just a shadowy torso with a long, flowing cape. But he was so tall, his head almost touching the ceiling hundreds of feet high. The Platinum Knight was nothing more than a mere speck to him. Prometheus drew a sword that looked like darkness made solid and engulfed it in purple flames. He started swinging his blade wildly across the throne room. The Platinum Knight rolled out of the way. He felt the sword woosh over him. The ground shook with each impact it made. The rusty chandeliers swung back and forth, and dust sprinkled from the ceiling.

So...this was the offspring of a broken heart.  _You will pay for what you've done to me!_

The Platinum Knight held up his hand and created a beautiful arcane circle that stopped the blade, shattering it to pieces. Prometheus fell backward. The Platinum Knight saw his chance. He jumped up the Fiend's body and jabbed his sword into his forehead. Prometheus screamed and swatted The Platinum Knight off. The Platinum Knight soared across the throne room and smashed into a column. The Platinum Knight was paralyzed by pain for but a few seconds, but he regained feeling in his body and fell from the column. Prometheus screamed, shattering the stained glass windows of the throne room. He summoned a new weapon. This time, it was a heavy claymore of shadow. But he used so much shadow that it revealed his weak spot. There was a red orb at the center of his chest. It must have been his heart.

He felt he was ready to cast his Summon. He smashed his sword into the ground and shouted: Curse of Dragonfire! Arise!

A fiery, retrained version of the Curse of Dragon rose out of the ground and screeched like a mighty eagle. Prometheus pounded his fist against his breast and howled. The mighty flames of the monster distracted Prometheus long enough for The Platinum Knight to sneak in and inflict great damage upon him, striking the monster's core repeatedly. He felt like he struck the monster a thousand times. It did not go down easily. The fell power of Anubis was strong in this place. There was no way to get rid of it.

 _"People who love truly, can't move on easily,"_ said Della.  _"To move on in your life, one needs to accept that the person they've left is never coming back. He could not accept this. And we suffer for it."_

"NO MORE!" shouted The Platinum Knight. "Foul monster! It's time to die!"

After a long, grueling, hour of combat, The Platinum Knight and his Curse of Dragonfire finally struck down Prometheus. His core could not take so much damage, and he was growing tired of dodging those white-hot flames and looking for The Platinum Knight at the same time. He let out an eerie howl of agony and then fell with a great crash on the floor. His body was consumed by blue flames, sprinkling embers into the air. The flames then formed a twister that glided towards The Platinum Knight's sword and enveloped it. The sword took on a new form. It grew taller and more exquisite, with runes detailing the story of how he took down Prometheus on the blade. And then...Prometheus was finally gone. All that remained of him was a rusty, iron safe. There it was. The treasure he sought. It was his, at last. He smashed the safe with his sword. The door bent open easily, then The Platinum Knight pried it open with his hands.

"There you are," he whispered. He reached inside and took it out. The treasure Prometheus and all the monsters of the Castle of Grief guarded with their lives.

A heart-shaped chocolate chip cookie.

"This small thing," he said, "it used to make the both of you smile so much. What was once a great symbol of your bond, is now a cause for your suffering. Well, no more." The Platinum Knight crushed the cookie with his hand. When he did, he noticed something new, something warm peeking through the shattered windows.

Sunlight.

Restoration at 17%

"Damn it all to hell!"

* * *

**Yuri**

* * *

Yuri woke to a beautiful morning. But he could not enjoy it. Not after that horrible dream. He sat up and covered his mouth with a polite hand as he gave a big yawn. Then he swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He rubbed his eyes and squinted to read the numbers on his clock. The numbers read 7:45 a.m.

"On a Saturday?" Yuri grumbled. "Why Sergei?"

As much as the poor boy wanted to remain in bed, he had to go to work for the sake of his Duel Monsters reputation. Even though he was the son of the richest man on the planet, Yuri's relationship with his father was a strict one.

He was not allowed to be given cards to prevent having an unfair advantage over the competition, and he did not have an allowance. If he was going to get cards, he had to do so like everyone else with their own money. So he found work last summer at the card shop his godfather owned. Yuri gave another yawn and walked to his computer to search for a song to play from his library.

He smiled when he found the right one. He clicked on it, waited for the song to load, and when the window popped up on the screen, he began to dance once the beat of the song's intro started to play.

_Holding Back the Years..._

Yuri dressed, put on his work shoes, and left the Montgomery Estate. After sailing to the next island on the ferry and taking the bus downtown to the central island, he walked into the shop.

Both floors were filled with young gamers. The scent of burgers and other foods from the shop's diner filled the air. A few pumpkins were grinning in the corners and the walls, bursting with color from the posters advertising tournament worthy Zombie decks, as well as posters announcing the shop tournament called the Halloween Monster Mash.

The prize would be a shiny Pumpking the King of Ghosts who which had an alternate art and was shimmering in a new rarity called Ghost Rare. A booster set called Haunted Mansion was on display by the cash wrap.

There would be a small chance one of those boxes contained a Ghost Rare monster. The main creature on the box art was a Summoned Skull with alternate art.

"Yer late!" snapped Sergei, as Yuri clocked in on the computer by the counter.

"I had a little dragon trouble," Yuri said pointing at the bruise under his eye. He got it when he ran into the cardboard sign of a Blackland Fire Dragon outside the store during his rush into the store.

"BAH!" Sergei said with a loud laugh. He slapped Yuri hard on the back. "Did big, powerful dragon burn our little flower?"

"OY! Sergei!" laughed another co-worker, his brother, Boris. He set down heavy boxes of new merchandise on the counter with a loud thump. "Go easy on little Yuri today, ah."

"Da, of course, we must," teased Sergei. "Enough of his little petals have been picked."

The other sales associates laughed and started playfully mocking Yuri.

"Not today, Sergei," Yuri said, putting on his red apron.

"Indeed. We have much work that needs doing," said Sergei.

* * *

As the day progressed, the shop started getting noisy. Yuri saw his friends coming in through the door, and it brightened his day. "Hi guys," he said, sweeping the floor behind the counter clean of stickers and bits of cardboard.

"Hey Yuri," Patty said, wearing a black hoodie in the shape of a dragon. The sleeves had claws, her hood was adorned with horns, and cloth frills rand down the back to a tail that hung near the bottom. "Let go you little twerp!" she said sternly to Sam, playing with her tail.

"Well, you know me," Sam said, playfully swinging her tail from side to side. "I love chasing tail."

"Oh!" said Sergei. He maliciously drummed his fingers on the counter in disapproval for the young boy's insensitive behavior. "Audacious, isn't he?"

"You have no idea," Patty said, swiping her tail from Sam's grip. She walked away from the boy and leaned close to Tyson for some protection. He grinned and placed both hands on her shoulders, lightly pushing her away from his view.

"Hey, Sergei," said Nick. "I came to get some new cards."

"Ah, you got money?" Sergei asked, raising his chin in greed.

"And how," said Nick, showing him a wad of twenty-dollar bills he earned from recycling the garbage in the marina of the slums. "So, what've you got on display today?" Nick leaned over the counter to look at the new shiny cards.

The bell over the door jingled again. Natalya came running in with a skip in her step. The strap of her backpack was struggling to stay on her shoulder. Her face was red from running in the heat and soaked from perspiration.

"Hi uncle!" she called out, running quickly to the counter to kiss Sergei on his scruffy cheek.

"Natalya," said Sergei, wiping her sweat from his cheek with his knuckles. "So how did it go?"

"You're going to be so proud of me, uncle," Natalya said running to the stockroom of the store.

She didn't need to tell him that. He already knew Natalya had good news. She was a very gifted girl, already earning herself in the school's top ten. Had she been registered as a citizen of Aquarius much earlier, she would have been attending Phobos Corp. Academy. Sergei had a twinkle in his eye. From where he stood, Yuri could tell his godfather was being filled to the brim with pride again.

For the longest time, he boasted about Natalya's grades and accomplishments at parties and when having dinner at Yuri's house, which was a common occurrence.

Natalya came out of the stockroom lickety-split, tying her apron over her red tank top and jeans. "I scored the highest in the exam!" she cried out proudly.

"That's my girl," said Sergei. He pounded his chest with the utmost of pride and admiration.

"What exam?" asked Tyson, reading a comic book from one of the stands near the store's front window.

"Natalya's been taking extra classes at St. Christina University," said Yuri, carefully stacking booster boxes on the shelf behind the cash wrap. Nick was eyeing them all greedily, as did Sam and Carter. Yuri saw the greed in their eyes and laughed before he said: "It's a requirement for the school she wants to go to."

"Sheesh," said Tyson, putting the comic back where he found it. "I aim for a good school, too, but I don't have to work THAT hard for it."

"Well, Tyson, my friend," said Sergei. "My Natalya isn't going to any other school. She's going to an Ivy League school in New England."

"Wow, I wish I could," Nick said drearily, feeling a tad jealous.

"Congratulations," said Patty, leaning against the counter and swiping her tail away before Sam could play with it. "You must be working really hard if you have to juggle school, a job, and our pal Yuri at the same time."

"Hey!" said Yuri, feigning insult.

Natalya laughed at her joke while picking up boxes of  _Magic the Gathering_  cards. "If I can handle Yuri, I can handle anything. He's a handful, he is. When will I get to meet your other two friends, Yuri?"

"Y-you won't see them as often," said Yuri, his voice got shaky when he felt his nerves getting the best of him. "They're rather busy."

"Oh dear," Natalya said, feeling upset. She smiled again and picked up another box of cards. "Maybe some other time, I suppose. I really want their autographs."

"Judge!" A player called out from one of the tables to report a foul. Natalya held out her palm. "Be right there," she said before she walked away.

"Autographs?" said Patty, backing herself against the counter when she noticed Sam was circling her legs to look up her skirt. "Just who are these friends of yours, Yuri?"

"Never mind that, Patty," said Yuri, pulling Sam away by the scruff of his neck. "Get over there!" he commanded him, pointing toward the fountain. "Anyways, if you're here to buy, I'll help you on register one. If you're here to Duel, the tables are open. But you have to be quick; we have a tournament later on."

"A tournament," said Sam glowing with excitement. "Where do I sign up?"

"If you want to register, make it fast," said Yuri. "That's why there's a crowd over there."

"Oh snap!" said Sam, rushing away.

"You're not going to join, Nick?" Carter asked. "This is a tournament for novice players. It could be a chance to spruce your skills."

"I'm no beginner," said Nick, confidently crossing his arms. "I can handle myself."

"Yeah, that's why your record stinks," said Patty. "I'm going to register for the Halloween tournament, Sergei."

"Da, right this way," he said, leading her to the sign-up list on the column nearby.

"What? What about the Halloween Dance?" Yuri asked. "You were really looking forward to that."

"I have no one to go with," Patty replied. "And as you know, I was recently dumped."

"Do you have anyone to take you to homecoming?" Natalya asked, returning from the table after settling the dispute between the players. "That's coming up really soon."

"I haven't found anyone who would take me," said Patty with a shrug.

"You can always ask me to go with you, baby," Sam said, leaning against her leg. "I see you like pink."

Patty cringed and yanked her mini-skirt down as far as she could to keep him from seeing anything. Sergei lightly placed his hands on Sam's shoulders and pulled him away from her.

"Mind your manners, boy," he said. "That is no way to treat a lady."

Patty smiled at Sergei for coming to her defense. "I'd sooner ask your brother out, Sam."

"Really?" Nick asked.

"No."

"Come on, boys," said Sergei. "Leave her alone. If you bother Patty again, I'm booting you from my store."

He led her away from the brothers. Carter followed behind him and tapped his shoulder. "Mr. Sergei," he said. "I was wondering if, Yuri and I could have a Duel."

"I'm working right now, Carter," said Yuri.

"Oh," said Carter, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "Oh, yeah, I forgot."

Sergei patted Carter's shoulders gently. "No, no, no," he said. "I think Yuri Dueling is just what I need right now. Besides, my boy," he looked at his wristwatch, "you are long overdue for a break."

"Okay," said Yuri, undoing his apron. "I'll go get my stuff." He headed for the stockroom.

"Thanks, Yuri," said Carter. "I'll hold a spot for you at table twelve."

"You must be pretty proud of that deck if you're going to take on Yuri," said Patty, signing her name on the tournament list.

"I managed a few wins the other day," said Carter. "Five victories."

"Great job," said Tyson. "You're coming along great."

"Da," Sergei agreed. "I told you that Water deck would do you wonders. Makes sense you chose that element, seeing as how you want to join the Navy after school ends, ya?"

"Carter, you serious?" Patty asked. "You're going to the Navy?"

"Well..." Carter said nervously. "No. It's something my dad wants. I'd rather work my magic at the salon up in Diamond Street."

Patty fluffed her hair. If ever she had a problem with it or needed something done with it, Carter was the person to see. "Actually, I think that suits you so much better, baby. Why not do that instead. Just let your dad know that RAPTOR isn't for you and become a hairstylist. No one knows hair quite like you do."

"Da. I agree with Patty," said Sergei. "Follow your dreams, my young friend."

"You're right," Carter said. He blinked his eyes rapidly to keep the tears from coming out. "I'll have a talk with my old man tonight. I'm going to put my foot down and let him know that I am no sailor. Yuri, I'm feeling pretty boosted right now, baby. I hope you have your Black Tyranno on you. I want to test that handsome bitch out for myself."

"Oops," Yuri said. 

Patty slapped her palm on her forehead. "Don't tell me you forgot him."

"I did. I don't want to bring him around just yet. I still need to figure out where the hell he came from."

"Who cares, bitch!" Carter snapped. He was peeved that he would not get the chance to try his luck against the beast that aided Yuri in beating Randal the other night. "You have the card, Fucking use it, that's what it's for. Ugh, sit your ass down so I can give you the spanking you deserve."

Yuri came back out of the stockroom with his deck in hand. He and Carter sat down at their table. Their friends gathered around them. A liquid-crystal screen over their table displayed an empty Colosseum with torches lighting up the night. Their Life Points displayed on the screen as well.

"Let's Duel, Yuri!"

"Show me what you've got, Carter," said Yuri, setting down his deck. The hi-tech playmat scanned his deck. "Black Tyranno or not, it's unwise to underestimate me."

* * *

**LP 2000**

* * *

"I'll go first, seeing as I'm the challenger," said Carter. "I play the Field Spell Card, Umi!"

He slapped his Spell Card on the mat. The Colosseum then turned into an ocean with a rocky island at the center housing the ruins of a temple that resembled the Parthenon. Carter searched his hand wondering what to play.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Carter beamed at the new scenery on the Duel Screen. "I summon Turu-Purun in attack mode!"

The screen displayed a short and stubby sea creature with one eye, a large mouth with his two large teeth coming out the corners, blue skin with an anchor tattooed on his chest, two gold armbands, a red cape, and a tail. His weapon of choice was a trident.

* * *

**ATK/450 DEF/500**

* * *

"Oh, I love it," Carter hooted, clapping his hands. "And look, he matches my nail polish. "Also, Umi will give him a field power bonus, raising his attack to six-fifty. Can you top that, my love?"

"I'm sure he can," said Patty. "It was smart of you to use the Umi card to give your water monsters a field power bonus, but it's still pretty weak."

"You can beat him, Yuri?" Carter asked. "But. I've got a field power bonus. Doesn't that count for something? Aw, fuck me, you can beat him, can't you?"

Yuri let out a friendly laugh. "Yeah, with this guy, Mechaleon,"

He summoned a large chameleon-like monster. Its attack was 800, more than enough to beat Turu-Purun.

"Aw," said Carter, watching Yuri's monster destroy his on the screen. His Life Points now at 1850. "Damn, ho," he said, discarding Turu-Purun to the grave.

"Yuri Dueling!" Sam said, squeezing past Nick and Tyson to get a better look. "Why didn't anyone tell me? I've always wanted to see Yuri play."

Patty scooted towards Yuri a little more to get away from the kid. She filled Yuri's nostrils with her scent of amber musk perfume.

"I play a card face down and end my turn," said Yuri.

"My turn," said Carter. He drew gingerly. "I summon Liquid Beast!"

He summoned a monster made of orange goo with five blue eyes. It had an attack strength of 950, plus the field bonus from Umi made him 1150. He looked at the Mechaleon's attack. 800. He smiled confidently, pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and attacked.

"I use Reinforcements," said Yuri, flipping over his Trap Card.

Carter groaned, fanning his cards over his face to control his temper. "Ah, fuck me. What does it do?"

Yuri nodded. "It will raise my Mechaleon's attack points by five hundred, so he beats your Liquid Beast."

The monsters battled on the screen making the score 1700.

"Got to do better than if you want to beat Yuri," Patty said.

"I know, bitch," Carter retorted, sassily snapping his fingers three times over her face. "I think I'm getting the hang of this. Good play, Yuri. You're good."

Yuri shook his head. "No, man, you're just a beginner. I can teach you some time if you want. My students, however, end up being better than me."

"Like me," said Sam. "Have you seen me Duel yet, Patty?"

"Can't say that I have," said Patty. "Did you really teach him, Yuri?"

Yuri replied with a shrug. "Just the basics. Seems like he got better at the game if he feels confident enough to play in the Halloween tournament. Anyways, it's my turn. I summon Trakadon in attack mode."

"Dinosaurs, huh?" said Sam. "You always were the dinosaur nerd, Yuri."

"They're the sole reason I got into the game," said Yuri. "Sucks there aren't that many of them. It's your move, Carter. Got anything to stomp my dinosaur and my Mechaleon?"

"At thirteen-hundred attack points, your Trakadon is tough," said Carter. "But wait till you see this. Wow Warrior in attack mode. His attack is twelve-fifty, but with my Umi, it raises him to fourteen-fifty. I will destroy your Mechaleon!"

Yuri picked up the card and set it down in the discard pile. "Well, you finally got him."

On the screen, the scaly blue creature reared on its hind legs and roared. It dashed across the temple and attacked Mechaleon with a powerful bite.

The chameleon-like monster gave a horrid croaking noise after the dagger-shaped teeth of Wow Warrior crunched on his flesh. He wobbled about and fell dead. His body consumed by rays of light, and then he disappeared. Wow Warrior stomped on the ground victoriously. He snarled as if telling Trakadon that he was next.

After the battle, Yuri's Life Points went down to 1350.

Carter snapped his fingers three times, jerking his head from side to side. "Mmm-hmm, now you're my bitch, Yuri."

Patty let out a loud, astonished, gasp. "Wow, Carter got the lead!"

Sam looked up at her with a wide grin. "Man, if a 350-point lead is all it takes to excite you, I can't wait for you to see me Duel!"

"Ew," said Patty. "What are you going to do now, Carter?"

"I'm going to play this card face down, and activate Pot of Greed so I can draw two cards. Your move, Yuri."

Yuri drew.

"Mammoth Graveyard in attack mode," said Yuri, "and I use the Equip Spell Card, Invigoration, which raises the attack of Earth-Attribute monsters by 400 points, but decreases their defense by 200."

The Mammoth Graveyard's attack went up to 1600. The Duel Screen now showed the skeleton of a large mammoth sliding its right foot on the ground, ready to charge. Yuri attacked with it, but Carter was ready. After his Wow Warrior was destroyed and his Life Points went down to 1500, he activated a Trap Card.

"It's called Attack and Receive," said Carter. "This card activates when I take damage. I will inflict seven hundred points of damage to you."

"What?" said Yuri now standing at 650.

"Wow, Carter, that's brutal," said Tyson. "You've almost got this."

"I knew Yuri wasn't good," said Sam.

Yuri wished for a way to turn the Duel around, but he was not so fortunate. Carter beat him with a new monster called Roaring Ocean Snake; a Fusion monster with an ATK of 2100. On the screen, the powerful red serpent summoned a massive tidal waved that drowned Yuri's monsters, and dropped his Life Points to 0.

"My turn," said Sam, "Though I wanted a challenge."

"Forget it," said Yuri, picking up his cards. "I have to get back to work."

"How's about a little one-on-one Patty?" Sam asked.

"Sure, I'm game," Patty replied with a shrug.

"With cards or without cards?" Sam raised his eyebrows up and down.

"Hoo! Hoo!" went Tyson. "Damn, this kid's dangerous."

"On second thought I think I'll pass," Patty said walking away.

Natalya hopped over the counter. "Why don't I play him?" she asked. "If I can?" She looked at Sergei for approval. Her uncle scratched his scruffy chin and gave a shrug.

"Well, why not? It's a slow day. You can play, darling, as a reward for all your hard work at school."

"Thank you, Uncle," said Natalya, kissing his cheek again. She removed her deck from her back pocket. "Okay, you. Let's Duel."

Sam leaned back casually in his chair as he crossed his arms. He had a look on his freckle-sprayed face that Yuri quickly identified as trouble. Sam took a cherry-flavored lollipop from his jacket, undid the wrapping and put it in his mouth while he waited for Natalya to undo her apron.

"Say, Natalya," he said, sucking on the candy. "I heard you have yourself a bird deck. That true?"

"Oh yes," Natalya said sitting down on the other side of the table. "I love Winged-Beast monsters."

"Word on the street is you have yourself a pretty powerful one. Why don't we make this match interesting by say...putting it up on the line? What do you say?"

"I'd say you're out of your mind," said Natalya. "My grandmother gave me this card. You'd have to put your money where your mouth is in order to make me put my best monster up."

"Funny you should say that," sneered Sam, his eyes twinkling with confidence. His grin grew so wide it was ear-to-ear. "I have a hundred bucks right here!" He showed her the money, much to Nick's disapproval.

"Where did you get that?" Nick said, almost with a yell.

"Wouldn't you like to know," said Sam.

"No, no!" yelled Nick. "You can't put that money on the line for a card, Sam. Even if it is rare, it's not worth putting a hundred bucks at stake, we're on a very tight budget!"

"I accept," said Natalya. "I saw this really nice jacket in the mall the other day. That money could help me buy it."

Nick grimaced as he turned to look at her. "No offense, Natalya, but I hope you don't win. You have no idea what this idiot is costing us right about now."

Natalya shrugged. "I accept the terms of your challenge, Sam. You're on."

"You'd better come prepared," said Sam. "I practice Dueling every day. Even on weekends. There's no way I'll lose. Your rarest card is going to be all mine."

Natalya narrowed her eyes and set her cards on the LED touchscreen playing mat.

"You sure you know what you're doing?" Sergei said, coming up behind Natalya. "Your babushka scrapped up for months to save enough money so she could buy you that card."

Natalya kissed her Uncle's cheek. "I've got this. He is not going to win."

* * *

**LP 2000**

* * *

"I'll let you start first," said Natalya.

"Fine by me," said Sam, drawing his first card. "See how you like this! I summon Battle Warrior in attack position!" (ATK/700 DEF/1000). "I set two cards and end my turn. Your turn, beautiful."

"Ha, you're so cute," Natalya said sarcastically. She looked at Patty. "So, this is what you have to put up with every day, huh?"

Patty's eyes rotated and she crossed her arms. "You have no idea. Welcome to my world."

"Well, I'll show him some manners. "I summon Kurama in attack mode!" She slapped her card onto the LED playing mat. The screens on the wall then showed a fiendish, featherless, blue bird with a whip-like tail and dragon-shaped wings. ( **ATK/800 DEF/800** ). "And now, your Battle Warrior goes bye-bye. Attack!"

The bird squawked and dove towards Sam's warrior. But he was one step ahead of Natalya. "Not too bright," he vexed, flipping over his face-down. "I activate the Trap Card, Reinforcements! This will increase my Battle Warrior's attack by five hundred points, making him more than a match for your monster." ( **ATK/1200** )

Everyone watched the screen as Battle Warrior raised his fists and leaped into the air. His right fist started glowing blue and he punched the bird in the stomach.

"OH!" Everyone shouted as the bird was blown up by the impact.

Natalya wrinkled her nose impatiently, feeling rather annoyed with herself for not seeing that coming. She was so focused on making Sam pay for her arrogant attitude and his rudeness towards Patty, that she failed to even see the face-down cards he had. He had such a pretentious grin on his face as he drew his next card and said: "I'm even better than you high school, kids. I'm good"

He examined his hand, wondering what to play next. "If you can't handle my Battle Warrior, there's no way you can handle this. Here comes Masaki the Legendary Swordsman!" He viciously slapped the card onto the mat. The screen displayed a samurai with green armor and a long katana. ( **ATK/1100 DEF/1000** )

"Your turn, Natalya. Can your birds handle my mighty swordsman?"

"I'll make you eat your words you little brat," Natalya muttered. "I play Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two cards. Next, I summon Droll Bird and..."

"No you won't," Sam sneered with sickening overconfidence.

Yuri stood his ground, trying to remain calm. That horrid smile triggered something in him. He felt like he wanted to teach the young brat a lesson. It took everything in his being to keep his cool and saying something he was going to regret. Though he and Sam were very close, Yuri was not approving of both his nasty attitude and his insensitive flirting with Patty which made him ill to his stomach. He kept his mouth shut, wondering what was the Trap Card he played.

"Check it out, Natalya. House of Adhesive Tape. If your monster has a defense of five-hundred or less, it automatically gets destroyed.

Natalya sighed, ending her turn.

**Natalya-1600 LP**

**Sam-2000 LP**

"This is going to be one easy victory, man," Sam said drawing his card. "Ha, this monster is gonna make you change your underwear. I summon Cyber Soldier of Dark World. With an attack of fourteen-hundred, I doubt you have anything that can stop him."

Natalya smirked. "You must be really full of yourself to be thinking like that. I draw! Oh, perfect. I play the Spell Card, Card Destruction. Now I can get rid of my crappy hand, and draw a new one. You do the same."

"Ha, a crappy hand," Sam scoffed, tossing his cards into the Graveyard. He picked up a new hand per the effect of Card Destruction. "You know, these aren't exactly my best monsters, and they still have been kicking your butt." He looked at his new collection of monsters and grinned. "I hope you have something good on that hand of yours, Natalya. Otherwise, your prized bird is mine."

"Keep dreaming, punk." Natalya was losing her patience. "I play the Field Spell. Mountain!"

Patty clapped with joy. "Oh, here we go. Now things are getting interesting."

She saw the Colosseum turn into the ruins of a fortress perched atop a tall mountain surrounded by smaller ones. The wind howled fiercely, causing the ancient tattered banners running along the top of the fortress to flap violently. The sky was a shade of cold gray, and thunder rumbled within the thick veil of clouds.

"Wow, what have you done?" Sam asked, marveling at the new scenery on the screens. It was a beautiful change compared to the dull Colosseum that was the default playing field, but he knew it only meant trouble for him and his monsters.

Natalya smiled. "This Field Spell grants a field power bonus of two-hundred points to my Winged-Beast monsters. After this, you'll find they won't be so easy to take down. I play my Spell Card, Double Summon! This card allows me to conduct two Normal Summons this turn. First, here's Queen Bird!"

The screen displayed a giant vulture with white wings, tinged green at the tips. The feathers on its head and chest were scarlet red, and its neck was the size of the arm of a full-grown man. ( **ATK/1200 DEF/2000** ). Natalya searched her hand, wondering what card to play next. "And here comes Takuhee!" Natalya joyfully put the card down on the map. The newest monster of the match was a large brown eagle with a golden beak. ( **ATK/1450 DEF/1000** ).

 

With the field power bonus, Queen Bird's ATK was now  **1400**  and Tukahee's was  **1650**. Sam gulped when he saw that Natalya's Winged-Beasts were no mere spring chickens like he joked they were. Tukahee attacked Battle Warrior. The bird spread its wings, taking off into the air. It circled over the ruins and dove with incredible speed. BOOM! A cloud of dust and debris burst into the air.

Yuri and his friends jumped and cheered when they saw the violent impact being displayed. Finally, Queen Bird made her move. She took flight and grabbed Masaki with her talons, taking him up into the sky and over the mountains. She let him go. Maskai screamed as he plummeted to his death.

"Dude that sucks!" Nick laughed, pointing at Masaki's misery.

Sam's mouth hung wide open while his eyes darted across the field, wondering what just happened. He was in the lead. And now he was trailing behind with a mere 750 Life Points.

"Get ready to pay up," said Natalya, feeling confidence brimming through her once again.

She was finally smiling, and her frustration towards Sam was long gone now that she was satisfied with his displeasure at the current situation. She just loved the way he looked at the field and his hand, wondering what he did to get himself into such a disadvantage. She prayed that he realized that he was just too overconfident for his own good.

She hoped that her attack had humbled him somehow. Natalya then turned her gaze towards Patty, who was also quite content with Sam being stuck at the bottom of the barrel in the match. No doubt she was glad the little boy who constantly harassed her was getting his comeuppance with this Duel.

Sam gulped and started to bite his lollipop, crunching it to pieces. It was now that he realized his hundred dollar bill was slowly slipping from his grasp along with any hopes of getting the Ultra Rare card he so longed for from Natalya. He drew his next card. What he got made him smile.

"Perfect!" he yelled. "I activate Polymerization! Fusing together my Lesser Dragon and Steel Ogre Grotto Numer One to become Metal Dragon!"

The screen showed a metallic serpentine dragon with a body made of bright chrome, with claws of gold and ridges of spikes down its back colored red. ( **ATK/1800 DEF/1700** ).

"And next, I use the Equip-Spell, Machine Conversion Factory to increase his attack and defense by three-hundred points raising him to twenty-one hundred! Now roast her pathetic Queen Bird, Metal Dragon!"

Metal Dragon charged a red laser inside of its mouth and fired. The beam of bright red light struck Queen Bird in the chest. She exploded and dropped Natalya's Life Points to 900.

"And next I use the Spell known as Dian Keto the Cure Master, raising my Life Points up by a grand, bringing me back up to the lead."

**Natalya-900**

**Sam-1750**

"Impressed, Patty?" Sam sneered, looking at his crush who was many years his senior.

Patty tossed her hair over her shoulder and looked away. "Humph. I've got to admit, you've turned things around, Sam."

Sam slapped a hand over his heart. "That means a lot coming from you. Maybe one day I'll impress you enough that we can go out on a date."

"Keep dreaming, punk," said Sergei. "Make a comment to Patty like that again, and you're out of my store."

"Thank you, Sergei," Patty said with a smile.

Sam shrugged, not at all feeling remorseful for his behavior. "Sheesh. Nobody has a sense of humor nowadays. Well, Natalya. I hope you're ready to fork over that bird of yours. Is he powerful?"

"Why don't you ask him and see for yourself. I play Shallow Grave, allowing us to bring back a monster from our Graveyards in face-down defense position. Now I shall tribute Tukahee and my revived Queen bird so I can summon Simorgh, Bird of Divinity!"

Yuri and the others went silent and watched in awe as Natalya's favorite monster soared out of the clouds.

Sam gasped in shock, wondering how he could let this happen. Not only was her rarest monster coming towards the field, but it was an effect monster. He was sure it was going to have a nasty surprise for him when Simorgh landed.

He was a monstrous bird with brilliant feathers of jade green. The wings were transparent and trimmed with solid ones at the top of the wings. The solid feathers were decorated with brilliant gold chains. He had four large tail feathers made of gold. His legs were braced in anklets of gold crusted with gems. On the top of his head, he bore a red crown.

**Simorgh, Bird of Divinity**

**ATK/2700 DEF/1000**

Nick moved closer towards the screens to get a better look at the giant bird. "Wow, Natalya, that's an impressive monster. Trade for it?"

"No, I'm not going to trade for it," snapped Natalya. "You must be out of your damn mind. Now, Sam. It's time I taught you some respect. I use Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Machine Conversion Factory, weakening your dragon's attack points. Simorgh, attack and destroy the Metal Dragon!"

Simorgh raised its mighty wings and gave a powerful flap which sent a mighty flurry of razor-sharp feathers flying towards Metal Dragon. They cut him down to size.

"My dragon!" Nick yelled, watching his dragon get blown to pieces on the screen in front of him. His Life Points dropping down to 850.

Natalya smirked. "Now, I place two cards face down. I end my turn."

"M-my turn," stuttered Sam. "I draw. I use Monster Reborn to bring back your Queen Bird in defense mode. With a defense of two-thousand boosted to twenty-two hundred thanks to your mountain. She'll defend my Life Points. I end my turn and...HEY!"

His Life Points dropped to 0.

"Wha-what happened?" he cried out.

"Simorgh's special effect," said Natalya. "During our end phases, Simorgh inflicts us with one thousand points of damage. However, the damage is reduced by five hundred for each Spell and Trap card we have on our fields, thereby keeping my Life Points safe, but since you didn't have any out, you took the full blast. Sorry, Sam, but Simorgh stays with me. And I believe you owe me a hundred bucks."

"NO!" Sam wailed slamming his head on the table. "I was so close to winning!"

"You gotta pay up, bro," said Nick.

"That's okay," said Natalya. "Sam learned his lesson, which is all the reward I'll need. You played a good game, Sammy. But you got a lot of mouth. See to it that you learn a little respect."

Natalya picked up her cards. The battlefield on the screens faded and returned to the logo of the card shop.

"Okay, you two," said Sergei, patting Yuri and Natalya's shoulders with his big hands. "Fun's over. Get back to work."

 


	15. The White Magical Hat

****

* * *

**Mai**

* * *

The scolding hot water soothed the wounds on her back, an injury she received when she got slashed by the claws of a pesky fiend called Lisark ( **ATK/1300 DEF/1300** ), whom she hunted down and earned a large pouch of gold Star Chips. She bit her lip when she felt the wounds sting for a little bit. Serenity's arm suddenly came through the plastic curtain of her shower, holding onto a bottle with a glowing blue liquid.

"Ribbon finally made the potion," Serenity said. "It'll heal your scratches instantly so she tells me."

"Let's hope it works," said Mai, her voice reverberated in the tiled walls. "This stings worse than that sunburn I got last summer."

She attempted to reach for the bottle, but Serenity yanked it out of her way.

Mai rolled her eyes and slid her hands down her scalp. "Say, did you hear the rumors going on in Domino?"

Serenity didn't answer.

"Apparently Kaiba adopted a little princess to the family. Wanna go see her?"

Serenity still said nothing.

Mai sighed, sticking her head under the stall to wash away the shampoo from her hair. "What now?" she grumbled.

"Promise me you'll stop being so careless," Serenity ordered her. "Yuri is coming back soon. I want us all to be there and greet him when he comes back."

"Do you need the money or don't you?" Mai asked impatiently.

"Not so badly that you had to risk your life the way you did today," Serenity said through gritted teeth. She clasped her other hand tightly on her towel, still damp from her sitting in the hot tub overlooking the city below. "And the day before that and the day before that. It's foolish."

"We need money to fund both Yuri and that expedition of yours, don't we?" Mai said, rubbing her shoulder. "We need to start taking drastic action. You heard what Yugi said. Antilles and his party convinced the Senate to keep Yuri trapped in the other world until he learns how to Duel. You read the ESS Agent's report. His father doesn't give him a penny. He has to work for his cards, but he chooses to save his money for the bare necessities for school and for travel around that island. And when he does buy cards, he's out of luck. He never gets what he needs."

Serenity extended her arm. Mai swiped the bottle from her grip and poured the liquid on her hand. She rubbed it on her back, feeling an ice-cold briskness that magically healed her deep wounds in an instant. "Ah, White Mages. You gotta love 'em."

"I know what we have to do," said Serenity, sitting down on a red leather love seat. It was dark in the bathing chamber, save for the silvery-blue light of the moons and the lamp in Mai's shower. Serenity could see her shadowy form behind the curtain. "And I think I have a card that can help him out."

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Mai asked. "Don't you dare ride south to use the Gates. Yugi and Pegasus don't want you meddling there. If they find out you used one, our plans to finance Yuri are sunk."

"You don't understand, Mai. That card is...special. Like Yuri was meant to have it. Yugi found it at his front door for a reason. It belongs to Yuri."

"Serenity, you're going to risk all the work we've done just to give Yuri a card? Is it that important?"

"Yes."

Mai sighed. "I hope you know what the hell you're doing, little lady. If you get caught, you could land us all in jail. And then how is Yuri going to get his money?" She turned the stall off. The last few drops dripped on the ground. "Can I have my towel, please?" Mai asked, reaching her hand through the curtain.

Serenity looked for the rung. She pulled the towel from it and handed it to Mai. She stepped out seconds later, fastening it tightly over her chest.

Her hair was soggy and mangled. Mai walked toward the mirror, flicking on a switch to turn on the lights outlining it. She picked up a golden brush and swept her hair.

"Don't screw this up, Serenity. Not when we're so close to helping Yuri come home. I know how much he means to you. He means a lot to all of us. We helped to raise him when he was a baby, so Joey, me, and Yugi and everyone else feel like his mommies and daddies. We all feel a great responsibility for him. And, we ALL made a promise to Rose and Gabe that we'd take care of him if anything happens. You tell me not to be reckless, yet look at you."

"I can do it, Mai. Trust me."

"I've been trusting you for years, Serenity," Mai said with a sigh. "Now, I'm starting to get worried. Whatever you do, don't screw up. I mean it."

"Of course," said Serenity.

"That's a good girl."

"BOO!" someone shouted.

Mai and Serenity jumped. The voice belonged to a man.

"Who the hell?" Mai shouted. "Hey! What's the big idea, you fucking pervert!"

The man stepped into the moonlight. He wore a clean tuxedo, a black masquerade mask with red gems shaped like teardrops, a black cape and a top hat with a rose tucked in it.

He chuckled, for it pleased him to see the two young women almost naked. "Sorry," he said, followed by another horrid chuckle. "Did I catch you, ladies, at a bad time?"

"What the hell do you want?" shouted Mai. "Get out of my apartment now!"

"Sure, just as soon as you hand over that card Yugi Muto plans on giving to our dear exiled prince."

"How do you know about that?" Serenity shouted.

"Master Marik knows all and see's all. He has eyes and ears everywhere."

"Marik," Mai said balling her fists. "I knew that bastard couldn't be trusted."

The masked man laughed. "Once in the shadows, you stay in the shadows. Just like you, Mai Valentine."

"Blah, blah, blah!" Mai shouted. "I'm not afraid of you. You can either leave the easy way or the hard way, chump!"

"I prefer the hard way," laughed the masked man, holding up his shadowy Duel Disk, which was shaped like a crescent moon. "We Duel for it!"

Mai grunted and looked at Serenity. "Okay, hon, hand me my Duel Disk."

Serenity gasped. "Are you sure? Mai, he works for Marik. You know his goons always have nasty tricks up their sleeves."

"So what?" Mai said with a smirk. "Enough talk. The Duel Disk, chop! Chop!"

Serenity hurried to the dresser and picked up the harpy-shaped ring levitating on a magical stand of black glass. She gave Mai the ring at once. Mai slipped it on and transformed it into a Duel Disk. The bathing chamber was huge and domed with a rotunda, giving them enough space to summon monsters for a Duel.

"Nice," the masked man said, licking his lips, adoring the sight of Mai Dueling in nothing but a towel. He entertained the thought of summoning a powerful monster who could attack her with enough force to possibly blow it off her body.

**LP 2000**

"I'll start first," he said drawing. "I summon Midnight Fiend in Attack Mode! And since we're playing at night, he gets a thirty percent increase in points thanks to the field power bonus. And that will do it for me."

He conjured a skinny, ill-begotten creature with skin the color of rotting flesh and crescent-shaped wings. Drool oozed from its mandibles and it wriggled its claws to flash them in the moonlight.

Serenity gasped and backed away at the sight of the hideous monster.

The masked man laughed at her. "Aww, is the little baby scared?"

**ATK/800 + 240 = 1040**

**DEF/600 + 180 = 780**

"What a weak start," Mai said. She tisked at the weak monster. "If you're the best Marik has to offer, then he should be no threat to us. And I'm about to show you what a big mistake it was thinking you can take on a lady and get an easy win. Gooooo Harpie Queen in Attack Mode!"

The scantily clad Harpie burst onto the field through a curtain of rose petals. Her teal-colored ponytail whipped through the air. Her brilliant, white wings glimmered in the silver light of the moons.

**ATK/1900**

Mai declared her attack on the weak monster the masked man summoned. Harpie Queen flapped her wings and screeched, zooming towards Midnight Fiend. She slashed the creature across its thin neck, decapitating it.

Its body shattered and blasted the masked man with 860 points of damage. His Life Points plummeted to 1140.

"You pushover," laughed Mai. "You think you're a threat to anyone with monsters like that?"

The masked man chuckled. "The moonlight compliments your skin ever so beautifully," he moaned. "The shadows lust for your flesh again, Miss Mai."

Mai frowned. "Shut up and start your turn already!"

"With pleasure," the masked man said, drawing his card with his teeth. "I summon The White Magical Hat in Attack Mode!"

He summoned a gentleman wrapped in a white cape clasped to his a purple tuxedo. He wore a gold monocle and a white top hat and sported a bushy mustache of brown hair.

"You've got to be joking," said Mai. "You think that pathetic monster can take down my Harpie Queen?"

The masked man let out a high-pitched laugh that echoed across the bathing chamber. "No, he cannot take on your Harpie Queen in battle...but, he can take you down. White Magical Hat, kill the woman now while I find the card!"

"What!" Mai shouted.

"Did you honestly believe I'd let you keep the card in a little game of Duel Monsters?" sneered the masked man, drawing a black rapier studded with rubies from his cloak. "The card of House Delgado belongs to Master Marik, and there's nothing any of you can do to stop him."

White Magical Hat sprang into action. Mai quickly realized that the monster the masked man summoned was no Phantom or a Kaiba Corp hologram. It was real. She ducked out of the way in time. rolling to safety.

White Magical Hat smashed his cane on the ground with such strength, he created a crater on the white and black tiled floor. Serenity conjured fireballs with her palms and launched them at the White Magical Hat. He saw her amateur skills and laughed then performed a backflip to dodge the oncoming spells.

The masked man sped towards her. Serenity swerved left and right, evading the rapier as best she could until she was backed into a corner and could proceed no more. The masked man held up his arm, ready to cut her down. Suddenly, something coiled around his wrist and kept him from striking her down.

He smiled, realizing what it was that was holding him back. Mai used her towel like a whip and wrapped it around his wrist and hold it back. Her nakedness was concealed by the shadows where she stood. She yanked the towel, pulling the man towards her. He lost his balance and tripped.

The White Magical Hat appeared behind Mai, but she heard him coming. She ducked her head to avoid being hit by his cane. In a flash, she tightened her towel and snapped it in the monster's face, knocking away his monocle.

White flashes burst in his eyes. Serenity, who found the time to dress into a pink hoodie, launched a fireball at his chest. Mai felt the heat burn her face as it flew over her. The fireball hit the White Magical Hat and burst into a thousand embers.

He grunted and rolled to a stop. Mai wrapped her towel back on and used her knowledge of conjuration to summon her Harpie Lady.

The winged beauty screeched as she materialized into the world and flew in circles above the bathing chamber. She grabbed the White Magical Hat and tossed him at a nearby column, shattering it.

The masked man recovered from his fall. He reached for the rapier, but Serenity kicked it away. The rapier spun across the tiled path and plopped into a nearby pool. The masked man kicked himself back up and started throwing punches at Serenity.

Thankfully, her brother taught her the basics of hand-to-hand combat, skills he learned from the dark days of his youth hanging with gangs and other criminals to earn money for his family.

Serenity raised her fists and raised her arms each time she saw a punch rocketing towards her. She kicked. The masked man stepped back in a fraction of a second and resumed assaulting Serenity with a flurry of punches and lightning-fast jabs, which she dodged beautifully. Mai and Harpie Lady came speeding towards him. He twirled away, missing Mai's punch and Harpie Lady's claw.

White Magical Hat came to the rescue ramming his cane into Harpie Lady's gut. White Magical Hat jumped up and kicked her hard in the stomach, knocking her into the pool with a great splash.

The masked man laughed at the success of his monster. He then started jabbing at Mai. Mai blocked each punch with her arms and sidestepped to keep him guessing. Serenity came in, hoping to distract him with a fireball.

He was too fast for that, and kicked her palms, launching the fireball at the ceiling. He resumed going after Mai and felt so bold that he tugged on her towel a few times for a look. He almost got her, but Serenity kicked him on the shin.

"Bitch!" he shouted.

Mai smacked him in the jaw. The masked man kicked his legs up and he spun back up to his feet. Serenity attempted to kick him, but the masked man grabbed her by the foot. He leaned his head to the left to look up her sweater and grinned. "Oooh, nice," he said.

"Ack! Pervert!" Serenity shouted, twirling to the right and using her other leg to smack the man across the face with a powerful kick.

He howled in agony and backed towards a nearby column, smashing into it. The White Magical Hat jumped to his defense, acting as a wall to shield his summoner.

"Enough is enough!" said Mai. She made complicated gestures with her hands until a razzle-dazzle rose-colored glyph formed over her palm, conjuring a rain of rose petals.

Harpie Lady suddenly rose out of the water with a Rose Whip in her hand. She flicked her wrist and sent the whip flying towards the White Magical Hat. It coiled around his neck tightly like a noose. The thorns dug into his flesh causing trickles of blood to ooze from his wounds.

Harpie Lady screeched and flew up high, dragging the White Magical Hat in a deadly ride around the rotunda. He smashed into vases, columns, and statues, breaking his bones with each impact. His face turned purple and his eyes rolled to the back of his head. He was gone. Harpie Lady released him and he shattered.

She then wrapped her whip around the masked assailant's neck. Mai and Serenity took turns punching him and kicking him towards the balcony. Serenity leaped into the air and knocked him over the rail with a spinning kick.

The masked man screamed as he plummeted to the streets below. The Rose Whip snapped his neck a mere ten feet from the ground.

Mai and Serenity collapsed on the ground exhausted as Harpie Lady burst into a rain of rose petals. They both panted heavily and groaned. Mai pet the back of Serenity's head affectionately. "You okay?" she asked.

Serenity nodded. "I guess he wasn't so tough after all."

Mai laughed. "That's my girl. Do me a big favor, okay, hon."

"What is it?"

"Find the fastest damn horse you can and get that card to Yuri. I think he's in even more danger than we realized."

"I will," said Serenity. "Gather the guys tomorrow. Once we win the gold from that upcoming event, we can stop monster hunting and go on our quest."

"It's about time," chuckled Mai. "Yugi did his best to keep the Senate from causing any more damage, but I think even he's given up. He's already started to gather the princes for his alliance."

"And we need to find my artifact," said Serenity. She sat up and looked at the moons.

_Hold on, Yuri. We're all with you. You're not alone. We'll get you home. I promised I would._


	16. The Disciples of Zorc

**The Knight**

* * *

The air inside the castle was so musty. So thick. He could barely breathe. He was weakened from fighting so many horrible creatures on his way up the fortress to find the next creature standing in his way of the next piece to save himself from the hell he was stuck in. He drank the last of his elixir. His body was rejuvenated, but he still felt fatigued with worry and despair, weighing him down with a deadly burden. His armor clinked and clanked with each movement he made outside the door to the boss of the castle. Someone who was hellbent on keeping him stuck here. To keep him from saving the prince. There would be no help from Dante here. He had gone off to another castle to search for artifacts. What they were, he didn't say.

The knight gathered his courage and burst through the door. When he did, a heavy, shadowy, wind, struck him. Mixing with the wind was the sound of a fiendish chanting. When the wind died down, the knight lowered his arms and found himself in a rotunda lit with thousands of candles. There were figures garbed in dark, torn, robes, kneeling around an alter. They were chanting something awful and held out their arms, which looked like nothing more than bone wrapped in leather.

From the alter appeared a portal; a gateway for their master. He chuckled awfully as he arose from the portal. A vile ruler from a dark plane adorned in light, black armor outlined with lavender and a ragged red cape flowed behind him.

Angmarl the Fiendish Monarch had arrived. And he was ready to do battle. Long had he heard of the knight who had stormed his castle and killed many of his fellow guardians. His power was stronger, this he knew with all his heart. He would not fall the way the others did. His treasure was not going to be taken. His burning red eyes pierced the darkness. He towered over the knight, standing eleven feet tall.

The knight felt his legs getting wobbly just looking at Angmarl's height. Did he have the strength to take on such a creature. No! He could not start doubting himself now. He couldn't. He closed his eyes and thought of days when the sun used to shine down on him and bring him warmth. The colors of the flowers blooming in the fields all around him. The sweet smell of the apple orchards that surrounded the dirt road to his palace. The sound of water rushing down the river where he bathed with his friend. Her silky, chestnut hair and her smile flashed before his eyes.

The knight readied his weapon and prepared for battle. Angmarl enjoyed this. He wanted the legendary knight of broken hearts to challenge him with his full potential. Otherwise, this battle was going to be very boring. He held out his hand and conjured a sword made from darkness. The two warriors then circled each other to confirm combat. The robed worshippers made way, sulking into the darkest corners of the castle. Still, they chanted. It was as if the chant was all they knew how to say. All they knew how to do. What a pitiful existence.

Angmarl was the first to strike. The knight rolled out of the way, avoiding the massive sword, which crashed into the ground with tremendous force. The rotunda shook. Dust fell from the cracks above and the iron chandelier that hung from the center rocked back and forth. Angmarl swung his sword back and forth, striking the ground as he tried to get the knight. He was fast, but he could tell the knight's speed was weakening with each tumble he took. The worshippers still chanted, but it sounded much livelier now. The knight could feel their words pounding down on him like a sack of bricks. It was a curse. They were helping Angmarl defeat him. Each second that passed, the knight could feel his strength weigning.

He tried to conjure Curse of Dragonfire, but he could not. He was weak. Tired from all the fighting. It was taking its toll on him. Two decades he had been stuck in this horrible nightmare. There seemed to be no end to it. Every beast he faced was worse than the last one. Each piece that he found was smaller and smaller. The so-called restoration was so excruciatingly slow. At this point, he figured that the quest was nothing more than a farce. The memories of her came back to him. The sunlight shining down on her as she disrobed by the riverbed, coaxing him to join her for a bath. Her silky skin. Her breasts and buttocks glistening with river water…her gorgeous smile. Too much

He let out a frustrated scream as he felt as though his heart exploded. He just had to see her again. And he was not about to let these...these...CREATURES stop him from seeing her. From seeing the sunlight again. He wanted to smell flowers again. He wanted to eat food again. He wanted to drink something other than those bitter elixirs Della and Dante gave him to replenish his strength and prolong his suffering in this terrible abyss. He wanted peace! Was that too much to ask!

He ran for the worshippers and struck them down relentlessly. Angmarl stood still. He was stunned to see the knight do this. He was told that he was noble. He would never hurt anything more than the guardians. He smiled. The world was breaking him. And he soon accepted defeat. He would try his hardest, but he knew he was not going to win this fight. Despair was beginning to fill the knight's dark soul. That meant he was weakening. Which meant the prince was never going to get the help he needed. Master Bakura pulled out all the stops with his plan. There was no saving him. There was no bringing him back. Even if he would fall now, he would be victorious. The knight was not leaving this world. He was doomed to fight here and suffer here forever.

The knight was then overcome with great power, unlocked by the madness he tried to keep contained. His sword was suddenly engulfed with the flames from Curse of Dragonfire. He slaughtered the last of the worshippers, who were begging for mercy. He would not listen. They committed the sin of stopping him from achieving his goal. And now they were paying the price. Angmarl laughed at the knight for his cruel deeds. When the last of his followers were killed, the knight looked at Angmarl and charged at him. Angmarl held up his sword and blocked his attack, but at a great cost.

The blow was so powerful, the rotunda began to collapse. Soon, rays of sunlight shined through the cracks and assaulted Angmarl. To any other person, the rays of the sun would be a blessing. But for him. It was like being bathed in the fires of damnation. He was weakening with each passing second. Steam billowed off his body. He was gurgling with agony. The knight saw his chance and slashed Angmarl's body repeatedly with his large blade. The rotunda echoed with the violent clash of steel against steel and the cracking of bone. Angmarl's body was breaking.

He fell to his knees gasping for air. The knight finally put him out of his misery and cut his head off. Angmarl's body twitched and writhed on the ground like a worm wriggling on a hook. And then, it dissolved into nothing, leaving behind another rusty safe as the other monsters he had slain. The knight smashed it open with his fist and ripped it open. What he saw broke his heart.

The treasure inside. He held it tightly against his chest and sobbed. His body ached from the battle, but his grief and even a touch of joy forced him to ignore his discomfort. It was a flower. The computer on his gauntlet started to hum.

Restoration at…20%

The knight roared and smashed his fists on the ground. But he made sure the flower was not harmed. There it stood in his grasp of steel, fluttering back and forth as if it was caressed by a gentle breeze. A fiery portal opened behind him. He had no reason to worry, for it meant she had arrived.

"That is indeed a very sacred treasure," Della said, removing her hood. Long curls of golden hair flowed down to her chest and past her back. She was clad in a sacred, white robe with red designs on the front. A white staff with a bright crystal she held with her fingertips.

"Leave me!" the knight shouted. "You have been of no help. All these years, you have led me to nothing. Nothing but more agony. More fighting. More suffering. I want to go home. But I see now that it is no longer an option. You have filled me with false hope. Prince Yuri is set to come home at any moment. You assured me years ago we would complete this task before his eighteenth birthday. Now that time is nigh. And look at me. I feel the madness taking over."

"Your deeds have not gone to waste, Ser Knight." Della approached him and placed a hand on his pauldron. "Thanks to you, Master Yugi was able to cleanse the darkness Bakura used to cloud his young mind."

"But what of me?" asked the knight. "Too long have I wandered here. I...I cannot bear to throw myself into another battle. What terrible deed have I committed to condemn myself to such a fate?"

Della couldn't help but shed a tear for him. "You're already letting the darkness take over you?"

The stood up to release himself from her touch. "Do not lecture me about being strong. I have stayed strong for nye almost a decade now. I have nothing left. Each battle only restores Yuri for but a percentage. And each Fiend I face grows stronger. Yuri isn't getting any better and neither am I. I can't go on like this anymore, Della."

"I assure you this path is not leading you nowhere, Ser Knight. Please, stay strong. That flower in your grasp will be your greatest weapon yet."

"What do you mean?"

"She loved those flowers, didn't she?"

The knight looked away. He then stared up at the red sky. "Yes. She loved them. She always asked for me to touch her with them before we made love." He chuckled. "And if we were to have a daughter, she would name her after this flower. Nanaveal. Hope in the ancient Celtran language. But I suppose you know all about that."

Della smiled. "Yes. I do. Keep that flower close to you, Ser Knight. It just might be the key to open the doors out of this world."

The knight picked up his sword. "I hope you're right. If my next battle is just another fight for a percent. I will go no further."

* * *

**Joey**

* * *

People ran from their homes and crowded along the Yellow Road to get a good look at the parade of knights and Duelists marching towards the town of Maplewood in heart of the county of Ravenhill for the upcoming Duel Monsters tournament. There were many famous players heading to the fairgrounds, but none struck the people more than the Black Dragonknight of House Wheeler. Children pushed and shoved through the throng of villagers to get a good look at him. Ever since he slew the vile giant who lived in the mountains, he became a great hero to the people here. The villagers cheered and waved black and red flags fashioned of torn sheets or clips of cloth tied onto sticks to show their support for him.

"Ser Joey!"

"It's Ser Joey!"

"Look, mama, it's Ser Joey!"

Tristan, riding on a gray mare, grumbled, riding behind Joey and his black stallion adorned in Red-Eyes Black Dragon-theme chanfrons and cruppers. Joey waved from atop his horse like a conquering hero. His helmet, crested with a statue of his black dragon and a red and black plume, was tucked under the crook of his arm.

"All hail the conquering hero," he said glumly.

Duke sighed, twisting a lock of his black hair around his finger. "Let him have his moment. It's not often that he does, you know. Besides, everyone knows you as Ser Tristan the Brave. Just not around these parts."

"Or any parts," Joey vexed him.

Tristan growled. "Why you..."

"Hey, just joshin' ya, man," Joey said with a wink.

"Now, now, Tristan," Serenity said, riding up to catch up with him. "No fighting. This is supposed to be fun. Besides, I think you guys need a break from all that monster hunting."

Tristan was at a loss for words. Serenity rode atop a Golden Emboldorian Stallion, which took her ten years to breed. She wore a bodice corset, green with burgundy laces and short, white sleeves, and a tan skirt and polished leather boots with floral engravings on the side. Her saddle was even engraved with scrollwork and loaded with books, her purses, and her sword, which hung from the back. She had silk flowers in her hair and a black choker with a gold tag around her neck. The mere sight of her caused him to calm down.

"So, are we good?" she asked.

"Yyyyeah," he said.

"Is it a good idea to let Joey represent us?" Mai said from all the way in the back. Instead of a horse, she rode atop a brilliant white stag armored in silver-steel. She drank the last gulp of wine from the leather sack around her hip.

"Have faith, Mai," said Serenity. "After this, we can finally head to Yugi's castle in the storm coasts and plan our next move."

"I just hope your artifact is worth all those months of monster hunting," said Duke, looking back at her from behind the black high collar of his cape.

"It will be," Serenity assured him. "When we finally give it to Yuri, no one, not even the Senate, will deny him his return. And we can finally stick it to Antilles for proposing that stupid law."

They, at last, made it to the fairgrounds, which appeared to them from over the hill. Already champions participating in the tourney set up pavilions along the wide grassy meadows. Serenity pointed out a great spot for Joey. There was a willow tree by the river, and the other participants were so busy trying to find spots closer to the Dueling Grounds that they hardly noticed it.

"Last one there pays the winner a gold crown!" shouted Joey. He kicked his stallion into a gallop. Tristan and Duke followed.

"Such, children," said Mai.

Even though Joey's horse was armored, it ran like the wind. Unknown to any of them, he had the horse's armor enchanted to make the animal run faster and have more stamina, even regain it quicker. Then again, so did Tristan and Duke's steeds. Before Serenity knew it, she saw them at the willow tree. She turned to look at their workers and servants, who trailed behind in a caravan of wagons and covered carts.

"We'll make set up my brother's pavilion down there," she called out.

"Yes, My Lady," said Jaque, the chamberlain of House Wheeler.

She and Mai sped down the hill towards the willow tree. The three knights who raced ahead of them were already tackling one another playfully. Serenity stopped her horse underneath the willow tree and tied her to the trunk. She opened a sack of oats and fed her three handfuls before her servants arrived with a troth so the tired steed could refresh herself with a long drink.

"Good girl, Sunny," Serenity said, petting the mare's blonde mane. She wrapped her arms around Sunny's neck and kissed her before joining Joey and the others in setting up their command tent. With a little bit of telekinesis from their court wizard, Zoey, Joey's young and very obnoxious cousin, the command tent went up in ten minutes. The flag bearing the colors of House Wheeler flapped from the center pole. Scarlet and gold pennons flapped along the sides of the tent as well, the colors of the House where Joey's mother hailed from.

"All right, y'all!" Zoey hollered with her palm beside her mouth. "Bring 'em in." The servants rolled their wagons toward the tent and unloaded their furniture. "I've got my own tent," she said pretentiously to her own band of servents. "We'll set it up over here." She had the dirty blonde hair that all Wheelers had, tied into two long braids then went down to her waist. A splash of freckles on her face gave her a very innocent look, one that deceived many who tried to get the best of her. Her bright, sky-blue eyes were ghostly but completed her cute appearance. She was small but not to be trifled with; for she spent a great deal of time training with the Black Luster Soldiers of Rassay when she visited Joey and Serenity during the summer after school let out for the holidays.

Serenity wanted to play with dolls and quilt with the handmaidens in the tower, but Zoey had other ambitions. She wanted to joust in the tournaments like the colorful knights she adored since she learned to walk. And she wanted to be an expert swordswoman and perhaps be a guardian for High King Yuri when he returned.

"Dinnae call 'im that!" she snapped at Mai, when she referred to him that way. "Yuri's a pansy's name. Not one fer a High King. I'll call him by his rightful name, Daveed, thank ya. And ya will do well t' refer t' him that way in me presence."

"She's definitely got that Highland fire in her," Mai whispered to Serenity.

Zoey ordered someone to pitch her tent right next to the river and then scratched her butt.

"And their mannerisms," Serenity said in disgust. "But she's Princess of Glowerness, so that gives her some right to be pretentious."

"Not just that," Mai said, biting into an apple. "Her schooling with the Black Luster Soldiers taught her enough to join her father in battle last summer. They fought back a rival clan who wanted control of the loch their castle resides by. See that axe she carries on her back?"

Serenity nodded.

"She used that to cut off the lead of the clan chieftain. Oh, and just a few weeks ago - and don't quote me on this - but she beat Seto Kaiba's daughter in a Duel, so Joey tells me?"

"The White Dragon Princess?" Serenity gasped. "No way. But she just got her Blue-Eyes White Dragons." She leaned forward. "She lost? Really?"

"So Joey tells me," Mai said with a shrug and then bit into her apple again. "I wouldn't take what he says for granted though. I'm putting my money on Cora. There's no way a girl that intelligent and that skilled could lose to...her."

A blare of trumpets sounded off behind the camp. A large party of knights suddenly rode past the camp. Halberds and spears bearing banners of periwinkle and gold flapped over them. There must have been a hundred of them. A white and gold two-floored wheelhouse being pulled by two Mad Sword Beast draped in bright blue armor edged in gold rolled in the center of the formation.

Some powerful Lord must be arriving, Joey thought. A curtain behind one of the windows to the coach was pulled aside. Joey couldn't make out who it was, but whoever was in there seemed to smile at him. The face was concealed behind the curtain again and the wheelhouse moved on.

"Oooh, aren't we impressed," Zoey said, mocking the caravan of knights with her fingers. "Yeah, go on! Flash yer bright colors. If you ken who this man is, you'd turn back right noo."

One of the knights stopped and pulled his visor up. "Show some respect, girl! This is the caravan of Jack Ganon."

"Ya think I don't know that?" she shouted. "I saw 'im whilst I visited Rosenkruz Academy two weeks ago."

"He defeated you, so I heard."

"Yer bum's oot the windae!" she shouted. "I dinnae lose to 'im! It was a draw, it was!"

"Says you, welp!" yelled another knight.

"Welp!" shouted Zoey. "I am da Princess of Loch Stormhammer! Yoo do well to respect me, Ser Knight."

"A princess?" said the other knight. "A Highland one at that. No wonder your manners are that a lowly peasant. You watch yourself, girl. Say one more word about the Lord, and I'll break my foot up your royal ass!"

"HA!" shouted Zoey. "Thinking about me arse are we? Well, here you go!" She bent forward and yanked her breeches down, mooning the knights. "Come and kiss it, ya bastards!" she said, smacking her exposed rump.

"Oh, Goddesses!" Serenity groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I can't believe we're related."

Mai laughed and stepped forward, standing in front of Zoey. "Pardon her, good Sers," she said with a bow. "She's still young. For your trouble." She removed two pouches with gold coins from her belt and tossed them at the knights.

"Thank you, My Lady," the knights said, both recognizing Mai for her infinite beauty.

Mai turned around and kicked Zoey, knocking her forward.

"Wot was dat fer?" she shouted, yanking her breeches back up.

"For acting like such a pig!" Mai yelled. "That is no way for a princess to act. Who in the Shadows taught you to behave that way?"

Zoey jerked her thumb to the west.

Joey and Tristan had their breeches down mooning the knights as well and boasting for their success in the future.

Mai shook her head. "That fucking monkey."

* * *

**Yami Marik**

* * *

"He has grown so much," the deep-voiced demon said leaning back in his booth. A glass of sweet, burning, scotch with a sphere cube jingled in the clutches of his long, tan fingers like snakes adorned in rings of gold and different precious stones.

A neon sign hung on the red-brick wall beside his table. It read Salazar in a tantalizing red light that washed the dull marble table where he shared drinks with his companions in red and blue. His Millennium Item reflected the light of the neon sign perfectly making it look like there was a hellish blaze within the relic.

Soothing noir-style jazz played from a neon-lit jukebox on the lonely corner of the bar. The music mixed with the soothing sounds of the rain tapping against the window of the bar. Outside, the city was lit up by an explosion of color from the various red light signs of the Red Bunny's District.

Animated signs of pink and red shaped to look like the silhouettes of women in sexual poses and dancing on poles. Even from his seat, Marik's companion, Bakura could see the pretentious form of the House of Gray looming over the poorly kept apartment buildings which housed the unwanted and forgotten of Domino City.

Marik took a long gulp of his drink as a large truck drove by. Its wheels washed against the soaked streets outside. Some water from a puddle it ran over splashed against the window. As Marik raised his glass to his lips, the leather of his hooded brown-leather jacket groaned while keeping up with his movements. Underneath he wore a sleeveless black shirt that was torn from a Duel he had earlier. The leather of his jacket even showed signs of wear and tear.

He smiled and said: "His Dueling skills, no doubt, have improved. But that Black Tyranno card. No. That is a rare gift indeed."

Bakura sniggered, leaning casually against his orange leather seat. He straightened his dark denim jacket, bringing the fur-trimmed color closer to his neck to warm him from the chill of the fan swirling overhead. His Millennium Ring shined brightly over the gray t-shirt.

A veil of smoke clouded the roof from the tobacco gobblers sitting about the bar hoping to wash away their long and miserable day with a stiff drink, cheap steak, and buxom beauties to look at.

The waitresses were in small orange skirts and tight, black, tops that fit snuggly over their chests. One of them stopped by to refill their drinks. Bakura tipped her for a nice view down her shirt. He picked up his refilled glass of scotch and drank slowly.

Sitting beside him was Dartz, one of the officers in charge of the assault on Karad-Antha, the mountain fortress where their lord and master, Anubis, was slain by Prince Daveed when he was only a few hours old. His black overcoat still glimmered with ice-cold rainwater, for he had just arrived a few minutes earlier.

Bakura peered towards the bar and saw a man with a United States bandana on his head, chugging down an entire bottle of Forwost beer. His cards slipped out of his hands and fell on the black-and-white-tiled floor.

Bakura found it quite queer that a man, an Eldori of all things, would be wearing the colors of a flag from another world. _What was so special about it?_ He wondered. But he had no time to ponder that sort of thing. Right now, he and his fellows were in quite a precarious position. The Black Tyranno.

"I wonder how he got it?" said Bakura, bringing his drink to his lips again. "That card was said to be locked up in the vaults of House Delgado's castle."

"No doubt it was that stupid girl, Serenity," Dartz said, stirring his drink in his hand, causing the ice cubes to jingle along the sides of his glass. "She had such a love for the boy it was sickening. I wanted to barf every time I saw her cradling him in her arms as though he popped out of her own twat."

Bakura sniggered at his crudeness.

Marik sneered. "In any case, the Black Tyranno has found its way to the Prince. Not only do we need to take that card from him for its rarity, but for his own safety. An ancient power resides in that card. One that only the Lords of House Delgado can only wield."

"Aren't you being a bit melodramatic?" Bakura sniggered, putting his arm on the top of the booth seat. "The card's not even that good."

"I wasn't talking about the card effect," said Marik. "The Black Tyranno only listens to the Kings of Feldia. The Sisterhood knows of this as well. If they detect that power, they could find Yuri."

"And kill him before the plan can be set in motion," Bakura added.

"Then we just take the card from," said Dartz. "Simple as that."

Marik, again, gave a mischievous snigger to withhold the obscenity he wanted to throw at Dartz for his impudence. "Were it so easy," he said calmly. "I told you, an ancient force resides in that card. We can snatch it from Yuri a thousand times, and a thousand times that card will return to him."

"Why?" said Dartz.

Bakura tapped the table with his finger and answered before Marik could. "That card is an Oath Monster. They are bound by the will of the Goddess who blesses the House of the monster's keeper. The only way to get that card is by beating the owner in a Duel under The Pact."

Dartz pinched the bridge of his nose, remembering the holy vow Termnnian Kings used to settle their disputes so as to avoid total war. "What must we do then?"

"I shall send my Rare Hunters to take it from Yuri," said Marik. "The non-Eldori ones, of course."

"Yuri won't give up his monster without a fight," said Bakura. "Even if the boy loses, he has skill in hand-to-hand combat."

Marik looked at Bakura with his crazed look. "A feat you and the Paradox Brothers so generously taught him."

There was a vexing tone in that statement. Bakura's face creased into an expression of agitation. "It had to be done," Bakura brooded. "The people of that world were chewing him up and spitting him out. I had to do something to make him stronger. Which is more than I can say for Yugi and his pitiful band." He brought his glass to his lips to sip the last bit of scotch.

"You aided Yuri in getting stronger?" chuckled Dartz. "Why, you practically raised him from what I heard. You loved the boy."

Bakura slammed his glass on the table. "I did what I did for Lord Anubis. He needs a King, not a wimp! And you sure as hell didn't do anything to help him. Yuri would have been dead if it wasn't for me. Someone out there is working hard to see him killed, and it's not those assassins who work for Denethon."

"Why do you want him alive so badly?" said Dartz. "We could have killed him long ago if it weren't for you. Just who's side are you on I wonder?"

"I am on the side of Odiva!" said Bakura, making his oath to the Fallen Goddess and Mother of Zorc Necrophades. "And if the plan is to succeed, Yuri has to be strong. You know this. Or are you too busy trying to resurrect your 'pet' to care about the master anymore, Dartz?"

"My child will serve his purpose. At least he has one unlike the cockamamy plan of yours, Bakura."

"You can gather a thousand souls with that bloody Seal," said Bakura. "You will never get the Kovan-Tara to revive and regain the power it once had thousands of years ago."

"You call it by its Elvish name?" chuckled Dartz. "How amusing."

"That's enough," said Marik. "Are we in favor of sending in the Rare Hunters or not?"

Bakura chuckled, making the sound of a knife scraping against stone. "They're your lackeys," he said. "If you want them to go after Yuri, so be it. I've learned there are going to be two tournaments being held. The one that takes place before the summer when Yuri comes home is the big one. Those games will determine whether Yuri comes home or not."

"Hmm," said Marik. "Then see to it that he doesn't win those games. I want that Black Tyranno card. It would make a nice addition to my collection."

"I'll bet," said Bakura. "As I said, send the bloody Hunters. Deep down, I have a feeling that you're only going to be wasting your time, Marik."

Marik nodded at the challenge. "You feel that Yuri's skills surpass that of my Rare Hunters?"

Bakura signaled the waitress for another refill with his finger. She nodded, swelling up another glass for a poor laundromat owner at the corner, who was eyeing the golden items Marik and Bakura possessed.

"The boy just beat a regional champion," Bakura said after ordering his drinks. "I think he has a few more surprises up his sleeve. While I have faith your Rare Hunters will get the job done, I still have my money on the boy."

"I'll wager you these," Marik said happily. He reached into his jacket and took out a deck box of polished mahogany decorated with gold. He opened it and tossed out a stack of Gold Rare cards from the Premium Gold Series.

Handsome red rubies also fell out of the deck case. The laundromat owner saw this and stood up in his seat. He wanted to take the items from them at gunpoint with the fire-enchanted pistol he kept tucked in the waistband of his trousers. But there was a terrifying aura coming from the three men. He thought better of it and sat down.

Bakura, meanwhile, chuckled. He poured from an exquisite leather sack, two handfuls of gold Star Chips and Crowns. He added his own Gold Rare cards to sweeten the pot.

"Hmm," said Dartz, rubbing his chin. "Impressive."

"You're on, Marik," laughed Bakura. "I say Yuri kicks the Rare Hunters out of the other world in no time at all."

"Ha!" said Marik. "And I will wager these if he doesn't. But don't underestimate my Duelists, Bakura. They are the elite of the elite."

Bakura laughed out loud. "Yeah, look how well that turned out in the Battle City Tournament."

"Those were the old Rare Hunters," said Marik. "These Duelists are the Neo Hunters. A new generation of Duelists who will take down Yuri. I oversaw their training personally."

"I do hope you're ready for a bit of a disappointment," said Bakura.

A woman entered the bar, dressed in a black hooded coat. She tsked angrily when she saw the three men sitting in their booth getting drunk. Darkness kept her eyes hidden, but the light of the diner revealed beautiful red lips and locks of golden hair and a slender neck. The coat hugged her round, perfect form causing the laundromat owner to go red and breathless.

"So here I find you," she said. "Drinking the night away when there is so much work to do."

"Work?" scoffed Marik. "All you have to do is keep those sisters of yours on a leash before the time comes to bring Yuri home."

"And I assure you that's no easy task," said the woman. She put her hands on her hips and tilted to the left. "Do you boys know how much trouble I'm in right now? There was a meeting earlier tonight involving the Sisters and Lord Denethon. They know the Black Tyranno is missing. The card is bound only to Delgado blood. The boy is of Delgado blood. And last I heard, he summoned the damn thing. The island where he lives is talking all about his Duel. Those stupid fools working for Yugi did that no doubt."

"They are too self-righteous," Dartz agreed.

"But what reason do you have for worrying?" said Bakura. "If I'm not mistaken, you have half the Sisterhood siding with me? Do you not?"

"I still have much work to do in that prospect," said the woman. "Nevertheless, some have listened to our cause. But it's caused much division within the Sisterhood. Denethon knows this and suspects me. Bakura, you must keep Yuri from playing that card. If Yuri is found out, they will come for him. They will kill him. And if he's gone, Lord Anubis is forever doomed."

"You don't have to keep reminding me," said Bakura. "Now stop worrying, my dear. You're doing beautifully. Everything is going according to plan."

The laundromat owner suddenly approached them after gathering the courage to confront them. He could take it no more. Gold. Jewelry. Rare golden cards. And a beautiful Eldori woman to boot. He loomed over them with a drunken fury and tossed a black bag on the table. "All right, boys, drop the loot and the bag and nobody gets hurt!" he commanded. "And the lady is coming home with me!"

Marik, Bakura, and Dartz just kept their trademark grins. "I'll take him," said Marik. "Are you familiar with the game Duel Monsters?"

"I don't have time for games!" said the owner, Mr. Guss Driscol was written in gold letters on the nametag pinned to his striped suit. The logo for his business, Suds and Suds Co., was in blue underneath the letters, dwarfing them in size.

"Of course," said Marik. "We're all busy. But Duel me, and not only will you win all we have laid here on the table, but you'll get so much more."

"I'm listening," said Guss.

"I have many beautiful friends," said the woman, putting a sexy tone into her voice. "And they're all dying to make the acquaintance of very promising businessman such as yourself."

"Oh yeah?" said Guss, his mustache shivered in excitement.

"Uh-huh. We live downtown near the House of Gray. You know. The King's District."

"So, you ladies have money?" said Guss.

The woman nodded and pulled on Guss's tie. "Indeed I do. Now, there is no need to get nasty. We all just want to get on with our night in peace. I can tell you're armed. Naughty, naughty. There is no need for that. You win, you get to keep the gold and the cards. And I take you home to meet my lovely friends. Lose, well, you don't get the cards, but I can tell you're a hard-working hunk." She put her hands around his neck. Guss made a crooked grin from the corner of his mouth. "I'll still reward you with a night with me and the girls."

"Sounds good," said Guss. "But I'm in dire need of some money. As much as it'll please me fucking you and your lady friends, I fear I'll still be left penniless. The King has made it hard on all of us ever since his do-gooder son, Prince Michael, eliminated the slave trade."

"So you were a human trafficker?" said Marik.

"Once upon a time," said Guss. "Thanks to him, I lost my condo. My Limo. My entourage. Sorry toots, but I need gold."

The woman smiled and unzipped her jacket to reveal the swell of her breasts. Guss's face looked like it turned into an apple. "We don't live in the King's District for nothing," the woman said. "Have some fun with us, and we'll pay you handsomely. My girls are lonely. They want someone to play with. Accept the Duel, handsome. You win either way."

Guss cackled nervously. "Oh yeah!" he said. "Let's play." He held up his wrist. There was a D-Pad strapped to it.

Marik then led Guss outside in the rain. Their cards and equipment were thankfully waterproof so they had no problem Dueling the cold rain. Marik stood on one end of the sidewalk, and Guss on the other. The hooded woman was leaning against the wall, shielded by the rain by the red awning over her head.

"DUEL!" They both shouted.

"I'll go first!" said Marik. "I summon Necrolancer the Time Lord in attack mode."

Marik summoned a one-eyed green creature with skinny arms and legs. There was a horn protruding from his head and two long fangs came out from his overbite. A golden dimensional ring appeared behind him. His weapon that could send his foes to different points in time and be lost forever. ( **ATK/800 DEF/900** )

Guss was next. "I summon Doron in attack mode!"

The card projected by his side jumbo-sized. Then, a vortex of glittering light swirled over the card's art. Out came a strange-looking character with a shadowy body striped in red with a tinge of green. ( **ATK/900 DEF/500** ). Guss laughed. His monster was 100 ATK points stronger than Marik's, and he was about to get stronger.

"Behold, the Equip-Spell, Legendary Sword!" He shouted, equipping his monster with a sword that had a bluish-white blade and a golden hilt. "This card will increase my monster's ATK and DEF by 300 points! ( **ATK/1200** ) Your Necrolancer is history!"

Doron sniggered cruelly, raising his new weapon and slashing Necrolancer in half.

"Argh," Marik said calmly, still grinning despite seeing his monster getting slaughtered and losing 400 of his Life Points.

**Yami Marik-1600 LP**

**Guss-2000 LP**

"My turn," said Marik. "Draw." He examined his hand and broke out into a laugh. Lightning flashed and thunder bellowed, making his amusement much more dramatic.

"This is going to be one short game," Marik laughed. "You're a Decker. Duelists who are all talk and no game. You avoid the new rules because they are far too complicated for your feeble mind."

"Hah!" laughed Guss. "I assume you're talking about Synchros, Xyz (X-eez), and Pendulum Summoning. Don't make me laugh. This is how you play the game, bub!"

"So be it," said Marik. "I play the Spell Card, Polymerization. Fusing together my Possessed Dark Soul and Frontier Wiseman together to create...Dark Balter the Terrible!"

Yami Marik summoned a frightening fiend lord who stood ten-feet-tall. He was almost concealed in the darkness of the night. A streetlamp nearby highlighted his silhouette. The beast had a golden, layered, spiked body. The upper body was covered by a bright green robe with white fur trimming. He had long, mangled, blond hair and green eyes the pierced the night.

* * *

**Dark Balter the Terrible**

**ATK/2000 DEF/1200**

**LV 5**

* * *

"Two thousand Points!" gasped Guss.

"Ha!" Marik bellowed. "If you were more informed with the new gameplay, monsters like him would seem like nothing. Survival of the fittest, Guss. I now Equip my Dark Balter with Megamorph. This card will double my monster's ATK if my Life Points are lower than yours, thereby raising Dark Balter's ATK to 4000!"

"NO!" cried Guss.

"Dark Balter!" shouted Marik. "Attack and end this match!"

Dark Balter the Terrible lived up to his name. He picked up Doron from the throat and held him up high. Using his claws, he eviscerated the little warrior monster and wiped out Guss's Life Points. The woman in the hooded cloak approached the man with open arms.

"Well, I sure got my butt kicked," said Guss. He took the pistol out of its holster. "All right, pretty boy. Hand over the stuff."

Marik scoffed. "I thought we had an agreement. Foolish man."

Guss sneered, grabbing the woman by the front of her coat and dragging him towards him. He put an arm around her shoulder. His hand slid down her back and stopped over her buttocks. "Nice," Guss said, rubbing his hand in circles over the woman's rump. "And you say there's plenty more of this back at your place, huh?"

"I did," the woman said coldly.

"I'm going to be rich tonight," said Guss. "Gold cards. Gems. Coins and Chips. And all the girls for me to feast on. Ah. I'm in Heaven."

"Not yet," the woman said, and she jabbed a jewel-encrusted knife into his back.

Guss croaked from the pain and dropped his pistol. His fingers stiffened from the pain and could no longer grip the weapon. Guss dropped to his knees, arms stretching up to the sky He gasped for air; for the pain grasped his lungs like a vice. Dark Balter the Terrible, still being rendered on the field, crossed his arms and laughed.

Marik approached the senile old fool and held up his Millennium Rod. A blade slid out of the bottom of the rod with the press of a button. Marik looked down at Guss with madness in his eyes before he slid the blade across the poor man's neck.

A river of blood poured out of the wound. Guss gagged and purled in fright. He pressed his hands over the wounds in hopes of slowing down the bleeding enough to find help. But he was no fortunate this night.

In a matter of moments. He fell face-first into the ground. He was gone. A river of blood slithered from underneath his empty shell.

"Dumb bastard," the hooded woman said, picking up his body.

Marik watched as she dragged Guss's corpse by the arms into the alley where she tossed the body into a dumpster. Bakura came out of the bar, gripping the collar of his jacket over his neck. "He still wanted more, didn't he?" Bakura asked.

Marik tilted his head down the alley to point out their hooded companion doing what she could to hide the body. Bakura laughed maniacally. "Amateur," he said. He took a lighter from his pocket, flicked it on, and tossed it into the dumpster. A wall of flames erupted from within, and he shut the top of the dumpster to keep the rain from putting out the flames.

"Well," said Marik. "That was rather enjoyable. "Let's make these weekend outings a regular thing, shall we?" He bowed. "Now you must excuse me. I have to prepare my Neo Hunters for their mission."

"Make it quick," said Bakura. "If Yuri is called, all the years of planning would have been for naught."


	17. Viral Duel

**Joey**

* * *

The first day of the Mellow Fields Tournament began. Joey woke up once the cock starting crowing at dawn. He dressed into his armor and marched into the fairgrounds to buy himself something to eat before the games began. The morning smelled sweet with sausages, pancakes, pretzels, eggs, and bacon. Joey asked for one large pork sausage and a horn of ale to wash it down with. The air was fogged with smoke from the cooking carts and from the smithy who came by to sell and repair arms and armor. Something big flew overhead. Joey looked up and saw a party of knights riding Phantom Griffons over the fairgrounds. One of them blew on a horn, announcing their leader to the crowd.

He stopped and waited as a merchant selling exotic pets and mounts walked by showing off creatures such as Dark Gray, Serpent Marauder, and a flaming plant called Firegrass, who could keep gardens clean by eating weeds and pesky rodents. But the real prize of his stock was a mystical beast called Sunlight Unicorn; a fair creature with a bright, white coat and a flaming mane of blue fire. The price for it was an astonishing 100,000 Star Chips.

Joey heard lively music coming from the pens where the horses and other mounts were kept, groomed and fed. The merry chirp of a windpipe, the hearty beating of a drum, and the sweet rhythm of a tambourine. The players didn't draw much of a crowd. As Joey approached, he began to see why. He noticed their pointed ears, brightly-colored eyes, fair faces, and silky hair. They were Elves. Had it not been for their pretty dancer, they wouldn't have even gotten their decent pile of pennies and halfpennies. He saw a silver or two in the hat to place the tip, so unlike the other human players, whose bags, hats, or purses were filled with silver and gold or even a gem. The Elven girl spotted Joey and slowed down. Her shoulder was sensuously raised to her chin. She batted her eyelashes and smiled before continuing on her with dance.

A little boy wanted to watch her but his mother pulled him away. "Stay away from them, child!" she said sternly. "Elves. They'll charm you with magic and rob you blind!"

The Elf girl paid no heed to the woman and continued dancing away. She had flowers speckling her long, cool-brown hair, which sprayed their air with its sweet, citrusy aroma as she whipped her hair around. Joey reached into his pouch and threw three silver shields into the hat. The Elf girl bowed.

"I had no idea ya fancied pointy-eared ones," Zoey said, standing behind Joey. She was munching on a sausage crafted to look like a unicorn, with the other end of her wooden skewer.

"I don't mind 'em," said Joey. "I'm not like you."

"Have ya forgotten dat they enslaved our kind fer thousands of years in the First Age of the Sun?" she said. "Their kind has blood on their hands."

Joey looked at her. "And you're seriously going to hold a grudge for something you took no part in and ended long ago? It was they, not the Kings of Men who came to Prince Yuri's aid when Anubis attacked."

"Say what ya want," said Zoey. "I dinnae like 'em. They should go back to the forests where they belong. It was the people of the Highlands who suffered the worst of their brutality. Had it not been for Lazaria Whiteglint, the human race in Termnnia would be all but extinct."

The Elf girl giggled as she spun. "You should know Lazaria's campaign would have been a failure had it not been for the Red Leaf Council. Do you know what is was?"

"Da hell do I care?" said Zoey.

"It was a pact of Golden Elves and Crimson Elves, who rejected the idea of slavery from their Meteoran counterparts. Before the council, your so-called 'Liberator' would have fallen to Taros-Nezzenthrien, and your kind would still remain in chains."

"Ah, to hell with ya," said Zoey. She turned and walked away.

"Don't mind her," said Joey.

"I'm rather used to it," the Elf girl said, continuing with her dance, and still wearing her smile. "Prejudice can turn one blind to their emotions. Even their own history."

"Zoey doesn't like to be proven wrong," Joey said with a chuckle. "When da facts are stacks against her, she resorts to her fists and foul language. Such is the way of those who are ignorant."

"I couldn't agree more, Ser Joey the Black Dragonknight," said the Elf girl. "I wish you luck in the tourney today."

"And I wish you luck," said Joey. "Wit da Church of Yeyu and people like Zoey running around, it's a dark time fer yer kind. Here, take this." He handed her an ultra-rare Gilford the Legend card. "I have like ten copies of dis guy," Joey insisted when the girl refused his gift. "He'll be worth a lot. I can guarantee you and your troop can find some fine dining and bedding tonight."

"Etherina bless you, kind Ser," the Elf girl said with a bow.

Joey heard a blare of trumpets coming from one of the towers in the pearly-white castle overlooking the town and the fairgrounds. He said farewell to the girl and hurried to a great gathering of players who stood underneath the balcony of the tower where the trumpets sounded.

Two women stepped out over the balcony hand-in-hand. One was dressed in black. Her hair was tied into an elegant bun. The second woman had long hair that looked like sunlight beaten into silk. She was draped in a bright white dress with a plunging neckline. It was short, barely reaching her thighs, but it flowed on the back, the cloth touching her ankles. Their tiaras glistened in the bright light of Helios. By the color of their hair and their iridescent eyes, Joey concluded at once that they were Axeri, a golden-haired race of people from the Lionheart region of Thara, a country to the south of the continent.

Then, from behind, came a creature that caused the crowd to gasp and some to even cheer. A tremendous dragon, black as burned steel and heavily armored. The membranes on its wings were navy blue and its eyes burned red as did a scar on its chest.

"Look at that!" said a knight. "The legendary Black Brutdrago. A survivor of the Night of Flames and Tears."

"Aye, that's him all right. He's kept the kingdom safe for thousands of years and has even granted long life and eternal youth to his two mistresses there."

"No way!" said a knight in red armor. "I've heard the Queens of Black and White had an ancient bloodline. But immortality? That simply cannot be."

"It is," said a knight in azure armor. "Those women may look like they're in their blooming twenties, but they are actually more than a thousand years old. Many wizards begged to know their secret. But its one only Black Brutdrago knows. And it seems like he's not telling. Had they told their secret to Tiberius or Evangelia, we'd probably be in better days. Some say that as soon as their dragon dies, they will die with him."

"I suppose that makes sense," said the knight in red armor. "Dragons can live for more than a hundred thousand years, so those two are going to outlive us and even our grandchildren."

Joey stroked his chin, marveling at the two women above. He had heard of them before. Their legend was told over a dozen times at dinner by his mother and sister, and in the dozens of inns he entered. Having long life, great wealth and power, and one of the last True Dragons in Termnnia made them a force to be reckoned with. They waved to the crowd and the participants below, who were waving banners and throwing confetti in the air. Balloons floated toward the sky, mixing with the dozens of kites that lazily glided in the air over the town.

A man dressed in purple with a round hat plumed with a red feather blew into his trumpet. "Presenting their Royal Majesties! Queens Angeline and Della Blackdragon. And their ever-faithful companion Ser Blackbrute."

The Black Brutdragon roared loudly, shaking the countryside. The man in purple cowered and covered his ears, but Queens Angeline and Della still smiled, holding hands and waving to the crowd.

"Welcome all of you!" Queen Angeline, the woman in black, called out. "Welcome to the three-hundredth annual Mellowfield Spring Tournament. Let's not waste any time. Once the fireworks go off, the games begin."

She and Della kissed. The crowd cheered and Black Brutdragon blew dark-red fire at the sky as rockets launched into the air and burst into clouds of colorful smoke.

"Well, here goes," said Joey. "If I win dis tourney, we'll get the prize money and fund that expedition of Serenity's."

Hee hee hee hee!

"Aw, no," Joey turned and saw two familiar faces approach him. "Red and Weevil," he said in disdain. "Why am I not surprised to see you two fuckers here?"

"Keep talkin', Wheeler!" Rex grunted angrily, remembering all the losses he suffered at Joey's hands, one of them resulting in the loss of his Red-Eyes Black Dragon at Duelist Kingdom. "Things are going to be quite different in these games, I promise you!"

"And Wheeler," laughed his friend, Weevil. "Don't think I forgot how you have beaten me in the Battle City Tournament. You won't get far in these games, I assure you. My deck is swarming with new rare and powerful insects."

He started laughing when someone came up from behind and put him in a chokehold.

"Strong words coming from such a small guppy," said the strangler.

"Mako Tsumami?" Joey said. "Wow. Didn't expect to see you all the way out here."

"I couldn't pass this up," Mako said, still keeping a hold on Weevil.

Weevil broke free and turned to yell at him. "You think you can win this!" he shouted.

"Of course, I can," said Mako. "My new denizens of the deep will assure me victory here."

Rex sneered and crossed his arms. "Don't think your sardines will stand a chance against my dino horde!"

"Ha!" laughed Mako. "My new White Aura Whale will be more than a match for your Two-Headed King Rex."

Joey shook his head. "Some things never change."

He walked away, hoping to get as far away from them as he possibly could, not knowing that he was being watched.

* * *

**Layla Lovecraft**

* * *

Young Layla set up her equipment in her room on the top floor of her beachside apartment suite. As she adjusted the settings and height of her camera, she hummed the theme song from Attack on Titan, one of her favorite Animes.

The camera revealed all the materialistic luxuries a person could want behind her. Luxury furniture, expensive electronics, and decorations that would have the average Joe burning in rage. She thanked her career as a professional Duelist, gamer, and online entertainer for her riches. With an allowance of five million a year, she happily retired at the age of twenty-one.

Once all that was taken care of she put on her white hooded sweater in the shape of a dragon. A frill of cloth spikes went down her back and a little tail came out the bottom of the sweater. The hood had two horns and a hot pink interior and her hands were concealed in the sleeves which sealed to form cute dragon claws. Then she pulled up a black frilly skirt and fishnet stockings.

Her bright blonde hair was formed into two long pigtails with pink streaks. White headphones illuminated by pink neon lights hung over her neck.

She turned on the camera and she smiled and waved. The sunlight peering through her white draped windows made her huge blue eyes sparkle giving her the appearance of an anime girl.

"What's up, guys! Layla Lovecraft here at  _PinkDragon_Gaming_  with another session of 'Let's Talk'."

 **Cut to Layla clapping.**  "Yay!"

"But before we start, here are the Texts of the Day!"

 **Cuts to Layla with her phone.**  "Okay, the first one is from LonesomeWarrior069 with: Hey, PinkDragon_Layla. OMG Ur So HAWT! Show us your tits!"

 **Layla stares coldly at the camera.**  "Hey, LonesomeWarrior!" She flips both the birds. "Fuck you!"

"Sorry about that guys. This next one is from GEEKLORD1020."

 **The video cuts to her snickering at the name.**  "Ha, ha, Geek lord."

**Cut to her coughing into her dragon claw sleeve. Her eyes dart from left to right mischievously. Now the video cuts to her reading the text from her fan. She leans back in her elite gaming chair.**

"Hey, PinkDragon_Layla, did you catch any good memes this week?" she read out loud. "Like seriously guys? I am a Duelist. This is a channel about Dueling and you want me to talk about memes?"

**Next clip shows Layla standing in the harbor with a jug of milk. She leaps into the air and flies through space with the soundtrack _Shooting Stars_  by Bag Raiders.**

**Now she's back in her room. A plate of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies is in front of her. Her face is red from her little stunt and she chuckles. She looks into the camera.**

"Ahem, sorry you had to see that."

**She bites into another cookie.**

"Mmm, my girlfriend made me these. Her cookies are so beast!" She sticks her left thumb up with approval as she takes another bite of her cookie. "Mmm! Love you, baby!"

 **The video now shows her leaning back in her chair.**  "Well enough of those you guys. So here's what's making Dueling news. First off, my reaction to Phobos Corp finally releasing their holographic technology for everyone."

**She pumps her fist.**

"YES!"

**Layla jumps around the room then twerks as the song _Bubble Butt_  by Major Lazer is playing in the background.**

**Back to Layla in her chair**

"I am so excited about this you guys. Holographic Dueling was normally reserved for championship tournaments and there are some pompous assholes, a.k.a the ' _elite_ ' (She makes quotations with her fingers) out there who claim that's only reserved for them. In the words of my friend, AJShim, the Virginia state champion..."

**The video cuts to an image showing a black and white picture of a woman from the 1950's spraying air freshener all over the room. The words: _Smells like Bullshit_  is written above her in big black letters. Audio plays the sound of AJShim saying his famous quote. "BULL-SHIT!"**

**Layla points at the camera and pouts while yelling**

"NO! NO! You guys suck!"

**She sits back in her chair**

"Now holographic Duels aren't new to me because, being a championship Duelist, I've used them before. But when I got home I would always resort to using those lame low-rez Duel Screens and that would totally suck the fun out of the game. I felt bad seeing everyone else not have access to this awesome tech. But it appears your voices have been heard and Phobos Corp has begun construction of local arenas here on Aquarius! But that is not all Duel fans!"

**A cut to her screeching with excitement and waving her dragon claw sleeves.**

"Leon Caldwell, the marketing director and head of the Phobos Corp technological division, has also announced that the company is working on their newest toy. As you can see Leon standing in front of a silhouette of the new piece of tech. He said in an interview with Duel Magazine, quote:  _I am pleased to announce that we are finished working on Phobos Corp.'s newest, most advanced and most ambitious product yet. With the release of holographic technology to the public, we quickly got to work on a way to let Duelists play with holograms anywhere, anytime._ "

**Layla droops over her desk. Mouth wide open with shock. A minute goes by before she says:**

"HO-LY SHIT! Portable hologram Duels?"

**Clip of Layla throwing hundred dollar bills at the camera.**

"I'm throwing money at the screen but nothing is happening!"

**Back to her in her chair**

"Now, while we're on the subject of holographic tech it should be known that Aquarius's first local arena, The Duel Dome, was built just a few nights ago and WOW! Talk about action. We had Duelists from all over the country flock to our little playground. There were some pretty elite players there including my bestie and former teammate, Crystal Anderson the Queen of Dragons! Okay, now get this. My girlfriend was there that night and says she saw Crystal entering the dome with a kid who she thinks is Yuri. As she entered the dome she was challenged by the regional champion, Randall Lawson. And Crystal put Yuri up to Duel him."

 **Layla stares at the camera confused.**  "Like whaaaat?"

"Okay, guys, Yuri maybe the son of the CEO of Phobos Corp and Duel Monsters creator, Jacob Montgomery. And heir to this entire island! BUT he has been labeled number one on the list of Aquarius's worst Duelists. You gotta admire Crystal's confidence in him. Now here is where things get interesting. Yuri BEAT him in that Duel."

**Layla shouts slapping both hands on the sides of her face.**

"WOOOOOW!"

"No, you guys, this is not a joke. Yuri won. Now, personally, I hate Randall Lawson; he is a nasty, egotistical pervert and there I days I wish I never met him. But he is being trained by the former world champion, Brett Martinetti. Randall may be a creep but I respect his Dueling skills. Which leaves me to wonder. How in the hell could an amateur like Yuri Montgomery beat a guy like him? Well, the answers may lie in a monster that has been labeled as the Black Tyranno. This is a card that has never been seen or heard of before. One of Randall's buddies posted a video of the monster on Instagram. I'll leave the link in the description. And what do you guys think is going on? Is Yuri's father giving Yuri new cards? Possibly. Is it a lie? A hoax? A fake card? Let me know what your opinions are in the comments. As for me. Well, there's only one way I'm going find out if that card is legit or not."

**Layla held out her deck.**

"I'm going to challenge Yuri to a Duel and see for myself. Yeah, that's right. Me and Yuri. One-on-one. Stay tuned for that boys and girls. Well, that's the video for today guys. Thanks for watching. As always, leave your comments down below. If you enjoyed the video, please give it a Like. And if you're new to my channel make sure you hit that subscribe button."

**Cut to Layla makes a cute pouty face**

"Or I'm going to be a very sad panda."

**Back to Layla being happy and enthusiastic again**

"And don't forget to hit Pink_Dragon's website where you can get some cool t-shirts and other merchandise. And promo cards signed by me and the rest of the team. Last week the girls and I posed for this year's calendar."

 **She holds it up. Her team leader is on the cover in a bikini and hides it from the viewer's view while wagging her finger**.

"If you want to see the ladies of Pink-Dragon Gaming in some lewd shots be sure to pick it up. If you do so now, I'll give you guys a fifteen percent discount. Not just on the calendar but any other merch you want to get. Just type in the word TYRANNO. But do so now, because this offer is only available for today. And why wouldn't you guys want to get this calendar? I'm topless in March."

S **he gives a flirtatious wink.**

"And Yuri, you better watch out, kiddo. Crystal ain't the only one around here with a powerful dragon deck! Better get your game on, My Dude, cuz it's time to Duel."

* * *

**Yuri**

* * *

_Bark! Bark! Meow! Meow!_

_Dance with me purple cow!_

"These Geico commercials get weirder and weirder by the day," Yuri grumbled as he lay there on his bed listening to the radio which was set to wake him for school. He was contemplating whether to get out of bed today, for he just had another nightmare.

This time he was inside of a room. A woman was holding down the door, trying to keep a vile entity from coming in. The door burst open. Then, a shadowy, shapeless mass entered the room chanting something evil before aiming his hand at the woman. He fired a blast a multi-colored light at her, burning her to ashes. Her smoldering skeleton fell to the floor.

The mass approached Yuri. A pyramid, burning with vile light was hanging around its neck. It removed its hood revealing a face, burned to the bone with strips of charred flesh still clinging to the not-so-clean skull.

"FROM THE LIGHT COMES THE DARK!" The thing shouted. And then Yuri woke.

"That's the last time I sleep with Duel Monster cards under my pillow," Yuri grumbled, scratching the back of his head.

"Yuri, dear, you awake in there?" called Paula from the top of the stairs to the basement.

"Yes, mom!" Yuri called back.

"Hurry up now, you don't want to be late for school."

Yuri showered, shaved and got dressed. He then tossed his homework and cards into his Oakley Kitchen Sink backpack and slipped it over his shoulder before walking out of the room.

"So, there he is," Jacob said as Yuri walked up the stairs from the basement into the kitchen. "Word has finally reached my ears that you beat the regional champion."

"Oh, yeah," Yuri said rubbing his back. "I kind of got lucky."

"I think he's lying," said Andrew, shoving a spoonful of cornflakes into his mouth. "Yuri never beat me in a match. So how could he beat the regional champion?"

"Don't talk with your mouthful, young man!" Mrs. Montgomery snapped while slapping Andrew's head lightly with the newspaper. She was still agitated that Andrew allowed that bully into the party. Buzz snickered with a mouthful of eggs as he pointed at Andrew's mishap. Kathy shook her head, reading a magazine as she ate her toast. She was dressed in her ROTC uniform.

"You should read Duel Monster forums more, Andrew," Buzz said after swallowing his eggs. "And Twitter buzzed about it all night."

"Nice job, bro," said Kathy. "But there's been talk that you brought out a shiny new monster into the field. One that no one had ever seen before."

"Let me see," said Jacob. "You haven't been sneaking into my safe have you, Yuri?"

"No, sir," Yuri said taking out his deck and handing it to his father.

Mr. Montgomery searched through the cards and found the card everyone was talking about. "The Black Tyranno? I never printed this before?"

"Perhaps you missed the memo," Mrs. Montgomery said pouring coffee into his Kuriboh cup. "You can't possibly know every card that pops up."

"No, I suppose not. But this one is powerful. I should have known about it. I guess Two-Headed King Rex is longer the strongest card of the dinosaur-type."

"It must be a fake," said Andrew.

"No, it's not," retorted Mr. Montgomery. "The card is very real. It has its own code. The foil is the same as the ones I use in my business, and it even has its microchip in the corner. Well, folks, I don't know how, but, this is a legit Duel Monsters card."

"Are you going to let me keep it?" Yuri asked.

"For now, anyways," said Mr. Montgomery, handing Yuri his deck back. "Rest assured I will get to the bottom of this."

"I see no need," said Mrs. Montgomery. "Andrew has his signature card, that no one else has. So why shouldn't Yuri?"

"I guess so," Mr. Montgomery said with a smile. "I suppose now that you have beaten the regional champion you're going to need a tough signature creature in your deck. But rest, assured, Yuri, if I see any more unknowns appear I will start an investigation."

"I understand sir," Yuri said stuffing his cards into his pocket.

His little sister waddled towards him.

"Hey, Cindy!" Yuri picked her up and blew on her tummy to make her laugh. "Want to count how many days are left? Huh?"

She grinned and waved her arms happily in response. "Let's see," Yuri said picking up her arm and pressing her hand to the days on the calendar. "One…two…three…four…five more days until my birthday."

"Oh whoopee," groaned Andrew, stuffing cornflakes into his mouth.

Yuri checked his watch. "Uh-oh, gotta go. I'm going to be late."

He set Cindy down.

"Have a good day son."

"Be safe out there!" called Paula. "The neighbors have reported some thieves in black hoods walking around out there."

"No worries, mom!" Yuri called out as he ran out the door.

* * *

"Oh man, what a day!" Yuri said walking out of school with his friends. He ignored all the whispers as he walked out. Some people called him a cheater. They claimed that a Duelist such as him could never defeat a champion player like Randall. Then, there were some who wanted to get a shot of Black Tyranno for their blogs and some even wanted to buy it off of Yuri.

"You should be happy for this kind of publicity, Yuri," said Tyson. He wore baggy jeans and a t-shirt with  _Dragon Ball Z_  character Goku ready to attack. The words above the image read: " _I'm Just Saiyan_."

"Yeah, Carter's right," said Patty. "The school finally acknowledges you as the great Duelist you really are."

"Some have called me a cheater," said Yuri.

"Let the haters hate," said Carter. "They're just jealous that it was you and not them who took down Randall."

"Meh, I'm with Yuri on this one," scoffed Nick. "All this publicity sucks."

"Why?" asked Patty. "Because the cameras are focused on Yuri and not you?"

"I'm talkin' about you, Pats," said Nick. "Ever since Yuri won that Duel every camera on the island chain has been focused on your ass!"

"What the fuck is he rambling about?" Yuri asked. They walked down the sidewalk towards the card shop to hang out and have lunch. It was Friday after all and Yuri was free from work today.

"They all think I'm your girlfriend, Yuri," said Patty. "And I've got to admit, my friend's list has been spiking on social media."

"This is bullshit!" said Nick. "Patty's my girl!"

Patty scoffed. "What do you mean your girl?"

"Well, not yet, but you will be."

Patty rolled her eyes. She grabbed Yuri by the face and planted a big kiss on his lips all the while flipping her middle finger at Nick.

"See you tomorrow, boys!" Patty said walking off leaving them all stunned.

Yuri smirked confidently and walked away with his hand behind his head.

"Hey!" said Nick. "Don't let that sink into your head, Yuri! Yuri!"

"Yuri Montgomery!" someone called out. "Hey, Yuri! Yuri!"

Yuri looked around for the voice.

"Over here!"

"No way!" said Tyson, spotting Layla Lovecraft waving at them from the top of a hill. "Layla of PinkDragon Gaming?"

"Who's she?" Yuri asked, watching the girl run down the hill towards them.

"She is one of the members of that all-female gaming clan. PinkDragon Gaming. They have teams for every well-known game from Call of Duty, Halo, Gears of War, Rainbow Six: Siege and even Duel Monsters. Layla, known as PinkDragon_Layla was once Crystal's teammate in the Duel Monsters Team Tournament two years ago. She, Shayla, Crystal, Ashley Remington, and Kaitlyn Page were the famous Sensational Dragon Sisters because they all packed seriously well-built dragon decks and dominated the competition."

"What does she want with me?"

"We're about to find out."

"Woo, glad I finally caught up with you," said Layla. "You Yuri? The one with the glowing green eye?"

"Yeah, that's me."

"I heard about your Duel against Randall Lawson. Man, he is such a creep, my congratulations on defeating him."

"Uh, thanks."

"Now, I've got a question for you, Yuri. Do you think it was skill that allowed you to beat Lawson, or was it sheer dumb luck?"

"Sheer dumb luck," Yuri answered immediately.

"Care to find out for yourself?" Layla asked, pulling her deck out of her pocket. The cards had gold trim.

"Wow!" Yuri and the others said.

"Go for it, Yuri!" said Tyson.

"I don't think so."

"Why not?" Layla asked. "If you win, I could end all those nasty rumors about you cheating."

"Huh?"

"Come on, Yuri, take my word for it. My fans always listen to what I have to say. And if I say you're legit, you're legit."

"But that's only if I win," said Yuri. "Which I can't. You're a champion player. I'm not. You could easily beat me. Even with my Black Tyranno."

"Then the rumors are true after all," said Layla. "You're running away from a match and that's cowardice."

"You have made a correct assessment," said Yuri.

"Cheaters are cowards, Yuri," said Layla. "If you walk away from my challenge, you're proving all those naysayers right. Come on, kiddo. Prove them all wrong."

"Very well," said Yuri. "The card shop is just down this way."

"We're not going to no card shop, Yuri. I'm playing you at The Duel Dome."

"Oh boy," groaned Carter. "Here we go again."

"Come on," said Layla. "I can fit you all in my car."

* * *

They jammed into Layla's convertible and took them to the Duel Dome after a short drive. When they were in the elevator, she opened a box full of booster boxes.

"Here," she said. "Fill your deck up with these. There should be some cool dinosaurs in this set you can use."

"Wow," said Nick. "These are from the new set."

"They're only for Yuri," said Layla, "hands off."

_Ding!_

The elevator took them to the topmost arena.

"Okay," said Layla. "You take blue I'll take red."

"Okay," said Yuri.

They took their places. The platforms arose. The scoreboard above displayed 2000 Life Points.

* * *

"Where do you think you're going!" Brett shouted at Crystal.

"I think I saw them come up here!" said Crystal.

"Who?" Brett said joining her on the balcony suite overlooking the arena below. "Well, well, Yuri. I should have known you'd wet your panties seeing him come up here."

"He's brimming with confidence today," said Crystal. "The most I've ever seen him."

"And who is his opponent today?" His eyes widened when he saw Layla's lovely face on the jumbotron. "Pink Dragon_Layla? Ah, I can't think of a better person to exact my revenge on Yuri."

"My former teammate should prove a formidable opponent for Yuri," Crystal agreed. "She's sure to take his game to a higher level with this Duel."

"Or give him a most crushing defeat," sniggered Brett, going to the bar to help himself to a drink. "While Randall was goofing around in regionals, Layla was playing a serious game in the world championships. Yuri doesn't stand a chance."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the arena, Ren had arrived, too. He stood there quietly to watch Yuri's match.

"Hold on, Yuri," Layla said, opening her backpack. She sent a drone into the air. "Just need a little something to record our match."

"Pretty cool," said Yuri.

"Thanks, you're first!"

"With pleasure," said Yuri. "I summon Trakadon in defense mode!"

**Trakadon**

**ATK/1300 DEF/800**

"That all?" Layla laughed. "You're going to have to do better than that. I summon Sky Dragon!"

**Sky Dragon**

**ATK/1900 DEF/1800**

After Layla commanded her six-winged beast to attack, the dragon fired a bright blue beam at Trakadon. The little dinosaur screeched and was blasted away. Yuri lost 700 Life Points dropping him to 1300.

"I'm sure you can do better than that," said Layla. "You defeated Randall Lawson. Come on, show me how you did it."

"Yeah, he may have defeated Randall Lawson," said Nick. "But Randall Lawson was not a legendary Sensational Dragon Sister."

"All right," said Yuri. "You want me to do my best, I will. I will play Polymerization to fuse together another Trakadon in my hand with Flame Viper and create Pragtical!"

Yuri summoned a quadrupedal dinosaur with royal purple skin with its shoulders and head crowned with spikes.

**Pragtical**

**ATK/1900 DEF/1500**

"But that's not all!" said Yuri. "I equip him with Raise Body Heat and boost his attack by three hundred points raising Pragtical's attack to twenty-two hundred!"

Pragtical attacked, slashing Sky Dragon in the chest.

"Hm." Layla wrinkled her nose. Her Life Points went down to 1700. "Okay, nice combo attack by the way. But here comes my next monster. I place two cards face down and summon Serpent Night Dragon!"

Crystal clasped her hands together.

"What's with you?" Brett asked, watching Crystal get jittery.

"Oh, I'm so jealous!" said Crystal, seeing the dark serpentine dragon slithering in the air over the field with its four wings. "I've wanted that dragon for years. It's so rare."

"That's not like any Serpent Night Dragon I've ever seen," said Brett. "This one is black and the wings are bigger."

"It's an alternate art card," said Crystal. "The chances of getting those are one in a million! Regan, Layla's girlfriend, gave it to her for her birthday while on a vacation in Hawaii."

**Serpent Night Dragon**

**ATK/2350 DEF/2400**

The rare alternate form of Serpent Night Dragon held its body up and spread its red membranous wings which were almost as long as its body. It had sharp blades coming out from behind its scrawny legs and arms. A shadow mane of black hair with a blood-red hue waved ominously from behind its head. Long curved spikes went down its back to its whip-like tail with an ax-shaped weapon at the end.

The dragon screeched and summoned shadows, which flew out and destroyed Yuri's dinosaur.

**Yuri-1150**

**Layla-1700**

"So far I'm not impressed, Yuri."

"Well nobody asked you to be impressed!" Yuri retorted. "You're a fool if you think this was going to be like your Duels in those fancy-pants tournaments. I told you, I'm not a good Duelist."

"Come on, kiddo, I meant no disrespect. Crystal sees a lot in you is all."

"She does?"

"Yes. It takes more than sheer dumb luck to defeat a good Duelist like Randall. It takes skill and heart. I want to see something in you, too, Yuri. And I want to help bring out that potential in you. But that's going to be hard to do if you're not putting your all into this Duel. Passionate Duelist is what Crystal calls you. Well, I haven't seen any passion in you. All you've been doing was throwing down random monsters in hopes that I end this Duel quickly. I know you've got something in that deck that can stand up to my dragons."

"I just might," said Yuri. "You know, I'm starting to feel bad."

"Why's that?"

"Crystal. All her life she's tried to cheer me on. Pushing me to be the best. But every time I just shove it in her face. When I beat Randall the other night...I felt alive for the first time in years. But as the days went by, my doubt ate away at my confidence."

"Doubt is the nastiest monster of them all, Yuri," said Layla. "But it's one we all have to fight at some point. And like any other monster, it can be slain, but that all depends if you want to armor up and fight it."

"You know," said Carter. "She's right."

"Yeah," said Tyson with a nod of his head."

"Hey Layla!" said Nick. "Thanks a bunch for the pep talk. Maybe we can go out for dinner and give me some of that motivation."

"Sorry, babe," laughed Layla. "I've got a girlfriend already. It's your move, Yuri. Hit me with your best shot."

"Right," said Yuri. "I place two cards face down. Summon this monster in defense mode and end my turn."

"Now we're talking," said Layla. She drew her card marking the beginning of her turn. "You've got me guessing and on my toes. That's how my opponent should play. But, will it be enough for my next beast?"

"Bring it on, Layla."

"Wow," said Crystal. "He's all geared up and ready to fight."

"Careful what you wish for," jeered Brett. "I think Layla drew her best card."

Layla kissed the card she drew.

"Tri-Horned Dragon!" Layla slapped her strongest monster onto the playing field. She summoned the strongest of the lesser dragons. It was a stubby beast with blue scales, a red underbelly, and yellow claws and spikes.

**Tri-Horned Dragon**

**ATK/2850 DEF/2350**

"But hold on there," said Layla. "I activate my trap card, Dragon's Rage. This card will give my dragons the power of piercing damage. Which means that even if your monster is in defense mode, you'll still take damage. And at twenty-eight-fifty attack points, my Tri-Horned Dragon will end the game with this attack. Go Tri-Horned Dragon, attack Yuri's face-down monster."

"Activate trap card!" said Yuri. "Sakuretsu Armor."

"Oh no!"

"This card allows me to destroy your attacking monster."

"Close but no cigar, Yuri. I activate a trap card of my own. The Dragon's Bead! At the cost of a card in my hand, my trap card will negate the effect of your trap and destroy it!"

"Fine," said Yuri. "I will flip up my face-down monster, Gale Lizard! I can select your Tri-Horned Dragon and send him back to your hand."

"You still forget," said Layla. "My Serpent Night Dragon is still free to attack your Gale Lizard."

Yuri braced himself for the attack. Gale Lizard was torn to shreds by Serpent Night Dragon's sonic shadows attack.

**Yuri-200**

**Layla-1700**

"Revenge never tasted so sweet," said Brett, pouring himself another glass of scotch. "I knew one of my girls would take Yuri out eventually."

Crystal groaned with frustration, remembering that it was Brett who was the manager of her team with the Sensational Sisters. Not that they needed him. He just tagged along to make himself look good.

"I've got to hand it to you, Yuri," said Layla. "That was pretty tense. You saved yourself for the moment."

"If you thought that was amazing wait till you see what I can do next," said Yuri.

"Give me your best shot kiddo!"

"With pleasure. I draw! I activate my Pot of Greed card, which allows me to draw two additional cards. And now I'm summoning Gogiga Gagagigo!"

He summoned a humanoid reptile that stood ten feet high. It had flaming red skin and gold armor covered its torso, crotch, arms, and legs, and barbed the end of his tail which was the size of a full-grown man. The armor covering his elbows and knees were spiked.

**Gogiga Gagagigo**

**ATK/2950 DEF/2800**

"Oh geez!" said Layla. "Should I be worried?"

Yuri's new monster stormed for Layla's Serpent Night Dragon and tore it to shreds with his sharp golden claws.

**Yuri-200**

**Layla-1100**

"Nice move," said Brett. "But she's still in the lead. I love this game."

"I summon Tri-Horned Dragon in defense mode!" Layla proclaimed. "Now, you can't strike my Life Points!"

"Oh, can't I?" said Yuri. He flipped the card he drew with his fingers to show her.

"Black Tyranno!" cried Layla. "He does exist!"

"Oh no!" said Brett, almost spitting out his drink. "The card that beat Randall!"

Yuri summoned it to the field. Black Tyranno reared its head and roared into the stadium making the Jurassic Park Tyrannosaurus Rex roar.

"You can't use your Black Tyranno's effect anyway!" said Layla. "I have two trap cards on the field, so Tri-Horned Dragon is not the only monster I have on the field."

"Not for long," said Yuri. "I activate the final card of the game, Heavy Storm. With this card, all our spells and traps are destroyed."

A fierce gale erupted from the ground and shattered Layla's two traps.

"This can't be!" said Layla. "I...I lost."

Yuri had not even made the attack yet, but already Layla knew the game was over. Black Tyranno smashed past Tri-Horned Dragon and gave Layla a swipe of his tail.

**Yuri-200**

**Layla-0**

Crystal jumped up and down with joy. "He did it!" She looked at Brett. "He really did it!"

"Doesn't surprise me," said Brett. "Layla was the weakest of the sisters. Come along, now. We've got important matters to attend to."

"I have no part in those matters, Brett. You go on!"

"I said let's go!"

"One of these days, Brett. You're going to regret treating me this way."

On the other side of the arena, Ren smiled. "Nice work, Yuri." He turned and left.

"That was amazing," said Layla. "And I streamed the whole game live, so if anyone still has anything negative to say about your skills Yuri, they're idiots."

"Thanks for the game, and the pep talk, Layla," said Yuri. "I'm not afraid to show the world what I'm made of."

"You still have a long way to go if you want to be a champion, Yuri," said Layla. "But with a heart and skill set like yours, I wouldn't be surprised if that day came soon. Good luck in your future Duels."

"You too," Yuri said. He wanted to shake her hand but he got a hug instead.

* * *

**Lore**

* * *

**The Currency of Termnnia**

* * *

**Currency in Termnnia is largely based on gold, silver, bronze, and copper coins. Gold Plates are coins the size of one's hand and are the highest value and much rarer. Kings, nobles, lords, famous Duelists, and well-renowned knights tend to use gold coins. The common folk use copper coins and silver or resort to trading if they haven't got any money. Duel Monster cards are humorously called Secondary Currency, for they can oftentimes be sold for their weight in gold. A Secret Rare card can be sold for 15 Gold. An Ultra-Rare card is 10. Ultimate Rares and Ghost Rares have been said to sell for 100 to 1000 Gold.**

**The standard currency of Termnnia was developed by the Bankers Guild in 1224 2AOS shortly after the Norman Conquest of Termnnia.**

**Gold**

Gold Plates

Star Chips

Aegis

Crowns

Royals

Dragons

**Silver**

Silver Shield

Silver Sword

Silver Fang

Tiara

Dove

**Copper**

Stag

Maple

Leaf

Penny

Halfpenny


	18. Lord Peter Dragonheart

**Peter Dragonheart**

* * *

'Nirvana', he thought to himself, staring out into the darkened waters of the Bay of King, lit up by the silver light of Luvia. He saw the orange twinkle coming from the windows of the boats that sailed the water below, and the city glowing in the night. He smirked and then he waddled from the heat of his oversized hearth to the bed where a young girl from the brothel awaited him, face down on her pillow and her ass up.

Peter walked up a wooden step to his bed and approached the girl from behind. He sprinkled a glowing blue powder down the crack of her rump and took a long sniff of the sweet-smelling poison. The girl moaned and twitched when she felt his round nose touch her forbidden parts. Peter went woozy and saw the world lit up with bright colors and sprinkles of light. He felt taller. A man twice his size. And he felt warmer, too. He wanted more pleasure and pressed his face down the girl's backside again until he snorted every last bit of the powder.

He gave the girl a smack. She cooed in delight and wiggled her posterior as she asked him to do it again, to which he happily obliged. He crawled up her back and started nibbling her neck.

"They don't lie about you girls from the Summerlands," he said, growling like an animal and snapping his teeth near her ear.

The girl laughed. "A drink!" she said. "Please. I thirst."

Trying to keep himself up, Peter Dragonheart crawled to the nightstand to pick up a goblet of Star Queen's Blood, a very rare vintage of Termnnian wine said to contain drops of blood from Evangelia Pendragon. He had to sell half the gold in his nieces' Duelist Academy funds to acquire it; unknown to anyone at the moment.

"Care for some of this stuff?" he asked.

"Yes, please," the girl said, turning over to her side. She rested her cheek on her knuckles and sighed. "Is it true what they say about that vintage, Lord Peter? Does it really contain blood from Evangelia Galaxy-Eyes?"

"Yes indeed," Peter answered. "When she ruled Termnnia under the wing of her Galaxy-Eyes Dragons, people thought of her as a divine. What she had in beauty she also had in incredible power. She could talk to dragons as though she spoke common Termnnian. She could breathe fire, cast lightning storms, and even save the ones she loved from death."

"Interesting," said the girl.

Peter licked his teeth and poured the wine from its beautifully handcrafted golden bottle into the cup. The bottle's surface was carved in leafy ornamentation and statuettes of dragons with jeweled eyes.

"Yes indeed," the little man replied. "Some say the blood of those Galaxy-Eyes Dragons flowed through her veins; for once Evangelia won the Dance of the Dragon Queens, her eyes began to glow like the stars. Just like her dragons. The prospect of her ' _divine dragon blood_ ' drew alchemists mad with curiosity. Many offered her entire wagons of gold for a drop of her blood. But she would not have it. She turned them all away. And you won't believe what happened next."

"What? Tell me! I love learning about our history. Especially the history of Termnnia's strongest women."

"Well," said Peter. "Being a girl who loved to fight in the front lines, soldiers of all banners would storm towards her just to stab her for a drop of blood. Even her own bannermen gave into the bounty and turned on her for a chance of some gold. But she was a magnificent swordswoman. No one could touch her."

He laughed.

"Well, anyone lucky enough to get near her that is. Her Galaxy-Eyes Dragons were oh so protective of her. But, eventually, someone did get her blood. One night, as she sleeps, a vintner from the city manages to sneak into her bedroom. He must have been a master of stealth to sneak past both the guards and the Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon said to sleep with her in her chambers. The master burglar is able to draw quite a bit of blood out of her with a magical dagger that prevented the Queen from feeling pain. He collected just enough of the Queen's blood to make an elixir which he then turned into six bottles of wine. The fool made a mistake. He sold them to well-known collectors for high prices. Ha! He even added gold flakes to the drink. How is that for pomposity?"

He cleared his throat. "But I digress," he continued. "The price of the wine was high enough to garner the attention of the Citadel Guard. They eventually found out what was in the drink. The vintner was captured and then beheaded by Evangelia's Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Blade Dragon, a monster she dubbed the royal executioner."

He laughed. So did the girl. "How cruel," she giggled.

Peter handed her the goblet. Just like in the story, the drink was flaked in gold dust. The beverage was almost pink in color. If true, then this wine was five thousand years old. "So they killed him for taking her blood," the girl said, giving the goblet a little shake. "Queen's blood?"

Peter sniggered and poured himself some of the ancient wine into his goblet with the stem crafted to look like a nude woman in a sensuous pose.

"I can't imagine a more horrifying death. To have your head sliced off by a gigantic dragon, three times your size. The poor fool did not live to relish in the fortune he made. Then again, those who bought the beverage feared for their lives. They sold the wine to anyone they could find. Warlords. Mercenaries. Knights. Vagabonds. The list goes on. They were scattered into the world never to be seen again. And now here I stand with a bottle of wine with an ounce of a queen's blood inside."

"I can't wait," said the girl. "What should we toast to, my handsome prince?"

Peter grinned. "To the return of Prince Yuri," he said.

"Oh," the girl jeered. "I will toast to that."

They tapped their goblets together and drank. For a beverage that was thousands of years old, it was as cold as the Arctic Kingdoms and divine in flavor. No doubt the magic of the alchemist vintner - or perhaps the divine properties of Evangelia's blood - kept it so rich for so long. Peter felt his innards freeze over. The bright colors he saw from the powder he snorted vanished. Much to his shock, he was sober again. Elegant in taste, and with medicinal purposes as well. This was indeed a fine brew.

"It's amazing!" the girl said, drinking every last drop from her cup. She asked for another.

"Now, now," said Peter. "This was expensive. I would rather not drink it all at once."

"Indeed," said the girl.

Peter crawled out of bed and then waddled to his desk, littered with scrolls, piles of gold coins and sacks of Star Chips, a golden scale, and an abacus with disks of gold and silver.

He sat down on his red armchair and got back to work, writing a few letters and signing a few documents to Maximillion Pegasus. He dipped his red-feathered quill into the ink bottle and started scribbling on a thick ledger containing all the receipts and expenditures of his House's finances. He raised an eyebrow, realizing that his brother, The King of Dragonrock, was spending a little too much on his friends in the Senate.

Peter was not concerned about losing money; the vaults below the castle honeycombed for miles and miles with riches that could last them a thousand years. Nevertheless, the amounts of money Antilles was giving out was quite a substantial amount.

But Peter knew Antilles would trust in him to make back the sum - with interest - in no time. He was very good at that; that was why he was the treasurer.

Even though he stood 4 feet 10 inches tall, the second Prince of House Dragonheart was a man who was not to be looked down upon. That was quite possibly the last mistake of many people he encountered who doubted him.

They paid the price in terms of money, pride, wife, and even life. A man of astute intellect, he had contacts in every nook and cranny all over Termnnia. Every town, city, brothel, and Dueling Arena; be it west or east, had one of his spies prowling about, hoping to get a good bit of information in exchange for fat sacks of gold coins and Star Chips or ultra-rare cards.

"My brother really doesn't want Yuri back in the throne," he muttered, a little too loudly for his own good, for the girl heard this.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"What I mean is, that my brother wishes to keep Yuri in the other world until he is good and ready. Master Yugi, on the other hand, wishes to see him home sooner rather than later. I say it's a good choice keeping him locked away from the Diamond Throne. A High King must defend his kingdom from his enemies anywhere. Be it the battlefield or the Dueling Arena. Unfortunately, my sources in the House of Intelligence tell me Yuri's Dueling skills are something to be desired. It would be unwise to give him the crown with his skills at their infant stages. If Yuri is High King, and someone brash challenges him to a Duel for the crown via the Dueling Pact, he could lose horribly. His opponent will be named High King and all that money we've invested into keeping Yuri safe on Earth would have been all for naught."

"You paid to keep him safe?" The girl asked. She played with a flake of gold in her mouth.

"And how," said Peter. "The boy destroyed Anubis as an infant. That's more than enough to garner both my respect and my gold. His birth caused the Orcs to flee Termnnia in droves back to the Black Continent. Now that his eighteenth year approaches, girls are going after him. Lucky lad, that Yuri."

"Oh, I cannot blame them," swooned the girl. "He has the blood of an Eyar and the beauty of a Celtra. A face that was crafted by the goddesses and a body as hard as a mountain." She giggled and shook her shoulders. "Not to mention all that power he has, both in magic and in noble title. The Diamond Throne. The God Cards. Every King in Termnnia bowing to his every whim, and the gold! Oh, my! Yuri is a fine prize for any princess."

Peter scoffed. "A fine prize? That mindset has caused more harm than it has good. Civil wars have broken out in each country on the continent. Haughty young girls hiring mercenaries, hedge knights; anyone who can fight, to join their cause. War. War. War. Everywhere I go."

He shook his head.

"The Red Flowers War in which the daughters of House Thorn have drawn arms against one another to hold claim over Yuri's heart. The Summer Maiden War in the Stormcoasts. The War of the Five Princesses in Skyhold. The Lockwood-Oakenward Conflict up in Katina. Blood is being spilled and the fighting these girls are causing is creating a decline in strength against the Fat King up north. In fact, this silly squabble over Yuri is costing a great deal in gold as well. But, that makes it all the better for me, I suppose. People come flocking to our coffers demanding loans to fund their little wars. Many in my profession call wars...harvest time."

He smiled greedily and signed another document without even reading it.

The door to his chambers creaked open. Peter heard the flapping of expensive silk, the jingle of jewelry, and the obnoxious clop, clop of the high heeled boots he gave her for her birthday last year.

"Ah, my darling niece," Peter said before Alexandra Dragonheart showed herself in the light of the fire from the hearth.

"Your Highness," Peter's companion said. "My, my. This is truly an honor. Your radiance is...delicious as the tales I've heard from the bards at the brothel. You're beautiful."

Alexandra wrinkled her nose, looking at the girl in disgust. "Uncle Peter," she said. "Is there ever a night one doesn't find you sleeping with a concubine from the brothel?"

Peter let out a hearty laugh. "My dear niece, that is a trick question, isn't it?"

"Whatever," Alexandra said haughtily. She sat down on his desk. "Uncle, I've come to ask you for a bit of...compensation."

Peter rolled his eyes. "And what, dear niece, caught your eye in the market tonight?"

"Nothing to concern yourself with, Uncle. Per command of the King, you're only duty is to make me happy. Now, what can you spare me?"

Peter tapped his desk with his finger. "First off, I want to know why you need money to storm out this late at night."

Alexandra exposed her snowy-white teeth. "I say again, Uncle, it is of no concern for you. Remember what Uncle Antilles said. ' _Make her happy_ ', and you most certainly aren't. You wouldn't want your brother, The King, to be upset with you, would you? Not when he's so close to visiting us."

"You were supposed to go home to Dragon's Nest a week ago," said Peter, spinning a card under his finger on the desk.

A Starving Venom Fusion Dragon.

Alexandra whined, throwing her hair back and kicking her feet up and down. "But it's not often I get to come with you on business to the capital, Uncle. This is my first time in Rassay in...I don't know, many, many years. There's so much to do. So much to see. And I've only got until Uncle Antilles arrives to enjoy it. Please, let me have a bit of fun before I get sent back to my father."

Peter spun the Starving Venom Fusion Dragon card again. "Oh, all right," he groaned. He opened one of the drawers of his desk and tossed a small velvet purse next to her bottom.

Alexandra looked at it distastefully as she picked it up. "What is this?" she asked.

"Your 'compensation'" Peter answered. "'Have a blast' as the western kids say."

"Are you serious, Uncle? I can't even get a decent pair of panties with this chump change."

"Oh, you want more, do you?" he said.

"Uncle Antilles said you have to make me happy!" Alexandra pouted and crossed her arms. "Of course, maybe you could lend me that Starving Venom Fusion Dragon of yours. I've never wielded a Dimensional Dragon before. It could be fun. And it looks so beautiful."

Peter remained quiet. He put the card back on the top of the deck. "Not on your life, child." He tossed her a heavy burlap sack from underneath his desk. "I expect you to pay me back in full for that amount. I know what's in it."

"You can count on me, Uncle," Alexandra said, taking the sack. She weighed the money with her hand. "Oh, yes. This will do nicely." She got up and walked out of his chambers and out of the castle to enjoy the night.

* * *

**Lore**

* * *

**House Dragonheart**

**By Alexandra Von Klaus, Princess of Dragon's Nest**

****

( _A World of Ice and Fire)_

* * *

**Country:**

**The Kingdom of Dragonrock**

**The Kingdom of Pilannor**

**The Lordship of Summerford**

**The Lordship of Springton**

**The Principality of Northfield**

**The Holy Aelsage Empire**

 

**Founded: 224 3A**

 

**Founder: Titus Dragonheart**

 

**Current Ruler: Antilles Dragonheart**

 

**Titles:**

**High King of Termnnia (Formerly)**

**King of Dragonrock**

**King of Plannor**

**Emperor of Aelsage**

**Prince of Northfield**

**Duke of Meadowcrystal**

**Duke of Havensummer**

**Duke of Applegrass**

**Lord of Summerford**

**Lord of Springton**

**Count of Fieldcliff**

**Count of Griffonrose**

**Count of Orwall**

**C** **ountess of Graywinter**

**Countess of Lochfog**

**Shield of the Ashlands**

**Master of Dragons**

* * *

**Cadet Branch:**

**House of Deepclaw**  ]

**House of Dragontooth**

**House of Blackwing**

* * *

**Artifact: Dragonheart (A Claymore of gold and White Shore Steel inlaid with rubies)**

* * *

**Overlord**

**House Plantegrast (Formerly)**

**House Pegasus (As the High Chancellor of Termnnia until Daveed 'Yuri' Delgado Wollcroft returns to the throne)**

* * *

_Hell upon the world_. That is what many have come to call the country surrounded by a ring of volcanos. The air reeks of sulfur and brimstone. It's hotter than a sunny day in the Summerlands. The sun is barely seen by the thick clouds of volcanic smoke that blanket the country. Hell upon the world, indeed. But, those are the words from the mouths of arrogant fools, thank you very much. For at the center of this 'ashy wasteland'; standing proudly upon dormant volcano sits Castle Dragonheart, the ancestral seat of my family: House Dragonheart.

Below it lies Dragonfyre; a great city of beauty beside a lake of molten lava. The home of trade, artistry, Duel Monsters, and my personal favorite. Pleasurable company.

Underneath the city lie great riches that were able to make our fair country the envy of all Termnnia. Riches that literally made our House rise like a phoenix from the ashes.

Long ago, after his rebellion was won, Tiberius the Uniter punished the remnants of the Norman Invaders after he took the throne from them, feeding their king, Tel-Karatar, to Obelisk the Tormentor as punishment for all the suffering he caused upon the world.

The Normans were forced to march to the foulest pit in all the continent. A land of ash where mountains that spit fire day and night keep the fiery wastelands separate from the beautiful green countries of Gardenrealm, Emboldor, and Feldia as though the Goddesses themselves built that land as a prison to punish the Normans for the horrible crimes they committed. For two hundred years, my ancestors toiled under the red glare of the countless volcanos, scratching a living off rocks and volcanic ash.

One day, a dragon with a body encrusted with priceless gems soars over the villages and devours the people. Men. Women. Children. All were made into juicy morsels for this unrelenting beast. When all hope was lost, a young farmer named Titus followed the dragon back to its lair in a dormant volcano at the center of the country and challenged it. The sword he wielded, Dragonheart, was a magical weapon handed to him by Andranda, the Goddess of the Smiths; for she felt pity towards the Normans. She promised the boy that if he could slay this gemmed dragon, he would acquire riches the likes no one, not even the High King would ever hope to grasp.

The boy charged into the dragon's lair, and, with his magical sword, he slew the beast and laid claim to all the gems encrusted in its body. Those gemstones alone made him richer than the High King. But his good fortune had only just begun.

It is said that the black, ashy cloud parted in the heavens, and a divine light shined through the opening of the cave, revealing an unending network of tunnels rich with gold, silver, and precious gems of all sorts. At once, Titus gathered all the villagers and formed the richest kingdom in all Termnnia. A great castle was built over the volcano containing the mines of precious gems. Young Titus named his newly formed House after the blade that blessed him with all that glory. And thus, House Dragonheart was born.

The gold and silver mines honeycombed deep into the earth and stretched as wide as the entire country, making the Ashlands the wealthiest region on the continent, and House Dragonheart the richest of all the Noble Houses, well, second behind the Kaiba Family. True we may not have fields of flowers like Gardenrealm. Tropical palms like Aurelia, or starry nights like Riftgaard, but what my country lacks in natural beauty, it more than makes up for in gold. House Dragonheart has financed every tournament, war, and many endeavors of the other Noble Houses. (Chuckles) Even the High King of Termnnia has braved the fiery mountains of Dragonrock to 'borrow' a bit of gold from our coffers every now and then.

Our House became so powerful, that many believe Safaani herself blessed with the miracle of aiding the young Princess Belladonna Dragonheart in finding a hidden chamber underneath a Celtran temple which housed thousands and thousands of eggs containing the beast known as Des Volstgalph. Who later on formed the legendary Dragon Brigade of House Dragonheart.

Unfortunately, the treasure hoarded underneath the castle caused my great-uncle, Julius Dragonheart, to go mad with power. Using his almost infinite amount of wealth, he amassed an army quietly and marched upon Rasaay, challenging High King Dalkon Plantegrast to a Duel under the terms of the Dueling Pact. But before the first card could be drawn, Kraxus gave the signal to an archer hiding within the rafters. The archer shot Dalkon in the heart, and then Julius ordered his force of 5000 knights to slaughter the members of Dalkon's court. Kraxus even sent my uncle, Antilles, to find High King Dalkon's children. Two little princesses, Mirelinda and Roxanne; and the little prince Darvan. Uncle Antilles did the unthinkable and ordered his mount, Mortis the Black Storm, to eat their Queen mother before their very eyes before he removed their heads and stuck them onto pikes for the world to see.

But his reign would only last a year before the bastard Antar Wollcroft and his friend Gabriel the Black formed a rebellion that ultimately took him out of power. Once again, the Dragonhearts were removed from the Diamond Throne and sent back to Dragonrock, broken and beaten like their ancestors were thousands of years ago. But unlike last time, House Dragonheart has vaults full of gold...and a little prince named Yuri.

My uncle will restore our House to the way it was. I know he will. He's my uncle. And my uncle...hee hee...my uncle always knows what to do to make me happy.


	19. Judgment of the Starving Dragon

**Alexandra**

* * *

The East Waterfront District stood out from all the others in Rasaay. Being the capital of the continent and home to the King of Kings, it was no surprise to anyone that the city would be visited by citizens of Eredas the Glowing Kingdom. Walled off from the other districts, the East Waterfront was powered by incredible technology and held accommodations to suit the very picky guests from the East.

Princess Alexandra could contain her curiosity no more. Since she was a little girl, she read maps in the library detailing the most technologically advanced kingdom in all Termnnia. She studied portraits and photographs and even stood atop cliffs watching as flying ships soared off into the ocean after concluding their trade with her father's kingdom.

Now that she was finally in Rassay, she just had to see the 'taste' of what Eredas had to offer. Even if the district was small, it still contained wonders that she was denied to see due to her traditional life.

Rasaay was powered by electricity as well, despite being of traditional construction, but the rest of the city paled in comparison to what Alexandra saw when she walked past the gates into the paradise of advanced technology and modern luxury.

She felt like a child walking into a store that sold golden cards and delicious candies. There were buildings of glass, limestone, and steel towering over the walls that separated the citizens of the district from the other folk still living in medieval traditions such as horses and carts, torches, and roughspun clothing.

Here, the people were dressed very gallantly in suits and ties. Soldiers wore Velcro, wore helmets with odd devices to let them see in the night, and they fielded carbines instead of the classical guard wearing a suit of chainmail, surcoat, and armor plating.

The buildings were lit with neon signs and trimming. Exotic eastern foods perfumed the air. She came upon a cliff face overlooking the lower parts of the district many feet below. Alexandra grasped the railings to admire the view.

Their portion of the bay was walled off to block fleets of luxury yachts sailing across the waters of the Bay of Kings. Over the wall, Alexandra saw wooden ships with their towering white sails heading off into the ocean to complete their trade with the other kingdoms.

Alexandra also noticed that the town below was purely for entertainment and populated by youths her age, no doubt the sons and daughters the richest and most powerful nobles in Eredas. The young ones took refuge down below, while their parents were in the Spire of the Kings overseeing their business with High Chancellor Pegasus.

"I've died and gone to paradise," Alexandra said gleefully. "Ana be praised for such wonders."

She wasted no more time, and hurried down the stairs to find shops for more appropriate attire. She entered a boutique where she purchased a raunchy black dress and boots. Just to show off her title as Princess of Dragon's Nest, she put on her tiara then went to the pier to join a sort of festival by the water where music unlike anything she ever heard in her life pumped deafening beats into the night.

Colorful lights flashed over the pier and lasers streamed across the air. Strobes flashed, fueling the youngsters with adrenaline. Alexandra felt herself growing hypnotized by the music. She joined the others on the pier and started mimicking the way they were dancing until she started to blend in with the crowd. Her moves, though amateurish, were dazzling and fluid-like. She caught the attention of many boys who formed a circle around her and watch her as she danced.

She noticed the attention she was gathering. Hungry stares surrounded her. She smiled and wagged her finger before walking off to the nearest bar for a drink. She chose an odd glowing liquid encased in a bottle crafted in the form of a Blue-Eyes White Dragon. The bartender shook the bottle then squeezed lime soda pop from a hose into a glass as she poured Alexandra's drink.

"You're a beautiful little thing, aren't you?" the bartender complimented her. "You're not from around here, are you, hun?"

"How did you guess?" Alexandra asked, taking her glass by the stem. She sipped the drink and felt her taste buds both sing from the sweet flavor and scream from the burn of the alcohol. "Oh, it's delicious!"

"Patented by Seto Kaiba himself," said the bartender. "Anyways, like I was saying, you've got that fish-out-of-water look to you. Not to mention your tiara. You're a princess. What you're doing in a place like this without security is beyond me, and none of my business. But I can tell from the jewels crusted to look like House sigils that you're not eastern royalty. Hmm, that White Knight on the left is the House of Von Clause. And the black dragon on the right has a blazing heart. Which means that you're also from House Dragonheart. Right?"

"Correct, but on my mother's side," Alexandra replied, taking another drink. "I've never experienced a culture as strange as this. It makes me think of all those wasted years."

"I can't imagine what it must be like being a princess from the west," the bartender chuckled, fixing another customer a drink. "All that protocol and lady-like etiquette must be such a bore."

Alexandra rolled her eyes. "My friend, you have no idea. All my life I've been told how to walk, how to sit, how to eat. How to shit and fuck, even. Well, I say no more. My uncle is King Antilles of Dragonrock." The bartender's eyes widened. Alexandra smiled. "Yes. He promised me things will change in the coming months."

"I see, that must sound pretty exciting. You don't see much of him, do you? I've seen him march around the city a few times, but he doesn't say anything about you. Then again, I'm not one to talk. He seems as traditional as you can get. You sure he wouldn't mind you hanging out in a place like this, honey?"

"He's too busy dealing with the Senate to worry about where I go to have fun." Alexandra sipped her drink again. "Not that I care what he thinks if he ever did find me here. I'm grown up. I can take care of myself."

Not long after saying that, two young men set on either side of her. They ordered drinks. The bartender walked off to find the ingredients and looked at Alexandra. The young lad on the left was swinging his neck from left to right along with the beat of the music. Alexandra grinned and sipped her glowing concoction again. "Hello," she said to them both.

"Well, hello, hello, princess," said the one on the right, an Eldori with blazing hair spiked to look like flames. He was chewing on a toothpick. "So, what's a little dove like yourself doing out here all by her lonesome?"

"Perhaps I came looking for the right man," Alexandra replied.

Both the young men exchanged satisfied looks with one another. "Can I get you a drink," the Eldori asked.

Alexandra looked at him, smiling. "You big silly, I still have to finish this one. I wouldn't mind another if I don't have to pay."

The Eldori laughed. "You're a western girl, aren't you? Babe, that's the whole point of a guy offering you a drink. He pays for it in exchange for a dance. Or..." he licked his lips. "A little trip back to his place for some fun."

"Oh, you don't say," said Alexandra. "My, my, my. A free drink and a night of sex? I could get used to this."

The man on the left leaned back to look at the curve of her butt. He whistled. "She's got such an ass on that!" he replied crudely. "I call dibs."

"Hey, I talked to her first, Gordo!" said the Eldori. "She's mine. Go find yourself another one."

"No way, Conner. You always get the nice ones and leave the beasts for the rest of us."

Conner scoffed. "I can't help it if women find me more fascinating than you, Gordo."

Alexandra laughed. "Now, boys, no fighting. I can handle you both."

Gordo and Conner squealed with delight. "Oy, she's dangerous!" Gordo commented, his eyes studying every curve Alexandra had.

"See, Princess, that's the thing. I'm Conner of the House Dwayne. My father is the Lord of Kornshire in Eredas. He's also good friends with the Prince of Domino himself."

"And what does that have to do with us?" Alexandra asked.

Conner grabbed her by the arm. He inched his way towards her until his mouth was just a touch away from her cheek. "It means that I don't share the things that I want. And right now, Princess, I want you." He licked her cheek.

"You animal!" she giggled. She looked at Gordo. "But it would be such a shame to leave your little friend all alone and out of the fun. I'm not that heartless."

"Forget about those two losers, Princess!" said another fool, coming to claim her for the night. "This guy right here is nothing but a squire to his mother's paladin. And this so-called nobleman is the son of a House noted for its corn farms. My father found his wealth with the silver and gold we excavate from the Great White Mountains." He showed her the golden rings on his fingers. He took one off and gave it to her. It fit the length of her finger and was capped with an egg-shaped diamond.

"Oh, my!" Alexandra exclaimed. "It's beautiful. Thank you!" She grinned deviously. Like flies, all these men were caught in her web of seduction and beauty.

The young man who presented her with the ring sneered. "You see, Conner. Women prefer silver, gold, and diamonds. Something I don't expect a corn farmer to have access to. Believe me, Princess, you need to have a sharper eye when it comes to men. A lot of beautiful young things get suckered into marriages with peasants from lesser Houses pretending to be Termnnian royalty."

Conner and Gordo jumped out of their stools, fists at the ready if that was the arrogant young noble's desire.

"Oh yeah!" shouted Conner. "Well, there's no need to introduce yourself. You're Prince Kyle of that Principality of islands down south." He heard Alexandra coo delightfully beside him. A prince from the tropic kingdoms was always a highly desired prospect for many highborn girls. "I have to work to get my treasures!" Conner boasted. "Daddy just gives you whatever you want."

"So long as I get diamonds and pearls quicker, what does it matter how he got his gifts?" Alexandra mocked the boy, waving her hand in the air to show off her ring. "This is an expensive diamond. It must have cost you a fortune."

Prince Kyle was pleased by that remark. "Indeed it did," he replied with a bow, thanking her for her remark. "I guarantee you it cost more than all the gold in the coffers of this Lesser House. We Salvatores are royalty of the highest pedigree. Believe me, Princess, you don't want to go mudding up your prestigious bloodline with the likes of these ilks."

"Ah, there she is, the star of the dance floor!" called another youth walking towards Alexandra wearing an all-black suit and tie. A golden brooch with a galaxy-cut ruby inlaid on the middle was clipped to the tie. His hair was crusted and slicked with gel and black-rim glasses hung from the bridge of his nose. "You must be that western princess everyone is talking about. I couldn't help but notice your beautiful moves from my penthouse over there." He pointed at the tower overlooking the harbor.

"You live up there?" Alexandra asked.

"Up there and all the floors below," replied the young man. "I own it. My father built it for me as a sixteenth birthday present. Speaking of which, I'm having a party upstairs celebrating this joyous day."

"What makes it so joyous?" Prince Kyle asked.

"Why, today is the day Termnnia was blessed with my birth. As I said, we are having a party and I'd be most honored if you would be my lady for the night. You will be very well rewarded, I assure you."

"I'm flattered," said Alexandra. "And just who might you be?"

"I am Lord Cullen of the House Lockwood. I own a bit of land in the Kingdom of Riverhold. My father conquered it, turned it into a resort paradise, and gave it to me as a present for my birthday last year. Ah, and my best friend formed a mercenary group called the Silver Knights of the Hundred Rivers. They serve me, so you can say they're my own army. As you can see, my dear girl, I have money, power, and my own little kingdom, if you wish to be so bold as to call it that. I pretty much have everything these yonder losers don't have."

"Very impressive," said Alexandra. "I must admit, birthday boy, whatever you want, you get."

"You are correct, dear girl. And tonight, I want you as my birthday present."

"That does it!" Gordo grumbled, drawing a jeweled pistol from his belt. Cullen backed away and Kyle gripped his golden sword. "We saw her first!" Gordo shouted. "I'll give you ten seconds to get your highborn butts out of here before I shower you with lead."

"Now, now, now," said Alexandra, gently lowering the boy's weapon down. "There is no need for such civility. Personally, I feel like there's enough in me for the lot of you. But you're fighting over me like little boys squabbling over some candy. You don't seem keen on sharing me, it seems. Very well, during impasses such as this, I think, some Duels are in order. Don't you think so?"

"I like your style, Princess," said Prince Kyle.

"She does have great style," said Cullen. "Very well. We shall have ourselves a gauntlet match for the Princess tonight."

Alexandra purred. She delighted in having people fight for her and treat her like a prize to won at a tournament. She sipped the last of her drink and leaned back on her stool. "Who shall start first?" she asked.

"We are of highborn blood are we not, Prince Kyle?" said Cullen. "Why don't you and I start the first match of these games."

"So be it," said Prince Kyle. "If I should lose this match, princess, which I won't, you can keep the ring."

"You are so sweet, my handsome prince," Alexandra said with a sultry tone. She kissed the diamond for good luck. "See to it that you don't lose, then."

"I will not," said Prince Kyle. He held out his right hand. The ring on his left ring finger glowed and morphed into a shield-shaped Duel Disk of brilliant white, decorated in gold filigree, and inlaid with colorful gemstones. The Duel Disk glittered like stars in the light.

Cullen activated his Duel Disk of solid gold and platinum trim. Poor Conner felt a little overwhelmed at the sight of their Duel Disks. He heard Gordo grumbled beside him, crossing his arms and slumping in his chair. "Humph," Gordo grumbled. "Nothing but the best for their little boys, eh?"

"I'll start first," Cullen announced. He performed difficult combos and Special Summoned monsters from the Crystron series; an archetype of aquatic machine monsters who were quite dazzling for Alexandra to behold. She rather enjoyed the monsters of the east, for the brief second that they appeared, for Cullen was offering them as fodder for the combo needed to summon his ultimate monster.

"Behold!" Cullen shouted, holding up the card. He placed it on his Duel Disk. "I Synchro Summon, Cryston Quariongandrax!"

**Crystron Quariongandrax**

**ATK/3000 DEF/3000**

**LV 9**

****

Cullen laughed proudly as his golden mechanical beast hovered behind him, giving off a metallic howl that was heavenly to the ears. "Well, princess, what do you think? I see you jeering for joy over there."

"It's beautiful!" Alexandra swooned, she stood up from her stool and gazed up at the strongest of the Crystron monsters. "You highborn boys sure do know how to pick your monsters."

"You see, Prince Kyle?" said Cullen. "It's only the first turn, and my monster is already on the field making my princess wet. What do you have that can match against my Cryston Quariongandrax's power, hmm?"

"I will show you!" Prince Kyle said, drawing. "Princess, you said you were quite fond of diamonds and pearls, did you not?"

"I am," Alexandra replied. "Do you mayhaps have a monster in that deck that will tickle my fancy?"

"Tickle your fancy, eh?" sneered Conner, while Prince Kyle began his turn. "I'll be tickling more than your fancy when I win this gauntlet for your sweet ass, princess."

"Oh, you think you have claim to my bottom so soon?" Alexandra replied with a devious look on her face. Kyle activated card effect after card effect to bring forth the monsters he needed to Special Summon the card he knew Alexandra would love. He had monsters of the Gem-Knight archetype. And in no time at all, he summoned his Gem-Knight Master Diamond to the field.

**Gem-Knight Master Diamond**

**ATK/2900 DEF/2500**

**LV 9**

****

Alexandra clasped her hands together and arched her back in excitement, bending her knees from the thrill of seeing two incredible monsters on the field. "Oh, it's absolutely brilliant, Prince Kyle! It's a knight covered with jewels!"

Cullen smiled, for he was very fascinated with the monster he summoned. "Impressive monster, Your Highness. But he's still weaker than my Quariangandrix."

Kyle laughed. "We'll just see about that. We shall do battle at once and let our face-down cards do the talking. Your move. Attack me if you dare!"

"Very well, Prince Kyle. If you insist. I do feel rather terrible humiliating you in front of the princess like this. But if it's a battle you want, then it's a battle you will get! ATTACK!"

The two monsters clashed with one another. Both Duelists activated their Trap Cards and effects to keep their monsters from being destroyed in battle. Gem-Knight Master Diamond jumped out of the way of a multi-directional laser attack from its wings. Gem-Knight Zirconia knelt and crossed his arms over his face and formed a barrier that shielded him from the assault. He survived the attack, but thanks to on his next turn, Kyle was able to let loose a series of effects -known as a Chain- that allowed him to summon Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Diamond.

**Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Diamond**

**ATK/3400 DEF/2000**

**LV 10**

****

"Such incredible monsters!" Alexandra cried out in excitement. "I do love this game."

"It's no big deal," said Conner. "Monsters like those are all flash."

"Jealous?" Alexandra asked.

Conner, though a little envious of the rare monsters in front of him, acted like he was not impressed. "A bunch of shiny monsters don't mean nothing unless you've got the skill to use 'em. These snobs just used a bunch of cheap combos to bring them out into the mix too quickly. Now, look at them. Their hands are empty, their boards are almost clean. If I was up there, I'd be saving my best cards for later, and using my traps and monster effects to weaken their Aces before they get a chance to dominate the field."

"A bold gesture," Alexandra said. Cullen summoned Crystron Phoenix to the field. She clapped for the shiny red mechanical monster.

**Crystron Phoenix**

**ATK/2800 DEF/2000**

**LV 9**

Cullen boosted the power of his monsters, confident that the one trap on Kyle's side of the field was just a bluff. They battled. Crystron Phoenix flew into the air to have a dazzling battle with Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Diamond. Chasing her down was like trying to slash your sword at a beam of light. She was a quick creature and jabbed her diamond blade against the metal body of her foe. A Quick-Play spell from Cullen; and Crystron grew even stronger against Gem-Knight Lady. But, Kyle had one last Quick-Play Spell in his hand that aided his Gem-Knight Lady.

The two monsters fought viciously in the air, and with one final blow, they struck each other down. It was a draw. Cullen then ordered his Crystron Quariongandrax to do battle with Gem-Knight Master Diamond. He dodged the attack once but was cut down by the lasers. He exploded and blasted Kyle with considerable damage to his Life Points.

Kyle, miraculously, drew Card of Sanctity, allowing them to draw until they had six cards in their hands.

"This is the end for you, Lord Cullen," Prince Kyle said, brushing one of his long bangs off his face.

"You bluff," Cullen sneered. "Very well. Entertain me at best, and I just might consider letting you join my party. I'll even think about letting you have a go with the princess if you desire."

"Like I said, I can handle you all," Alexandra giggled.

"Such a licentious little beauty," Cullen hissed lustfully. "I can't wait to win you tonight."

"Don't entertain such thoughts, Lord Cullen. After what I've drawn, you will get no such pleasure. First, I activate Brilliant Fusion! I send two 'Gem' monsters from my deck to the Graveyard as fusion materials so I can summon this! Gem-Knight Seraphinite! Then I summon Gem Armadillo, which activates its effect, allowing me to draw a Gem-Knight monster from my deck to my hand! Now, I send Gem-Knight Seraphinite and Gem Armadillo to the Graveyard to Link Summon, Gem-Knight Phantom Quartz!"

**Gem-Knight Phantom Quartz**

**ATK/1450**

**LINK-2**

"Link what?!" Alexandra asked. "What kind of monster is that? Where's it's level? Where is it's defense points? You easterners really complicated the game."

Conner was shaking in his boots. "I didn't expect Prince Kyle to know how to Link Summon. I thought cards like that were reserved for the elite players of Duelist Academy!"

"You're looking at one of them," Kyle boasted, pointing at himself. "I don't mean to boast, but I'm one of Dr. Vellion Crowler's top students. He provided me with the monster you see here. And it's a good thing that he did."

"What does it matter what kind of monster it is?" Cullen commented while laughing arrogantly. "Link Monster or not, its attack points are far weaker than my Crystron Quariongandrix!"

Kyle couldn't help but scoff at his remark. "Fool, who says attack points are the only thing you need to gain victory. I will take you down by not declaring a single attack on you or your Crystron. I'll show you. First, my Gem-Knight Phantom Quartz's effect activates. I can add a Gem-Knight card from my deck to my hand. Next, I will activate the effect of my Crystal Rose. I can banish a fusion monster to the Graveyard and Special Summon my Crystal Rose in defense mode."

The rose of red and green crystal morphed onto the field, glittering with beauty. Prince Kyle picked it up. "For you, princess."

"Thank you," Alexandra said.

Kyle smiled at her and bowed. "I activate Brilliant Fusion, to combined my Crystal Rose and a Gen-Knight monster in my Graveyard to Fusion Summon, Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli! Now, I activate my Gem-Knight Obsidion's effect to Special Summon, Gem-Knight Lapis in defense mode! Then, I'll summon, Rescue Rabbit, banish it and Special Summon two monsters to my field. Here come two more Gem-Knight Lapiz."

"Hmm," Gordo said, picking up the beer he ordered. "What could he be planning? He sure as hell can't use any of those to take on his Crystron Quariongandrix. He's too tough."

"Ha!" Alexandra chortled. "I think Prince Kyle knows what he's doing."

Prince Kyle went on with his turn. "Now to activate my Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli's effect. I send a Gem-Knight Monster from my deck to the Graveyard and inflict five hundred points of damage to your Life Points for each Special Summoned monster on the field."

"WAIT!" Cullen cried.

Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Luzuli shined a bright blue beam at Cullen, striking him in the chest and knocking back where he skidded to a stop. His Life Points plummeted down to 5500.

"My Gem-Knight Luzuli's effect activates, allowing me to add Gem-Knight Garnet to my hand from the Graveyard. Then I banish Gem-Knight Obsidian to add Gem-Knight Fusion to my hand. I shall activate it, fusing together Lapis and Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli to summon the one and only, Gem-Knight Master Diamond. Then I banish Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli. In turn, he gains her abilities dealing five hundred points of damage for every Special Summoned monster on the field."

Gem-Knight Master Diamond raised his gem-encrusted sword and charged toward Cullen. He stuck his blade into the ground. The gems on his sword started glowing, and they bathed him in magical light, reducing him to 3500 Life Points.

"I banish another Gem-Knight to add another Gem-Knight Fusion to my hand. And I'll activate it, fusing Gem-Knight Master Diamond and the two Gem-Knight Lapis to summon another Gem-Knight Master Diamond!"

The leader of the Gem-Knights returned, but Prince Kyle had no intention of using it for an attack. The Card of Sanctity truly was a miracle draw. Now he had everything he needed to end this Duel.

"Next, I will pay 1000 of my Life Points to Summon my last Gem-Knight Master Diamond! I will use its effect to banish Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli from the Graveyard. Doing so allows my Gem-Knight Master Diamond to gain her abilities, inflicting five hundred points of damage for every Special Summon!"

Kyle continued until he completely wiped out Cullen's Life Points using only the effects of his monsters. Alexandra, Gordo, and Conner yelled with excitement as the final blast ended the game. Cullen's Crystron Quariongandrix evaporated into tiny pieces. Gordo and Conner were next.

Gordo's Zoodiacs against Conner's X-Sabers. Conner won without effort and then he Dueled against Prince Kyle but lost.

"Prince Kyle wins me for the night," Alexandra cheered.

"As if there were any doubt," he sniggered, walking toward her hungrily.

Alexandra held out her palm to halt his advancement. She smiled and went to the dance floor to show off her exotic dancing. In the end, she didn't want just one man to please her. She said she could handle all of them, and she desired all of them on her at once.

Slowly, they slithered their way towards her. Alexandra felt a dozen hands press against her body. And she did nothing to keep them off. In fact, she beckoned them to do whatever they pleased. She felt their palms slide up and down her frame. Across her thighs, down her arms, and even resting on her breasts and buttocks. She felt the hem of her dress get tugged. Still, she did nothing to keep them off. She had been consumed by her love of this place. This music. This life. Eastern living was something she desired more than anything.

"Woah, whoa, whoa!" someone shouted. "Slow down, everyone!"

 _Damnation!_  Alexandra muttered when she recognized the voice of her Uncle Peter. "What in the Hells of the Shadow Realm are you doing here, uncle!" Alexandra shouted, fixing her tiara.

"I suppose you thought yourself very clever, didn't you? Sneaking out of the tower to come here and ruin your purity in this den of depravity. And it's no wonder the Westerners hate this culture so much. Come, we are going home, Alexandra."

"Hey, back off, short stuff!" said Conner. "The lady wants to party. So why don't you just buzz off and leave her alone, eh?"

"The lady you see here is my niece, the Princess of Dragon's Nest. I am Lord Peter Dragonheart of the Blackwing Keep. So unless you want the ferocity of my brother, the king, down upon you, I suggest you let the girl go. It's past her bedtime."

"Stop treating me like a child, Peter!" Alexandra demanded.

"Then stop acting like a child," Antilles said, approaching the group. He stood over Peter and crossed his arms furiously.

"Uncle!" Alexandra cried. "I..wha...what are you doing here?"

"That does not matter," said Antilles. "You are coming home at once." He studied her from head to toe disapproving of the dress and the boots she wore. "Look at you. Dressed like some whore. Have we taught you nothing? You are a princess. You are meant to wed great kings and princes of the world. And yet we find you here, rubbing yourself against these lowborn peasants!"

"Hey, watch what you say, old man!" shouted Cullen. "My father will have your head for this!"

Antilles glared at the young man with his fiery blue eyes. They seemed to burn the poor boy's ego. He backed away cautiously making Antilles laugh. "Your father is nothing but a ruby miner who thinks himself a king. And just so you know, boy, your father is in debt to me. Now I see that he is no longer worth financing if he is wasting my gold buying his spoiled brat towers and gemmed Duel Disks."

"How about a Duel?" said Gordo. "All of us against the two of you!"

Antilles wrinkled his nose. Alexandra looked at him as she bit her bottom lip. She was excited about the prospect of seeing her uncle Duel and use that dragon she heard so much about. But there was a look in his eye that told her she would not be getting such pleasure.

"She can't leave anyway!" shouted Kyle. "I won the privilege of spending the evening with her. She's mine, by right!"

"You spiteful little wench!" Antilles spat. "And you offer yourself as a tribute in Duel Monsters as though you were some booty to be won as a prize."

Gordo sniggered. "Booty," he cackled.

Antilles looked at the boy and shut him up. "Very well," he said. "But you will not be Dueling me. You will Duel my brother. If you win, Alexandra stays with you. Forever."

"Uncle!" Alexandra shouted.

But he was not done. "And she will denounce her title as queen and sever all ties with the House Dragonheart. I will not have some whore in my family, Alexandra. I simply will not! Do you want to run out into the night so badly? You want to drink, dance, fuck, and be rebellious against our wishes, then so be it. But it will not be with you bearing that mighty dragon that was my father's sigil and his father's before him. If you wish to live the way you want; a life of lust, envy, lies, and deception, then you must suffer the consequences. I have told you this many times. And if your Uncle Peter loses this match, then to hell with you, Alexandra."

Alexandra's eyes sparkled with tears. She stepped backward until she stood behind her friends, who formed a wall in front of her.

"So be it," Antilles said, seething. "Peter. Your dragon is 'starving' is it not? Quench its hunger."

"With pleasure, dear brother," said Peter, activating the official Duel Disk of House Dragonheart. "You boys go first."

They stood in a line and one by one summoned their best monsters onto the field. Peter laughed like a man possessed, staring down their best monsters.

**Gem-Knight Master Diamond ATK 2900 + 300 = 3200**

**Crystron Quariangandrix ATK 3000**

**XX-Saber Gottoms ATK 3100**

**Dinoster Power, the Mighty Dracoslayer ATK 2000**

Peter started his turn and summoned the hideous monsters of his Predaplant deck. He started the game by infecting his opponent's monsters with Predator Counters. Once all was set, he activated Polymerization to begin the summoning of his most vile and wretched monster.

"I use Polymerization to fuse Predaplant Moray Nepenthes and Predaplant Flytrap into the creature the lurks in the hell beneath their petals. Fusion Summon! O' venomous dragon of the abyss with starving fangs! Level Eight! Starving Venom Fusion Dragon!"

The four opposing Duelists cried out in horror at the sight of the dragon. Alexandra gasped, clasping her hands over mouth to conceal her shock. "There it is," she whispered. "My Uncle's legendary dragon. Oh, Goddesses. It's...it's so horrifying!"

"Stand tight boys!" Cullen. "Our monsters are still stronger than he is. We can make it out of this if we work together."

"Oh, is that what you think?" said Peter. "That attack points are all that matter?" He rubbed his chin. "Hmm, well, actually they do. Once per turn, my Starving Venom Fusion Dragon gains the attack points of a Special Summoned monster my opponent controls. And you all seem to have one, don't you?"

"All of their attack points combined?" whimpered Gordo.

Starving Venom Fusion Dragon roared, spreading is misshapen wings and sucking the energy from their monsters to increase its power.

**Starving Venom Fusion Dragon**

**ATK/11300**

****

"It can't be!" cried Prince Kyle. "It can't be!"

"Oh, it is," said Peter. "There is a lesson to be learned here. But first, I will send Predaplant Squid Drosera to the Graveyard activating its effect. I can target a monster I control and grant it the ability to attack all monsters on the field with Predator Counters!"

Alexandra ran away from the boys, knowing full-well of what her Uncle's beast could do to other monsters. She scampered to her Antilles and embraced him. "I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I'm so sorry."

"Watch," said Antilles. "This is what happens to fools who embrace the rebellious nightlife you enjoy so much."

"No," Alexandra sobbed.

"Do as I command. Watch. A lesson is going to be taught. For your little friends, and for you."

"Oh, indeed," said Peter, nodding at the boys one-by-one. "I bet you all think you're so invincible don't you? You hide behind those monsters like you do your own egos. Behind them, you act all tough and powerful. I bet deep down you feel that nothing can harm you. No influence in the whole world can hurt you. But behind all that talk, I see nothing but scared little children who think they own the night. No. No, my friends. Stupid fools who believe the life of wine and song makes them significant own nothing. No, my children. Monsters own the night. And you will learn this rule very well. It applies to all. This rule applies to those who think behaving like a fool every night makes you stand above all others! Starving Venom Fusion Dragon, attack Gem-Knight Master Diamond!"

Starving Venom Fusion Dragon's wings grew and grew until they revealed their true forms. They weren't only just wings. They were extra mouths. When their jowls split open, it revealed rows of sharp teeth and trails of oozing saliva. Starving Venom Fusion Dragon's right wing slithered out of its back via long tentacle that could stretch for eternity. With one gulp, Gem-Knight Diamond was gone, swallowed by the dragon. Starving Venom Fusion Dragon then spun around and whipped Prince Kyle across the chest with his tail, ripping open his jacket and the shirt underneath, and shattering his ribs. His Life Points dropped to 0 with one attack.

The other boys panicked, knowing they were next.

Peter continued his attack mercilessly. "This rule applies to fools who think they can treat girls as pin cushions for their cocks! You are not men. You are dogs! Weak-willed imbeciles who will chase after a woman's flesh like a moth to a flame, and then you cast her aside when she has served her purpose. Like a spoiled child, you search for the next toy to play with. But hear me well, you young fools. Slowly, but surely, karma always finds a way to spread open her jaws and devour you and teach you the truth of your perverse lifestyle. Starving Venom Fusion Dragon, attack XX-Saber Gottoms!"

The dragon obeyed. Another one of its mouths stretched out of its back and devoured the monster. Again, Starving Venom Fusion Dragon whipped around and smacked Conner in the arm, breaking the bone to pieces. His Life Points fell to 0.

"The truth is, you will never find true love! So you scour about these places to seek whores and stupid little girls willing to surrender their bodies to every idiot that comes their way!"

Alexandra felt a wave of hurt surging through her body.

"And it applies to fools who think that purposely getting themselves lost in a drunken stupor makes them strong. Look at you drinking all that piss! Do you think it makes you men? Chugging down every bit of poison they offer you in these places? You want a real man's drink? Try some Emboldorian wine. It's good for you. Starving Venom Fusion Dragon! Attack Dinoster Power, the Mighty Dracoslayer!"

And it did, devouring the knight with one gulp, and then it whipped poor Gordo across the chest, punishing him for his sins.

"And it applies to fools who think their daddies can buy them safety. You walk about, flaunting your riches. But low and behold, the world of sin, sex, wine, women, and song finds ways of taking all that you love away from you. This rule applies to stupid little girls who think they own the night. Who think they can lie to those that love them. Who think they can parade around in their skimpy dresses and claim to conquer the night."

He looked at Alexandra, who cowered in her uncle's arms. "I said it once, and I'll say it again. Monsters own the night. They stalk through the darkness looking for the next idiot to devour. And when their jowls close around you, your world will crumble all around you. You will slowly lose the love of all who adored you. You will slowly lose all that you hold dear. When the monsters take...they keep. And once you are in their bellies, there is no escape. Starving Venom Fusion Dragon! Attack Crystron Quariangandrix!"

The mouth stretched to a monstrous length and swallowed the monster. Starving Venom whipped around and struck Cullen in the gut. He soiled himself from the impact. His Life Points fell to 0. Starving Venom Fusion Dragon hissed and howled, waving its tentacles in all directions. Despite eating four giant monsters, it's hunger was not quenched. It was still hungry. Alexandra felt as though the dragon could have eaten everything in the world, and still, it could not be satisfied.

"Nothing good comes from a life like this," Antilles whispered into Alexandra's ear. His minty breath was cold and froze her nostrils. "Make one mistake, and it'll consume you. And when it does, there is no turning back."

"Yes, Uncle," Alexandra sobbed, watching the carnage in front of her. "I'm so sorry, Your Grace."

Antilles turned to look at a squadron of knights from his House.

"Take her to the Spire of the Kings," he said. "And make sure she stays there."

As Alexandra was led away, Starving Venom Fusion Dragon roared triumphantly into the night.


	20. A Royal Birthday

* * *

"You have fought a valiant Duel, Ser Joey! But I'm afraid my mighty Gem-Knight Zirconia is the strongest monster on the field!" called the valiant, Ser Mergreen of the Pineworth Family.

"Yeah, you've got me beat it looks like," Joey said rather smug. "You put up a good fight, Ser. But it ain't good enough. I draw. I sacrifice Litte Winguard, Rocket Warrior, and Swordsman of Landstar to summon Gilford the Lightning."

Joey's swordsman appeared on the field from a column of lighting. He wore massive pauldrons and a small chestplate made of platinum-steel. Except for matching grieves and a scarlet red cloth around his waist, he was naked. He raised his massive sword and automatically destroyed Ser Megreen's monster, defeating them instantly. After that, Joey attacked his opponent's Life Points directly. Gilford the Lightning launched himself toward Ser Mergreen and slashed him across the chest.

"Yeah!" Joey shouted. "I. Am. Da. Winner!"

On the next round, he faced another brash opponent. "At last, I will take down the mighty Ser Joey!" he shouted, posturing in over-the-top poses to make the sun catch his emerald armor chased with gold. "And with your Red-Eyes Black Dragon on the field, destroying him to defeat you will only sweeten my victory. I will Tune my Tri-Horned Dragon and Dragunity Corseca to create the mighty Giganticastle!"

The two monsters turned into two bright orbs. They spun and then shot themselves into the ground. The earth shook. A great fissure opened behind him and from it emerged a rock giant that doubled as an impregnable fortress. He was over 400 feet tall and covered in moss. Seagulls flapped around his massive head, which was a cave with flashing red-eyes.

"The brash green knight bowed. "At twenty-nine-hundred attack points, Giganticastle is a formidable foe. But with his special effect, he'll gain an extra two-hundred attack and defense points."

**ATK/3300**

****

"Attack his Red-Eyed and end this Duel, my beast!"

Giganticastle let out a loud bellow like a trumpet. It raised its fist, ready to crush Joey's ace monster. The green knight laughed, thinking victory was only a punch away.

"I don't think so!" shouted Joey. "I activate my face-down card! Skull Dice. Now yer monster will lose attack points equal to the roll of the die."

A mischievous black fairy with a red hat sniggered as he was rendered on the field. He rolled the red dice he was holding. The crowd held their breath as they watched the dice rattle around on the ground. Finally, it came to a stop.

"YEAH!" Joey shouted. "A two! Now that means yer monster's attack gets cut in half! But wait, I ain't done yet. I reveal my second face-down card, Graceful Dice. This card will increase my Red-Eyes Black Dragon's attack based on the roll of the die like last time. Here we go."

Now, a more benign fairy appeared and dropped a blue dice. Again, the crowd watched with anticipation as the dice rolled across the ground before finally coming to a stop.

"LADY LUCK'S WITH ME TONIGHT!" shouted Joey. "A perfect six. Now my Red-Eyes Black Dragon's attack increases to three-thousand. Knock him outta the tourney, old buddy! Inferno Fire Blast!'

Red-Eyes Black Dragon took flight, missing the castle's punch by a mere foot. The fist smashed on the ground, rocking the fairgrounds and creating a fierce dust cloud. Red-Eyes Black Dragon, fully powered by Graceful Dice, fired his signature attack, blasting Giganticastle's head off, along with the rest of the knight's Life Points. He stood where he was, flabbergasted, as pieces of his monster rained down all around him.

He smacked both hands on the sides of his head. "OH NOOO!" he shouted. "NOOOO!"

Joey held up his fist and soaked up the admiration of the crowd. He heard a commotion coming from the field next to him. It was Rex Raptor going against a knight in black armor with flame decals using a Laval deck.

"LAVAL STENNON APPEAR!" shouted the knight, Synchro Summoning his mighty monster. A giant with rock-hard, blue-colored, flesh in bronze armor. His left hand was a massive magma cannon.

**ATK/2700**

"ATTACK!" shouted the knight. "Destroy his Dark Tyranno with your Laval Cannon!"

"I think not!" laughed Rex. "I activate the trap known as Survival of the Fittest! This card will boost the attack power of my Dark Tyranno by one-thousand!"

Rex's super predator, and common version of the Black Tyranno, roared, feeling the power of the trap surge through his body. Unlike Black Tyranno, Dark Tyranno appeared natural beast, with dark brown scales banded with peanut-butter-colored stripes.

**ATK/3600**

Dark Tyranno ducked out of the way of the magma and then charged at Laval Stennon. He smashed his head against his chest, knocking the giant on his back. He then walked towards Stennon and ripped his head off his shoulders with his teeth. The crowd cheered and Rex laughed, holding up his fist victoriously.

"That knocks your Life Points down to zero and you out of the tournament."

"Competition is getting stiff," said Joey. "But I'll pull through."

* * *

**Antilles**

* * *

The forests of his estate at the foot of the Silverlord Mountain range were the ideal place for him to go when he did not wish to be bothered by the pressing matters of so on and so forth. Most of all, he was in no mood to be hearing of Prince Daveed or Yugi Muto. He wanted to be alone and enjoy the scenery of brilliant green around him.

The water of the River Tulkas running beside the dirt path had turned a brilliant shade of green with spots of pale blue as it reflected the clear skies above. Along the river bank slithered the monster Behegon; a strange, bulbous, sea serpent with a massive mouth lined with fangs ( **ATK/1350 DEF/1000 LV 4** ).

They were as large as a full-grown elephant seal and just as dangerous, but they kept themselves so long as Antilles maintained his distance from them. The leg of a deer was hanging out the creature's mouth, but who was to say the Behegon wasn't still hungry.

He made a few rounds around the trail to clear his mind for the party being held in his castle which he promptly returned to as soon as the night was fast approaching. By the time he had made it to the gate the carriages were arriving and the windows of his home, Castle Eltz, were glowing brightly. Castle Eltz was a medium-sized castle deep in the wilderness of the Forest Kalkoura.

Though many miles from Rassay, Antilles could still see the Spire of the Kings glowing in the distance from his bedchambers. As the guests were dropped off at the courtyard, the band he hired began playing their lutes and pipes by the fountain with a limestone statue depicting Antilles' late father; the former High King of Termnnia, before he was ousted him from power by Gabriel the Black and Antar Wollcroft; both of whom fathered Prince Daveed for a short period of time before their deaths.

A howl of wolves in the mountains behind him sent a chill down his spine and quickened his pace for the castle.

"Scared of the dark, Your Highness?"

"It would be unwise to sneak up on me like that, Ser Galm," Antilles said, trying to keep his breath in control and his body as still as possible. He turned to look at the young knight, leaning against the trunk of a tree with his arms crossed over his chest. He wore scaled, white enameled armor, festooned with gold scrollwork, and a white, hooded cape. His hair was long and light pink, the back tied into a messy ponytail. He had a diamond-shaped shield and a sword sheathed on his back.

"Happy birthday, by the way," said Ser Galm. "How old? Twenty?"

Antilles lightly snorted. "Flattery, eh? What is it that you want?"

"I want to discuss business with you."

"I'm listening."

"I've heard rumors in the Termnnian Warrior's Guild about a dozen or so Lords and bandit kings placing a hefty bounty on the heads of Yugi Muto and his friends. You know me, Antilles. I like to dig deep into rumors I find worthy of my time. Low and behold, I followed a Lord from Emboldor, who turned out to be a proud supporter of the Dragonheart Party and the Kenny Faction."

"You made him talk, didn't you?"

"I did," Ser Galm said, polishing the armor over his fingers. "You know how these fat, overpaid noblemen are? Once they have a sword pressed against their throat, they start singing like a bird. And this little birdie told me that the bounty placed on Yugi Muto was set forth by you. Is that true?"

"So what if it is?"

"I thought we were friends. I'm hurt you didn't tell us, The White Paladins of Bellhold, about this little scheme. We want in."

"And why should a distinguished bunch like yourselves want to join the ranks of bandits, raiders, and lowly mercenaries for a bit of gold."

Ser Galm laughed. "I wouldn't have come here looking to join the hunt if it was just for a bit of gold. You put up a shit load of gold for their heads. And a little extra for someone else. Just who would this someone else be? If you don't mind me asking."

"Until I figure out who the second party is, there is not much I can tell you," said Antilles. "But yes. The bounty of five-hundred thousand paid in gold Star Chips and coins came from me. Yugi Muto and his band are putting the Prince of Termnnia in danger. They think that breaking the law is for his own good, but they fail to see with each time they pass the Different Dimension Gate, they bring the villains after him much closer."

"Not that you care, huh?" said Ser Galm. "Everyone knows you want to take the Heart-EartH Crown. You've wanted it ever since you learned you could summon Slifer the Sky Dragon."

Antilles smiled. Ser Galm could read him like a book. "No," Antilles answered. "I don't care if the boy lives or dies. But it seems our enemy is successful at what they do. They are the best, which is why all of Termnnia loves them. But I know they are behind the series of events going on in the other world. The Black Tyranno of House Delgado has disappeared and now it has come to my attention that Prince Yuri has it."

Ser Galm nodded his head. "Yugi Muto was behind this, wasn't he?"

"I have no doubt it was his doing, but even with the Senate in my pocket, I cannot condemn him of this crime without any proof. The card disappeared before the eyes of the King of Feldia." He laughed. "Actually, it disappeared in his very fingertips down in the vaults underneath his castle. I have heard some sources say that they discovered the card in possession of one of Yugi's friends."

"And what happened to this source?"

"It was never seen again. And I cannot just say to the Senate and the Chancellors that I had a source and somehow it vanished. It will look like I'm pointing fingers. Goddesses know I don't want that. I could lose my credibility with the Senate."

"Politics don't concern me," said Ser Galm. "But I can tell Yugi is messing up whatever flimflam you're stirring up in the Senate. So, I'll help you out, provided we get paid in advance."

"Why would I do that?"

"Hunting down an Eyar is going to be hard work," said Ser Galm, with a roguish smirk. "We're going to need our gear prepped. Our swords sharpened. And not to mention some Mana Crystals to refuel our pools. We've got strong mages and powerful summoners in our order. And, if we do bring Yugi's head to you, I expect a little something, something for myself."

"Yes?"

"I want a million in gold. Every year. For the rest of my life. And your niece's hand in marriage."

Antilles was frozen like a statue. "Alexandra?"

"The one and only. Come on, Antilles, she's a great prize, far greater than money. She's beautiful, has those mighty Black Dragons, and is the heir of Dragon's Nest. Not to mention she's got firm tits and a nice ass."

"Enough!" Antilles almost shouted. "You can have gold and three castles with a vast amount of land to call your own. I can dub you Lord of Wyvernrun and send you every fair maiden from the House of Flowers. But you will never get Alexandra. Ever. Am I clear?"

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Your Highness. I'm sorry to say that your campaign to get Yugi killed is going to end up in failure. Bandits? Mercenaries? Drunken wannabes with clubs and pitchforks have even taken arms to look for them. They will never stop the Heroes of Rassay. Also, suppose one of them gets caught. Yugi and his friends are very persuasive. Much more than I; I'm sad to admit. Just like I figured out it was you who set the bounty, they will figure it out, too. And if the Chancellors find out you've been scheming against Yuri, they will see you hanged, king or not. I can't imagine what this might do to House Dragonheart. You guys already have a bad rep as it was with the rebellion your father started all those years ago."

Antilles said nothing.

"The moment you told every lowlife in Termnnia to go up in arms against Yugi, you put your foot in the shit. My boys and I can clean that mess up. We'll take them down easily. Especially me. I've got a score to settle with Ser Joey the Black Dragonknight. Just give the blessing to marry your niece, and I promise Yugi Muto will never trouble you ever again."

Ser Galm drummed his fingers against his biceps, waiting for Antilles to say something.

Finally, Antilles spoke. "If you manage to complete the task, we will talk about that blessing. Right now all you have to try and convince me is a promise yet to be fulfilled. I can pay you the extra gold you need, but until I see Yugi's head before me, Alexandra is off the table."

"Very well, Your Highness. I'll get on it.

Ser Galm got off the trunk and bowed. He then walked into the forest and disappeared. Antilles shook his head. "Fool." He saw carriages approaching the castle. They guest were arriving. He hurried back to the castle grounds.

He entered through a back entrance so he could sneak up the stairs and change into his party outfit. The guests were already helping themselves to hors-d'oeuvres fresh from the oven and sweet wine served by elvish girls in colorful garments of thin silk and plumed with jeweled feathers.

The trumpets rang at the foot of the main staircase and the herald announced the coming of the party's host. "Presenting, his most royal majesty. Antilles Cronos Dragonheart. King of Dragonrock, Lord of the Ashlands and the Flaming Mountains."

The guests clapped and cheered as he came down the stairs dressed in very expensive robes and a cape with gold ornamentation. The Black Wing Crown's rubies shimmered in the light of the chandeliers and the candles burning on their sconces made of dragon teeth. Tapestries woven to tell the story of Antilles' past battles hung on the walls so all could bask and revel in his greatness.

The walls and floors were of brilliant white marble and veined with gold and silver quarried from the Cerulean Mountains and sent across the Kingsland at great expense. Even the buttresses and ribbed vaulted ceilings were veined with gold The castle was new as far as they go, having been raised nearly fifty or so years ago by Titus Dragonheart, the grandsire of Antilles' father.

"The King!" hailed Lord Frey of Wine River. He held up his goblet and the others followed.

"Hail!" they all cried out.

"Thank you, thank you," Antilles responded with grace and grandeur. The waning sun cast enough light to make the window of painted glass behind Antilles to shine down on him and make him glisten in all the colors of the spectrum.

He looked like a conquering hero, standing up there at the top of the stairs. The mere sight of him basking in the multi-colored light just excited the guests tenfold. Their applause grew louder and more affectionate. Women were blowing kisses, the servants stopped what they were doing to bow, and the knights saluted him.

"Thank you, friends. Thank you," Antilles said trying to cease their clapping and admiration. "I thank you for coming all this way to celebrate the name day of my late father. Please, make yourselves at home."

The towering doors, also of painted glass and red steel, creaked open to let in one final guest. Antilles' eyes widened when he saw Termnnia's Delight step into his grand halls escorted by two Buster Bladers in colossal black armor and black cloaks outlined in silver thread. The escutcheon of the High King was stitched in silver on the back of the capes.

Lady Mai of House Valentine. As radiant as ever in her gown of brilliant purple, bejeweled in amethyst and rubellite. The garment revealed her shoulders and her slender neck, adorned in a black choker with the turtledoves of House Gardner carved in sterling silver. Her hair was curled and held up. Long, curled bangs spiraled down her face, past her chin.

Antilles felt his heart leap with joy at the sight of her, as did many of the men in the entrance hall. Along with the cheerful melody of the lutes, the occasional whack on the dome of the skull could be heard as wives did their damnedest to snap their husbands out of their lustful stares for Lady Mai.

"My Lady," Antilles said. He stopped in front of her and bowed. "Forgive me, but I must ask that your guards remain outside."

Mai wrinkled her nose. She shrugged and turned to look at her monsters. "All right boys, you heard the man."

The Buster Bladers slammed their feet together and made a powerful about-face before marching out of the castle. Antilles waited for the door to close behind them before speaking to Mai. "My Lady, I did not expect you to arrive."

Mai let out a hearty laugh and waved her peacock-feathered fan in front of her face. "What? You did invite me after all, didn't you?"

Antilles stammered for a moment but was quick to regain his composure. He turned to look at the guests and said, in a rather stern tone: "You may enter the ballroom now."

The guests felt a tad insulted when the realization of Lady Mai being the focus of the party tonight set in. Wasting no time, and not bothering to argue, they grumbled and muttered as they slowly went past the towering iron doors into the ballroom where they were most likely going to spend the evening without their host.

"Forgive me," Antilles said when the last guest stepped into the ballroom. He bowed again, took Mai's hand, and kissed it. "I heard it was quite rare for Termnnia's Delight to make an appearance."

Mai rolled her eyes, and gently released her fingers from his grasp. "Well, you are a former Prince of Termnnia, so why wouldn't I? Besides, you intrigue me Antilles. I haven't seen you since the War of the Summer Flowers."

Antilles sniffed to let out his humor and formed a weak smile. The War of the Summer Flowers. A horrid fiasco, in which one hundred suitors from Houses great and small fought for nine long months for the pleasure of having Mai's hand in marriage (Despite her having no say in the matter) in a long and costly war. Antilles was one of them. He came closer than any suitor to having Mai as a wife.

But just as he was about to claim victory in the conflict, High King Antar made it law not to bother Mai Valentine, under pain of death. Until death take her, Mai Valentine was free to marry whomever she deemed worthy.

As a slap to the face to the veterans of the war for her heart, she neglected them all. More than a hundred hearts were broken after that war. Many princes, lordlings, and barons, even kings, took their lives when she rejected their love.

"You haven't aged a day since then," Antilles commented. "Still as radiant as ever."

Mai giggled. "Well, I am an Eldori. We don't tend to age at all. Nevertheless, thank you for inviting me down here for whatever it is that's going on."

"It's nothing of importance, my dear," said Antilles. "This is just an extravagance I set up every weekend to hear the latest gossip in the land. Word has reached my ears that Master Yugi is already at work gathering the selected princes for Prince Daveed's alliance. I have heard the boy now goes by another name."

Mai flapped the fan again in nervousness. Those were secret affairs with information from the House of Intelligence's Special Activities Division. No doubt the gossip of Daveed's nickname was High Chancellor Pegasus' doing. She swallowed and cleared her throat to speak a little more clearly. "Well, from what I heard, it's Yuri. It means Lily Flower. Isn't that cute?"

Antilles did all he could to keep his face from scrunching up in disgust. Yuri? What kind of a name was that for a High King of Termnnia? Antilles thought of himself as awkward standing there trying to smile and make it seem that he enjoyed the name as well. A mock-of-a-laugh escaped his throat, but thankfully Mai could not see the sarcasm in it.

Before he could say another word...

"Wazz up!" a loud and obnoxious Eldori youth said bursting through the doors.

Antilles' teeth clamped shut and started to grind against one another. "Ser Tristan," he said through his teeth. His face molded into an expression of burning agitation. "A delight...as always."

Mai looked at Tristan and hit him on the head with her fan. "Ow!" he cried, massaging the spot.

"Will you behave?" Mai said with impatience. "You're supposed to be a knight. Act like one. And just so you know, this isn't that kind of party."

"My apologies then," Tristan said, now speaking with a high-class etiquette. He started jumping around awkwardly. His face contorted in awkward expression. A bright white cascade appeared on his brow. "Uh...Antilles, I know I just got here and all...but - "

"The privy is in the second floor," Antilles grumbled. "Down the hall and to he left past the gilded suit of armor."

"Thanks man!" Tristan cried. He dashed past Antilles and scurried up the steps before going out of sight.

Antilles shook his head once he was gone. He turned to look back at Mai and scoffed. "Of all the knights in Rassay to escort you to my estate, you go with him?"

Mai shrugged. "Everyone else is doing something at the moment. Even with your convincing High Chancellor Pegasus and the Council to withhold Yuri's entry into our world, the Spire of the Kings is in constant activity. Serenity just sent a letter to the Caesar of Aurelia, instructing his troops to prepare for the arrival of Prince Yuri and the others come Summer."

Antilles held his hand toward the ballroom. Mai nodded her head and followed his lead. She allowed him to take her arm and lead her in a slow and elegant walk.

"You have faith that Prince Daveed will learn to be a good Duelist before the summer season begins?"

"Of course I do," said Mai. "Seto Kaiba has 'connections' in that world. They're all planning events that are sure to help Yuri accel in Duel Monsters."

"Tournaments?" Antilles asked.

"Big ones," Mai answered as they entered the ballroom. "Kaiba's spared no expense to make sure only the best of the best can enter his games. If Yuri isn't one of them, he's vowed to resign from his company."

Antilles looked at Mai in surprise. "That's quite a bold statement. Kaiba must have high confidence in himself if he thinks he can forge Yuri into a Duelist in these coming months."

Mai tugged Antilles lightly towards one of the tables where strawberries were being served on a silver platter. Mai picked one up and ate it in one bite. "Since when does Kaiba not have high confidence in himself?" she asked with her mouth full.

"A song Lady Valentine!" Lord Frey said holding up his goblet.

"Hear, hear!" said Lord Tulnerrio of the Orange Islands.

Mai flung her hair over her shoulder. "My public awaits," she said, releasing her arm from Antilles. "This will only take a moment."

Antilles smiled. "I am not one to complain," he said. "Please. Go up on stage. I would love to hear you sing, My Lady."

Mai hurried to the stage where she was given a golden harp by one of the musicians. He and the others then vacated the stage, surrendering it to her. Mai sat down on and strummed the harp. She bit her lip as she pondered what to play and smiled.

"This is a tale we all know and love. Of the greatest hero our world has ever seen."

* * *

_Our world is still. No light is seen_

_And happiness a trait unseen_

_There's nothing good. There's nothing bright,_

_Then Norman woke and walked that night._

_A mighty hero of power untold,_

_A crown was made to claim his Hold._

_But Elven-kings all mocked and laughed_

_For in their eyes, he was riffraff._

* * *

_Away they sent our hero poor_

_And behind him slammed the door._

_Our world is dark. The Light it fades,_

_The filth of Zorc Necrophades._

_No warrior stands against the beast_

_But then a light shined from the East._

_The Celtra sang and dragons roared_

_As The Conqueror on Slifer soared,_

_To challenge the demon of the Shadow Realm_

_The light of the Goddesses shines on his helm_

* * *

_The Winged Dragon bathed dark in flames_

_The Orcs all cried when Slifer came!_

_Obelisk smashed all foes to hell_ ;

_Evil ran from Ancient Beast as well!_

_Creatures of power now at his whim_

_No force on earth could stop him!_

* * *

_A king he was of Holy Light_

_His armor fair had Goddess might!_

_His sword of sun, no man can wield_

_And runes of power upon his shield!_

_His cape contained the light of moon_

_And hordes of diamond on plate were strewn_

_No mortal had dared to claim his right,_

_For they all fell under his might!_

* * *

_Our world now shines. The light is strong_

_As Norman King rules Nelerond_

_The people dance, and Celta sing_

_For praise of their Supreme King_

_A castle fair was built for him_

_To house his warriors and his kin_

_The dancers danced. The Nymphs they sang_

_And at his gates the trumpets rang!_

* * *

_Our world is sad. The Light is dim._

_The world now weeps and mourns for him_

_The Gods no longer hear his calls_

_The darkness dwells now in his halls_

_No light shines upon his tomb._

_Forever now in Darkness' womb._

_The Nymphs don't dance. And bells don't ring_

_Forever of his might, they'll sing!_

_There lies our King far in the deep._

_Forever in eternal sleep._

* * *

Antilles was the first to clap when the song ended. Mai set the harp down and bowed. A few roses were tossed at her feet. She blew kisses and took another bow before coming down the steps with a bouquet of roses and other flowers.

"Good to see your voice still rings like the bells of Amon Heth," said Antilles.

"Antilles, you are quite the charmer," Mai said, allowing him to peck her on the cheek.

Tristan came running into the ballroom, zipping up his leather trousers. "So, what'd I miss?" he asked.

"You haven't missed much," said Antilles. "The party has only started. I am to understand you will be aiding Ser Joey in teaching Prince Yuri in swordcraft?"

"Not much to be honest," Tristan said, helping himself to the treats on the table. "The bulk of Yuri's training will be held mostly in Aurelia where the Imperial Legion will teach him the art of warfare."

"Is that a fact?" Antilles asked, his curiosity piqued. "I would like to talk with you alone for a moment, Ser Tristan. Lady Mai, I am sorry, but I must leave you for but a moment."

"Go do what you have to do," Mai said, stuffing a pastry into her mouth. "I'll be right here."

"My Lady," Antilles said humbly. He bowed and led Tristan into the West Wing which was odd, considering how often Antilles bellyached about it being  _'forbidden'_.

Once she was left alone, she was approached by three woman in dresses of emerald, ruby, and dark blue. No doubt by all the gold ornamentation and lavish jewelry, these women were from the senate. There was no doubt in Mai's mind that they were here to gloat over their victory in keeping Yuri banished until his Dueling capabilities proved favorable.

"Lady Mai," said the woman in the ruby dress. She was Lady Jane of the House Stormwind; a senator representing the Storm Coasts. The Fiend Kraken of her House was emblazoned in fine metalwork on her gown. Tentacles formed a cape of sorts over her exposed shoulders. "So good of you to join the festivities tonight. I have no doubt you are quite sour over the senate's decision to keep the Prince locked in the other world. Nevertheless, I am glad that one of you in Master Yu-Gi-Oh's band have the decency to be good sports despite the outcomes."

Mai shrugged. "It's whatever I suppose. I can't mope around for one petty decision. The best thing to do now is have hope in Seto Kaiba."

"Ah yes, Seto Kaiba," said the woman in the emerald dress. Senator Mirabelle Oakbar of the petty kingdom of Aigorith, and owner of the East Termnnia Trading Company. She sipped her Dwarven Red Sprinter before taking Mai's hand and kissing it. "I have heard he is to have a hand in Yuri's Duel Monsters training. I pray to the Goddesses that he is discreet in our affairs on the other side of the Gate."

"You've grown accustomed to calling him that as well, Mirabelle?" asked Lady Jane.

"I find his nickname rather charming," said Senator Mirabelle. "My daughter hopes that he is as charming as his name."

"Seto Kaiba is quite careful," said Mai, returning to the subject. "If there's anyone who can help Prince Yuri become a powerful Duelist and earn his way back into our world, it's Seto Kaiba."

"A toast to him, and to his success," said Senator Etoile Gumy of Kalith; the woman in blue. "Let us hope Yuri's return is safe and swift. I don't know about the rest of you ladies, but I grow weary of this constant squabble with the princesses of the kingdoms of Termnnia."

Mai and the other women laughed. "I find it rather adorable," said Mai. "All those girls. Princesses, young queens, baronesses, duchesses, and other girls of nobility taking to the fields to battle for the right to marry Prince Yuri."

"It's adorable and rather costly," groaned Senator Etoile. "In both lives and in gold. My daughter and her friend have banded together against the daughter of House of Perroy; our rival house. Mercenaries are calling this conflict the Gold Rush. Since the fathers of these girls do not wish to waste their own armies in this war, for want the use of a better word, they hire sellswords of all banners. Ten girls are now dead because of this conflict. Mirabelle, you say that your child is involved in this conflict? I did not think you would be one to chase the Diamond Throne."

"You have me wrong, Etoile. My only affairs in this messed up continent of ours is purely commercial. We at the East Termnnian Trading Company try not to get involved with politics."

"And yet you're in in the Senate," said Mai.

Mirabelle nodded; for that statement was true. "Yes, I do have my seat in the Senate; for that is how great our influence is on this continent. However, as the head of the company, my job is to make sure we maintain good relationships with everyone. I'm always on the lookout for promising partnerships and worthy investors to help keep my monopoly of every route of trade, be it land, sea, or air. Believe me, with the ongoing conflicts going on; be they love-crazed princesses or rebel kings, ala King Forrest up north, it affects my business horribly. I see to it that they keep to their squabbles but maintain good business with us."

"And do explain your daughter in the war, senator," said Mai. "Do you have a mind to have your girl marry the future High King of Termnnia?"

"That is her affair entirely," Mirabelle responded sharply. "I told my daughter that if she wants to raise an army to fight the other girls who want Prince Yuri, she has to do so with her own purse. And I don't mean to brag, but my daughter is quite influential. She knows how to get the things that she wants. And while I have stated that my company wishes to stay out of political affairs, the prospect of having my daughter as Queen is an ample inducement."

Mai wrinkled her nose again. "So all three of you voted against bringing Yuri back. Do the Dragonhearts have any influence on your affairs, ladies?"

"A delicate question to be sure," said Mirabelle. "My father, the King of Aigorith, was an ally of Lord Antar Plantegrast in the Rebellion of 980. He has no love for the Dragonhearts, I assure you. On the other hand, the Dragonhearts have considerable funds and have proven themselves worthy partners in many of our endeavors across the continent. I haven't made any contracts with them, yet, but I'm sure he would want his slice of the pie if I ever did. The Dragonhearts' wealth rival that of the High King. Huh! I suppose Tiberius Pendragon did them a favor when he banished them to the Ashlands, wouldn't you agree?"

"Quite," said Etoile. "I only go to these affairs to maintain my relationships with everyone inside and outside of the Senate. As for my relationship with House Dragonheart, Lady Mai, it is one of mutual alignment. I myself care little about the politics and contentions between the kings and this newfound squabble with the Church of Yeyu. Having said that, power is a trait that I respect to the best of my ability. The Dragonhearts have power. They leave my affairs alone and I do them the same favor. "

"I say the same," said Senator Jane. "Antilles and his House may be good allies but he does not influence me at all. I do not cast my vote on bribery, Lady Mai. I am a devoted follower of the Temple of Dwenya. My husband was one of the few to be gifted with one of her shields for his devotion to justice and truth. The gems encrusted on this divine aegis turn dull at the sign of corruption, and I assure they never have around me. Antilles has my confidence, but not my votes. Ah, look there."

She pointed towards one of the windows at a girl wearing a white leotard with a cape fashioned to look like a white Slifer the Sky Dragon. The dragon itself coiled over her shoulders in white enameled metal. The cloth that made the cape fell from one of the dragon's coils. It was made of a white see-through fabric that sparkled with each movement. Long golden hair, speckled with tiny white flowers and decorated with baby blue ribbons, flowed down to her back in rivers of elegant curls. A hairclip designed to look a fierce dragon was clasped to the right side of her head.

A gentleman approached her and asked her for a dance, but she held out her hand and refused. When the man insisted, her 'guard' brandished his blade. Her protection was a Duel Monster of the Warrior-Type known as Blade Knight.

"Oh, that's a girl who won't be looking for a suitor anytime soon," said Senator Jane. "If I'm not mistaken, that's Princess Alexandra von Klaus. The beloved niece of our esteemed host."

"The Princess of Dragon's Nest? Here?" Mai said. "Color me intrigued. She's a beautiful young thing, isn't she?"

"Beautiful and dangerous," Senator Etoile replied with urgency and caution. "She is known throughout the south of Emboldor as the Slayer of Lords and Princes. When she was but a little girl, Alexandra and her dragon Bruton, killed three of Emboldor's greatest Houses in the Battle of Bell Fields. Long have the bards of Termnnia sang of that massacre. Be wary of that girl, Lady Mai. She looks like a beautiful rose, but she is full of thorns, and they're poisonous to the touch. I pray she stays as far away from our Prince as possible. The Loveless Princess is what many have come to call her."

Mai could not keep her eyes off Alexandra. Too great was her beauty and splendor. "You said she has a dragon that aided her in battle."

"She's one of the few to control what remains of the True Dragons," said Senator Jane. "The Des Volstgalph. Long have these fell beasts served the Royal House of Dragonheart. Horrible dragons are what they are, with the power to make you explode if they so much as look at you. Thankfully, they've gone all but extinct since the Rebellion. Obelisk the Tormentor saw to that. Unfortunately, still, Alexandra holds the last of her House. Her dragon is still young, but it is a powerful monster nonetheless."

The gentleman Alexandra rejected approached the four women. "Well, would any of you fine women care for a dance?"

"Rejected again, Lord Brax?" chuckled Senator Etoile.

"Well, there are plenty of fish in the sea," said Lord Brax of Gaven Port. He chugged down the last gulps of wine. His face turned red. The bushy orange mustache underneath his long, pointed nose shivered from his drunkenness. "And what of you sweetheart," he said looking at Mai. "Care to join me?"

"I think I'll pass," said Mai, taking a few steps away from Lord Brax and towards Senator Jane. "I have heard a great deal about you. Your lips are planted firmly onto the backside of the Dragonhearts."

"I wish I had mine planted on hers," Lord Brax commented crudely at Princess Alexandra. A hiccup followed. "You have no love for the Dragonhearts it seems. And yet you come to a party hosted by one."

"I didn't have much of a choice in the matter," Mai responded, trying to remain calm. "Yugi wishes to keep our relationship with them as secure as possible to prevent any more hostilities in the Senate. Yuri has to come home now."

"He's no Duelist from what I heard," said Lord Brax. He hiccupped again and swayed to the right. His feet moved back and forth, and left and right in wobbly dance to maintain balance in his drunkenness. "He can't be a High King if he's no Duelist."

Senator Etoile had no choice but to agree with him. "I'm sorry, child, but he is right. What is a High King if he cannot Duel to save his kingdom. If someone were to challenge him to the Dueling Pact with the poor skillset he has now, I fear all the work to keep him on the throne would have been for not."

"That's no excuse to close the Gate," Mai protested. "He has his head so far up House Dragonheart's…"

Lord Brax held up a hand to stop her foul-tongued remark from escaping her beautiful lips. "I've known House Dragonheart long enough to appreciate their tastes in food, women, and Duel Monsters. And I have known the family long enough to respect the importance they play in the little playground we call Termnnia. He and his have also played a vivid role in stopping the worship of Norman the Conqueror, which is now forbidden thanks to the Church."

"You sure have their backsides pressed to your lips, too, don't you?" Mai remarked in fury.

"Ha! Of course, I do. Unlike you, I know how to make friends around her, Lady Mai. Those Norman worshippers get rounded up and sent to the Grey Hills to get just what they deserve. He is no God to be worshipped."

"It is a person's right to follower whoever they so choose. Freedom of worship is just one of the many blessings the Concordant of Free Speech has given us. But those radicals and brainwashed fools like yourself have done nothing but tarnish it to fuel the agenda of the Church, which has no business here in Termnnia."

"Say what you will, Lady Mai. I'm sure we can come to an agreement in saying that worshipers of Norman the Conqueror cause nothing but trouble for me and the other lords and kings."

"They wouldn't have any reason to attack your chapels and monasteries and raid your roads of pilgrimage if you just left them alone."

"Of course, I'd get that response," Brax hiccupped. "You'd best be mindful, Lady Mai. I heard you sing about that supposed hero on stage earlier. I have powerful friends in the Church who might come a knocking at your door one day."

"Your words are poison. Besides, there are plenty of rulers who resent the Church and its ideals,"

"Ah, yes. I know what you're saying, my dear. Of course, they do. These supposed rulers have trouble adjusting to change. Why else would they force the Easterners to keep their technology from spreading westward, hmm? The ideology of the Church is no different. We believe in the abolition of magic in all shape and form. You understand that it is a fell force that has caused our kingdoms to crumble time and time again. The Church is the way to achieve everlasting peace in this world. Yes, their methods for spreading the faith and getting everyone to understand is brutal, albeit questionable, but sometimes, you need to have an iron fist to get your point across. As to whether I agree with their view of magic, I do not care. Nor do I care what House Dragonheart does to influence the politics of this world. In the end, the Church and House Dragonheart reward their friends richly; very richly. Anyone who does not take advantage of such generosity is a complete fool. Like your friend Yugi Muto."

"That is quite enough of you, Brax," said Jane. "Away with you, if you please."

"Bah, To the Flames with all of you," Brax said wobbling away.

Mai turned to look at the three women. "If you'll excuse me," she said. "I'm going to serve myself another drink. Ladies, it's been a pleasure ("So to speak", she mumbled)."

"Lady Mai," said Jane. "Enjoy the rest of your evening."

Mai bowed and gingerly dashed for the buffet tables. Still angered by the sudden appearance of Lord Brax, she breathed heavily. She picked up a plate and filled it with all the delicacies she could want.

A man in silver armor approached from the window facing the river. He stopped and stood beside her. He gave a flick of his cape to waft the air with his enticing cologne. Mai knew what he was trying to do but sadly felt her hormones succumb to the many scents coming from the indigo cape trimmed in gold. She felt a tingle between her legs and her curiosity was piqued.

She looked from the corner of her eye at the man. His hair was platinum and his face was clean-shaven and alluring with fine features. His eyes were pale blue like a lake in a pale spring still clinging to the cold embrace of winter. Across his chestplate, an engrailed cross was engraved with a sword and shield on the first and third quarters, a fiddle and cards in the second and fourth.

"Can I help you?" Mai asked.

"You most certainly can," said the knight. "You can help from being lonely on the floor this eve. I have traveled all the way north from White Vine in Gardenrealm with hopes to have a dance with the Delight of Termnnia."

"Have you?" Mai said, looking at the knight. "And just who might you be?"

"I am Ser Dylan Cole the Paladin of the Order of the Golden Rose. An order of holy knights who serve the Temple of Nephelia, the Goddess of Friendship and Kindness."

"I know," Mai said with a roll of her eyes. She hated it when people assumed she didn't know the Pantheon of her own kingdom.

The knight continued despite her sudden rudeness. "My Lady, our sworn duty it is to quell the lands of Gardenrealm and beyond of the fires of Yeyu."

"Ha!" Mai burst. "Well, if you're keeping those radical nutcases on the ropes, then I guess you've earned the right to talk to me."

"You humble me, My Lady," the knight said. He looked at the tables and observed the delicacies being served. "His Majesty has spared no expense for tonight's party. Exotic foods from across the seas. Coconuts. Grapes. Dragon Mangos. Bananas from the Koukourian Islands. Ah, and dates from the Sultan of Sobek. He certainly has friends in high places if he can make trade with them."

"Antilles was once the Prince of Termnnia," said Mai. She sipped the last of her wine. "Of course he has connections. Even though the Dragonhearts no longer have claim to the Diamond Throne, there are still those who support them. You said your surname was Cole. Your father wouldn't by chance by Chancellor Drystan Cole, would he?"

"Why, yes, My Lady. My father has a seat in the Senate. How good of you to know."

Mai scoffed. "Don't get to full of yourself Ser Dylan.  _I spit on his name_  as you Westerners say. Your father had a hand in helping Antilles keep Prince Yuri stuck in the other world."

Ser Dylan chuckled and basked in her fury as though it were admiration. He smiled wider and wider as she saw her cheeks turning a pale shade of pink. Though her countenance read anger, the color she turned just made her look even more beautiful.

He attempted to take Mai's hand and kiss it, but she was too quick, swiping her hand away before he could grab a hold of her fingers. A talk with her, yes, he sure earned that. But a kiss, even if it was on her hand, not yet. Not yet.

"Hold on there, Ser," Mai said, scooting a little to the left to pour herself a cup of wine. "Seems like I've more than humbled you if you're making hasty moves like that."

"A clever woman you are," said Ser Dylan. "You see through me like a window. Yes, my appetite seeks to be quenched this night."

"You soil the name of Knight," said Mai. "Nowadays, arrogant fools like you use it as a key to try and unlock chastity belts. Look, hun, that may have worked on whores back at the brothels, but not on me. You're lucky my Buster Bladers were forced to stay outside. You should know it's against the law to bother me."

"No, but the law states I can approach you if you deem me worthy. Well, Lady Mai, do you not find me worthy?"

Mai rolled her eyes again. "You really want me to answer that?"

"Then perhaps, I can win your heart in a Duel."

Mai's face lit up, but she remembered something that made her smile quickly fade. "Oh, you're out of luck, hun. I didn't bring my deck. If you want to have yourself a Duel for my heart, you're going to have to challenge Ser Tristan, my knight-escort."

"Ser Tristan of the House Taylor?" Ser Dylan asked. He burst out laughing. "That fool is nothing but a cheerleader constantly yelling: 'Go, Yugi! Go, Joey!' He is no knight."

Mai felt like someone twisted the pit of her stomach. "He has more reason to be a knight than you. He defended Prince Yuri in the Battle of Rassay. Led the charge in the Siege of Karad-Antha where Anubis and his Orcs attacked the wizard, Gabriel the Black, and his wife, Luthia, the last Celtra. And he's captain of the guard. What qualities did you possess to be qualified as a knight?"

"I saved my village against an army of Wild Men."

"A brave feat," Mai said, tilting her head to the left. "But your deeds still fall short of Ser Tristan's."

"Somebody call me?" Tristan said entering the hall.

A wave of relief cooled Mai, and she smiled seeing him return. "Tristan. I believe you've got yourself a challenger. This is Ser Dylan Cole. He wishes to face you."

"And what are the stakes?" Tristan asked.

"My virginity," Mai answered crudely.

Tristan scoffed. "I didn't even know you had it still."

That released the fury of House Valentine. Mai's beautiful face became bloated and over exaggerated. A cross twitched on her forehead; a sign all Eldoris had when they were angered.

"YOU BIG JERK!" she roared. "HOW DARE YOU...blah! Blah! Blah! Blah!"

As Mai ranted to no end, Tristan approached Ser Dylan and spoke over her voice which seemed to fade in the background once she was ignored. "So, think you can best me in a Duel?" he said to Ser Dylan.

"I don't think I can. I know I can. What say you 'Ser' Tristan." Ser Dylan held out his gauntlet and it morphed into a Duel Disk.

Tristan shrugged an activated his. Seeing that they were ready to fight, Mai calmed down, fixed her hair, and stood back. Antilles joined her. "This should be interesting," he said. "I have never seen Ser Tristan Duel before. Who do you have your money on, My Lady?"

"I'm betting it all on Tristan," said Mai. "Not that I have much of a choice."

"DUEL!" the two knights shouted.

"I shall start since I'm the most revered knight," Ser Dylan said arrogantly. "I summon Battle Ox in Attack mode!"

* * *

**Battle Ox**

**ATK/1700 DEF/1000**

* * *

"Not impressed," said Tristan. "Draw! I summon Gigobyte!" He summoned a little reptilian creature, a few inches taller than a dwarf.

Ser Dylan scoffed. "You really think that pathetic little creature is going to destroy my Battle Ox, Ser Tristan? Clearly, arithmetic was never your forte."

"And you make it a habit of underestimating your foes," said Tristan. "I activate the Spell Card, Triangle Power! It only works with Level One monsters, like my Gigobyte. The Spell will increase his Attack Points by two-thousand for the duration of the turn!"

The guests gasped at the shock of Tristan's combo. Many thought of him as nothing but a simpleton, and he was, so to speak. But over the years, Tristan was garnering respect. First as a knight, then being promoted to Captain of the Diamond Guard for his bravery in the Siege of Rassay two decades ago. Now it appeared that his Dueling skills have developed well.

They watched as the little reptilian creature he summoned bulked up his little muscles. His eyes started burning red. Gigobyte leaped into the air with a mighty bound that took him up and up towards Battle Ox's face. He charged his fist until it started glowing bright blue with power. He smashed his enchanted fist onto the Battle Ox's skull. Battle Ox grunted in defeat and shattered like glass.

The guests hollered at the display of Tristan's clever move and clapped.

"He has developed some skill over time," Lady Jane commented, joining Mai and Antilles. "He has earned the right to train Yuri in swordcraft."

"I must agree," said Antilles. "Ser Tristan has surprised me quite a bit. Prince Yuri will get good training from him I suppose."

Lady Jane watched as Ser Dylan Fusion Summoned Dragoness the Wicked Knight.

The knight attacked Tristan, but he was quick, activating his Draining Shield card. The trap increased his Life Points by Dragoness' ATK. The Trap Card also negated the attack, preventing Tristan from taking any damage and giving him a slight lead in the score.

"Speaking of Yuri," said Lady Jane. "I must ask what is to be of his surname?"

"What do you mean?" Mai asked.

Tristan summoned his Gagagigo. An evolved form of the Gigobyte he summoned earlier.

With an ATK of 1850, he proved more than a match for Dragoness the Wicked Knight. Tristan ordered the attack and his reptilian warrior sprinted towards Dragoness. He jumped and started spinning. His tail flung so fiercely it snapped against the Wicked Knight's armor like a powerful whip, cracking it. Dragoness screamed as she was launched backward and shattered. Ser Dylan was growing rather furious and gritted his teeth to control the humiliation and rage building inside of him.

"What I mean, Lady Mai, is Yuri is the son of Gabriel the Black. He was a Prince of House Delgado and heir to the Fossil Throne of Feldia, remember? That would make Yuri an heir of House Delgado."

"But House Delgado did not want him," said Antilles. "They prohibited the boy from having a claim to the Fossil Throne because they dubbed him a bastard born from incest. Prince Gabriel was supposed to marry Princess Hannah of House Knox, to secure an alliance with the Arctic Kingdoms. But he fell in love with the Celtra girl while studying at Duelist Academy. This forbidden loved produced our young prince."

"I know this," said Senator Jane. She took a long drink of her wine. "But, then, Anubis killed Gabriel and the Celtran woman, ultimately meeting his own end at the hands of their baby, Yuri. This is what bothers me, though. High King Antar, being a brother of sorts to Gabriel, took the child for his own and named him Prince of Termnnia since he had no heirs and was on his deathbed. It was a bold move, but rather brash. But I digress. My question is, would Yuri be known as a Delgado or a Wollcroft. Since the Wollcrofts are a Cadet Branch of House Plantegrast, some claim Yuri should be given that name instead. It better suits his position as High King."

"The Plantegrasts have led a long and healthy rule," Antilles said, watching as Ser Dylan attempted to strike down Tristan's Gagagigo with his Gemini Elf, a spellcaster with 1900 ATK.

It would have surely slain Gigagigo, but Tristan activated Reinforcements to increase his monsters ATK by 500 points.

When the battle phase was complete, Antilles continued to speak: "But their time is over. Yuri is more Delgado than he is Plantegrast or Wollcroft."

Tristan used his Gagagigo as tribute to summon his new form. Giga Gagagigo.

The guests clapped and Tristan attacked Ser Dylan directly, dealing incredible damage to his Life Points.

"So he is to be Prince Yuri of House Delgado then?" Mai asked.

"Perhaps, King Salazar will be coming down here in a month to discuss his claim to the boy."

Mai scoffed. "Yeah, now that he's High King, he's no longer a bastard. He was disgusted about having Yuri as a grandson and barred him from any claim to the throne of Feldia. And now that he will have the God Cards under his command and the Diamond Throne as the seat of power, he suddenly wants him as family again? Ingrate. He'll never get Yuri back."

"That is not your place to say, My Lady," said Antilles. "The law clearly states that the decision to accept King Salazar's invitation back into the lineage of House Delgado, is Yuri himself. There is nothing you, nor I can do about it."

"I sure hope Yuri makes the right choice," said Mai.

"My turn!" Tristan said drawing his card. "I activate the Spell Card, Cost Down. Now I tribute Giga Gagagigo to summon Gogiga Gagagigo!"

"And that's the end of the game," chuckled Mai. "There is nothing Ser Dylan can do to save himself from that monstrosity."

Antilles chuckled. "I've said it once, and I'll say it again, my dear. Overconfidence is your greatest enemy. Unfortunately for Ser Dylan, he learned that a little too late."


	21. Revenge is a Dish Served Cold

**Bakura's Report**

* * *

_An odd phenomenon occurred not too long ago involving the girl named Patty, who I have kept a very close eye on since the day our little prince met her. There is darkness in her heart. Something I have not felt since the day Marik found his dark side via the Millennium Rod. I left Yuri alone and proceeded to observe the girl._

_She has a troubled life. Her father is a drunken mercenary with ties to a criminal syndicate living in the shadows of this floating city. Ah, and her step-mother. She is the one with the foulest mean streak in the household. Far greater than her father's I must say._

_The other day, before I discovered the girl's affinity for the shadows, I saw the mother beating the poor girl to the point where she was knocked out. Then, both the mother and the father left her there on the floor as they enjoyed a microwaved dinner and a movie._

_I have my reasons for being who I am, but, Goddesses, even I am not that cruel. Not towards children. The girl turned nine today. All she wanted to do was celebrate her birthday. I am beginning to believe this is why darkness is manifesting in her heart so strongly. She has a lot of hate for her family and this world. I like it._

_She tried committing suicide today. She refrained from doing so, with my help of course. I had to knock her out. As I took her to bed, I noticed some strange activity coming from her nightstand. A card was beginning to take form there. Two actually. A Ritual Monster and it's Spell Card. There is nothing benign about these cards._

_These are gifts from the Shadow Realm; of this, I have no doubt. In fact, a plethora of poltergeist activity began to erupt as the cards took form. Her toys, trinkets, clothes, and drawers were flung about. The lights go out and I heard a fearsome growl coming from under her bed. I lay the girl down and tuck her in for the night. I sense these malevolent forces are here for her, and they don't mean her harm._

_I check the card. It was Zera the Mant, one of the strongest monsters of the Fiend-Type. A dark beast if I ever saw one. I heard the growl again and when I looked under her bed, I saw burning red eyes staring at me from the darkness._

_No doubt the beast wants me to leave her alone. Well, it seems to me like I have no more say in what happens to the child. Zera the Mant is her guardian now. Be that as it may, I have no intention of leaving the girl alone. She has proven to be far too interesting._

_I am puzzled by all this. There is far too much wonder and magic at work here for this to be an affair for Earthlings. I will look into this matter soon. The girl is good friends with Yuri, and now has Zera the Mant as a guardian of some sort, but she needs a better 'influence'. She is still young, and who knows. She may one day prove of great use to me._

* * *

**Yuri**

* * *

_Where am I? What is this place?_

Yuri felt cold. As if he was standing naked in a blizzard. He was standing on a platform of sorts that resembled a massive mosaic window depicting an all-too-familiar character. "Yami?" Yuri gasped, recognizing the figure on the image. Floating beside him, looking as though he were in a deep-sleep was what appeared to be a younger version of him. "Yu...Yugi," Yuri muttered.

Through the glass, Yuri saw what looked like an endless version of Aquarius's central island going on for miles and miles with Phobos Towers standing proudly in the middle. Yuri's toes curled and his palms grew sweaty as vertigo slowly sank in when he realized how high he was. He looked to the sky and saw four long and narrow mosaic windows.

It was as if he was standing inside of a model city in the middle of a dark and cold church. The images on the windows displayed three young women, a blonde woman who looked like she came straight out of a Japanese manga.

The other two women - an adorable red-head and a lovely brunette with shoulder-length hair - looked the same. The fourth clearly depicted a woman, but instead of a clear picture, it was only her silhouette surrounded by familiar images in small spheres orbiting around her head.

One was Yuri with a crown on his head. The others were of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, a crown, and what looked like...Bakura.

Who were these people? Who were the three women being depicted on the windows in the eternal night sky? Who was the fourth? And why did it seem she had a deep connection with Yuri? He shivered and rubbed his arms with his palms to warm his skin.

Even though he was dressed in baggy winter jeans, a long black shirt underneath a brown leather jacket and a beanie to keep his ears warm, he was freezing.

Suddenly, a pedestal rose out of the ground, directly out of the Wdjat Eye engraved on the golden 3D pyramid around Yami's neck. There was a sword in the stone, with a blade of gold and crossguards engraved and covered in jewels. It didn't look like any other blade.

It looked like a weapon fit for a king. Yuri approached the weapon. There was a keychain of gold dangling from the pommel of the sword.

The 3D pyramid was hanging at the end. Yuri walked around the blade, admiring its beautiful surface shimmering in all the colors of the rainbow as though it were a secret rare foil card.

He reached for it - his hand concealed in fingerless black gloves - and grabbed the black leather grip of the sword. He didn't have to pull with all his might, for the weapon elegantly slid through its imprisonment until it was up in the air, safe in Yuri's grasp.

Yuri gave the sword a few swings. It left behind a trail of glittery lights with each swing. It was a good sword - a little too extravagant in design - but that's what made it special to him.

Yuri looked at the crossguards. They looked like wings. He felt the ground shudder. The pedestal vanished in a flash of noisy light. Yuri backed away from the light.

His heavy boots thumped loudly on the glass - the chain hanging on his hip jangled. He looked around then stared at the sky.

The glossy, black night, glittering with infinite stars was blanketed by the beautiful light of an orangy-green aurora. The night was still and incurious. But Yuri was breathing heavily. Something was coming. He felt it. He looked to his feet, for he felt them getting hot.

What he saw frightened him. His reflection was staring back at him. Then it turned black. Was it his shadow? No, it was not his shadow. He wished it was, but unfortunately, shadows don't have glowing red eyes and teeth as tall as a house. It was just as Yuri feared. A monster!

The shadow reflection in the glass slithered towards the other end of the mosaic platform. And then took the form of a behemoth standing almost a hundred meters high. He recognized it at once. He had seen Yami show it off in one of his dreams more than a year ago. He remembered the monster's name.

Obelisk the Tormentor!

Lightning flashed all around the giant god-like creature as he spread his wings. His body was bluish-black. He seemed more demonic than in the card Yami showed him. His piercing, red eyes stared directly into Yuri's soul.

He lifted his fist. He was going to smash Yuri. Yuri ducked out of the way. He saw the ground darken underneath the shadow of Obelisk's fist, then felt a bone-rattling slam and the platform shaking violently.

The feeling of vertigo grew stronger as Yuri felt the platform shimmy in the air thousands of feet above the city below.

Again, Obelisk attempted to smash Yuri. Yuri got up and sprinted down the platform before rolling out of the way.

Again, he felt the horrible impact of the fist hitting the ground and the fierce wind that almost pushed him towards the edge of the platform. Obelisk gave out a roar that could be heard hundreds of miles away. Yuri screamed and covered his ears before his eardrums burst. He heard them ringing.

The wind was getting stronger as a terrible storm engulfed the battlefield. Obelisk was shielded by the towering storm clouds until he was nothing more than a silhouette with red eyes. His body was only revealed when the lightning flashed, making even more terrifying.

Obelisk twirled his fists until he conjured a dark ball of energy that rained down red-hot orbs that could turn Yuri to cinders with a touch. Yuri slashed them away with his sword. Obelisk almost chuckled at the sight.

Again, he slammed both his fists down on the platform, hoping to smash Yuri like a bug. He held out his arms and used telekinetic powers to lift buildings off the ground and orbit around him.

Obelisk telekinetically tossed them at Yuri. Yuri braced himself. His sword started glowing bright blue and gave him six wings. Yuri flew into the air and sliced the buildings in half with one powerful slice.

He did it again and again, dodging each of Obelisk's attacks. He used his wings to pick up speed and rocketed towards Obelisk's face. He repeatedly slashed the blue gem inlaid in Obelisk's forehead until it cracked.

The God Card reeled in pain and swatted Yuri away with a gust of hurricane-force winds from his own wings. Yuri was tossed through the air until he passed out. When he woke, he found his arms and legs bound hundreds of feet over the platform by a Duel Monster called Binding Chain.

He couldn't move no matter how hard he tried. Lighting flashed. Obelisk was staring right at him. He leaned forward until he was face to face with Yuri. He sneered at the boy. He stood back upright and held up his fist to launch his most powerful attack. Fist of Fate!

Oh no! Yuri was in trouble now. If Obelisk hit him with that attack, he was done for. He knew this was mostly-likely all just a really bad dream. But it felt so real. The agony. The fear.

The magical steel that held his arms and legs together. And the sounds. The horrible sounds Obelisk made. Would he wake up from the dream after Obelisk hit him? What if the attack was really going to kill him?

He was not going to sit idly by and find out. Time seemed to slow down. Yuri mustered all of his strength and finally broke the magical chain. Obelisk's fist was just a mere dozen feet from him and would reach its mark in a fraction of a second. Yuri swung his sword, intercepting Obelisk's massive fist, smashing the flesh to pieces. Obelisk roared in agony.

He grabbed Yuri with his other hand and tossed him into the air. Yuri soared through the storm clouds - lighting flashing dangerous close to him and the thunder booming loudly in his ears.

He flew up until he was directly over the clouds. Despite how high he was, Obelisk looked still looked like a giant. He was now flying towards him.

Yuri seized his moment and threw his magical sword. It was engulfed in blue flames, looking like a comet and it struck Obelisk's blue gem. Then, it exploded. Yuri blacked out.

The sword spun back to the platform and stuck itself deep in the glass. Yuri fell and smacked hard on the glass. Obelisk came down as well, slamming hard on the platform with a mighty crash that caused many of the buildings below to crumble. Yuri forced himself back up. He grabbed the sword and pulled with all his might until he freed it from the ground.

He dashed toward Obelisk, again, aiming to damage the gem on his forehead, now shattered. He slashed and slashed until it broke into a thousand pieces. Obelisk grunt and reached for Yuri with his last breath, grabbing him and imprisoning him in his grip.

"King..." The behemoth muttered. He started cracking. Light burst out of the cracks on Obelisk's face. He was going to blow. And as he lay there dying, he laughed. Laughed like a madman. Yuri braced himself as a hot, white flash erupted in his face.

He prayed to God, hoping it would all end quickly.

* * *

**Patty**

* * *

Patty let out a heavy yawn as she walked into the girl's locker room. She wanted to fall asleep in there and rest, for not only did she not get enough sleep the night before but because she hated gym. Just hated it.

However, she followed Yuri's advice and decided to muster up her strength and attend. If she missed class, she would have detention again. And her father would not tolerate her in trouble (The bruise on her ribs was proof of that). She found her locker at the end of the chamber and slid her backpack off.

"Has anyone seen Yuri?" a red-headed girl from the cheerleading team asked as she and her friends undressed to change into their gym uniforms.

"No," a girl with a ponytail replied, unbuttoning her blouse. "I heard he called in sick today. What a damn shame. I finally mustered up the courage to ask him to the dance."

"You mean homecoming?" the third girl asked. "No way! I totally forgot about that. But what happened to him? I hope he's okay. Is it serious? There's been a rumor going around that he's suffering from internal bleeding or something when he was kicking ass in the underground."

"That's just a rumor," the red-head corrected her sternly as she slipped her skirt off. "A guy like Yuri would never partake in fight clubs. He's too delicate for things like that. That's why he's called Yuri after all. It means lily flower in Japanese. Isn't that cute? It fits him perfectly. I think he's a really sensitive guy. Too bad he can't play Duel Monsters. His skills are shit."

"Yeah," the girl with the ponytail agreed, taking her skirt off as well. "My little brother beat him at the local tournament back in July. Still, it doesn't matter to me if he can't play. All I want from him is that fortune he's gonna inherit. Can you believe it? Ten trillion dollars! And he's a hottie to boot. I don't know about the rest of you, but I find that glowing eye of his really sexy."

Patty wrinkled her nose. She hated when girls spoke of Yuri that way - seeing him as nothing more than a meal ticket to fame and fortune. An immense fortune. She undid her tie and unbuttoned her blouse, trying her best to ignore their gossip.

"So hypothetically speaking," the redhead said, "if Yuri were to date one of you, what would you do with his fortune?"

The girl with the ponytail pondered this for a second. "I would buy a garage full of the world's hottest cars. And I would also buy myself a huge plot of land in the country all the way in Texas or something. Maybe an island all to ourselves!"

"More importantly, who do you think has the best shot of getting out of high school with him?" the third girl asked.

"I'd like to say me," the redhead replied, "but I think Madison has a better chance than any other girl in this school, even though she's going out with Mark. But I don't think her relationship with him will last long. I heard he's going to be dropped from the team as the quarterback because of that injury. Word around the halls is, he isn't playing as well as he used to. He missed three game-winning opportunities last season. And you know Madison. She's picky. If her man doesn't make her look good, she wants nothing more to do with him, just like she did to Andre last year. She dumped him big time because he broke his arm in last year's game. If Mark doesn't deliver, I hear she's going after Yuri next."

"What about that girl, Patty? Isn't she like his best friend or something?"

"Patty!" the redhead laughed. "That skank? I honestly don't know what she did to qualify as a friend for Yuri, but I'm not worried. Yuri would never mix himself with a girl like her romantically. Have you seen her Instagram and her account? Ew, Thot City, population her and her big ass. And not to mention all the crap she's done at the Nexus. I like to party as much as the next girl, but Patty, huh, she takes it to a whole new level. I wouldn't worry about her being the one for Yuri. There are better girls out there than her."

Patty slammed her locker with all her might, dressed as quickly as she could, and stormed out before she heard another word. She gritted her teeth and hoped with all her might that school would end quickly.

"Duel Monsters," she muttered. "That's all I need. A quick round of Duel Monsters."

* * *

She played her Zera Ritual spell, causing the boy in front of her to get sweaty and nervous. He couldn't believe he let her get away with summoning that monster. Not now that he was so close to beating the girl everyone spoke of and hilariously dubbed Sombra.

His ultra-rare monster, Chakra; with an ATK strength of 2450, saved him from the wrath of her 2000 ATK monster, Swordstalker, and pummeled all of Patty's other monsters the entire game. Chakra was practically winning the Duel for him, shaving Patty's Life Points down to a mere 800 points.

He looked at the Duel Screen, watching in grief as Zera the Mant raised his massive claws and sliced Chakra down to small pieces and dealing enough damage to his Life Points to win Patty the game.

"What? That can't be!" a young man cried out in disbelief when his Life Points reached 0. "You couldn't have beaten me so easily!"

Patty yawned with boredom, having defeated another mediocre opponent that afternoon. "Why, because I'm a girl?"

"But I ranked fourth in the shop's tournament last year! I'm one of the Ruby Dragon's best players! There's no way I could have lost this easily. You...you must have cheated!"

Patty scoffed, curtseying her head up and down while she twirled her eyes. "Uh-huh, yeah, yeah. You're so inadequate."

She picked up her cards and shuffled them back into her deck. "Accept the fact that you lost and move on, you big baby. Better yet, why don't you Duel with your own reflection? That way if you lose, it'll be to yourself."

Her opponent picked up his things and left, obviously burned by her statement. She heard him mutter 'bitch' as he made his way out the door.

Sergei approached the table, placing his hands on his wide hips. He chuckled and said: "Made him think twice for underestimating you, eh?"

Patty took a long gulp from her bottle of ice-cold chocolate milk before she answered. "Wouldn't be the first time it's happened." She wiped her mouth with her sleeve. She rested her chin on the palm of her hand and yawned.

A lock of hair flew over the right side of her face, tickling her skin. She rolled her eyes again and blew it off with a puff of air from the corner of her mouth.

Sergei scratched the bottom of his chin ponderously. "You don't look happy for this victory, Patty."

He checked the win/loss ratios on his tablet. When he found Patty's name he tapped it happily.

"Wow. You went seven-and-one today, sweetheart. That's very impressive. You know how many Duelists would kill for a ratio like that?"

Patty smirked but brushed away that remark with a shrug. "I have to admit that I'm a little bored. Only one person out the eight people I've Dueled beat me? Some of these guys were the best Duelists in your store. Makes me wonder how with those skills."

Sergei's face lit up. He sat down on the chair across from Patty. "You're saying that my store is home to mediocre Duelists?"

"I meant no disrespect, Sergei. This isn't about the store. It's just me being picky."

"No, no. I understand you completely. In fact, I think you're building quite a reputation in here. You know, I overheard some players the other day talking about you and your Zera the Mant card, Patty. They started calling you the Sombra, which means Shadow."

Patty smiled, but, again, she shrugged it off. "I don't want to build a name for myself. I just wanna play."

"And by all means, please do. Not only will it bring more customers into my store to want to Duel my little goddess," he reached over and tapped her nose. "But it will also keep you busy from doing all those things you used to do."

Patty's smile faded. She bit her lower lip; for she knew this was just a ruse for Sergei to check up on her again.

Sergei helped reintroduce Patty to Duel Monsters a few years ago when she got herself into trouble with alcohol and drugs, and just recently she was caught living a very provocative nightlife after an embarrassing video of her at one of the clubs went viral throughout the island.

Yuri wouldn't talk to her for a month when his friends showed the video to him at school. Tyson, Carter, Nick, even Sam avoided her for a while. To top things off, she was arrested multiple times for possession and public intoxication which broke Sergei's heart.

He had hoped Duel Monsters would help her stay away from her sins.

Sergei made sure no one was around before he spoke. "So how have things been, Pamela?"

 _Uh-oh._ Real name. Now she knew he was serious.

"Sergei, not now," she said, pocketing her deck. She fumbled through her backpack to avoid looking at him, hoping he would walk away and leave her alone.

"No, no, no!" said Sergei. "Ever since Mr. Montgomery busted you out of jail, I've made it my personal responsibility to watch over you, young lady. Lord knows your father is too much of a drunk to do it himself. How he's able to afford that mansion here in the central island is a big mystery for me."

"He has ties with the Martinettis," said Patty. "All he has to do is perform their dirty deeds and he rolls in the dough."

"I was afraid of that," said Sergei. "But his crap with the mafia is not my concern. Natalya says she saw you and some friends going inside a certain...establishment last night?"

Patty gasped. Sergei nodded his head. He drummed his fingers on his biceps. His leg shook, eager to hear her reply.

"I didn't drink," said Patty. "Security was tight because it's a place so for us teens. Nothing hardcore like those places I used to go. All we did was have dinner and dance, Sergei, I swear."

"Don't lie to me, Patty. She saw you go into the Nexus. The Nexus is not a place for young kids like you, Pamela. You paid someone to get you a fake ID again, didn't you?"

"I'm sorry."

"What were you doing going in there so late? It was a school night." He watched Patty hunch her shoulders and played with a lock of her hair. "Hmm?" he said waiting for an answer.

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Sergei's voice got louder. "No! Sorry isn't going to cut it when you repeat the year, Patty!" Sergei tapped his finger on the table. "Sorry isn't going to cut it when you're sitting in the penitentiary wasting years of your life for messing up so badly! What the hell has gotten into you, child? This isn't you! These things you're doing. The things you let guys do to you. Patty, it's been a year and I can't get the images of that video out of my head. I couldn't believe that it was you. And you were so young. God almighty up in Heaven, I still refuse to believe it was you. Do you have any idea what you did to Yuri when he saw that filth? You! You who he sees as a sister more than a friend."

"I'm not going to live my life to just have Yuri's approval!" Patty snapped. "Yuri maybe my best friend, but he's not in control of me. My world does not revolve around him. I'm turning eighteen next week, Sergei. I'm grown up. I've got my own life now!"

"Oh," Sergei replied mockingly. "Who do you think you are? Hot stuff? That you'd go drown yourself in drink and let guys do whatever they want with your body? You may be turning eighteen-years-old but damn it, Patty, you're just a child!"

"Why are you doing this to me?" Patty whimpered.

"Like you said, it's almost your eighteenth birthday! You're getting older, Pamela and it's only going to get worse. Believe me, I know girls like you. You're adventurous. You want to live life and explore things you've never done before, even it means degrading yourself. You're a smart, kind, beautiful young lady, Pamela. I don't want to see you hanging around some dumbass punk who thinks it's cool to have a flock of bimbos in his arms doing anything and everything at his whim like he was some trainer taking care of common dogs! That's not what I want for you. I know you love to paint and draw. You aspire to be an artist, yes?"

"I do," Patty said, wiping a tear from her eye. "More than anything."

"So that's what I want you to be. Please, Patty. Do something to better yourself."

Patty nodded her head, her face scrunched up in shame and sorrow. Sergei got up from his seat and gave her a hug. When Patty felt the warmth and comfort coming from his embrace, she could no longer contain her feelings and sobbed.

Sergei patted her back then rubbed it to soothe her. "You know you can come to me when you need to, right? And your friends, too. You're not alone, Patty. We all want you to be something better."

Patty sniffed and hiccupped. "I will be. I promise."

"Good girl. You, Yuri, Tyson, Carter, Nick, and even Sam; yes even Sam, are like my own children. I want to see you all grow and be taken care of."

Patty just nodded her head. She heard Sergei chuckle, forcing her to look up at him.

"I almost forgot," he said. "I've found your application to be a waitress at my store's diner. You sure you want to do this, Patty? You're already working at the Crab Shack."

"I need money for my supplies," Patty said, wiping tears and the mascara that they smudged off the corner of her eyes. "And besides, Yuri and now Tyson work here. He's your head chef now, right?"

"Da," said Sergei. "That Tyson is one hell of a good cook if you can believe that."

Patty chuckled. "Get's it from his father."

"So I heard," said Sergei. He moved in on Patty for another hug. "I hope you take that story into account. No matter how deep in despair you are, there is always a light that can help you succeed."

"Yes, Sergei," Patty said nodding her head, her hair tickling the bottom of Sergei's chin.

Then Sergei's gaze focused on the window. "Hey, I think I see an opponent worthy of your talents."

Patty gently pulled herself out of Sergei's embrace and saw Yuri walking by the window. A black armored pickup truck from RAPTOR rolled by, patrolling the streets looking for stowaways and pirates.

Yuri stopped to look at it and waved at the mercenaries. Knowing he was the son of the man who signed their paychecks, they waved back and hollered. Yuri went through the sliding glass doors and walked into the store. He tossed a quarter into the atrium's fountain before greeting Sergei.

"Afternoon, Sergei. Oh, Patty, what are you doing here?"

"She works here now," said Sergei, putting an arm around her. "Say hello to my new waitress."

"Well," Yuri said, rubbing his chin. "I can tell Nick and Sam are going to be happy about this. Those shorts are kind of tight in the hindquarters."

"YURI!" Patty shrieked.

"Well, when do you start work?" Yuri said, waving his hands up and down to calm her.

"Not till next week," Patty answered him, feeling relieved that he was here. "But I thought I'd sharpen my skills today." She sat up on her seat and blinked to dry the moisture on her eyes.

Yuri removed his cap and set it on the counter. "Were you crying, Patty?"

"Da," said Sergei. "I told her a joke about the shoe cobbler and the sea monster. I have never seen her laugh so hard before. I had to get her bottle of water to keep her from laughing herself to death, da?"

Yuri laughed. "Oh, man. That joke. Sergei, you almost killed me the first time you told me that one. Is it a slow day today?"

Sergei shrugged. "You know how it is around this hour. After lunchtime, the Duelists start pouring in. And they should. I just got a shipment of that new pack, Pharoah's Servant. It's full of rare and powerful Trap Cards to stump your opponents. I think it's a good thing. We need more traps so players who don't have access to those rare cards like Natalya's Simorgh and your Black Tyranno can have a better chance. These will certainly keep the battlefield even."

"Yeah, I agree," said Patty. She finished the last of her chocolate milk. "One thousand Life Points every turn if you don't have at least two face-down cards? And Black Tyranno attacking Life Points directly? Where do these rare cards come from?"

"I don't know," said Yuri. "But I think it's kind of cool some players out there have cards they can call their own. Such as the Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Can you believe there are only five of them out there?"

"Only four of them have been found," said Patty. "I'd give my left arm and my mansion for that dragon. He's said to be worth millions."

Sergei coughed into his hand. "Well, since you both are here, why not have yourselves a quick match? I've never seen you two play before."

"But I have to clock in, Sergei," said Yuri.

"Forget about it, Yuri. Look at the place. In fact, Patty's been having an off day. Why don't you spend the rest of the afternoon with her?"

Patty shook her head. "Sergei, I don't want to be any trouble."

"Nonsense," said Sergei. "I think you kids need to go out there an enjoy your youth. Yuri, today is on me." He took out his wallet, taking out a few hundred dollar bills and slapping them on Yuri's palm. "After your match with Patty, take her out to a lovely lunch by the sea."

"What's gotten into you, Sergei?" Yuri asked. "You're paying me to skip work?"

"Yuri, don't bicker," said Patty. "I think I could use a little lunch. Besides, Sergei wants to see us Duel. Who are we to argue, right?"

Yuri stuffed the bills into his pocket. He was still perplexed, but he could not find it in him to refuse the prospect of a free lunch and an opportunity to skip work. He simpered as he looked into the eyes of his godfather.

"Thanks, Sergei," said Yuri. "So, Patty. I guess we shall have ourselves a Duel?"

"Have a seat," said Patty. "I'm all set to go. I got my deck shuffled and everything."

Yuri sat down and removed his jacket. He fumbled with his pockets as he searched for his deck. He finally found the cards and set them on the table.

"So, get anything new?" Patty asked.

Yuri shook his head. "No," he said sadly. "If I want to get cards, I have to get them myself. With my own money. But I've been saving up for a car instead."

"Well, whatever floats your boat," said Patty. "I'll start things off easy for you and summon Job-Change Mirror in defense mode (DEF/1300). Can you get past his defense?"

"Let's see," said Yuri. "Draw. I summon Beaver Warrior in attack mode (ATK/1200 DEF/1500). Your Job-Change Mirror's defense may be 100 points higher than my Beaver Warrior's, but with this Spell Card, Stop Defense, the mirror switches to attack mode, and with that, I will attack."

"Ouch, not bad," said Patty.

* * *

**Patty-1600 LP**

**Yuri-2000 LP**

* * *

Patty drew her card. "Well, serves me right for going easy on you, Yuri. I summon Horn Imp (ATK/1300 DEF/1000). And that does it for your Beaver Warrior. Too bad. I think that card is kind of cute."

"Well, this card I'm about to play is what I call hot. Say hello to Kanan the Swordmistress."

Patty hooted when she saw the alluring, hazel-haired warrior appear on the Duel Screen, gracing the empty Colosseum with her incredible beauty. Her armor was green with silver trim. She carried a sword of brilliant steel on one hand and a shield of royal blue with steel plating.

* * *

**Kanan the Swordmistress**

**ATK/1400 DEF/1400**

* * *

Patty bit her lip, staring at the warrior lady on the screen, waving about her sword eager for battle. She held out her sword and gave a fierce battle cry as she charged for the Horn Imp. She slashed the Imp int he stomach with one swift and graceful strike of her sword. The Imp howled in defeat as his body began to glow and dispersed into a thousand little orbs.

As her Life Points were reduced to 1500, Patty bobbed her head up and down to show she was impressed. "Wow, Yuri. I've got to admit, she's really hot. Trade for it?"

Yuri smirked. "I'm glad you like her, Patty. But she's not up for trades. She's one of my favorite monsters in the game."

Patty laughed at him. "Aw, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you have a card crush on your Kanan the Swordmistress, Yuri."

"A what?"

"A card crush," said Sergei. "It's what happens when a player develops feelings for their favorite cards."

Yuri scratched his head in confusion "You mean to fall in love with them? Kind of like Patty and her Zera the Mant?"

Patty rolled her eyes, leaning back in her chair. "Yuri, you make it sound like my affection for my card is something serious."

"I didn't mean anything by it. Anyways, I set these two cards face-down and end my turn."

"What are you planning, tough guy?" said Patty. "I summon the Reaper of the Cards in attack mode!"

The virtual Colosseum in the screen grew cold. An ominous fog rose out of the ground followed by a spine-tingling howl.

The phantom known as the Grim Reaper of Duel Monsters rose out of the ground, raising his scythe up, ready to take Kanan's sword. A necklace of cards attached to a string flapped around his neck. Bony hands with tan skin and clawed fingers wrapped around the wooden handle of the scythe.

* * *

**Reaper of the Cards**

**ATK/1380 DEF/1930**

* * *

"So, he may be twenty-points weaker than your Kanan, but, if I combine him with Dark Energy, his ATK increases to 1680. Attack!"

The Reaper of the Cards howled and menacingly floated towards Kanan. She only smirked and readied her sword for a counter-attack. Yuri activated one of the Traps he set. "Here we go, Reinforcements. This will increase Kana's ATK by five hundred points."

Kanan made a great leap into the air, dodging the Reaper of the Card's scythe. The curved blade struck the ground and was stuck.

Kanan landed on the handle of the scythe and ran up the length of it with the most incredible display of acrobatics seen. She spun dramatically and cried out in battle as she jabbed her sword into the face of the reaper. The phantom howled and disappeared.

"You got me again, Yuri," Patty said glumly. "Now I really have to take off my kiddie gloves."

* * *

**Patty-1380**

**Yuri-2000**

* * *

"Good, good," Sergei said, rubbing his hands together with great anticipation. So far, the two of them played a very good game. Sergei excused himself and walked from their table to the stockroom.

"Yuri's learning it seems. But so long as Jacob restricts his ability to get cards, he'll never improve. I think it's time I made a few phone calls."

Yuri and Patty played another few rounds before they decided to pack their things and go out for lunch. But before Patty could stuff her deck into her backpack, she froze. She stared at something behind Yuri.

"What?" he asked, turning around. He grunted disdainfully when he saw Floyd coming into the shop, backpack slung casually over his shoulder by a single strap.

"Word about you is spreading fast," Floyd said with a sneer. "Seems you took out the regional champ the other night at the Duel Dome. They say you got a new secret rare card or something. I wanna see it. Most importantly, I wanna have it. You owe me a Duel after all. Your Black Dragon Jungle King was supposed to be my prize, but now it looks like you've got something better, eh?"

Patty grabbed Yuri's wrist. "Whatever terms he sets, don't accept it. You saw what happened to me and Nattie."

Floyd loved the fear in her voice. It gave him a sense of control over the two. "I don't blame you for holding Yuri back. I can already tell you two are scared. That Black Tyranno of yours sure is something, Yuri. To be honest, I'm not surprised your dad made you that all-powerful card. Anything but the best for daddy's little boy."

"My dad didn't make me anything," Yuri said softly.

"Yeah, right," chuckled Floyd. "Unless that card came out of nowhere, there's no other person in this world who could authorize a card like that."

"Whatever happens, I won't be around to see it," said Patty. "If you want to be stupid, Yuri, go ahead. But I'm leaving." Patty grabbed her things and left, shoving Floyd out of her way.

Floyd looked back at her, watching her leave and admiring her skirt and long legs.

"Damn, what a package," he said as the door shut. "So, you gonna play or what, Yuri? You do want your friends' cards back, right?"

"Duel him, Yuri," someone said behind Floyd.

Floyd turned. His eyes widened and his mouth formed a wide grin and fell open. He wolf-whistled when he saw Crystal standing in front of the fountain behind him, clad in a flannel skirt and white blouse. Her boots and long socks were custom; an addition she made to her Phobos Academy uniform. She carried her knapsack by its handle.

Floyd ran his hand through his hair and spoke in a very suave tone. "Hey, Crystal, come to see me trample this chump?"

"Quite the opposite, Floyd," Crystal said smirking. "You weren't there when Yuri played against Randall. He completely humiliated him. The loss was so devastating, that Brett completely disavowed him from his training program. Randall hasn't been seen since. You sure you've got what it takes to challenge Yuri to a Duel and face losing your trustworthiness to the Phobos Academy team, and with Brett, who is going to offer you the contract in the pro leagues. A loss to Yuri would unquestionably change his mind about you, wouldn't it?"

"I'm not scared!" Floyd barked. "How dare you insinuate such a thing. I can take on Yuri with my eyes closed."

"Is that a fact?" said Crystal. "You like taking rare cards from the losers, right? Well, should you happen to defeat Yuri, which you won't, you can have the five rarest cards in my dragon deck."

Floyd flashed his horrid grin again. "No way! Any five of the rarest cards from your deck?"

"Crystal!" Yuri cried out. "What are you doing?"

"Uh-huh," Crystal said ignoring him. "That's how much faith I have on Yuri. Not only will you keep the cards you took from his friends and his Black Tyranno, but you might get my ace dragon as well as four other dragons of your choosing."

"Crystal, don't!"

"It's a deal," laughed Floyd. "Your overconfidence sure has stunted your senses. Not only will Yuri's dinosaur be mine, but so will that Emperor of yours. This is going to make my day. Let's Duel, Yuri!"

"Not here we won't," said Crystal. "Let's Duel in a more appropriate setting."

"Oh no," Yuri gulped.

Moments later, he found himself on a Dueling Platform in the Duel Dome of Nefeli Island. Floyd tossed his backpack into the platform and jumped in. The platform rose twenty-feet high over the arena. Crystal was sitting on one of the bleachers, helping herself to a sandwich she didn't finish at lunchtime during school.

"With my rare cards and skill, there's no way you'll win, Yuri!" laughed Floyd. "You go first."

"If you insist! Draw! I summon Black Dragon Jungle King! That ends my turn."

Black Dragon Jungle King rose out of the ground from a vortex of sparkling light. He swung his long neck from side to side and roared. The holographic stats hovered beside him, displaying his 2100 ATK.

"Not bad," said Floyd. "But I've seen better. Get ready, Yuri. I set a monster in defense mode and a card face-down. Make your move."

"I draw," said Yuri. "I summon Gagagigo in Attack Mode!"

He slapped the card down, summoning his lizard-like humanoid fighter. Gagagigo swiped his claws through the air and growled. His 1850 ATK was rendered beside him.

"Now, I'll attack your face-down monster with my monster! Black Dragon Jungle King, attack now!"

Black Dragon Jungle King heaved and fired a jet of purple flames at the face-down monster. The attack was blocked! An arcane barrier of divine design formed in front of the flames, completely putting them out.

From the steam, Yuri saw the contour of a figure standing there It was Banisher of the Light, just as Yuri dreaded. But Black Dragon Jungle King's ATK was 100 points higher than the Banisher of the Light. He could still defeat it. Until...

"I activate my face-down card, Castle Walls. This will increase Banisher of the Light's defenses up by five-hundred points. He stays safe, while you lose four hundred Life Points."

"I'm aware of that," Yuri growled.

**Yuri-1600 LP**

**Floyd-2000 LP**

"My turn," Floyd sniggered, looking at Crystal who started to look a little apprehensive about her deal with Floyd. "Hope you have my cards ready, sweetheart! I play the Field Spell, Chorus of Sanctuary!"

The field was enveloped by soft, fluffy clouds. A golden gate with a warm light radiating behind it rose behind Floyd.

"This Field Spell will increase the Defense of our monsters by five-hundred points. Now my Banisher of the Light's defense will increase to twenty-five-hundred! And next, I play this monster face-down."

 _Not good,_ Yuri thought. He knew he must have played the Needle Worm he used to wipe out Patty and Natalya's decks. Even if he didn't attack it, Floyd would still flip it up and activate its effect, forcing Yuri to discard the top five cards on his deck to the Graveyard. And with Banisher of the Light in play, those cards would instead be banished from the Duel, and he would never revive them.

If Black Tyranno was one of those five cards, he would lose his only chance of winning this Duel and getting Patty and Natalya's cards back. And Crystal would have to relinquish over five of the rarest dragons from her deck.

 _Trust in my deck_ , Yuri thought. _Just like Mr. Hairdo keeps telling me to do in my deck. Come on Heart of the Cards_.

He drew. "Aw, fuck the Heart of the Cards," he muttered. He drew a weak dinosaur called Anthrosaurus. He set it in Defense Mode and ended his turn.

"Didn't get what you wanted, huh?" laughed Floyd. "I didn't think so. Now, I flip over my Needle Work, activating his effect. Say goodbye to the top five cards of your deck, Yuri!"

Yuri muttered something nasty and then gasped. Black Tyranno was the first card he had to discard. No! It couldn't be! He was going to be drawn next turn. With him gone, he lost. This couldn't be happening!

Floyd laughed at the sad expression Yuri made. He looked at Crystal who was slumping in her chair.

"I told you both you were way in over your heads! No one can stop me and my Banisher of the Light deck destruction combo! Yuri! I'll keep forcing you to banish cards from your deck until you deck out just like Patty and Natalya. I struck gold today, my friends. I get to keep the cards of those two hotties, your Black Tyranno, and now Crystal's best dragons are going to be mine."

"I set another Needle Work in defense mode, try and attack it, I dare you. Of course, even if you don't, I'll still force you to discard cards. It doesn't matter what you do, Yuri. This game is over!"

Yuri gulped. He looked at the top card on his deck. He didn't want to reach for it. He trusted the Heart of the Cards like Yami told him to. In a way, he felt relieved. Maybe they were just stupid dreams.

Either way, he was about to let his friends down with this draw.

"I play Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two cards," he said. For what good it would do for him. He drew and smiled. "Hey, Floyd. You're right. This Duel is over. For you."

"Bluffing isn't going to get you far, Yuri."

"Who said I was bluffing?" Yuri replied confidently. "I activate the spell, Mystical Space Typhoon, destroying your Chorus of Sanctuary field. Now, all you have out are defensive monsters, setting the stage for your defeat."

He heard Crystal gasping with joy from her seat. He looked at her and winked.

"I activate the Spell Card, Burial from a Different Dimension!"

"OH NO! NOT THAT CARD!"

"Yup, with this spell, I can return three banished monsters to my Graveyard. Now, for the final spell of the game. Monster Reborn! Come back to us, Black Tyranno!"

A rain of feathers swirled over the field, followed by a ray of bright light. Black Tyranno rose out of the ground roaring triumphantly. He stomped on the ground and swung his tail, lustful to do battle and wreak his vengeance upon the fool who had him banished.

Floyd shivered in his platform. He looked at Black Tyranno's eyes. One of them was blood red and the other was bright teal and glowing, just like Yuri's green eye. It couldn't be. Could a card and a Duelist be connected like that?

Well, he had no time to ponder. Black Tyranno roared and charged through Floyd's defenses, then chomped all 2000 of his Life Points with one powerful bite. Thankfully, it was only a hologram, otherwise, Floyd's entire upper torso would have been gone.

He fell to his knees grunting in horror. He lost. Not only would he not get to have the cards he wanted, but he would have to face Brett and tell him that he lost to Yuri. Reluctantly, he gave Yuri back Patty's United We Stand and Natalya's Simorgh.

"Promise you won't tell anyone about this?" he asked.

"If your promise to stop making people ante up their cards every time you play them, I'll consider it," said Yuri, taking the cards from him. Crystal was standing proudly behind him with her arms crossed over her chest. She had a smirk on her glossy lips and a look in her eyes that said: "I told you so!" to Floyd.

"Yes, sir!" Floyd said bowing. "You have my word, I won't force anyone to fork over their cards again. I promise."

"Run along now, Floyd," Crystal said in a mocking tone. "Dr. Baker's science project is due in two days, so you better get hopping."

"Right, see you in class, Crystal." He walked away and stopped. He looked back at Yuri. "Hey, Montgomery. Good game. Let's play again sometime."

Yuri smiled and nodded. Floyd gave him a thumbs up and walked out of the arena.

* * *

**Antilles**

* * *

"Gaia to E-Five," Antilles said, sliding his golden Gaia the Fierce Knight to his place on the Capsule Monsters Board made of gold and glass.

The Castellan of Riverbrook chuckled. They both sat in an office, which had a panoramic view of the Green River, one of the three rivers known as The Triplets. The windows were open, letting in the soothing, refreshing sound of the river running alongside the white marble castle, Riverfort. A fire was crackling in the chimney carved to look like the Terrorking Salmon, a powerful Fish-Type monster and symbol of the land's king, whom the Castellan served.

"Is that the best you can do, old friend?" The Castellan asked twirling one of his waxed mustachios. "I move my Fortress Whale to this position here, and since he can attack in an X pattern, I will use his special ability, Judgement Surge, to cover the board in water, thereby removing your Gilford the Lightning and your Performance of Sword out of the battle. Your Gaia the Fierce Knight and Dark Magician are surrounded. On my next move, I will move in for the kill."

"Is that right?" Antilles asked with a crooked smirk. "Allow me to disagree. My Gaia the Fierce Knight and Dark Magician have you exactly where I want you. You see, Leron, I have gained enough Mana in my pool to conduct a fusion."

"A fusion?" Leron said, holding up his monocle. "Inconceivable. I was not aware that Dark Magician and Gaia the Fierce Knight can combine."

"Oh they can," Antilles said, waving his hand over his two remaining pieces. A smokey, purple vortex shrouded the two monsters. When it dispersed, it revealed the monster Antilles fusion summoned.

Dark Cavalry. He activated the monster's effect which burned anything around it within a wide radius of the monster. And since all of Leron's monsters surrounded Dark Cavalry, they were wiped out.

"Oh, Goddesses, that's incredible? You beat me again, Antilles. I swear, I never saw a better Capsule Monsters player."

"You should see Mokuba Kaiba," Antilles chuckled, picking up his pieces and stuffing them in a black velvet sack. He polled the golden threaded cord, sealing it tight. "The boy beat me a couple times. A true professional. Honestly, I prefer Capsule Monsters more than I do Duel Monsters. The youngsters these days care about 'breaking' the game and one-turn-killing their opponents with needlessly complicated combos."

"It takes a keen mind to come up with said combos," said Leron.

"Perhaps," Antilles said, pouring himself more wine. He offered some to Leron, but he refused. He already had himself a glass of scotch. Antilles nodded. "Now, let us get back to business. I take it your armies are ready."

"I gathered the other Houses within The River Kingdom. Thirty-thousand men at arms, waiting for your orders. We'll strike King Gerry if he does not comply, and I take it he won't. He's still loyal to the Plantegrasts and Prince Daveed Wollcroft. I doubt that gold you sent him won't change his mind." He leaned forward curiously. His chair creaking. "That's a mighty fine fighting force you've gathered Antilles. Word around the rivers is you got House Redstorm and Eaglewing gathering troops as well. Is there something you're planning? A coup de ta? Is there any money involved? If so, I want in."

"You'd like that wouldn't you?" Antilles said, stirring his cup around. "If your men can get Senator Vidictus on the Blue River Throne, then I guess you can say the reward will be great."

"You'd put a follower from your party in control of the River Kingdom? Whatever for? Except for salmon, White Dragon Fruit, and river girls, the River Kingdoms are just...well...A petty kingdom. It holds no value."

"I'm not looking to seize the River Kingdoms for its resources," Antilles said coldly. "I need its men, and whatever gold is left in the coffers of King Gerry. The Blue River holds a strategic point towards one of the Different Dimension Gates. I want it completely blocked off to keep Yugi Muto from causing anymore trouble."

"That wretched boy," laughed Leron. "Always sticking his nose where it doesn't belong."

"Indeed," Antilles said through gritted teeth. "He took my father out of power and quite possibly cost me my chance at claiming the Diamond Throne again."

"Oh, yes. I heard you summoned Slifer the Sky Dragon in a Duel once."

"What you heard was true," said Antilles, trying not to relieve that painful memory.

It was supposed to be his most treasured one. He felt like a God the day he summoned Slifer. He felt the Divine Beasts came to their senses and realized the potential of House Dragonheart. But now that the throne belonged to someone else, he could not bear to think about it anymore.

He was made a mockery of in the Senate for weeks.

"Termnnia's rule was within my grasp," he said. "Now it goes to some boy who does not even know our world exists. My family could have cared for him. We could have avoided the War of Infant, but Yugi is a self-righteous fool. He would rather the boy forget his home and his birthright than live with House Dragonheart. It was foolish of him to think banishing him to another dimension was the right choice to make. Now, we don't even know where Yugi hid him, which is why I have activated the next stage of my plan."

The doors burst open. "Uncle!" chimed a beautiful, golden-haired maiden wearing jeans and a tank top as though she lived in the modern cities of the East. Save for the small, golden, diamond-studded tiara on her forehead, Leron would never have guessed that the girl was the Princess of Dragon's Nest. Alexandra, his beloved and licentious niece.

"Oh, Uncle!" she sang out.

"Oh, and who is this lovely, young, dumpling?" Leron said lustfully, his mouth watering as though he were looking a well-cooked meal.

The girl passed him, filling his nostrils with a sweet scent of cherries. He peered through his monocle and examined her smooth curves. "Is this the famous princess I've heard so much about?"

"What is it now, Alexandra?" Antilles said, rubbing his eyes. "Can't you see I'm working?"

"But you're always working," Alexandra said, leaning against his chair provocatively.

"But, of course, I am. I am the King."

"And being King means you've got plenty of time and cash to spare for your beloved niece. I...need a little gold for some time out in town tonight."

"Are you finished with your studies?" Antilles asked. "You know that The House of the White Dragon only accepts students with high marks and impeccable Dueling skills, yes?"

"I finished all my work, Uncle," Alexandra said, turning around and sitting on the arm of his chair. She examined her nails, admiring the way the sunshine made their polish shimmer. "And my essay on King Regis XXIV of White Marble. And my report on the Dragon Wars of the Second Age and I Dueled Master Voskar all morning and won, save for the draw we had earlier." She fluffed her hair. "I've been a good girl. And you said good girls are rewarded. Well, where's my reward?"

Antilles groaned. "Well, if that is what you want. I have a blank letter of credit in my desk. But do know that I will be reviewing your work thoroughly tonight. If I find out you've been lying to me, I will put you under my debt until you repay every Star Chip I've given you, and I'm sending you back home to your father. I told you that you can accompany me and Uncle Peter on my trip across Emboldor if you study."

"You're no fun," Alexandra said, walking to his desk, taking the letter, and walking out.

"You were saying, Antilles?" Leron said, wiping beads of sweat off his forehead.

"There is to be a young Prince who will march down here in the coming weeks to build himself an army. You and your men will aid him in keeping anyone not affiliated with the Dragonheart Party out of Emboldor. He is from House Delgado."

"You mean...as in Gabriel Delgado? The Eyar?"

"Yes. It has come to my attention that they have lost a very important heirloom. And it has somehow managed to find its way into Prince Daveed's hands."

"Black Tyranno? House Delgado lost its Black Tyranno?"

Antilles merely looked at him with a bland expression. "Lost? Or had it stolen? I don't know how the card made it to the other world and into the Prince's grasp. All I do know is that he had help getting it there."

"Yugi."

"Or one of his friends. If they keep interfering like this and aiding Yuri, he will have the skills he needs to win the tournament Seto Kaiba set up to test him so the Senate can have a vote of confidence to allow him back to our world. If Yuri wins, not even my own party will be able to stop him. This Prince from House Delgado has vowed to stall him for as long as he can. I promised him power if he does this for me."

"But why him? What makes this Prince so damn special you'd risk the wrath of High Chancellor Pegasus?"

"I met a woman with a very interesting item around her neck. Let's just say, she has foreseen the boy achieving something quite...Divine."


	22. Brotherhood

**Crystal**

* * *

A sudden rasp on the white gilded door awoke her from her slumber. Crystal opened her sleepy eyes. The incoming sunlight was almost blinding her, causing her to squint. She picked herself up with her elbows and looked around her beautiful bedchamber. Her bed, king-sized with maroon sheets and drapes hung on the carved mahogany bedposts. The walls were trimmed with gold lit up with wall light strips. The chandelier above made of polished bronze and crystal. Her room resembled that of a king's chambers. Ornate and beautifully decorated.

"Up!" her mother, Helen, shouted from the door. "Up now!"

"I am awake, mother!" Crystal shouted.

"Hurry up then," Helen called. "You have much to do today."

The doors suddenly creaked open. Crystal's maids arrived with fresh clothes. Some helped her out of bed, then straightened her bedsheets while a few more opened the curtains of her bedroom, letting the sunlight into the room and revealing the view from the fourteenth floor of the tower.

"Good morning, dear," one of the maids said to Crystal. She held up two dresses for her to choose. "Another busy day today it seems."

"Yeah, I guess so," Crystal said picking a white gown to wear for her morning drive with Brett.

"Good morning, Crystal," Brett said walking into the room. He was finely dressed in a crisp black suit and tie. He stopped and examined her nightwear. A thin, white, babydoll nightie. "Another lovely weekend for us to enjoy."

"What are you doing here?" Crystal said stepping behind a dressing screen at once to change and escape Brett's wolf-like gaze. She heard Brett sniggering at her shame. She ground her teeth and balled her fists. Her ears started to grow hot and the knot in her chest had returned to make her day ill. She could always count on Brett to ruin her day. Thankfully, it was just a morning with him alone.

"Have you forgotten?" Brett said, casually strolling towards one of the windows looking out to sea.

"What?" Crystal asked, tossing her nightie over the screen.

"Today we have breakfast with Leon Caldwell. The host of the Millennium Tournament." He turned his head to look at Crystal's silhouette on the screen, lit up from the rays of the sun from the window on the other side. His mouth twisted into his wolfish grin, watching her change.

"Mr. Caldwell?" Crystal said after a long pause. She stopped and looked out the window. The long white curtains flapped in the strong oceanic breeze from the south. She heard the palm trees rustling outside in the garden. The serenity of the morning almost soothed her frustration. She let out a deep sigh to finally relieve it all from her body. "Really? He's back from Majorca?"

"Yes," Brett answered. "He's going to discuss the rules and overall layout of the tournament. It's going to be the biggest Duel Monsters event in history, what with the holograms getting better and better. Mr. Montgomery spared no expense in making the monsters as real as possible. Maybe he made them too real. Yuri almost wet his pants when he dueled against Lawson last time. That just goes to show that Duel Monsters is becoming a game that's not for the faint-of-heart."

"Oh, please," Crystal said coming out from behind the screen in her silky white dress. She strolled to her mirror and started primping herself. "I think you're taking this a little too seriously. Duel Monsters is a game. It's supposed to be fun."

Brett let out a hardy laugh. He walked towards her and watched as she brushed her hair. She froze. A sense of power overcame Brett. He loved that Crystal was so scared of him. So obedient. "It was a game, Crystal. Now it's something more. Duel Monsters is unique. It gives players power. Those who can harness it become champions, like us. Playing for fun strips the game of its pride. The losers can play for 'fun' if they want to, but I guess they can have those cheap card shops to play in."

"Power, huh?" Crystal said, peering at Brett from the corner of her eye while putting on the choker Yuri gave her. "You're still young. Maybe one day you'll grow up and realize how ridiculous you sound."

Brett didn't appreciate those words. He grabbed her by the forearm and lifted her up so her ear was close to his lips. "Maybe when you mature a little more you'll come to see Duel Monsters as I do!" Brett said with a scowl on his face. His breath smelled of scotch, making Crystal cringe.

"You're hurting me," she said.

Brett went silent and then scoffed as he let her go. "Take that off," he said, ripping the chocker off Crystal's neck. "I expect you to wear the diamond necklace I bought you last night."

"What's wrong with this?" Crystal whined, examining the jewel desperately to make sure it wasn't damaged. She sighed with relief to see that it was fine.

Brett snatched it from her hands and tossed it to the side. It slammed into her perfume bottles placed neatly on a silver platter. They clanked loudly as they fell. The platter shook for a moment then came to a stop. Brett grabbed her chin and held her head up. Crystal gasped, feeling his rough hands press tightly against her skin. "You look like a common dog wearing that thing!" he said, sliding his hand down her neck and to her chest.

"It was a present," Crystal replied in a frightful whisper. "Yuri gave it to me."

"All the reason for you to take it off."

"Fine, if it bothers you so much, I won't wear it."

"Well, I'm glad you finally see some logic," Brett said with a confident smile. He let her go and kissed her shoulder. "Mother always told me you were a little dunce. I was beginning to think she was right. You're so naïve, confused, idiotic at times. But, my God, you are so damn beautiful."

He held out his arm. Crystal took it, and they walked out of her bedchambers and down the mirrored halls with bronzed statues and chandeliers of diamond and glass. They, at last, left the estate and went down the white steps towards Brett's limousine which took them to a restaurant in the middle of town.

Crystal stared sadly out the window, watching the other kids her age walking about the streets, eager for Halloween which was fast approaching. They were laughing and joking. Some chased each other into the fountains to cool down from the hot tropical sun. How Crystal wished she could join them. She continued watching the kids until they were out of view. Crystal gave a long sigh and stared at her lap.

"Master Martinetti must be pleased today," said the driver.

"And why is that, Bernard?" Brett asked, checking the sales of his online business on his phone.

Bernard let out a friendly laugh as he looked back at them from the rear-view mirror. "Have you forgotten, sir? Today is your twenty-first birthday. You are finally a man."

"Ah, yes," Brett said with a chuckle as he set down his phone. "I've been so busy with work and this little mouse's career that, I almost forgot." He pinched her bottom and howled with laughter.

Crystal narrowed her eyes at him and looked out the window. She couldn't stand his grandiloquence any longer. It stank up the air as much as his cologne did. How she wanted to just rip the car door open, jump out, and run away to find Yuri and Ren.

"Time sure flies, eh?" Brett said.

"Yes," Bernard laughed again. "I remember driving around a little toddler. Now, look at you. And your lady friend. You look very young, I must say. What age will you be turning, sweetie?"

"Oh, I just turned eighteen in August," Crystal replied.

Bernard nodded at her reflection in the rearview mirror. "And what of those little friends of yours, miss? The boy with the red hair and the one with the green eye, Montgomery's boy if I'm not mistaken."

"Yes. My best friend, Yuri, is seventeen going on eighteen this month on the twentieth."

"You will not speak of him here, dear," said Brett. "Ren, I don't mind, for I respect him as a Duelist. I get ill feelings only when I think of that Yuri."

Crystal flashed him an arrogant smirk as she rolled her shoulders. "You're just mad he beat, Lawson,"

His cheeks started burning red at the memory of seeing the Black Tyranno destroy the reputation of his star pupil. "Any fool could have beaten Lawson," Brett scoffed.

"That's not what you said during the Duel," said Crystal. "You were on Lawson's side the whole time."

"He was up against the kid I loathe with all my being," said Brett. "What else was I supposed to do? Besides, I didn't think he'd have that card in his possession."

"The Black Tyranno, I know," Crystal said with a smile. "What power."

"And it belongs to Yuri of all people," Brett said, balling his fists. "That's what's been pissing me off. A card of such ferocity should belong to only the greatest duelist, not that amateur."

They arrived at the restaurant. Bernard got out and opened the door for Brett and Crystal. They stepped out of the cool car and into the humid air of Aquarius.

"Enjoy your breakfast, kids," Bernard said returning to the limo and driving off.

"This is the vice president of Phobos Corp," Brett whispered into Crystal's ear. "Now be on your best behavior."

"You don't have to worry about me," Crystal said, stepping forward.

The two walked inside, graced by a cool blast from the air-conditioning. Brett told the waiter they had a reservation. The waiter bowed and led them to a table by a pool with cerulean blue water and gray stones from which water fell into the pool below. There was a young man, twenty-two-years-old, sitting at the table sipping coffee. He wore a pin-striped suit with a dark red tie.

"Caldwell," Brett said.

"Martinetti," said Leon. "Have a seat. Ah, this must be the lovely, Crystal Anderson. Our local champion. You're even more beautiful in person."

He took her hand and kissed it. Crystal thanked him for his compliment, then sat down next to Brett.

"I understand your student was beaten in a duel a few days ago," said Leon. "Word has reached my ears that it was…Daveed. Or is it Yuri now, as they called him online."

"You know him?" Crystal asked, setting down her purse on the table.

Leon looked at her and sniggered. "Yes. We have crossed paths before. It was not pleasant. I will leave it at that; I hope you understand."

"Oh, very well, sir," Crystal said with a polite nod.

"Glad I'm not the only one who sees him as a nuisance," Brett said, crossing his arms. "The kid's a nightmare. He had the gall to put his hands on me."

"And he had every reason for attacking you," Leon said sipping his coffee. Brett's expression suddenly morphed from arrogance to shock. "Yes, I said it," Leon assured him. "You did hurt this young lady very badly. That was not very gentlemanlike of you, Brett, putting your hands on a girl the way you did. Had I been there, I would have kicked your ass, too."

"Well, I learned the error of my ways," Brett said taking Crystal's hand. "Crystal, I was just…agitated. You mean so much to me. You know I would never hurt you."

Crystal smiled, but deep down she knew he didn't mean that from the bottom of his heart.

"Well, what's done is done," said Leon. "Let's leave that matter behind us. We have a tournament on the way, do we not?"

"Of course," Brett chirped. "Why don't we start by…" His phone vibrated. "What!" he growled, for it was Randall Lawson calling for a second chance. He looked at Crystal and Leon, putting his hand over the microphone. "Would you two give me a moment?" Brett said walking off.

"Sit next to me, my dear," Leon said holding out his hand towards the empty seat beside him.

Crystal did as she was told and sat down, cautiously beside Mr. Caldwell. It amazed her how young he was. She had heard much about him and has seen him on the Phobos Corp magazine from time to time, but this was her first time seeing him in person. His skin was sunkissed, meaning he vacationed a lot in the tropics, but she didn't need to see the color of his skin to know that. She was a follower of his on social media.

She would see him on yachts on the waters of Italy, partying with girls in Greece, and sunbathing in Dubai. He had a slicked pullback hairstyle with a stripe on the side, a clean beard, and green eyes. Brilliant green eyes that pulled Crystal in like a moth to a bug zapper. Crystal hunched her shoulders and bit her lip mischievously as she smelled his exotic cologne. She had also seen enough of his beach pictures to know he was well built underneath that clean, black suit. She had seen him naked before in many pictures with models. She didn't want to say it, but Leon was a boy she admired and fantasized about when she was alone.

She wanted to let him know how she felt, but how would she say it? She didn't want to seem easy, especially now that everyone knew of her affair with Brett and Yuri. But just looking into his eyes, Crystal could tell he knew how she felt about him.

"You okay?" Leon asked.

Crystal snapped out of her hypnosis and coughed timidly. "Yes. Yes. I'm fine. I'm just...uh...I'm a big fan." _Damn it!_

The waiter arrived and asked them for their order.

"Bring us stacks of hotcakes, Devon," said Leon. "And don't stop bringing them out. We'll eat as many as our stomachs can handle. For drinks, I'll have a refill on my coffee, my friend, Brett, who stepped out a while ago will also take a coffee, and my lady friend here will have a glass of milk. Would that be all right with you?"

"Yes, that's fine," Crystal said with a nod. The waiter bowed and left. "Mr. Caldwell," she said once the waiter left.

Leon held out his hand to stop her. He grinned. "Call me, Leon, please. You're making me feel rather old."

Crystal nodded her head and placed both hands on her lap. "Oh, of course, Leon. How do you know Yuri so well? What did he do to make you feel this way?"

"You love him very much don't you?" Leon asked, tapping the table.

"Yes, he's my friend," Crystal replied, doing all she could to keep from blushing. She twiddled her thumbs nervously on the crisp hem of her dress. She felt her toes curling in her shoes, and sweat starting to spew from every pore. She hated it when people asked her that question. In love? With Yuri? She may have looked at him as her brother, but to be in love was rather difficult, especially with the way he had been acting in the past two years.

Leon nodded his head and fixed the cuffs of his shirt. "Yes, I know you two are good friends, but you love him, don't you?"

"I call him my brother sometimes," Crystal said, almost as if stamping those words down to keep Leon from asking any more questions.

Leon sighed and looked up at the painting hanging on the walls of the restaurant. He figured Crystal was dodging the question and continued on with the conversation. "A brother? How sweet. How long have you known him?"

"We first met when we were still babies," Crystal replied. "We've been through so much together. He's like family to me. So, to answer your question, Leon. Yes. I love Yuri very much. We've been there for each other for years. Nothing can separate us. Well, except for my music career, but thankfully I have a few months off before the next concert."

The waiter arrived with the hotcakes and the drinks. He placed Crystal's milk beside her plate with a thud then handed Leon his coffee.

"Ah, drat," he said with a chuckle. "I don't know how many times I have to tell them to bring more butter when I order these damn things. Devon, bring me a plate of butter please."

"Yes sir, sorry sir," the waiter said as he left.

"Why so much butter?" Crystal asked.

"Because the butter here is homemade. In this place, the butter goes with everything; it's to die for. It mixes so well with the maple syrup making it so much sweeter. And I love the way the spongy interior of the hot cake just soaks up the flavor. I never eat my hotcakes without my butter and my syrup. You can eat them if you want, but I recommend waiting for them to bring out the butter."

"I can wait. I'll take your word for it," Crystal said, placing a handkerchief on her lap.

"Smart girl. Pass me the sugar, please, sweetie," Leon said pointing at the bowl next to Crystal.

She nodded and picked up the bowl by its handle, carefully giving it to Leon. He took it from her and placed it near his plate of hotcakes with a loud thud that shook the silverware. He dumped spoonful after spoonful of sugar into his coffee.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you what I know about Yuri. What I say could be a little too devastating for you."

Crystal frowned. "I can handle it, Leon. Don't treat me like a child. Everyone around her does."

Leon stared at her with a smile. The girl was very persistent, and he loved her for it. Devon arrived with his plate of butter.

"Thank you, Devon," Leon said, sending him away with a wave of his hand. Leon took a spoon and scooped up as much of the creamy butter as he could from the plate. He shook it off over his hotcakes, then gave Crystal some as well. Leon picked up his fork and knife, ready to dig into his long-awaited hotcakes. He turned his head. Crystal was still staring at him, waiting for him to tell her about Yuri. He cut into the fluffy meal until it was a neat triangle and stuffed it into his mouth. He chewed the morsel and savored the flavor. He looked again at Crystal, still awaiting her answer. He smiled and swallowed. "Aren't you going to eat?"

"Oh!" Crystal gasped. She cut into her hotcake and ate some of it. "Wow. It is very sweet," Crystal said after swallowing her slice. "It does mix well with the syrup. Now, you were going to tell me about Yuri."

"He's my little brother."

"What?" Crystal said, grimacing. "You're a Montgomery?"

"I WAS a Montgomery," Leon said calmly cutting his hotcakes. "The blood of Duel Monster's founder flows through my veins, not Yuri's."

"But he…"

"He is _not_ a legitimate family member," Leon said, his calm voice was gone. Crystal saw his face glowing red and his eyes twinkling with spite.

Crystal was paralyzed from the waist down in shock. It looked like Leon would assault her at any moment. Could what Brett said in the restaurant the other day have been true?

Leon ate another slice of his hotcake. "I was still just a toddler, but, I remember when they first brought Yuri into our house. I saw them running outside. Then, when they came back in, they were carrying him."

"But you were still a baby boy," said Crystal said, trying to control her emotions. "Maybe you just…"

"No," Leon said, sternly. "I was young, but I wasn't stupid. I never saw my mother pregnant. I heard his cries outside our house that night, Crystal. I heard voices. Someone left him out there. And whoever they were, they were not normal. That eye of his…is not normal."

He ate another pancake, furiously.

"The kid grew up to be a failure. He just slept his days away in that basement wasting my father's money, but they loved him dearly anyway. I worked my ass to get to where I am. But it wasn't good enough for my parents. All they cared about was Yuri. And once I turned eighteen and finished high school, I moved away and cut all ties with them."

"But that's…so cruel," said Crystal.

"Maybe, but not as cruel as having him in my life. Every accomplishment I made meant nothing to my parents. It was always Little Yuri first. I want nothing more to do with him. And my father can't get rid of me from the company. Who was it who built him the technology to create the Duel Monsters holograms? I don't know who left that bastard at my doorstep, but rest assured; I'll find out. And Crystal. If you ever mention Yuri around me again. I will make you regret it."

His phone rang. "I have to take this call. Excuse me."

He took Crystal's hand and kissed it before getting up to leave. When he was gone, Crystal heaved and tears fell from her eyes.


	23. The Right to be Master

**Yami**

* * *

**The Northern Gate of Eredas**

**600 Miles North of Domino City**

* * *

The Northern Gate was the last point of departure from the modern world to the traditional, underdeveloped countries down the road. Beyond that point, Yami Yugi would find himself traveling on the long dusty roads replacing the black highways of asphalt and yellow and white markings. Instead of cars, trucks, and drones, he would soon be with knights, horse-drawn carriages. To say nothing of the lack of electricity, and all the other comforts from Eredas.

Poor Yugi, having gone through the Northern Gate dozens of times, was still not accustomed to leaving the city behind. After that point, there were would be no more burger stands, restaurants, or even a noodle stand. It was pork sausage, capon, and haunch of rabbit from that point on. But he was in luck; for want the use of a better word. They had reached a standstill at the last checkpoint, for there was grim news up north that had caused a slow in traffic.

"I'm sorry, My Lord, there is nothing I can do to help you," the commanding officer of the checkpoint said to Yami. "What with the war going on up north, I fear all travel has been banned per the order of King Helmsley himself."

"You don't understand," said Yami. "It's imperative that I head north and see Prince Talion at once."

"You will find no such luck, Master Yu-Gi-Oh," said the officer. "Even without the order in place, your trip to Elleria will be all for naught. Prince Talion has recently marched to Naralia to claim county from the Fat King."

"What?" said Yami in disbelief. "That can't be. Why would he march north into Naralian territory? It's a suicide mission."

"Many fear King Helmsley has gone mad, My Lord. And just as many believe Talion is never to be seen again. There have been tales of a massacre near Black Mountain. Thousands of troops slain."

"You are sure of this?" said Yami.

"No. These are just rumors. The traditionalists beyond our wall don't like to share their news with us _infidels_. Huh. Bunch of lonely sword-wielding savages the lot of them. That's why they're always at war because they don't sophisticate themselves and evolve like we do."

"I've seen Domino City residents be just as savage with their guns," said Yami. "Be it sword or rifle, a man can be as savage as the next."

The officer grimaced at Yami's words. "You make a good point." He bowed apologetically. "I did not mean to offend, My Lord. But, as I've stated, there is no traveling to Elleria from here. Eredas's gates are closed until further notice. But, you say you're scouting princes to join this alliance of yours, right? Well, there's a port to the west of this checkpoint that can take you to Uzume and Akuuda. Am I correct in assuming you wish to recruit the sons of those countries' kings?"

"I do," said Yami. "And I know exactly what you're talking about. Thank you."

"Thank you for your visit," said the officer. And may the Stars of Entuli shine your path."

Yami bowed and left the military base that was centered around the Northern Gate. He then headed for a nearby town, a meager community meant for resting weary travelers. There was a motel, a gas station, and a trailer park for those too poor to live in Domino. Yami thought it best to call it a day and rest in the town before he made the journey to Pell Port and sail to Uzume to meet with Prince Jaeyoung.

He went to the front window and made his reservation at the hotel. Just as he got the keys, he saw someone he would rather not deal with approaching him in the reflection of the window. Someone with a wide grin and purple-colored lips.

"Well, well, well, Master Yugi Muto. We meet at last."

Yami turned around. "Crowler? What are you doing here?"

"I heard you were coming to North to exit the gate," Crowler answered sharply. "And I knew about the unfortunate departure of Prince Talion. So, couldn't make it past the gate, eh? Well, I was hoping we could catch up and talk. After all, it's not every day that I have a legend attending my school."

"Your school?" laughed Yami. "When last I checked, Chancellor Sheppard was the one governing things at the academy."

Crowler held up a finger. "Ah, you're almost correct. But you see, Duel Island is his own little kingdom. And he is its king. His business pertains mostly to the affairs of the villagers and the tourists who live across the island. And while he may think he's running things in Duelist Academy, I'll have you know that everything from the doorknobs down is MINE!"

"Is that so?" said Yami. "I've heard from my friends how power-hungry you are. I just had to see it for myself. You're a fool."

"Says the one who had to buy his friends into the school to be teachers," said Crowler.

"True, gold had something to do with my friends getting their jobs as professors, but Sheppard carefully interviewed each and every one of them. He needs gold as well as skills. And my friends had the qualifications to get their positions."

"Indeed," said Crowler. "Well, I can't complain. I have the lovely Mai Valentine to look forward too at the staff meetings. And Joey's little sister is an adorable thing." Yami smirked at his comments. Crowler grinned back. "But there is one thing that bothers me. You're the King of Games. What on earth do you need to go to the academy for?"

"Because I must do what I can to keep my title," Yami lied. He didn't care for the championship title. Sure, it was prestigious to have, but he had far better things to concern himself with. Such as Yuri. He needed little Yugi by his side to teach him to play and to be safe. There was no doubt in his mind that there were Houses out there who wanted to do him harm for the crown he would soon wear.

"Keep your title?" Crowler asked. "Ha! Whatever do you mean?"

"The game has evolved over time," said Yami. "Pendulum Summoning. Xyz Summoning. Synchro Summoning. And soon Link Summoning. I have to learn those new forms of Dueling in order to stay sharp. And the fact that I will be studying with the boy I saved many years ago is an added bonus."

"The boy who will soon be High King," Crowler said with a nod. "That is why I have come here seeking you."

"Yuri?" Yami asked.

"Yes. I've done some thinking, and it seems to me that Yuri is going to need a master. One who is well-trained in the arts of Duel Monsters. I must say, you've had your time Yugi, but you're nothing more than an antique. As are the cards in your deck. Like you said, this game evolves all the time. And unlike you, I have adapted to those changes which is how I acquired my Ph.D. in Dueling. I will make a better teacher than you ever will be, Yugi Muto."

"Is that a challenge!?" Yami cried.

"It was indeed. Your deck is not up to speed. Like you said yourself, you've returned to the academy to learn the new rules, while I, on the other hand, have mastered them. So, what say you, Yugi Muto? A Duel to see who is worthy of being Prince Yuri's master." He held out his right arm. The sleeve of his metallic coat began to morph into a giant Duel Disk. "But better yet," said he, "Why don't you just save yourself the humiliation and just surrender. Accept that you are not fit to teach Yuri. For if you lose, not only will Yuri become my personal lackey, but your title as King of Games will belong to me."

Yami held out his arm, transforming his golden bangle into a Duel Disk. "I do not back down from a challenge Crowler!"

"Good!" said Crowler. "It's not a good sport if you surrender. Let us begin."

**LP 8000**

"DUEL!" they shouted.

"I shall begin first," said Yami. "Draw! I set a monster face-down in defense mode. Now, I set a card. I end my turn."

"How dull," vexed Crowler. "Is that all?" His chest plate launched a card from his deck. Crowler caught it with ease. "I play the Spell-Card, Geartown."

"No you won't!" said Yami. "My Magic Jammer will cancel out your spell. It may have cost me a card from my hand, but it is a price I'm willing to pay."

"Humor me, Yugi," chuckled Crowler. "I shall summon, Ancient Gear Knight in attack mode!" (ATK/1800 DEF/500 LV 4). Crowler continued his turn. "And now, for my Geartown's effect. When it's destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, I can special summon an Ancient Gear monster from my Deck or Graveyard. So here comes Ancient Gear Soldier!" (ATK/1300 DEF/1300 LV 4). "And now, I will boost the power of my Ancient Gear Knight with Ancient Gear Tank!"

Ancient Gear Knight mounted himself onto a vehicle with a cannon on the front. His ATK went up to 2400. He attacked.

"I think not!" said Yami. "You've attacked my Four-Star Lady Bug of Doom, who can destroy all Level 4 monsters on the field."

After the Ladybug was killed, four stars appeared on the heads of the Ancient Gear monsters. They shattered into pieces. However, Ancient Gear Tank activated and dealt 600 points of damage to Yami's Life Points.

**Yami-7400**

**Crowler-8000**

"Impressive," said Crowler. "I end my turn."

"My turn," said Yami. "Draw!" He examined his options. "Hmm. I set a monster in defense mode and end my turn."

"Look at the King of Games now," said Crowler. "Going on the defensive like a cornered rodent."

"Even cornered rats can fight back," said Yami. "Make your move!"

"I shall," Crowler nodded. "Draw! I summon another Ancient Gear Knight to the field, and with it, I shall attack your face-down monster."

The Ancient Gear Knight raised his lance and dashed forward, ready to skewer Yami's face-down monster. A beautiful elvish woman was flipped up. She had her hands locked in prayer. Her hair the color of chestnut flowed in the autumn winds. Ancient Gear Knight attacked a Mystical Elf. With a defense of 2000, she was able to withstand the Ancient Gear Knight's attack. The lance hit a magical barrier that sent out thousands of glittering lights into the air. The force of the impact knocked the Ancient Gear Knight back to Crowler's field.

"Argh! That's not fair!" shouted Crowler.

"My turn," said Yami. "Draw! Behold the power of my Mystic Box!"

Black magician's boxes enveloped their two monsters. Each layer of the box was marked with a gold question mark. Suddenly swords came out of thin air and skewered the boxes causing Crowler to scream. The box next to Yami suddenly opened. Ancient Gear Knight was sparking and spazzing in death as the swords punctured his ancient and delicate computer systems.

"My knight!" shouted Crowler. "But where has your elf gone to?"

"See for yourself," laughed Yami.

Crowler's box opened and the elf magically appeared, still praying and still safe.

"How did you do that?" shouted Crowler.

Yami laughed again, confidently. "A magician never reveals his secrets Crowler. I choose to end my turn."

"Fool!" shouted Crowler. "Draw! I will show you to destroy my precious Golems! I will tribute your elf to summon Ancient Gear Engineer! You fool! Your little magic show left you wide open for a direct attack. Go, my Engineer! Attack his Life Points."

The Ancient Gear Engineer's drill began to spin, giving off a deafening whirr. He sprang towards Yami and stabbed him in the gut with his drill. Though the monster was a Phantom, Yami could feel his insides being torn and churned as if being hit by a real beast.

"It's not over," Yami grunted.

**Crowler-LP 7800**

**Yami- LP 5900**

"Draw!" said Yami. "I will remove from my Graveyard the Giant Soldier of Stone to special summon, Rock Spirit. And now I shall tribute him to summon Dark Magician Girl!"

A portal spun in front of Yami's feet. Hearts and stars shot out from it, followed by the most iconic and most beautiful monster in all of Duel Monsters. Dark Magician Girl winked as she was bathed in daylight. Crowler's eyes turned into hearts and he clasped his hands together watching Dark Magician Girl dance to the field. She blew him a kiss and settled next to Yami's side.

* * *

**Dark Magician Girl**

**ATK/2000 DEF/1700 LV 6**

* * *

"Care to trade for her, Yugi?" swooned Crowler. "I'll give you anything you want for her."

"She's not for trades," said Yami. "Go, Dark Magician Girl! Dark Burning Attack!"

Dark Magician girl twirled into the air and aimed her staff at Crowler, doing all he could to look up her blue mini-skirt. Dark Magician Girl cringed. "Humph!" she said and blasted Ancient Gear Engineer to pieces and dealing 500 points of damage to Crowler.

"I end my turn," said Yami.

"Draw," said Crowler. "I play the spell, Ancient Gear Castle."

The ground began to rumble. A castle from the dawn of time rose up from behind Crowler, outfitted with giant blue gears and cannons.

"I Set this card face-down, and in doing so, my castle get's a counter. But I will get to that later. End turn."

"My turn," said Yami. "Draw! I shall attack again with Dark Magician Girl."

"Eee," she squealed and stayed at a level so as to avert her legs from Crowler's ravenous gaze. She blasted the face-down monster which was an Ancient Gear Soldier. Yami ended his turn by playing a monster face-down in defense mode, giving Crowler's Ancient Gear Castle another counter.

"Draw," said Crowler, anxious to begin his turn, for he had what he needed for his ace monster. "I now have enough counters to tribute my castle and summon Ancient Gear Golem!"

"Argh!" said Yami.

A veil of dust swirled around Crowler's field. From the cloud rose a mechanical behemoth standing five meters tall. Its ancient mechanical joints hissed and creaked with each movement. Its metallic body was covered in rust and it had blue gears and a glowing red.

**Ancient Gear Golem**

**ATK/3000 DEF/3000 LV 8**

Crowler started laughing maniacally and then ordered the Golem to attack Dark Magician Girl. Ancient Gear Golem raised its fist, its gears winding up for battle, ready to do massive damage both to her and Yami's Life Points. Dark Magician Girl whimpered in fear and braced herself for the attack. The fist finally hit her. She screamed in agony and shattered dealing 1000 points of damage to Yami Yugi.

**Crowler-LP 7400**

**Yami-LP 4900**

"It's over, Yugi Muto," said Crowler. "Your reign as champion ends today. And Yuri, well, you'll no longer have to worry about him anymore. I set a card face-down. Ending my turn."

"Don't celebrate just yet, Crowler. I set a card face-down. I end my turn."

"That's all you can do?" laughed Crowler. "How pathetic. Draw. I summon Ancient Gear Cannon!" ( **ATK/500 DEF/500 LV 2** ). "I will now activate my spell, Limter Removal. This doubles the attack of Machine monsters for one turn. Now my Golem's attack raises to 6000! And, don't think your little defense monster will save you. My Ancient Gear Golem can inflict piercing damage, meaning your Life Points will take a hit even if your playing defensive. And my cannon's attack will double as well to 1000. This will finish you, King of Games. ANCIENT GEAR GOLEM! ATTACK! MECHANIZED MELEE!"

The gears on the Golem's body wound up. He raised his fist ready to strike.

"Hold on Crowler," said Yami. "I'm not through yet! From my hand, Kuriboh, who will cancel out the damage your Golem will inflict."

"NO!" shouted Crowler.

The little fury monster jumped out of Yami's hand and zoomed towards the fist of Ancient Gear Golem.

BREEE! Screeched the Kuriboh. The monster Yami had in defense was still destroyed and he was still wide open for the Cannon, which attacked. The Ancient Gear Cannon's gears wound up, charging a powerful laser that shot Yami in the chest. "ARRGH!" Yami shouted as he was knocked to the ground with a hard slam. Crowler ended his turn, and per the effect of Limter Removal, both his monsters were destroyed.

**Crowler-LP 7400**

**Yami-LP 3900**

"I cannot lose," said Yami. "I cannot let this man take Yuri in. Not like this. It all rides on this next card." Yami placed his fingers on the card. He breathed heavily. "Heart of the Cards...guide me."

Flick! Went the card, sliding out from the deck. Yami held it up.

"I set a monster in defense mode. That ends my turn!"

"I pass," said Crowler. "Go."

Yami smiled. Perhaps this was his chance. "I tribute my monster and summon Archfiend of Gilfer!"

**Archfiend of Gilfer**

**ATK/2200 DEF/2500 LV 6**

"Attack his Life Points!" Yami shouted.

The winged fiend flew towards Crowler and slashed him twice across the chest. Crowler wailed from the pain. When his job was done, Archfiend of Gilfer returned to Yami's side of the field.

**Crowler-LP 5200**

**Yami-LP 3900**

"My turn," Crowler groaned, massaging his chest, though that was hard to do with his chestplate in the way. He drew. Nothing. He hoped he would only contend with Gilfer for the next turn. He could hold out from another attack. Unfortunately for Crowler, that was just not in the cards.

Yami drew. "It's over Crowler."

"What?"

"I play the spell, Dark Magic Curtain. By paying half my Life Points, I can special summon Dark Magician from my deck."

"NO!" shouted Crowler. "Not him! Anything but him!"

The legendary Dark Magician flew out of the Dark Magic Curtain. He twirled his staff. "Rrrah!" he grunted after he was done with his theatrics. He gently landed next to Archfiend of Gilfer.

"And now, I shall reveal my face-down card," said Yami. "United We Stand. This will boost the ATK of a monster by 800 for each monster I have on my field, thereby raising my Dark Magician's ATK by 1600 points."

"NO!" cried Crowler. "But how? I was so close!"

The two monsters attacked and it was all over. Crowler was launched halfway across the green pasture in front of the motel and he slid to a stop. His Life Point counter dropped to 0.

Yugi's spectral form appeared beside Yami. "Nice work, Spirit," he said. "Yuri is still ours to train, and we keep our title."

Yami nodded. "We should not get overconfident, Yugi. Crowler is but a taste of the opponents you and Yuri will be facing. We may have won, but Crowler almost had us beat."

"Speaking of Crowler," said Yugi. "Don't you think we should help him up?"

"He can handle himself," Yami said walking away. "No one threatens my pact with Gabriele and gets away with it. I promised him before he was killed that I would watch over his son no matter what. And I intend to keep that promise."

* * *

**Yuri**

* * *

"So, did you guys hear the news?" Nick asked his friends at lunch.

"About what?" Patty asked, biting into her hamburger.

"There's some bigshot insect duelist going around town beating up former participants of last year's regional championship. Word around the islands is, he's beaten them all."

"Someone clearly has a lot of time on their hands," Patty rolled her eyes at the ridiculousness.

"Can you blame him?" Tyson asked while dipping his fries in ketchup. "With the Millennium Tournament so close people are trying to get noticed. It's an invitational tournament where only the best of the best can be invited."

"Well, so long as he stays away from me I don't care," Yuri said with a shrug.

"You really think people are going to ignore the guy who defeated the regional champion and Pink_Dragon Layla are going to ignore you?" Carter asked.

"I hope so," said Yuri.

"Don't count on it," laughed Patty. "Like it or not, you've painted a huge bullseye on yourself with those impressive victories. Not to mention your Black Tyranno is something out of this world."

"He could be for all I know," said Yuri. "My dad is the creator of the game, and even he doesn't know where it came from."

"He's probably faking it to hide the fact he's covering for Yuri," said Nick. "Nothing but the best for daddy's little boy."

"Ha, ha," Yuri mocked him.

"Fat chance," said Carter. "Mr. Montgomery is not one to pull favorites, even on his own sons. Hell, Leon, even had to work his butt off to become world champion."

"Don't speak his name in front of me," Yuri growled.

Carter let out a gasp and slammed his hand over his mouth. "Sorry," he said.

"Why don't we see if bug boy is around," said Nick. "I'd like to take him on."

"Sure," said Patty. "Go get yourself killed."

"What!"

"Even if by some miracle you beat this guy, there is no guarantee you'll be noticed by Phobos Corp," Patty said with a conniving chuckle.

"You are so sexy when you're bitchy," Nick commented.

"Nice try," said Patty. "But I seriously doubt bug boy is going to want to take you on, Nick. If anything, he's going to be coming after Yuri."

"Come on, Yuri, take him on!" pleaded Tyson.

Yuri slammed his head on the table and groaned. He winced, smelling the sour smell of ammonia-ridden surface cleaner the custodians used earlier. He quickly raised his head and looked at his friends. "All right, all right. But don't expect anything miraculous. Not too long ago, they built a small-sized arena at the park. Maybe we can lure him out there. Of course, there's going to have to be some Duels in order to notice him."

"I'll take care of that," said Tyson. "My dad found me some cool new beast-types the other night. He won them in a dart game. I'm itching to try them out."

"You sure, big guy?" Patty asked.

"Hell yeah. You give me the duels and I'll put on a show that will get our bug duelist to notice us."

The bell rang. They picked up their trays and then proceeded together to their class on American Literature. Natalya was in there too. She waved to them and they sat together.

"So, you're going make Yuri duel that bug duelist?" she asked. "I hope he kicks his ass. That bastard has no manners."

"You Dueled him, Natalya?" Yuri asked.

"Da," she replied. "He fought against my boyfriend who ranked tenth in the regionals last year. He was such a big mouth, I swear. I decided to teach him a lesson with my birds and he walloped me."

"I'm having second thoughts," Yuri whimpered, sinking into his chair.

Tyson patted his back. "Come on, Yuri. You've got one thing that no one else on this island has. Black Tyranno."

"Will he be enough?" Yuri groaned. "What am I getting myself into?"

"Don't back down, Yuri," Patty said chewing on her pencil. "If you do, that bug creep has already won."

"All right gang!" their teacher, Mr. Grossman, called out, coming into the class while the final bell rang. He sat behind his deck decorated with small pumpkins and ghost bobbleheads.

He slammed his ruler on the side of his deck. "Put a lid on it! Come on now, you guys. Patty, take the cap off, please. Mr. Martinez, settle down! Robert and Harrison, please put your cards away, it's time for class."

The students finally went quiet.

"Okay, first thing's first. A couple of announcements have been made in regard to the upcoming Halloween Dance. With the ongoing popularity of holographic technology on the rise, our school will be outfitted with its own Dueling Arenas within the next month."

The class let out cheers and gave a round of applause.

Mr. Grossman held out his hands to pacify his pupils and he continued. "There is a sign-up list for the school's very own Duel Monsters team. Tryouts will begin in the next couple of weeks once our duelists have their own facilities built, courtesy of Aquarius's own, Jacob Montgomery. However, the new arenas will be located near the gymnasium where the dance was supposed to take place. Therefore, the dance will be moved to the country club at the park. Tickets are on sale, so if you haven't already picked them up, do so now. And now for the fun part. Take out a pencil and a clean sheet of paper. We're having a pop quiz on the story Raisins in the Sun. I hope you've done your reading."

"Awww!" groaned the class.

Mr. Grossman opened his briefcase and took out the quizzes. He gave it to his students to pass down to each other.

"Hmm, the Halloween Dance, eh?" said Nick. "Who will I go with? Hey, Patty…"

"No."

After school, Yuri, Nick, Tyson, Patty, and Carter dueled in the cafeteria until four o'clock and it was time to pick up Sam, much to Patty's dismay. But she would tolerate Sam just for a chance to see Yuri in a duel and play Black Tyranno again. They took a bus to the park where the new arenas were being put to use. They were not of high quality like the ones in the Duel Dome, and for that Yuri was thankful. The holograms in that arena were just too real for him.

"Well, here we are," said Patty. "No sign of our bug duelist."

"He'll be here," said Tyson. "We just gotta show him there are better games to be had. All these little kids have no game."

"Wanna back that up with a match?" Sam asked, taking out his deck. He flipped his cap backward to show he was ready.

"Sure, show me what you got, little man," said Tyson. "C'mon, there is a vacant arena over here."

"Watch this, sugar cakes," Sam said to Patty with a click. "This is going to be epic."

"Augh, just go!" Patty grumbled.

Sam winked and went to take his place.

Yuri grinned. "You really need to stop wearing skirts and tops so short if you don't want him to bother you. You know we have to pick him up after school."

"I can dress however I want," Patty retorted. "It's who I am. I'm not going to stop dressing the way I like because of some perverted little twerp."

Nick didn't like what she said and scowled at her. "Hey! That twerp's my brother, Patty."

"Now I know why he is the way he is." Yuri sniggered.

"Duel!" Tyson and Sam called out.

Tyson drew first. "All right kid, we're trying to get the attention of a hotshot duelist, so let's make this game as epic as possible."

"Why not get Yuri to play?" Sam wondered. "Wouldn't it make more sense to just lure the guy in with Black Tyranno?"

"You don't think we thought of that already?" said Patty. "Besides, if Yuri plays that Black Tyranno out here, everybody in town's going to want a piece of him."

"You make a good point," said Sam. "Can't afford to have all those men coming down here and taking my girl."

"Augh," Patty scoffed, lying on the grass and putting her gloved hands behind her head to cushion them. She crossed one leg over the other and swung it back and forth. Her legs, concealed behind fishnet tights, caused Yuri, Nick, and Carter to go red. Natalya laughed at the sight.

"Aight, I'm going first," said Tyson. "Bam, I'm summoning Wolf in attack mode!"

A white wolf, a recolor of Silver Fang to be exact, howled onto the field.

* * *

**Wolf**

**ATK/1200 DEF/800**

* * *

"Is that puppy all you've got?" Sam sneered. "I thought you wanted this duel to be epic. Well, I'll show you. Go, Bean Soldier!"

He summoned a green bean with skinny orange arms with hands covered in white gloves. His skinny legs went into feet in orange pointed shoes. He carried a steel sword with a red Japanese symbol on the blade.

* * *

**Bean Soldier**

**ATK/1400 DEF/1300**

* * *

"Slice and dice his Wolf!" Sam commanded, holding up his fist ever so dramatically. Yuri sniggered at the drama Sam displayed. It was very cringe-worthy.

The Bean Soldier let out a strange cry and charged at Wolf. He slashed him across the chest. Wolf whimpered and then shattered to pieces.

Tyson cringed when his Life Points went down to **1800**.

"Not bad, eh Patty?" said Sam. "Wasn't that cool?"

"Yeah. Sure. Whatever."

"In time, she will love me," said Sam. "I place a card face down and end my turn. Your move, Tyson."

"All right, that was deliberate," said Tyson. "But I'm going to turn your little Bean Soldier to paste when I summon this bad boy, Togex! ( **ATK/1600 DEF/1800** ) Attack his monster!"

"I think not," said Sam. "I activate my trap, Reinforcements. Now, my Bean Soldier gets an additional 500 attack points."

The Bean Soldier leaped towards the oncoming horned monster and cut him with his sword.

**Tyson-1500 LP**

**Sam-2000 LP**

"So far, the only one making this duel epic is me," said Sam. "Now it's my turn. I summon Masaki the Legendary Swordsman. Your turn!"

"Playtime is over!" said Tyson. "I drew Polymerization. And I use it to fuse my Silver Fang and Darkworld Thorns to make Flower Wolf!"

**Flower Wolf**

**ATK/1800 DEF/1400**

"And I'll boost his power with the Mystical Moon, which increases my Flower Wolf's attack by 300 for a total of 2100 attack points. Say goodbye to your Legendary Swordsman!"

"Oh no!" cried Sam.

The Flower Wolf summoned a swarm of flower petals that shredded the samurai swordsman. Sam lost 1000 Life Points.

**Tyson-1500 LP**

**Sam-1000 LP**

Sam couldn't keep his eyes off the scoreboard. He was so confused and embarrassed. Patty smiled victoriously as she lay on the grass, loving the sight of Sam learning his lesson.

Sam tapped on the board, hoping there was some mistake. "It can't be! But…but I was in the lead. He took me down to half my Life Points with one powerful attack!"

"Such is the power of combining your monsters with magic and traps," said Patty. "I bet that Reinforcements combo is the only thing your little noggin could come up with."

"I hate Spell cards," said Sam. "They're so confusing. I like to pit beast against beast."

"Raw power is not the only way to win, Sam," said Yuri. "I should know. I've faced monsters that are twice as scary as that Flower Wolf, but it was because of my trap and spells that I was able to overcome them and steal a victory."

"He speaks the truth, young Sam," said Natalya. "Combining cards is an important aspect of the game."

"But the game is called Duel Monsters!" pouted Sam. "Why can't the monster with the strongest points just win?"

"Because the game won't be as fun," Patty scoffed. "Sorry if your little brain can't comprehend how to use spells and traps. And you think you can impress me with a mindset like that? I like brains, not brawn."

Sam put a finger to his temple. "The square root of an isosceles triangle…"

"Just make your move, kid!" Patty groaned. "God, you're pathetic."

"That's her way of saying she loves me, guys!" Sam called out.

"Like brother like brother," chuckled Yuri.

As Tyson was decimating Sam, Patty couldn't help but hear a commotion coming from the next arena. There was a little girl on the ground crying as two boys were looking down at her. They all seemed to range from ages nine to ten.

"Hey, Yuri, can you help me out?" Patty asked. "Looks like there's trouble."

"Yeah, I've been keeping my eye on those three for a while."

"Hold on, guys," said Patty. "Yuri and I are going to step out for a moment."

"Sure," said Natalya. "I'll hold down the fort."

"Good, keep an eye out for our bug duelist."

"Will do," Carter replied. "Hey, Tyson! I call the next game!"

Yuri and Patty approached the three youngsters.

"You can't play with us and that's final!" shouted a boy in a green shirt and khaki pants.

"What makes you think you can play Duel Monsters?" asked his friend, young lad with a cap and two missing front teeth. "You're a girl! Girls can't play!"

"Then explain to me why the national champion is one!" Patty scolded the two boys, who gawked at her good looks. "You two are a bunch of creeps, you know that!"

"Well, Crystal Anderson has dragons!" said the boy in green. "She can play a good game."

"But she's a girl, you're just condescending yourself at the moment."

"I'm not condimenting!" shouted the boy. "I don't even like ketchup!"

The little girl kept crying.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Patty asked. "Did they hurt you?"

"No, but, nobody will let me play," the girl sobbed. "They said my cards are useless."

"There is no such thing as a useless card!" Patty said. "I'll prove it by beating these creeps with your deck."

"What? I'm not dueling you!" said the boy in the cap.

Yuri scoffed and folded his arms. "What's wrong, tough guy, scared of being beat by a girl?"

"Don't cry, baby," Patty said, fixing the girl's pigtails. "What's your name?"

"Patty," the little girl replied, wiping her tears.

Patty grinned and gasped with joy. "No way! That's my name, too!"

"Really?" Little Patty asked. Her cute face lighting up.

"You know who this guy is?" Patty asked, jerking her thumb towards Yuri.

"A glowing green eye!" Little Patty cried out. She gave a timid gasp. "You're Yuri!"

"Guilty as charged." Yuri patted her head.

"YURI!" the boys shouted.

"I wanna play you first!"

"No, me!"

"If you want to duel me, you're going to have to duel her first!" said Yuri. "I'll play the winner of the match."

"Huh?"

"Hey, she's a girl using useless cards, right?" Yuri shrugged. "It should be a quick game for a real 'Pro' like yourself."

"All right," the boy in the cap said, puffing out his chest. "But if I'm going to duel Yuri next I'm going to need an edge, so Patty, you're going to have to put up your rarest card."

"Sure," Patty said, reaching for the deck box strapped to her right calf. "See this?" she said holding out her card.

"Zera the Mant!" cried the boy in the green. "She's got Zera the Mant bro! You have to win this."

"You sure about this, Patty?" Yuri asked. "That card means a lot to you?"

"I can handle this," said Patty. She jumped onto the blue platform while the boy in the green took the red one. He introduced himself as Wilson, though, Patty didn't care.

"Duel!"

"I'll start first," said Patty. "I summon LaMoon in attack mode!"

The fairy gave a soft melodious hum while she rendered on the field through a display of sparkling lights.

"This is going to be so easy!" said Wilson. "I summon Goblin Attack Force!"

He summoned a band of green goblins wielding spiked clubs. Their attack points were 2300.

"Woah, I wasn't expecting something that powerful on the first turn!" Patty grimaced, seeing the green band of brutes wave their clubs in the air and holler, ready for their turn to do battle..

"Of course, I didn't expect you to," sneered Wilson. "Attack!"

The Goblins charged at La Moon and pulverized her with their crude melee weapons. She groaned in agony and shattered.

"Oh yeah!" Wilson said, doing the dab.

"Fuck!" Patty muttered. Her Life Points falling to 900.

Wilson's friend cheered. "You devastated her with one powerful attack! Her Zera the Mant is as good as ours."

"What have I gotten myself into?" said Patty. "Shit, I really put my foot in my mouth this time."

She looked down at little Patty. She started to cry.

"See," she sniffed. "My deck is useless. It's only the first turn and already she's losing."

"Don't worry," said Yuri. "She can turn this around."

"Draw," said Patty. "Oh, nice. I play Pot of Greed allowing me to draw two cards." She drew her cards and smiled. "Someone has been reading up on her new set," Patty said looking down at little Patty. "I'm impressed."

Little Patty hunched her shoulders and blushed.

"I play two cards face down and summon Eldeen!"

Patty slapped her card onto the field and summoned a beautiful woman with blue hair and robes the color of cream. She carried a beautiful golden wand as her weapon.

**Eldeen**

**ATK/950 DEF/1000**

"What good will that weak monster do?" laughed Wilson.

"Oh, you'll see," said Patty. "Remember, Goblin Attack Force goes into defense mode after it attacks and his defensive power is…Nothing. Nathan. Nada. Zip!"

"Zero defense points!" cried Wilson. "Oh no, I just messed up!"

Eldeen gave her wand a twirl and blasted the goblins into nothing.

"Yay!" Little Patty cheered going up and down. "Hooray!"

"I told you," said Yuri.

"It doesn't matter!" said Wilson. "I'm still in the lead. And I'll wipe away your little witch with my Rude Kaiser! With an attack power of 1800 he'll destroy your Eldeen and win me the duel."

"Wanna bet?" Patty laughed when she activated her Trap Card.

"It's a trap!" shouted Wilson.

"Damn right it is Admiral Ackbar," laughed Patty. "Well, two, to be exact. My first card is called Ready for Interception. This will flip one Warrior or Spellcaster into face-down defense position. So Eldeen will defend my Life Points!"

Rude Kaiser cut Eldeen in half. She was destroyed, but Patty's Life Points were unharmed.

"And my next card, Enchanted Javelin which will increase my Life Points by the attack power of your attacking monster."

"NO!" Wilson cried grasping both sides of his heads. He slammed his elbows on the table, eyes on the board, searching for solutions to get out of the mess he put himself in with his arrogance.

"Not in the lead anymore," Little Patty teased when she saw Patty's Life Points increase to 2700.

"Be quiet!" shouted Wilson. "This doesn't concern you!"

Patty clicked her tongue and put her hand on her hip, challenging the pompous opponent with a stern scowl as well as her physique, which did more than enough to shut him up. "Oh, this is her deck," she said, "and it's kicking your sorry butt, so I think it does! Her cards aren't so useless now, are they?"

Wilson stuttered and looked at his hand, looking for just the right card to turn the tables against Patty and perhaps guarantee him the game. "Well, to make sure you don't have any more surprises in your hand, I'm using Card Destruction which forces us to discard our old hands and draw a completely new one."

"I know what it does," Patty said, tossing her card to the Graveyard. "Well, it's my turn now. Hmm, I end my turn."

"Got nothing huh?" said Wilson. "Wait till you see this card. Wolf Axewielder with an attack power of 1650! Can you beat that?"

"Let's see," said Patty. "I have only one monster in my hand. I think she'll be all I need to take out that overgrown wolf. I summon Dancing Elf."

Patty summoned a beautiful, winged elf with silky blonde hair the color of molten gold. She wore a revealing bluish-green gown and her wings were sixteen feet long. The feathers were razor-sharp blades.

**Dancing Elf**

**ATK/300 DEF/200**

Wilson and his friend laughed at the weak monster.

"Keep laughing, twerp, because she's going to kick your sorry little butt! I play the Field Spell card, Rising Air Current. This will increase the power of Wind monsters by 500 but decrease their defense by 400.

**ATK/800 DEF/0**

"She's not strong enough yet," said Patty. "But I'm equipping her with Silver Bow and Arrow, boosting her strength to 1100. I'm not finished yet; Winged Trumpeter will give her another 500 attack points!"

"They're almost tied!" said Little Patty.

"Yeah, but my friend's Wolf still has fifty more attack points than your puny elf!"

"Well, I've got one more card up my sleeve," said Patty. "Malevolent Nuzzler."

The fiendish woman appeared behind the Dancing Elf. She wrapped her arms around her neck and whispered a spell into her ear before vanishing. Dancing Elf started growing more powerful because of the enchantment. She charged up her energy and screamed when she reached full power. She grew six more wings and the feather-blades grew to the size of longswords and they started to glow. The attack boost from the Malevolent Nuzzler increased the elf's attack by 700, increasing her to 1800 attack points.

"Wow!" said Little Patty in amazement. "I didn't know I could do that with my monsters."

Five turns went by and all Wilson could do was go defensive. Then he drew the card he needed to destroy Dancing Elf. During that time Patty activated two Hinotama spell cards which inflicted 500 points of damage.

"I play Heavy Storm!"

"Aw crap," said Patty. "Now all our spell and trap cards get destroyed."

"No!" cried Little Patty. "Now, Dancing Elf's attack goes back down to 300."

"Now to finally get rid of her!" shouted Wilson. "Here comes my Dice Armadillo!"

With a strength of 1650 he attacked and destroyed Dancing Elf. Patty's Life Points went down in half.

**Wilson 850- LP**

**Patty-1350 LP**

"Your turn!"

"So be it," said Patty. "First, I activate my third and final Hinotama reducing your Life Points to a mere 350 Life Points. Then I summon Neo the Magic Swordsman in attack mode. Attack and destroy the Dice Armadillo!"

Neo enchanted his blade. Then he quickly charged for Dice Armadillo, raised his sword and cut the beast in half revealing wires and spilling oil, for it was a Machine-Type monster.

"Hey, is he the only male monster in your deck?" Yuri asked. "So far all the monsters Patty has played are female."

"Well, I wanted to add him in any way," Little Patty said going pink in the cheeks. "Neo's really handsome."

"I draw!" Wilson declared his turn. "Polymerization!" he shouted, holding up the card. "Now I fuse together my Ancient Brain and Tainted Wisdom to become, Skull Knight! (ATK 2650)."

The beast slashed Neo across the chest and reduced Patty to 400 Life Points.

"It's over!" shouted Wilson. "You've got no hope in beating my Skull Knight."

"I do actually," Patty smiled and revealed her card to Wilson.

"What the? Is that Unhappy Girl?"

He bellowed with laughter when Patty summoned a sad-looking girl with a torn blue dress and long orange hair. (ATK/400 DEF/300)

Wilson gave annoying squeaky laughs while he slapped his forehead. "Look if you want to lose so badly, just give up."

Patty smiled. "I won't lose, because I'm equipping her with this card. Buster Rancher."

An oversized energy rifle appeared on the field. The Unhappy Girl's tattered dress turned into hi-tech futuristic armor. A scanner appeared over her eye and she took a seat at the weapon's control systems. Using a newfound strength, the Unhappy Girl picked up the rifle.

"This Spell Card only works on monsters with 1000 attack or less," Patty explained. "And when attacking a monster with 2500 attack or more it increases the equipped monster's attack by 2500 points."

Wilson dropped his cards in disbelief.

The Unhappy Girl aimed, charged up the weapon and fired blasted Skull Knight away leaving Wilson standing with a mere 50 Life Points. But instead of going on, he wailed out loud, picked up his cards and ran away.

"I'll take that as a surrender," Patty laughed. The platform lowered her onto the ground.

"You did it!" Little Patty said, greeting her.

"See," said Patty handing the little girl back her deck. "Don't let anyone tell you that you can't do anything because you're a girl. You have a good deck here. Use it well. Now go find an opponent and have some fun."

"Thank you," said little Patty and she scampered away to play.

"Damn, she had a good deck," said Yuri.

"It was shit to be honest," said Patty. "They're still young. They'll learn how to really play when they get older."

Yuri grimaced from Patty's brutal honesty. But he agreed that the kids were still you. He rubbed the back of his neck. "For a second there, I thought Zera…"

Patty looked at him and interrupted. "Did you really think I'd put Zera the Mant on the line, Yuri? It will be a cold day in hell before I give my monster up. Any sign of that bug duelist, Nick?"

"Nope, there's nothing," said Nick. "Look, it's getting late and I have to help Consuelo with the restaurant."

"Yeah, I've got to head home too," said Yuri.

Patty placed her hands on her hips. "If I didn't know any better, Yuri, I'd say you're relieved that this bug duelist didn't show up."

"Ha, ha, ha," Yuri. "There will be other days."

They packed up their things and walked out of the park. Little did they know; Randall Lawson was watching them from behind the waterfall that served as a habitat for turtles and ducks.

* * *

"Why didn't you duel them?" he demanded at the famed bug duelist. "Yuri was right there!"

"Maybe I didn't feel like it," the Duelist said, helping himself to funnel cake. He was dressed in a white and blue-striped shirt and had black slacks with suspenders. Large round glasses drooped from his nose.

"What do you mean you didn't feel like it, Herman?" snapped Randall. "I'm paying you to take him out."

"Take him out?" Herman said, wiping powder of his mouth with a handkerchief from his shirt's breast pocket. "A bit excessive, don't you think? I'm a duelist, not a hitman. Tell me, Randall, what would Yuri having one loss do to him exactly? He's still going to get up and play again. And me beating him is not exactly going to bring Brett back to you, is it?"

"A loss will destroy Yuri if he lost that Black Tyranno of his."

"You want him to put his Black Tyranno on the line? And why would he do that? I've got nothing he wants when it comes to cards, for I collect Insect-Type monsters."

"Leave that to me," said Randall. "I need his Black Tyranno and you're going to need a big win because the tournament is almost here and time is running out. Don't you know that ten people have been invited? The brackets are getting filled, man."

"You make an excellent point. Very well, but I demand payment in advance."

"Here's three thousand," Randall said, using the bank app on his tablet to transfer the funds. "And I'll give you another fourteen thousand when the job is done."

"Now we're talking," said Herman. "Thank you, Randall, it's been a pleasure."


	24. Treasures for the King

**Joey**

* * *

"You're not gonna beat me this time, Wheeler!" Rex shouted. "I use Ultra Evolution Pill on my Balloon Lizard, which will transform him into the one and only, Ultimate Tyranno!"

"Nyeh! That's not good!" Joey cried out.

The Balloon Lizard started glowing until he transformed into a big orb of light. The light started growing bigger and bigger and began taking shape until, at last, the second strongest monster of the Dinosaur-Type was rendered in full form. It gave out a loud shrieking roar as it shook its head from side to side; its eyes glowing brightly.

**ATK/3000**

"Face it, Wheeler, there's nothing you can do to stop me. Especially after I do this. I Special Summon two Gilasaurus."

Rex placed both cards on the Duelist of black steel and amber. Two brown raptors ran from behind Rex and stopped in front of Ultimate Tyranno.

"And when these guys are Special Summoned this way, you get to Special Summon two monsters of your own."

"All right, then," said Joey. "I bring back Shore Knight and Dust Knight in attack mode."

The two monsters flew out of the ground and landed on either side of Joey's Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

_Knowing Rex, he's gonna take down my Red-Eyes with that overgrown lizard of his. My knights will guard me against his other two Gilasaurus and my Life Points will be safe and sound._

Rex sneered. "Now, Ultimate Tyranno, take down his Red-Eyes and his knights."

"What?"

"That's right! Ultimate Tyranno can attack all monsters you control, Wheeler. Say goodbye to your Life Points and the tournament!"

Ultimate Tyranno stomped both knights with his foot as though they were roaches. Then he pounced on Red-Eyes Black Dragon and tore out its heart with his teeth.

"That brings your Life Points to 0, Wheeler. I win."

"Aw, nuts," Joey said sadly. He knelt and punched the dirt.

Serenity sighed heavily. "Great. Now we can't get the money for the expedition."

Mai patted her shoulder. "Don't worry, honey, we'll think of something else. We can go back to monster hunting in the guild. We made quite a bit of money there."

"Over the span of three years," said Zoey, gnawing on a turkey leg. "You lot need t' think o' somethin' else noo."

"Like what?" Serenity asked, feeling horrible distraught about seeing her brother lose so close to the finals. "Mai's so-called friend charges more than even a King makes in a year to use her vessel. I hate money. Because everyone wants it, Prince Yuri is most likely going to be delayed even further. We need him back now."

Mai sighed and looked at the stars. "I'll be right back," she said. "I think I saw a wanted poster put up by the Monster Hunters Guild."

Joey groaned and rubbed his face. "I ain't in da mood to look fer monster, Mai."

"Who said anything about you? Serenity, Zoey, Tea, up for a little adventure?"

"O' aye," said Zoey. "Count me in."

"Huh?' Duke said from the table. "What's going on?"

"Sorry," Mai said with a wave of her hand. "This is just for girls."

* * *

**Mai**

* * *

Téa blew into her crystal and held it up, illuminating the night. "Mai, what on earth have you gotten us into?" she asked.

Mai jumped on a fallen tree stump and held her torch up. It was made of platinum and crowned with glowing light crystals, orbiting around a smaller one. The family sword was sheathed on her lower back. She sniffed the air, listening as the creatures of the night hooted, chirped and squawked. Fallen leaves blew on the ground, brushing against their boots and ankles.

"Oy, Mai!" Zoey called, standing behind Serenity, who had multi-colored crystals orbiting around her head. "What's the big deal? Why have you brought us all the way out here?"

"We're going on a hunt," Mai answered, jumping off the log. Her gear clinked and jingled. "The quartermaster of the castle posted work for anyone from the Monster Hunters Guild at the central plaza of the fairgrounds. Check out the creature said to have been stalking the countryside." She tossed Téa the flyer she picked up at the notice board. Téa unfolded the poster and cringed. "Ain't he a beaut?" Mai asked vexingly.

Serenity gasped at the sight of the horrible monster. "O' loving Ana, what is that?"

Zoey stuck more tobacco in her mouth and chewed on it. "That, lassie, is a Barox. These ugly-ass ogres are a problem for farmers. They swipe cattle in the dead of night. Cows. Pigs. Horses. You name it, he'll eat it."

Mai proceeded a little farther into the forest. "You're right. And, the Monster Hunters Guild is paying fifty-thousand in gold to get rid of it from the countryside of the two loving Queens." She knelt down and examined some odd indentations in the air. She smiled, baring her gleaming, white teeth. "We are close ladies. He's been here."

Zoey stopped to look at the ground. Mai was right. In the faint light of Téa's crystal, she saw footprints on the ground. One of them had a strand of yellow fur lying on the center. Indeed, a Barox was just here. Zoey spat some of the tobacco out and looked around, feeling a bit anxious now, knowing that they were probably very close to something she'd rather be five-hundred miles away from. Fiend-Type Duel Monsters always appeared late in the night, popping in from vortexes that led to dark and monstrous worlds. Another fact about the monster came to mind and chilled her.

"Now I know why you only brought us girls down here, Mai," she said. "These foul creatures have a thirst for the blood of virgin maidens. O' course, he won't find such a delicacy with my blood. I've been fooked on more than one occasion."

Téa frowned at the girl. "Thanks for sharing, Zoey. Geeze, try keeping that sort of nonsense to yourself."

Mai shrugged. "I've got it," she said. "If he's around he'll smell it and come looking for us."

Zoey burst out laughing. "Yoo? Wit virgin blood? Goddesses above, Mai, wit yoo bein' Termnnia's Delight, I'd figure you'd have some action in the cot."

"Men don't interest me," Mai said, proceeding into the forest. "I don't think I've found the right one yet. But, who knows. Love works in mysterious ways."

Serenity heard a twig snapping behind her and caught up with Mai, sticking close to her. "You're going to have to marry someone someday," she said. "The survival of your House depends on it. You want it to thrive, don't you? Or would you rather it fall extinct?"

Mai shrugged again, not wanting to discuss the subject. "I don't want to get married, girls. My House had a good run with my grandmother, but all good things must come to an end. Besides, men overcomplicate things. They are pushy, warmongering, greedy, and too controlling. That's not what the House of the Harpie needs."

She paused. Something out there was making the air smell rather pungent. Something...dead. A few steps further and Mai discovered the rotting corpse of a cow. There were huge bite marks on its neck, and it looked like it had been slashed by large claws. Its tongue stuck out of its mouth, black with decay. There was huge, festering hole on the side of its body where the creature feasted on it. The ribs poked out from underneath the ripped hide. Most of the meat was gone and the innards of the animal had all been pulled out and eaten. Mai told the others to lower their voices. Serenity drew her silver sword. The runes inlaid on the blade started to glow bright pink. It did that when something foul was nearby her. And sure enough, not even a moment after she drew her enchanted sword, a roar blasted through the forest. The girls huddled up, eyes darting everywhere across the forest looking for the monster.

"LOOK OUT!" Téa cried out when she saw a large boulder hurling towards them. They ducked out of the way. The boulder smashed on the dead cow. Mai landed face down on the ground, leaves sticking to her golden locks. She felt the forest floor trembling. She looked up. A monster smashed through trees as though they were twigs. Burning red eyes pierced the darkness. Barox had arrived. The creature's teeth and claws were red with the blood of a fresh kill. Leaves clung to the patches of yellow fur on its shoulders, arms, and legs.

"Come on, big boy, you wanna play?" shouted Zoey. She drew her claymore - a weapon bigger than her - and dashed for the creature.

Mai tried to sit up. Her knee cap stung her awfully. While Zoey dodged and rolled to avoid the monster's claws, she took a moment to examine what had been ailing her. Shoot. He fell on a sharp stone the dug into her flesh. Mai tightened every muscle in her body and pulled it out. Shoot. She wasn't going to fight the monster like this. But then, a heavenly, spring-green glow lit from above her. Mai looked up and saw a quarter of flower bells that showered her with healing light. Decorative swirls extended downward towards her and pink flower petals flew around. Mai felt warm and rejuvenated. Téa ran past Mai and gave her a wink.

"Try to be more careful, monster hunter," she said, casting an aegis of green light around Zoey to protect her from the monster's attacks momentarily."

Mai got up and drew her sword. "I love White Mages," she said, running towards them to join the attack. She snapped her fingers and conjured a trio of old girlfriends. Harpie Lady Sisters. They burst out of nowhere in a flash of pink light. Rose petals scattered in all directions when they appeared into the realm. The three Harpies screeched and posed majestically behind Mai. Their golden armor flashed in the light of her torch, still burning on the ground. "You feeling frisky tonight, ladies?" Mai asked. She heard the three of them snigger cruelly. "Well, then, let me introduce you to this handsome fellow. Let's show him a good time, girls. Attack!"

The battle went on longer than Mai would have hoped. An hour, maybe two, went by before the monster started to show fatigue and get slower in combat. Harpie Lady Sisters screeched out a battle cry and rocketed towards Barox. They slashed him with their claws and tackled him to the ground making it easier for Zoey and Serenity to hack at his vital points. Téa shot balls of light from her palms, that smacked into Barox with enough force to knock him down. He grew angrier and angrier with each assault. The monster started slashing the air wildly with his claws, smashing boulders, trees, anything that stood in its way. Zoey ducked just in time before it could smash into her. Téa launched another glowing ball at the monster, but it ducked its head in time. The ball smashed into a tree, knocking it down.

"Oops," she said.

Barox roared and chased after her. His charge was immediately halted when he was stuck in the face with a crossbow bolt. Mai had a small one in her hand. Damn, they didn't call her the Huntress with Seven Weapons for nothing. Téa ran away to safety as Barox snarled, trying to brush the bolts off his face. Zoey ran up from behind and slashed the back of his leg with her claymore. The Harpies came down and grabbed him by the back of its head, rearing it up until his neck was exposed. It roared in pain as the Harpies pulled on his fur. Mai quickly fired a bolt into the throat of the creature. The bolt had an explosive head and detonated. Barox whined, his movements started slowing down. He moaned as death took him and he fell face-first on the ground with a loud thud.

Serenity sighed and collapsed on the ground. "We did it," she said. "Son of a bitch, we did it."

"Aw, that thing stinks," Zoey said walking away from it. "Is it like that because he's dead?"

Mai walked towards Serenity and sat down next to her. She put an arm over Serenity's shoulder and leaned her head against it. "Well, babe, you finally got your expedition."

Serenity blinked to keep the tears back. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

Mai kissed her cheek. "None of that. Come on, let's get this thing back to the castle and get our pay. Then let's head back to Rassay. I have a feeling our work to help Yuri ain't done yet."

* * *

**Four Days Later**

* * *

"I'm finally home," Mai thought as she looked out the window of her apartment suite on the twentieth floor. The Kaiba Tri-Towers, home only to the most elite Duelists in Termnnia (Mai is currently ranked within the top 100 players in the continent), and it was smack-dab in the center of Domino City the capital of Eredas, a country that was one gigantic city. It was almost unreal to hold a mug of hot coffee in her hands. To stand in her suite surrounded by technology and modern luxuries not found out West where Termnnians kept a more traditional way of life. The warm glow of the morning sun beaming through the windowpane was like being blasted by rays from heaven. Planes flew overhead, a sound she had not heard since returning back to Domino. Cars beeping in the streets below and the sound of a DJ on the morning radio.

" _Rise and shine Domino City_!" shouted the DJ from the radio in Mai's counter on the kitchen. "T _his is Da Silva Fang Awoooo! It is a warm 75 degrees today. No clouds in the sky as far as I can see, but I can promise a shower or thunderstorm tonight. Those of you out on the coasts, be sure to bring a hat and a lot of sunscreen. You won't believe how many burnt people I saw the other day. Ouch! Well, let's get your morning going with one of my favorite tracks. Y'all remember the Duelist Kingdom Tournament way back when? ("Don't remind me," Mai grumbled) Well, this song was written by a gentleman who was touched in the final match of the games. The legendary King of Games, Yugi Muto against his best friend Joey Wheeler. He was so moved by the Duel that he wrote a song in honor of that great match against brothers fighting for the ones they loved. Here's No Matter What by Mike Pasternak._ "

The song caused Serenity to stir in her bed. Téa was also woken by the song while asleep in the black leather couch. Her hair was a ragged mess, reminding Serenity of the Kuriboh monster Yugi always summoned.

Mai smiled and took a whiff of the hot beverage in her black ceramic mug. "Oh yes, how long have I desired a good Cup O' Joe." She turned her head to look at Serenity, who was crawling out of her sheets. She rubbed her eyes and smiled at Mai.

"Morning, sleepyhead," said Mai. "Did you rest well?"

"Yes, thank you," Serenity said dreamily.

"So, did you give our little hero his 'gift'?" Mai asked.

"I did," Serenity said with a nod. "I sure hope no one finds out."

Téa stood up and wrapped her arms around her legs before resting her chin on her knees. "Someone is going to find out sooner or later. Black Tyranno is not a common card."

"Who's going to know?" Mai asked. "It's not like the people of Earth know a thing about our politics. They're plain folk. They don't believe in magic."

"I meant someone like Yugi," said Serenity. "He should know by now that if anyone deserves the card, it's Yuri."

"Yuri?" Mai asked.

"It's what the prince is called on Earth," said Serenity. "That card belonged to his father. It was supposed to go to him anyway."

"That's not for us to decide," said Téa, who was against the notion of giving Yuri the Black Tyranno card. "That card is the treasure of House Delgado. Yuri's father may have been Gabriele the Black, the heir to the Fossil Throne, but he is a Wollcroft, pretty much a member of House Plantegrast. And you guys do know that the Delgados has denounced Yuri, right?"

"They did once," said Mai. "But once he became chosen to be king, O' how they wanted him back. Fools that they are. Now they've lost their only true blood heir and their sacred card. And I'm sorry about how you feel with this, Téa, but I would rather see Black Tyranno in the hands of Gabe's son. Not that spoiled brat, Prince Hector. And you can change a name all you want, but it's not going to change the blood that flows through your veins. Yuri is, and always will be, a Delgado, after his father."

"I know," said Téa. "I know."

"So what are we going to do about breakfast?" Serenity asked.

Mai beamed at her. "Always thinking with your stomach, huh, baby? All right, a stack of flapjacks it is."

"Yay!" Serenity cheered, immediately rushing out of bed to wash and dress.

Later that morning, Mai and Téa watched in horror as Serenity noisily ate her breakfast at their table by the canal outside the tri-towers. It was so unlike her to eat in such a way. She was usually a lady who showed table manners when dining with the kings and queens of the West. Only now as she chomped away at her meal did they see the mannerisms she displayed were not from the heart. Deep down, she hated acting like such a proper lady. Now that she was free of the high-class etiquette of the Western nobility, she could eat at last at her own pace.

"She sure has a healthy appetite," said Téa.

"That she does," said Mai. "Damn, baby, what have you got in that gut? A black hole?"

Serenity swallowed and gave a smile that was disrupted by a petit burp. She gasped and hunched to hide her blushing cheeks behind her shoulders. "Hee, hee. Sorry. It's been forever since we've been back to Domino."

"Oh, Serenity Wheeler, what are going to do with you?" said Mai.

"Don't look now," said Serenity, "but I think you've got yourself a challenger coming your way."

Mai turned in her seat to see the next 'fool' to demand a Duel with her. An Eldori with bright orange hair and bright green eyes wearing a torn vest over a white top and ripped camo trousers.

"Why not?" said Mai. "I could use a Duel."

"You Mai Valentine?" asked the challenger.

"Yeah, who are you?" Mai asked.

"The name is Mick. Let's have a match! Unless you're afraid to lose?"

Mai scoffed and activated her Duel Disk. "Lose against you? What kind of fantasy do you live in, hun? I'm not afraid of anyone. I accept your challenge!"

**LP 4000**

"Duel!" they shouted.

"Ladies first!" said Mai. "I summon Harpie Harpist in Attack Mode! ( **ATK/1700 DEF/600 LV 4** ) Next, I play Ties of the Brethren, by paying 2000 of my Life Points, I can summon Harpie Girl ( **ATK/500 DEF/500 LV 2** ) and Harpie Channeler ( **ATK/1400 DEF/1300 LV 4** ). Then I place two cards face down and end my turn."

"My turn!" said Mick. "Draw. I play Polymerization and fuse together my Rhainmundos the Red Sword and Fairyarou to create the Vermillion Sparrow!"

After a dazzling display of flames, a man with spiked hair colored in a brilliant shade of Vermillion had his appearance. He wore elegant robes of teal blue, goldenrod, and vermillion. Next, I place two cards face down and end my turn. I hope you're preparing some nice defenses Miss Delight of Termnnia. Because that cute little Harpie Girl is first on the menu. How do you like her? Medium or well-done?"

Harpie Girl whimpered and hid behind Harpie Harpist.

"Don't worry, hun," said Mai. "He's not going to hurt you. My turn. Draw! I discard Harpie Queen from my hand to add a Field Spell known as Harpie's Hunting Ground. And I will play it right now. Welcome to my world, hun. A world of hurt, because all Winged-Beasts gain a 200 attack point bonus. Next, I play Pot of Greed and draw two cards." Mai smiled and began to examine her options. It was over for her opponent. "Oh, I am so good! For my next play, I will activate my face-down card, Call of the Haunted and return my Harpie Queen to my field."

A vortex of white feathers appeared before Mai and from it flew out a beautiful harpie with long bluish-green hair and a revealing outfit that caused many pedestrians to stop and gawk at her. Mothers shielded the eyes of their young ones and walked away, hoping to get away from the Duel.

Mai dramatically held out her palm. She was not done yet. "And now my Field Spell Activates! When a Harpie Lady is summoned, I can target a Spell or Trap and destroy it. So say goodbye to your face-down card. Now, I play Elegant Egotist and from my hand special summon Harpie Lady Sisters!"

Now Mick was getting worried. Mai's Harpies were swarming the field without stopping. With the summoning of the Harpie Lady Sisters, his second face-down card was shattered. Mirror Force. Now he was doomed. But Mai still wasn't done yet. She hated challengers who thought they were going to get an easy win off of her just because she was a girl. Many of these fools often stereotyped female Duelists, thinking that they ran cute little fairies and furry animals. Mai loved punishing them for those chauvinistic thoughts by pummeling them severely. She had taught Serenity how to humiliate her opponents as well. You could imagine the terror on their faces when the cute fairies and puffballs they imagined she would be summoning, turned out to be a fierce Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

Speaking of dragons. Mai tribute summoned one. Offering her Harpie Harpist and Harpie Channeler for Harpie's Pet Dragon. The beast towered six meters above the plaza and had a forty-foot wingspan. Her had fleshy-pink scales and winged membranes coming out from the back of her arms. A golden chain and collar were fastened around her long neck. Harpie Queen grabbed a hold of it and flew on her pet dragon's back.

**Harpie's Pet Dragon**

**ATK/2000 DEF/2500**

**LV 7**

She gained 300 attack points for every Harpie Lady on the field, raising her attack to 2600. Mai ordered the final attack. First, Harpie's Pet Dragon heaved white-hot flames from her mouth and burned Vermillion Sparrow to a crisp. (LP 3300). Next, Harpie Lady Sisters had a go at his Life Points. They formed together to create a spell of multi-colored light in the shape of an X (LP 2150). Then, Harpie Queen gracefully flew into the sky, high above the towers of the city. She dove down and was encased in flames of blue before smacking into Mick (LP 50).

"Want to teach him a lesson, baby?" Mai asked the Harpie Girl.

Harpie Girl let out a loud screech and brandished her claws. She flew towards Mick and slashed him repeatedly across the chest ending the Duel. Poor Mick fell backward and fainted from the attack. He liked to play tough, but his body, nor his feeble mind, could handle being in a Duel with Phantoms. The Harpies and their Pet Dragon disappeared.

A clap came out of nowhere. Mai, Téa, and Serenity searched around until a familiar voice shouted: "Over here!" It was Joey, and to their shock, there was Yami Yugi. He was no doubt gracious of the victory Mai had, but still, his face showed that he was most displeased with something.

"Yugi?" said Mai. "I didn't think you'd be here."

"He just arrived," said Joey. "But he aint gonna be here fer long."

"No, I am not," said Yami. "I have come to give Prince Michael my blessing into the Alliance I have started when Prince Daveed comes home."

"Oh, I love Prince Michael," said Mai. "Will we get to meet him?"

"No, now listen to me clearly. The treasured card of House Delgado, the Black Tyranno, has gone missing. And now, my informant on Earth has told me that Daveed has summoned one just recently."

"What!?" cried Téa. "He played it already?"

"So you do know something," said Yami.

"We gave him the card, yes," said Mai.

Yami crossed his arms sternly and eyed the girls one at a time. "And may I ask why?"

"Come on, Spirit!" said Téa. "You found the card on your doorstep. It clearly fled from House Delgado to be with a worthy master. Not that Prince Hector jerk."

"The politics of house Delgado do not concern you!" yelled Yami. "If they wish for the card to be given to Hector, there is not we can do about it. Black Tyranno is an Oath Monster, a treasured beast of one's House. He is to be given to an owner from the House of Delgado whether he likes it or not."

Mai, too, crossed her arms. "Well, Yugi, Black Tyranno has been given to a worthy owner from the House Delgado. Yuri is Gabriele's son, remember. Yuri may be Wollcroft, but damn it, he has his father's blood flowing through those veins. Delgado blood! Black Tyranno wanted a new master and we helped him! Period!"

"Hey, she's got a point, Yuge," said Joey. "If anything, Mai and the girls, as reckless as dey are, have done da House a favor. Let 'em slide, man."

"So be it," said Yami. "But if I learn you give any more Termnnian cards to Yuri while he's on Earth, there will be consequences, am I understood."

"Yes," said Téa

"Yes, sir," said Serenity.

"Yeah, whatever," said Mai.

"Very well," said Yami. "I will now make way for Elleria and give my blessing to Prince Talion. Though that's going to be tough, seeing as how he's in the middle of a war right now."

"Be careful Yuge," said Joey. "He's fightin' in the Emerald Marches. That's really close to Naralian turf. The Church of Yeyu is up there. They're lookin' for ya, remember?"

Serenity agreed. "Yeah, Yugi, Shouldn't you be going with some protection or something?"

"Prince Talion is a capable fighter. I just received word from Princess Evelyn that he won a victory against the Naralian army and the Church's Military. If anyone will keep me safe from their clutches, it's going to be him. Farewell, everyone. I will see you in the coming months when the Summoner I sent for has arrived. Until then, stay out of trouble."

Serenity waited for Yugi, her brother, and the others to be fully gone from their view before she spoke. "Guys, we need to talk."

"Uh-oh, sounds serious," said Mai.

Serenity inhaled deeply and paused to gather her thoughts. "I've heard that Yuri's making quite a name for himself out there. He's been put on the hit list of some really tough opponents ever since we gave him that Black Tyranno card."

"Sounds to me like he could use the competition," said Téa. "I think it will make good practice."

"That's the thing, Téa, Yuri won't be getting practice if he winds up getting beat all the time. I saw his deck when I sneaked into his room the night I gave him the card. It was pathetic. Not even a starter deck is that weak. At least it gives you some edge when you play."

Téa was confused. "Uh, isn't Mr. Montgomery one of the wealthiest men in that dimension? Why can't he buy Yuri cards? He practically owns the game in that world. That doesn't make sense for Yuri to be running a weak deck."

"Mr. Montgomey is a very stern man, Téa," said Serenity. "My contact in that world tells me that Mr. Montgomery won't buy Yuri cards because it gives him an unfair advantage. If Yuri is to get his own cards he needs his own money."

Mai placed her hand on her hip. "Wait a minute, wait a minute. I thought we found Yuri a job last summer. Why can't he buy cards with that."

"The Montgomery's are smart with money." Serenity sighed, and she placed both hands on her hips in agitation. "They raised Yuri well with that knowledge. And since he feels he lacks the skills to play Duel Monsters competitively, buying cards is the last thing on his mind right now. He's using the money from his job to buy a car; a really nice one so he can impress this girl he really likes."

"Ah," Mai said, raising her eyebrows up and down. "Our little prince is in love. And who's the lucky girl?"

"That won't matter," said Téa. "Once Yuri comes home, he can kiss any of his Earthly relationships goodbye. Go on, Serenity. This sounds serious. If Yuri doesn't prove himself as a Duelist his homecoming could be delayed. And we can't afford to have that happen. I want him to come home now."

"Of course, we all do," said Mai. "But, I'm not exactly rolling in gold right now. And paying for my condo is keeping my hands full. What do you have in mind to help Yuri with his finances?"

Serenity's mouth formed into a sinister grin.

"Uh-oh, I know that look," said Téa. "Looks like you and I are going on an adventure, Mai."

"What is it, hun?" Mai asked.

Serenity leaned her body to the right, hands still on her hips. "Well, there's been reports of a lesser dragon in the forests near the mountains. He was last seen by the Eredian Rangers carrying a chest with some gold chains hanging from it. They claim he stole it from a caravan he attacked. Something tells me this dragon is looking for a mate."

"How so?" said Téa.

"Female dragons, babe," said Mai. "They're golddiggers. They often find a mate based on his strength, power, and his wealth. The more treasure a male has in his hoard, the higher the possibility he finds himself some loving."

"Sounds an awful lot like you, Mai," Téa said with a roll of her eyes. "So, Serenity, are you suggesting the three of us go on one more big adventure."

"For old times sake," said Serenity. "It's been a while since we've gone treasure hunting. I'd like to do it again, and we're helping Yuri in the process."

Mai smiled. "I like that idea. But we're going to have to get ourselves some supplies. Dragons are tough nuts to crack. Plus it's been a while since I picked up my sword."

Serenity laughed. "Well, we won't have to worry about any third-degree burns while we're in there," said Serenity. "Not with our master White Mage with us." She looked at Téa he gave a grin.

"Well," said Mai. "If we are going on this crazy adventure, we're going to need some help." She took her phone out of her pocket.

"Who you calling?" Téa asked.

"Old girlfriend," said Mai. "Goddesses protect us on our quest. Both ours and Yugi's. I've heard of this Prince Talion guy. He's a wild one so I heard." She saw Serenity stomp away into the city. "Uh-oh, someone's in a bad mood."

She and Téa went after her, crossing the street and dodging past a large flood of people before they could reach her.

"Oh, who does he think he is!?" she grunted, kicking a trash bin as hard as she could.

Mai gasped at the sudden outburst. It was so unlike Serenity to display her anger so violently, and so publically. They were still in the city center, and it was bustling with activity as the children of the night began their pilgrimages to the various clubs and Duel Monster stadiums across Domino City. Serenity didn't care if they were there. She was too frustrated to care what anyone thought of her. After everything she had done and all she sacrificed to keep Yuri safe in the Other World, she got yelled at and scorned as though she were a babe of three years.

"Everybody treats me like a child!" Serenity said marching down the dark sidewalk. A quick flash from the iron lamp post she dashed under revealed her cheeks were blushing bright pink. "First I get it from Joey! Then the king! And now Yugi! I put my neck on the line doing more than any of them could ever hope to accomplish and I get punished!" She kicked another trash bin and growled into the night. "Arrgh!"

"Wow! She's pissed," said Téa.

"No kidding," said Mai. "Uh, Serenity!"

Serenity didn't listen and kept on stalking down the sidewalk and passing by the eatery they planned to go to before heading for a dance at the Fountain District's most popular nightclub.

"Well, so much for pizza tonight," Téa muttered in disappointment.

"Oh, come on, Serenity!" Mai called after her. "I know you can hear me!"

Serenity stopped. "What is it?" she said looking back at her friends.

"Uh, this was supposed to be ladies night," said Mai. "Your attitude is ruining everything. I must say, Miss Wheeler, one more outburst from you and I'll have no choice but to give you a spanking."

The last member of House Wheeler gave a loud scoff. If her face blushed any redder, she would have become one of the stop lights over the streets. Serenity's angelic face scrunched into a nasty scowl. Her eyes twinkling with rage and humiliation. "Great, now I'm getting it from you," said Serenity, crossing her arms.

Téa lightly elbowed Mai in the rib. "Smooth move, Mai," she whispered. She looked at Serenity and sighed. "Serenity, I know you meant well checking up on Yuri from time to time. But you do realize there were a lot of risks with you doing so, right?"

Mai nodded. "She's right, sweetie. Someone could have been watching you. The Different Dimension Gates aren't exactly the most secure forms of transportation. It's only natural Yugi would be worried. Not just for Yuri, but for you, too. We care a lot about you, hun."

Serenity rolled her eyes to the left and scoffed. She tapped her foot irritatedly on the sidewalk. Mai's face formed a scowl.

"All right, keep your shitty attitude, little lady, but do us all a favor and go home. I'm not in the mood for this, Serenity."

"Come on, Serenity, cheer up," said Téa. "Yuri's turning eighteen soon. He's coming home this summer."

Serenity couldn't help but form a grin. The gloss on her lips reflecting the pink neon from the sign next to her. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess you're right. But that's not what's bothering me. I'm an adult now. Yet, people still see me as little Serenity. That cute, innocent, little babe with the bandages over her eyes. Maybe I was a little timid back then. I went through hell dealing with Marik in the Battle City Tournament. I enlisted in the Silver Paladins. I went toe-to-toe with Orcs in the Battle of Karad-Antha. I saw Anubis and lived. And just recently, Prince Marcel even gave me a deck with the Red-Eyes Black Dragon from his House."

She reached into her pocket, taking out her Dueling Deck. A Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon shimmered at the bottom of her deck. The secret rare foil glowed in a spectrum under the neon lights.

Mai stepped closer towards Serenity. "Hun, no offense, but, you're fifty-years-old. You're still in the early years of your double digits. You pretty much are still just a baby in the eyes of our elders. You're still my little baby." She kissed the top of Serenity's head.

"You're spoiling her, Mai," Téa chuckled.

Serenity sighed and tucked her deck back into her pocket. "I know I'm still in the adolescent stages of my life, Mai. You don't need to keep reminding me. Like I said, everyone else does."

"So what if they do?" said Téa. "All those things you've done, Serenity. And still in your youth! Not many people are blessed with the kind of abilities you have. Yeah, you're still young but you're a badass!"

"Hell yeah she is!" said Mai. "Fuck what everybody else says."

"Thanks, guys," said Serenity.

Mai placed both hands on Serenity's face. She raised her head up gently so she could look Mai in the eyes looking like precious purple gems. "Now," she said. "No more sad faces. It's our first night out in a long time. And let's face it, we're teachers at the academy now. With Yuri coming back, we're not going to have nights like this anymore. So let's cherish this one. Got it?"

"It's deal," said Serenity.

Mai smiled and gave her cheek a long smooch. "Mua!" Mai said after she released her lips from Serenity's face. "That's my girl. Now, I don't know about you, Téa, but I don't think Serenity's properly dressed for the clubs."

Téa came in close to inspect Serenity's outfit. A white tank top and denim cutoffs. "No," she concurred. "She isn't. But I must say, she is giving us quite the view in those shorts."

Mai laughed and playfully smacked Serenity's butt. "I'll say. That's kind of why I didn't make any effort catching up with her."

"Oh, Mai," Serenity grumbled, rubbing the spot where Mai hit her.

"Come on you," said Mai. "We're going out for a little shopping."

* * *

"Have a good time, ladies," said the bouncer, unlocking the red velvet rope to allow the three friends into a nightclub that was owned by their friend Duke Devlin. A song from earth called 'Sexy Back' was playing loudly on the speakers. Chandeliers int he shape of dice hung from the ceiling. Speaking of dice, there was the owner of the club sitting in a VIP booth surrounded by young ladies from the local university. Duke Devlin was doing magic tricks with neon dice and a red cup. The ladies were no doubt enticed by his speed with the trick. His eyes seemed to be glowing the dark as he darted his gaze from left to right making sure every one of the girls was watching. He held his dice under a girl's chin. She giggled and blew on them for good luck before Duke began his trick.

"Show off," said Mai. "Come on, let's go before he sees us. Téa, why don't you find us a booth upstairs. I'm going to the ladies' room."

"Huh? Okay," said Téa. "Come on, Serenity."

As Mai departed for the bathroom, Téa took Serenity into the darkness of the club. Only dark blue neon and bright green lasers lit their way. The stairs were even lined with dark blue neon and night lights in the shape of dice. Serenity kept a firm grip on Téa's purse as they climbed the stairs. It spiraled up to the fourth floor, the most exclusive part of the club where a Dueling Arena was kept. Téa paid a hefty amount of Star Chips to get them into a booth all the way at the corner where a fountain spewing glowing blue water was perched and shaded the two friends in turquoise. Serenity scooted to the right till she rubbed against the wall.

Téa did the same. When she got comfortable she took off her purse and set it on the table. She opened it and took out her phone to text Yugi.

Serenity looked around the club nervously. She heard cheers over the music and the blast of a direct attack from a Duel upstairs. Thankfully there was a lamp at the center of the table which Téa quickly turned on. Despite the keypad on her phone was glowing, it was still pretty hard to see anything.

"Anything from Yugi?" Serenity asked.

Téa responded with a quick shrug. Her dress sparkling like a thousand stars. "Nothing," she responded. "That big jerk. I know you're on a very important mission, but can you at least talk to us?"

A waitress in a skimpy bunny outfit arrived and handed the two girls large glasses of apple martinis on the house. "Treats from Mr. Duke Devlin," she said, setting a third for Mai. "He says he's heartbroken you didn't say hi."

"Oh," said Serenity. "I guess he did see us."

Téa laughed. "Tell him we're sorry. We just need a little time to ourselves."

The waitress bowed. "I'll let him know right away." She turned and left.

Mai came back, quickly finding their booth and sitting down. She sat next to Serenity and took her glass. "Cheers," she said holding it up. "To Us."

"To Termnnia," said Serenity.

"To the safe return of Prince Yuri," said Téa.

The clinked their glasses together and drank. Mai removed her leather jacket to reveal her wine-red gown with a plunging neckline that revealed the swell of her breasts. A black choker with a tag shaped like the sigil of her House hung around her neck. She took a long gulp of her apple martini. "Where did these come from?"

"Duke sent them to us," said Serenity.

"Uh oh," said Mai. "Careful, he might have spiked it with Thrill."

"What's that?" Serenity asked. She looked at Téa who had a very stern look on her face, a sign she did not approve of Mai's statement.

"Thrill is a powerful drug that's been plaguing the streets," Téa explained. "It boosts you full of energy and fogs your mind. It targets the pleasure centers of your brain thereby causing you to go nuts. You start to do things to boost your need for excitement. In other words, you're looking for a thrill, hence the name. But Duke would never do that."

"It's was a joke," Mai said in agitation. She set her glass down. "Geez, Téa, have a sense of humor."

"Hasn't anyone done anything to stop it?" Serenity asked.

"Tried to," said Téa. "You can't really stop something that is loved by good-paying users. Many clubs around Domino have been shut down because their owners would force their bartenders to spike the drinks of girls with the stuff. It would make them go wild. I recently read in the papers that Prince Michael was attending a club downtown for his birthday. To his shock, there was a group of girls having an orgy right there on the dance floor. Being the gentlemen that he is, he didn't approve and launched an investigation right then, right there. Turns out the girls were drugged out of their minds with Thrill. The club owner was severely punished."

"How severely?" Serenity asked.

"Michael summoned his Terrorking Archfiend to cut off his head live on the news for all to see. And as a warning to any club owners who are stupid enough to want to spike anyone's drinks again. Needless to say, it worked, because I haven't heard about any Thrill-related news since the execution."

Serenity smiled and gave a sharp "Ha!" She sipped her apple martini. "Good. Oh, Goddesses, that's sick! How can anyone do such a thing?"

"Dunno," said Mai, stirring her drink.

"There's nothing in there, Mai," said Téa. "Duke's many things, but he's not a creep."

Mai smiled. "I know." She flipped up the menus on the table. "So, what are you ladies interested in eating tonight? Order up, 'cause it's on me."

"Wow!" said Serenity. "Thanks, Mai. You're the best."

"Hey, yeah," said Téa. "What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"

Mai smiled and finished the last of her drink. "I'm just happy. After eighteen years away from us, our little baby boy comes back."

"Aww," said Serenity. "Yeah, just a few more months and Yuri comes home." She chuckled. "I see his little nickname has become very popular. Little Daveed is now Yuri. I kind of like it. It matches with Yugi almost. The King of Termnnia and the King of Games. I can't wait for Yugi to teach Yuri how to play."

"Uh-uh," said Mai. "If anyone's going to teach Yuri to be a champ, it's me! I have more credentials as a Duelist."

Téa rolled her eyes. "Says the woman who lost in both the Duelist Kingdom and the Battle City Tournaments."

Mai shrugged. "Those don't count. I felt bad for little Yugi and Joey, so I went easy on them and let them win."

"Sure," said Serenity.

"Go ahead and laugh it up, you doubting Thomases, but my deck is all set up for the new Pendulums."

"A little late, don't you think?" said Serenity. "I mean the new Link Format is booming."

"Link Format?" said Mai.

"Looks like you've been in the old world for too long," said Serenity. "You haven't heard about Yugi's latest protege? His name's Yusaku. Industrial Illusions has chosen him to be the official poster boy for Link Summoning because of his work at school. He's amazing."

"We'll see," said Mai. "Say, after dinner, any of you ladies in for a match?"

"You mean Duel Monsters?" Téa's face lit up. She clasped her hands together in eagerness. "It's what I wanted to do all day! I want to try out my new Heralds. Yugi gave them to me before he departed north."

"Well..." Serenity said rubbing her chin. "I guess I do need a head start on my Red-Eyes. I mean, if Joey can use them, how bad can they be?"

Téa snickered. "You poking fun at that knucklehead for a brother, Serenity?" She asked, to which Serenity haunched her shoulders cutely and placed her finger on her bottom lip.

They ordered their food and talked about this and that, mostly what they were going to do when Yuri came back to Termnnia. No doubt all of them were going to teach him since they each landed positions as teachers at Duelist Academy for the sake of being with Yuri. Poor Yugi had to pull a lot of strings with Chancellor Sheppard, the ruler of the Duel Islands and headmaster of Duelist Academy. Yugi said that if it wasn't for their star status for their heroism in the Battle of Rassay, the task would have been impossible.

Once they finished with their meals, Mai led them both upstairs all the way to the fifth floor where the arenas were held. Already there were many Duels taking place. There was a brash young Duelist who played a well-constructed Raid Raptor Deck. He pummeled his last opponent and called it a night before he headed out of the club and into the night. The arenas were open again. Now it was time for Duelists to search for an opponent. However, that was hard to do when the only ones the other players wanted to fight were Mai Valentine and her friends. As soon as the three ladies entered the floor, all eyes darted on them.

Mai Valentine the Delight of Termnnia. Téa Gardner, Princes of Gardenrealm, and Serenity Wheeler the sister of Ser Joey the Red-Eyes Dragon Knight.

"Duel me!"

No, Duel me! I'm the former intercontinental champion!"

"Duel me!"

Duke Devlin brashly came up the stairs after he heard the commotion from his booth. "Gentlemen, gentlemen," he said. "And ladies."

"Hey, Duke," said Serenity.

"Serenity, how's my former hard-boiled love doing?"

Serenity smirked. "You're still going on about our former relationship, Duke?"

Duke shrugged confidently and defiantly. "Those were the best years of my life," he said. "Your kisses were as sweet as candy. And you were pretty good in the sack, I must say."

"Serenity!" said Mai, blushing red.

"Don't listen to him," Serenity said with a shake of her head. "Nothing happened between us like that."

"Still," said Duke. "Our breakup was the worst thing I've ever experience. Did you leave because you thought were too cool for me? You changed after Prince Marcel gave you those Red-Eyes Black Dragons."

"Duke, I don't want to talk about this right now. I just want to Duel."

"And Duel you shall," said Duke. "I just so happen to have some opponents for you girls to face. They're some of my best players from the shop I own downtown. What do you say? Three-on-three."

Duke's Duelists lined up in front of him as if on cue. They were young and well-dressed for the club. All of them of the Eldori race, donning wild and crazy hairstyles, as was common with those of the toon folk.

"What do you say?" Mai asked her friends. "I think all of us kicking butt at the same time could be quite fun."

Téa pumped up her fist. "Yeah, I'm game."

"So am I," said Serenity. "You're on Duke."

The six Duelists took their places on a Dueling Arena with a lit-up LED floor changing colors in smooth and graceful waves. Mai started first. She summoned Harpie Harpist and cast the spell, Ties of the Brethren. She paid 2000 Life Points and summoned Barrier Statue of Stormwinds and Harpie Channeler. She set two cards to face down and ended her turn.

Serenity started after the first opponent ended his turn. He was using a clever deck made of clown monsters. On the field, he had a Crass Clown and Dream Clown in defense mode.

Serenity played Red-Eyes Fusion and summoned Meteor Black Comet Dragon, startling everyone in the club, who thought Serenity was going to summon something cute and fluffy, a stereotype for all female Duelists. Many chauvinistic players assumed that girls would be wielding female monsters, adorable fairies, and woodland creatures. But something as fierce and rare and Meteor Black Comet Dragon was unsettling. Serenity Wheeler stood there in a short white party gown and a pink bow in her hair, with the fifty-foot monster hovering above her in a flaming fury. It seemed so out of place, especially for Duke, Mai, Téa, and anyone else who knew Serenity well.

A long time ago, she did summon fairies and cute creatures. Those days were long gone, and she was quite keen on showing everyone that she was not a girl to be fucked with anymore.

****

**Meteor Black Comet Dragon**

**ATK/3500 DEF/2000 LV 8**

Téa looked at the beast in sheer terror and wonder. "Goddesses, Serenity! Where did you get that!?"

"Who cares," said Mai. "I'm just glad that thing is on our side!"

Soon it was Téa's turn.

"I play the Spell-Card: Advanced Ritual Art! With this card, I can Ritual Summon by sending Normal monsters from my deck to the Graveyard whose total level equals that of my monster." She sent her two monsters away and summoned her ultimate monster. "Come forth, and bring us victory with your radiant light. I Ritual Summon Herald of Ultimateness!"

**Herald of Ultimateness**

**ATK/2000 DEF/3000 LV 12**

****

"You ladies are outshining me now," said Mai, looking up at the new monster. "No pun intended."

Herald of Ultimateness was glowing with multi-colored lights sprouting all over his sleek white frame that was trimmed in gold. His clear wings were glowing in all the colors of the rainbow.

The opponents could not do much with Herald of Ultimateness on the field. If they so much as activated a spell or attempted a Special Summon, Téa could discard a fairy monster from her hand and cancel out their activation.

Mai's turn. She summoned a Harpie Harpist and then Xyz Summoned Lightning Chidori, one of her newest monsters.

A few turns later, Duke's Duelists had summoned powerhouses of their own (Téa only had so many fairies in her hand after all). Master of Oz ( **ATK of 4200** ). Fiendish Engine Omega **(ATK 2700** ), and a Sengengin ( **ATK/2750** ).

The monsters clashed with each other violently during the battle phases, none of them destroying one another due to the traps and spells each player activated to keep their monsters safe and powered up. Meteor Black Comet Dragon went claw to claw with Fiendish Engine Omega. They rolled and tumbled across the field, meanwhile Mai did everything in her power to keep Téa's Herald of Ultimateness from being pummeled by Sengenjin. Her Harpie's Pet Dragon, powered up by three Harpies on the field could easily stand against the brutish beast. He swung his hammer, attempting to crush the dragon's skull, until Mai activated a trap she decided to use as a last resort.

Mirror Wall. Sengenjin golden hammer slammed against the crystalized wall thereby reducing his ATK in half. Harpie's Pet Dragon flew over the wall and bathed the weak monster in flames.

ARRGH! Grunted Sengenjin, and he shattered into a thousand pieces. Serenity took her chance next turn and wiped out the rest of his Life Points. Soon, the other Duelists followed suit. Duke watched in amazement, rolling a lock of his hair around his finger. "Not bad," he said. "Not bad at all. And this is why Lord Gabriele and Lady Luthia chose them to be Prince Daveed's guardians. A big hand for my friends everyone. Aren't they lovely?"

The club roared with applause. Duke pointed his finger in the air and spun his wrist, signaling the DJ to crank up the music. It was party time.

"Phew," said Serenity. Her monsters vanished. "I don't know about you guys, but I think I'm up for a dance."

Mai put her arms around her friends and kissed them both in the cheek with a long, wet, sloppy kiss. "I love you guys," she said. "Let's make sure Yuri is as every bit as good as us when it's time for him to Duel."

"Oh, we're going to teach him alright," said Téa. "There is no way I'm letting Yugi and the guys teach him everything. They don't know how to Duel like us."

Mai let them go and headed for the dance floor. "Come on, let's party, ladies. I think that's enough Duel Monsters for one night."

* * *

**Joey**

* * *

"There it is at last," Joey said, leaning against a pole of the tavern's front porch as a caravan carrying precious cargo approached them from the Silver Road, which cut through the Milkwalk Forest. He started counting them. "Ya gotta be kidding me," he said. "Nine wagons? Nine wagons full of gold just for Prince Yuri?"

"Must have been one rich dragon horde," said Tristan, sitting on a rock as he polished the rust off his chainmail. "Your sister and Mai scare he crap out of me by the way."

"It was no dragon," Joey said with a scoff. "It was just a horny, young wyvern looking for a mate.

Tristan did his best to conceal his chortle. "Is that jealousy I detect in your voice, Joey?"

"Blah, blah, blah," said Joey. "Come on, Tristan. Our time here is over. Yuri's money is here."

"It's about time," said Tristan, getting up from the rock. "I'll go get Duke."

Joey cringed. "Take my word for it, man. You don't want to disturb him. He's...indisposed at the moment." He heard a woman screech with pleasure from a room three floors above him.

"Thanks for the heads up," said Tristan, sitting back down with a face of disgust creasing his face. "So, think Yuri will be set with all this gold?"

"He's set up for life with this fortune," said Joey, walking to one of the wagons. He opened the door to look upon the treasures Mai and his sister discovered in the cave of the wyvern they slew. Chests of gold with precious gems, and jewelry. And sacks upon sacks of gold coins of all shapes and sizes with barrels of Star Chips. "Yuri," Joey whispered. "You deserve this, man."


	25. Sleep

**Yuri**

* * *

"Here we go," Yuri thought standing outside the door to Patty's mansion, although by the architecture, it looked like a compound of glass, steel, and concrete. The aquatic garden, though a lovely sight, did not do much to deter the dullness of the building. He took a deep breath, hoping Patty's father would not answer the door. He was 'nice' when the Prince of Aquarius visited, but he smelled of alcohol and marijuana. He rang the doorbell this time. He heard Max barking from down the hall and the sound of footsteps coming towards the door.

The chains rattled and the locks clicked. The door opened, thankfully it was neither one of Patty's parents, but Patty herself. However, her attire made Yuri very uneasy. She wore a long black sweater with the letters NSFW written in pink plastic letters on the front. And that was it. Patty chewed sweet-smelling bubble gum as she gave Yuri an awkward look.

"So, you gonna come in or what?" she asked.

Yuri cleared his throat. "You got nothing under that sweater, do you?" he asked.

Patty blew a bubble with her gum. She popped it and brought it back into her mouth. "Just panties, what else do I need?"

"Is this a bad time? I can always come back later."

"Stop being so ridiculous," Patty said, grabbing Yuri by his wrist and dragging him in. He yelped as he was brought inside. Patty shut the door behind him, and locked it tight, as though she had taken Yuri as his prisoner. The mansion smelled so dull and clean, with a hint of mothballs from the closet, mixed with a fruity scent of pink champagne coming from a diffuser on the table by the door.

"Shoes off, please," said Patty. Yuri did as he was told, and left his shoes on a white towel by the door. Max scampered around at their feet, barking to get attention.

"Hey, Max," Yuri said, kneeling down to pet him. "How you been buddy?"

Max whined and licked Yuri's hands, wagging his little tail like crazy. "Come on, you silly goose," Patty said picking up her puppy. She kissed him loudly and repeatedly. "Yuri and I have work to do. We can play later, okay?" Max licked her neck and the bottom of her chin. "Yuri," Patty said as she went down another hall. "Go ahead and make yourself comfortable in the kitchen. I'm going to take Max outside so he can pee, speaking of which I gotta go, too. We got soda and chips in the pantry closet. Help yourself."

"Uh, thanks," Yuri said, heading for the kitchen. The walls were made of glass, offering a view of the central island's skyline and Phobos Tower. And the pool as well, with its waters in a crisp and cool shade of light blue. A fountain was in the center, as well as a jacuzzi that overlooked the bay behind her home. Yuri took off his backpack and sat down on the kitchen table with a very modern design. A lantern with sphered chandelier of capiz crystal hung over it, reflecting perfectly on the glossy black surface.

Patty came back moments later with her things to work on their project about Macbeth. "I don't understand Shakespeare at all, man. He has to make his characters speak in such long and complex sentences just to express their feelings. Lady Macbeth went on and on just to say: _Give me courage_."

"It's not hard to understand," Yuri said, opening his textbook. The reflections of the water in the pool outside danced on the ceiling.

Patty ruffled his hair. "Yeah, well, you're a literature nerd, I'm not. Do you want anything, Yuri?"

"I'm good for now," he replied, searching his backpack for a pencil.

"Well, I'm parched," Patty said. She went for a cabinet high up over the counter to get a glass. As she went on the tips of her toes, her sweater lifted. Yuri pulled on the collar of his shirt as her black undergarments came into view. There was a message written in white that said: **No Free Rides**.

He coughed and looked away.

"Is everything all right, Yuri?" Patty asked, feeling around for a cup.

"It's fine," he coughed. I knew I should have brought Nick and the others. "So, uh, we're not going to be expecting your parents any time soon, are we?"

"Nah," Patty said, opening the closet to find herself a can of orange soda. She opened it and chugged down a little before going to the table and pouring it into her cup. "They just finished their business, if you know what I mean. So, they'll be out for a few hours."

"I see," Yuri said.

When their paper was done, the sun had finally set behind the horizon, and the lights of the city began to twinkle across the water. The two friends breathed in relief and leaned back on their chairs.

"I'd thought we'd never get that done," Patty groaned.

"Me neither," Yuri said, examining his pencil, now smaller than his thumb from all the sharpening he did. "This should keep your grades up in class."

"Great!" Patty said. "So wanna go somewhere?"

"It's getting kind of late, don't you think?"

"It's only six o 'clock," said Patty. She leaned forward. "Or does little Yuri have a bedtime?"

Yuri stared at the girl, narrowing his eyes. "You really like to push people's buttons, don't you? Besides, it's going to cost us a lot of money to use their machines. Sixty bucks per person, plus the fee we have to pay to get to the central island."

Patty laughed and leaned back on her chair. "The Prince of Aquarius worrying about too much money." She put her head down on the table and pounded it with her fist. "I love this guy."

"You know I run on a very strict allowance," said Yuri. "But if you want to go so bad, I guess we can do something. Let me check my bank account real quick."

"You go do that," Patty said, getting up from her chair. She stretched. "So, what's the damage?"

Yuri ignored her while going through his passwords and key codes to unlock the information to his account. Meanwhile, Patty picked up their trash from the table. Finally, Yuri was able to log in. He clicked on the link to his checking, and what he saw astonished him. His eyes went wide like saucers; his mouth went dry, and his heart was beating like a war drum. The sound he made when he saw the sum in his account caused Patty to worry. She dropped the trash on the floor, gasping.

"Yuri? You okay? What happened?"

Yuri tried to speak, but the back of his throat was dry. "Nothing," he managed to croak.

Patty was not very pleased with that response. Yuri heard her hands slapping her thighs out of frustration, followed by a few choice words. "Nothing!" she repeated. "Oh my God, asshole! Are you serious? I could have been killed!"

Yuri turned to look at her, finding her remark very dramatic. "Killed? How?"

"I don't know," Patty said, bending down to pick up the trash. "I could have slipped or something. What is it? Are you that broke?"

Broke? No, no, no. Yuri was far from it. His eyes were still glued to the sum. **Hello Yuri.** **Your account balance is: $16,000,035. 87**

"So are we good to go out, or what?" Patty asked.

"We...we are good," said Yuri. "Just uh...do me a favor and don't keep us out too late. You're in trouble enough as it is at school for sleeping in class."

Patty rolled her eyes. "Yuri," she said opening the lower cabinet door and pulling out the trash can. "I'm not in any trouble."

"Are you kidding?" Yuri said, growing rather impatient with her obliviousness to her situation with the teachers. "Mrs. Perizow forced you to stay after school because you fell asleep in class."

"Yeah, I still feel it," Patty said, rubbing her bottom. "She got me good."

Yuri slammed his fist on the table. "Patty, this is serious!"

"Will you calm your ass down?" Patty almost shouted. "Fine, we won't stay out too late if you're that worried. For God's sake. We'll stay out in town until ten."

"Eight," said Yuri. "After that, we head home."

"Eight?" Patty whined. "But that only leaves us two hours, Yuri. Be a man. Have some fun for once in your life."

"We're staying out until eight," said Yuri. "And that's final."

Patty, again, gave a roll of her eyes. "Fine. Fine. We'll stay out until eight."

"Good," said Yuri. "I don't want any problems at school tomorrow."

* * *

"Shall I repeat the question again, Ms. McKnight," the geometry teacher said sternly. His arms crossed over his chest, and he tapped his foot on the ground.

"Patty, wake up!" Nick said, shaking his friend from her sleep.

"You didn't go home after we parted, did you?" Yuri asked.

"Oh…huh?" Patty said, raising her head from her arms. She blushed, feeling her sleeves moist and the corner of her mouth was dripping with saliva. The class laughed out loud at her misfortune.

The teacher shook his head. His face went red, and his foot tapped in more impatient rhythm. "Pamela, see me after class."

"Yes, sir," Patty said, looking down at her lap.

The bell rang, signaling their math period was over. The students stood up from their seats and dashed out the door for lunch, ignoring the teacher's announcement for a pop quiz later that week.

"She's such a skank," one of the girls said passing over Patty. "I saw her walk into The Red Rose last night. That place is for hoes."

"No wonder none of the guys will go out with her," the girl's friend said, following her out of the classroom.

"I know! Seriously, what does Yuri see in her anyway?"

Yuri rubbed Patty's back, trying to comfort her when he saw her eyes glistening. She tightened her grip on her sleeves and grunted, trying to hold back her agony. Yuri told her not to listen to them, but his words were interrupted when the geometry teacher told him to leave. His talk with her was going to be private, and very stern. In a vain attempt to make her feel better, Yuri chuckled and told Patty to be glad it wasn't Mrs. Perizow who kept her after class. Patty said nothing, keeping her head down in shame. "Leave, Yuri," the teacher said, and then threatened him with detention if he didn't do as he was told.

Yuri apologized and walked out of the classroom. He heard the teacher yell at Patty behind him as he went down the hallway to join his friends by their lockers to put their math books away.

"That's the sixth time she's fallen asleep in class," Carter said, banging his locker open with his fist. "At this rate, Patty's going to be held back a year."

"Oh, don't be ridiculous," Yuri said, putting away his books. "It's only the second month. She's most likely to get suspended."

Nick reminded Yuri that a suspension would do damage to her record as well, to which Yuri pursed his lips and remained quiet until he gathered what he needed for the next lessons. "I heard she got a new job," Nick said, following his friends to the cafeteria.

"Two, actually," Tyson said, finding a place to sit by the window with a beautiful view of the ocean and the skyline. On the beach below, the students of a special club were having a pizza party making Nick awfully hungry, and jealous. Being a stowaway from Los Angeles Rojos, Consuelo could not afford to pay for the expensive foods they served at the school. All he could afford was two sticks of garlic bread and an apple.

"What do you mean she works two jobs?" Yuri asked. He slid off his backpack and sat down on the bench of their table before taking his lunch out. "Patty never told me she's working two jobs."

Natalya, who had beaten them to the table, was reading her book. She peered over the cover towards Tyson and, shook her head.

Tyson nervously yanked on his tie, coughing and clearing his throat. His erratic behavior told the boys he was hiding something. He knew they suspected something of him, and the awkward silence they gave him along with their vulture-like stares eventually broke him into telling the truth.

"Before summer vacation ended, I saw Patty was being bullied by some jerk. I intervened and punched his lights out because it got physical. He was grabbing her, pushing her, calling her names. I figured she was having herself some bad romance, so I wanted to help. Well, it turns out that this guy was her boss's son. She told me she was working a shift at both Burger World and the Blue Crab Shack near the waterfront of Enron Island."

"Oh, Tyson," Natalya sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration.

"I knew it!" Nick said, pounding his fist on the table. "Consuelo took me and Sam out for dinner last week. The manager turned out to prejudice against us stowaways and forced us to leave."

"The waterfront's not a nice place in general," Carter said with a sigh. "That's where all the workers and traders from the mainland and pretty much other non-citizens work and hang out."

"How did Patty not get fired after you punched the lights out of his son?" Yuri asked.

Tyson rubbed his head and groaned. He was saying too much, but Yuri, Nick, and Carter loved Patty too much to be left out of the loop. "She had to pull some special 'favors' with the boss's son to keep her job. Don't ask me what they are."

"You don't need to say anymore," said Carter, he put his lunch away, having lost his appetite at the news. "I already get the idea. Now I know why the girls keep calling her a slut and stuff. Why didn't she tell the rest of us?"

"She wanted to keep it a secret," Tyson replied, taking a small bite of his sandwich.

Yuri nodded slowly, finally understanding everything that was going on with her online. "It makes sense to me now. Her profile went dark all of a sudden. Could it have something to do with that?"

"You are correct," said Natalya. "I knew about Patty working multiple jobs long before Tyson did. She trusts me a little more; It's a girl thing, okay? Yuri, you say Patty hasn't updated in months, correct? Well, take a look at this."

Natalya showed him her phone. What Yuri saw broke his heart. Patty was still very active, despite her telling him months ago that she no longer bothered to use her profile. He saw her with her other friends at bars, no doubt sneaking in with a fake ID; at the beach, in the arms of boys Yuri had never seen before; and dancing at the beach around a bonfire. There was another of her at a club, laying on a table laughing as she let a man twice her age drink a shot from her belly. The last was a photo of her smiling with her new boss in a raunchy outfit while in the kitchen at the Blue Crab Shack, welcoming Patty on her first shift. Many of the posts on her Message Board were very crude, with conversations of drinking late at night, thanks for special favors, and being part of a young man's group of 'sister wives'.

"Most of these are recent," said Nick, looking at the dates. "And judging by these icons, she has these photos and posts set to close friends only. I haven't seen any of this before, so most likely she blocked us or something."

"Woof," said Tyson. "Patty went all out since turning eighteen."

"She lied to me," said Yuri. "It makes sense to me now. It wasn't that she was bored with her account, she was hiding her double life from us." He slammed his fist on the table. "She promised us she changed! She promised!"

"She lied to all of us, Yuri," Carter said sadly. "This is a shame is what it is. After everything we've done for her. She called us brothers. She called us her greatest treasure. The only family she ever had. And THIS is how she repays us? By wandering off with another crowd? So what, are we not good enough for her anymore? Does she think she's so much cooler than us because she goes to all these parties and fancy places?"

"Calm down, will you?" Natalya said, putting her phone away. "Patty's going to kill me when she finds out I told you guys. She wanted me to keep this a secret from you."

"What for?" Nick asked. "Why would she want to slave away working three jobs when she has all that money?"

Natalya looked at him with a disgruntled look. "Well, if you paid more attention to Patty instead of her ass, you would know her father is a horrible man. He won't even lend Patty a nickel for the ferry. And with us graduating soon she decided to save up to go to some art school designed by Phobos Corp."

"My older sister goes there," said Carter. "Now I see why Patty wants a head start. The tuition is like fifty-thousand."

"Wow," said Nick. "Think of all the cards I could get with that amount of money!"

"Is there anything in that head of yours that doesn't revolve around cards?" Yuri asked, sitting beside Tyson.

"Hmm, let me see," Tyson said, making an O with his hand and peering through it like a telescope. "Nope, it's empty."

"Screw you guys," Nick said, tossing his backpack under the table. "I'm getting more food." He stomped for the lunch line, hoping to get a bag of chips.

Carter slapped the table with his palm. Patty was coming down the escalator to the cafeteria. She tossed a quarter she found on the floor into the fountain. A few girls having lunch there pointed and laughed at her. Patty folded her arms and hunched her shoulders to keep out of their view.

"Shh, here she comes!" said Natalya. "Not a word about this, please."

"Well, well, well," said Tyson, acting a little more gleeful to hide the horrible things he saw from Patty's other life. "If it isn't sleeping beauty."

"Laugh it up, Tyson," Patty said, throwing her backpack on the table. She sat next to Yuri, and for some odd reason took his hand into hers and squeezed it with all her might. Yuri felt himself getting warm. She felt her fingers, gently rub the back of his.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"So how did it go with Mr. Stone?" Carter asked, taking a meager lunch out of his backpack.

"Detention. Just. My. Luck." Patty said, slamming her fist on the table.

Yuri felt her grip growing tighter over his hand. He wanted to respect her privacy, but he just cared about her way too much to let her live in such a way. He had to speak up. Hopefully, she would listen to him. He mustered all the courage he had and said: "I heard you got two more jobs."

"Ah, Tyson," Patty said, giving her friend a deadly stare. "Is it just me or does word travel fast around here?"

"Sorry," said Tyson.

"We also know you've been keeping things from us on Life," Carter added.

Patty looked at Natalya. "I trusted you!" she said, slamming her hand hard on the table. "This is why I don't bother telling anyone anything! Everyone has to come up on me and start lecturing me about what's right and what's not like I was a little baby or something."

"This isn't healthy," said Yuri. "You'll work yourself to death."

"I'll do whatever it takes to get out of this island of misery," Patty said, putting her head down.

Yuri looked at Tyson who shrugged in compliance.

"If you keep sleeping through class, you're likely not going to graduate," Carter said, hoping to get through to her. Unfortunately for him, that wasn't something Patty hadn't heard before.

"I have to do this," said Patty.

"Even if it means repeating the year?" said Carter.

"Patty," Nick said, coming out of the lunch line. His tray piled with fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn. "Yuri, did you slip me this hundred, bro?"

Yuri smiled and shrugged. "Eat up," he said.

"Thanks, man." Nick sat down.

"Hey, Nick," Patty said with a yawn.

"Hey, Patty. Do you want to meet up at Ruby Dragon after school and play Duel Monsters?" Nick asked.

"Sorry, I got detention."

"Sleeping in class is only an hour's worth," said Nick. "We'll still be there after…"

"I have to go to work!" Patty said, slightly raising her voice.

"Calm down, Patty; I was just…."

"I'm sorry, guys, I…I gotta go," she picked up her things.

"But, Patty…." Nick started. But it was too late. She dashed out of the cafeteria, running up the escalators and out of sight.

* * *

When she was clear from view, Patty quickly ran to the girl's bathroom. She looked around. No one was using it. The bathroom was all hers. Good. She slid off her backpack and stared at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were red with sleep. The bags underneath were turning a darker shade of purple. She even saw her skin, once a vibrant shade of cream was now turning pale. _Carter is right_ , she thought. If she slept in class any longer, she would inevitably fail.

She opened the breast pocket of her blazer, then furiously took out her Zera the Mant card. She set it on the sink behind the faucet.

"You..." she said. She started pacing back and forth across the bathroom. "I never should have listened to you!" She laughed at herself for saying that. She raised her arms in disbelief. "Listen to me. Listen to me. I'm taking orders from a damn card!" She laughed again, banging her head against the pink-tiled wall. "I've gone nuts. Oh yeah, oh yeah. I've gone nuts. It's gotta be the drugs you told me to take."

She gasped. She went quiet as if she was listening to something.

"No, no, no!" she shouted. "I did everything you told me to do. Everything. I literally turned myself into a skank just to show you I am an obedient girl. That I'm worthy of your power. That I'm worthy of you visiting me in my dreams." Patty got on her knees, clasping her hands together as if she was begging the card to listen to her. "I love it when you visit me. I love the things you do to me. I feel so alive when you visit me. You make me feel like I have a purpose. That I mean something. I've done everything you asked of me."

 _And you're doing marvelous, my dear._ A Strange, demonic voice slithered through Patty's brain. The lights in the bathroom flickered.

"It sure as hell doesn't feel like it," Patty whispered, breathing heavily. "I've done everything you asked me to. You were right about the results and I'm grateful." She tore her gaze away from the card. "I got my parents off my back, and I was able to find the man of my dreams, but the sex, the drugs, the long nights in the city. How are they helping me? Also, you telling me to hide all that stuff on my profile is making me lose my friends. They found out what I did, and now they're mad at me. You never said I was going to lose my friends."

The lights flickered again, this time even more feverishly.

_You asked me to help you. And help you, and help you I shall. As for your friends, I'd be careful not to get to close to them if I were you, Pamela. It's you caring too much that got you into this mess in the first place. Remember, you sold your soul to me to save the life of that boy you so loved. And how does this mongrel repay you? By running off with some twat halfway across the world, and leaving you without a word. That is not what a faithful servant of mine deserves. Your friends are doubting, yes; that is a very sad predicament. But it says a lot about them if a few pictures online being hidden from their view determines their friendship with you. Doesn't it?_

"I..." Patty began.

_Sacrifices must be made, but I assure you, if you follow my instructions to a T, you will get everything you've ever wanted. All that you ask will fall to your lap. And all of your dreams will come true._

"But what do you want me to do?" Patty asked, bashing her fists against the sink. "How is this behavior going to help me get those things? It's only making me feel worse. It's making everyone I care about turn away from me."

_You are a fool if you believe those you love will show you the same love in return. Time and time again, you tell those fools how much you care for them. How much they mean to you. And yet they never show gratitude for that love, do they? What's worse is they do nothing to help you when your time is darkest. Yuri has all the money in the world, but does he even lend a penny to help you finance your dreams for school? Nicholas ogles you like a common whore. Tyson ruins your chances with his interference, and Carter forgets you even exist sometimes._

"You're right," Patty surrendered. "What do I have to do now?"

 _I will tell you all you need to know, my dear. Be a good girl, and I will visit you tonight._ Patty nodded and panted like an excited dog. _Good girl. Now, take your medicine. Your next class is about to start, and we don't want you falling asleep again, do we_

"I won't fail," Patty said to her reflection. She unzipped her backpack and took out a white bottle with no label. She unscrewed the top and shook the bottle until two small green pills fell onto her hand.

"Just a few more months," she said to herself. "I can make it."

She swallowed them with one gulp.

* * *

The final bell rang, and the students stampeded out of class and outside into the warm rays of the sun. Yuri sniffed the air. It was crisp, with just a dash of salt from the ocean on the other side of town and there were seagulls overhead circling above in the azure sky.

"Hey, Yuri!" Nick said, dashing in from behind him. "We're going to the Ruby Dragon. Want to play?"

"Oh, I'll be going alright," said Yuri. "But not to play."

"You gotta work?" Tyson asked.

"Sorry," Yuri said with a heavy sigh.

"See you there then," Nick called. "We're going to Carter's house to get his deck."

Yuri grinned, watching his friends leave. He then heard a commotion behind him. He saw Patty being followed by a pretentious young fellow.

"I said I'm not interested," Patty said ignoring him. The butterfly on her choker dangled from side to side with every movement she made.

"Aw, come on babe. It's beautiful weather for the beach."

"I have things to do, Rick," Patty said again.

"No, you don't, baby. Come on let's go for a ride."

"You don't expect me to believe you have a car, do you? You don't even have a license."

"I wasn't talking about cars," Rick said, with a wink.

"Ugh," Patty said, ramming her palm on his chest. "You're revolting!"

"You have a problem hearing, sir?" Yuri said walking towards them. "I believe the lady told you to buzz off."

"Yuri?" Rick spat. "Why don't you do us both a favor and get lost."

"Hey, Yuri," Patty said walking towards him. But Rick grabbed her forearm in a vise-like grip.

"No, no. Hold on second. You can't just walk away from me."

"I can, and I just did," said Patty, yanking her arm free.

"Hold on a minute," Rick said, stroking his chin. "Yeah, I heard you defeated Randall Lawson, the regional champion, at the Duel Dome."

"That's old news," said Yuri.

Rick didn't seem phased by that. "I'm a good Duelist myself," he bragged. "And I know skill when I see it. You lose almost every game here at school. There's no way you could have beaten a champion like Lawson. Admit it, Yuri, you must have cheated."

"He defeated Lawson fair and square," said Patty. "I saw the match from start to finish with my own two eyes. Yuri won."

"I can't take your word for it. You seem to know Yuri well. How do I know you're not lying just to cover up this loser's cheating ways?"

Patty put her hands on her hips. "Why don't you and Yuri have a match to see if his victory against Lawson was skill or pure dumb luck? Go for it, Yuri. That Black Tyranno has to be one of the most powerful cards I have ever seen. I'm sure you can teach this creep a lesson."

"Fine, we'll Duel," said Rick. "I happened to rank tenth in the regionals last month. I can take you on."

"There's just one problem," said Yuri. "The Duel Dome is far on the other side of the island, and I've got work in a couple of hours."

"You ever heard of a table, Yuri?" Patty asked, shaking her head.

"The kid wants to Duel in style," said Rick. "Well, so do I. And you're in luck because Phobos Corp just built a Dueling arena in town for easy access to the students around this part of the island chain. Why don't we have our match there?"

Yuri scratched his head. "I forgot about that one. They finished building it already? Okay, then, it's a Duel."

Rick obnoxiously sneered. "Good. But if I win, Patty goes on a date with me?"

Patty gulped nervously as she looked down at Yuri.

* * *

They left the school grounds and walked into town towards the new arena already packed with Duelists young and old, eager to try the Dueling platforms, once used for championship tournaments, but were now for everyone to use for affordable prices. Yuri and Rick paid their fee and found an empty arena to play in. It was not as big as the stadium in the Duel Dome, but it was still large enough to seat two hundred people.

There was a scoreboard above the arena to display their 2000 Life Points.

"You're going to regret accepting my challenge!" sneered Rick. "I'm going to prove today that you're nothing a but a no-good cheater. And, I'm about to head to into town with the girl of my dreams."

He winked at Patty, who was leaning on the bronzed rail over the arena. She glared at him and growled.

"For my opening move," Rick said slapping his card down. "Mountain Warrior!"

The field started glowing. The projection system finally rendered the monster to the field. It was a green-furred giant in bronzed armor with a green skirt and wielding a wooden club. He snarled at Yuri and beat his chest, as he was ready for battle. Yuri took off his school blazer and tied it around his waist. He loosened his tie to let himself breathe a little easier. He Dueled using holograms before, but he was still getting used to seeing life-like monsters glaring at him.

**Mountain Warrior**

**ATK/600 DEF/1000**

Rick tapped on the card, impressed by the holographic form of the monster in front of him. "All right, Yuri, hurry up so I can win this Duel and go on my date!"

"Don't make your dinner plans just yet," Yuri said drawing his card. "Cool," he said. Then he summoned his monster. "Ancient Lizard Warrior!" Yuri called out, summoning a two-legged lizard with green armored scales and three long, sharp claws on each hand. His face and underbelly were dark brown.

**Ancient Lizard Warrior**

**ATK/1400 DEF/1100**

"Attack, his Mountain Warrior!" Yuri commanded the reptilian monster. Ancient Lizard Warrior hissed then slapped its claws together, making sparks fly. It ran to the other side of the field and slashed the Mountain Warrior in the gut. The giant howled and disappeared.

Rick looked perplexed as his points dropped to **1200**.

"It looks like you got lucky, kid. But don't let it go to your head. I summon a monster in defense mode."

"Running scared already?" Patty laughed. "Go get him, Yuri!"

"Will, do," Yuri complied. "Ancient Lizard Warrior, attack his face-down monster!"

The lizard ran and hit his mark, but something grabbed him. A hideously deformed beast that was made up of three creatures. A stone body of a human with a blue serpent-like creature chewing on the head. The serpent's body made a creepy tail for the beast, and there was a dark-green monster on the back with glowing yellow eyes snickering as its stone-bodied host clutched onto the claws of the Ancient Lizard Warrior."

"What the?" said Yuri.

Rick laughed. "You ran into my Dark Artist."

"No harm was done," said Yuri. "That creature's defense and my lizard warrior's defense are equal. They don't get destroyed, and no damage gets taken."

"So you say," Rick said confidently. "From my hand; I play the quick-play spell known as The Reliable Guardian. This spell will boost the defense strength of my Dark Artist by seven hundred points this turn, bringing it up to twenty-one hundred. So now that his defense is stronger than your lizard's attack, you take damage to your Life Points. Seven hundred points may I add."

"Damn," said Yuri. The Dark Artist tossed Ancient Lizard Warrior back to his side of the field. The lizard warrior landed with an almighty bang and then Yuri's Life Points dropped to **1300**.

"You didn't think you could keep me down that easily did you?" Rick sneered. "You lost a good chunk of your points, and I didn't even have to do anything. Now it's my turn. I summon Minomushi Warrior!" Rick summoned a barbarian with a stone sword and wearing the hide of a beast. "And now I'll boost his strength with Invigoration, which will increase his attack to sixteen-hundred."

"Oh crap!" said Patty. "Now he's strong enough to beat his Ancient Lizard Warrior."

"Attack!" Rick commanded.

Minomushi Warrior gave a loud battle cry and charged forward, attacking Yuri's monster, slashing it in half. Yuri's points dropped to **1100**.

"Black Dragon Jungle King," Yuri said summoning the third strongest card in his deck. "Attack his Minomushi Warrior!"

With **2100** attack points, the dragon made quick work of the warrior. Rick snarled as his Life Points dropped to **700**. His hopes of going out with Patty were being dwindled with each attack. He took a heavy breath and drew his next card. What he saw when he lifted the card filled him with adrenaline. "All right, I just had about enough of you, Yuri. I summon a dragon of my own! I use my Polymerization to fuse Winged Dragon Guardian of the Fortress and Fairy Dragon together to form Kaiser Dragon!"

"Woah!" shouted Patty. "That thing is huge!"

The winged serpent-bodied dragon had scales of polished bronze and a fifty-foot wingspan. It had skinny arms and legs with sharp claws.

**Kaiser Dragon**

**ATK/2300 DEF/2000**

Rick snapped his fingers and pointed at Yuri's monster. "Okay, Kaiser Dragon, attack Yuri's Black Dragon Jungle King!" The dragon screeched like an eagle and fired a spiral of golden flames at Yuri's Black Dragon Jungle King. His monster roared in agony and disappeared. Yuri's Life Points dropped to **900**. "And to end my turn, I play a card face down."

"My turn," said Yuri. "Giga Gagagigo. He has enough points to tear your dragon to shreds."

Giga Gagagigo raised up his claws and darted for the dragon. With a mighty bound, he leaped up to where the dragon hovered, but Rick was fast and activated a trap.

"No, I don't think so, Yuri. I activate my trap card, Threatening Roar. Now I can stop your battle and save my dragon."

"Your turn, I guess," said Yuri. "But, I wouldn't let it go to your head. I will beat you!"

"Ooh, scary talk coming from a guy whose name means hot lesbian anime sex!"

"Yeah, you would know the meaning _that_ kind of Yuri." Patty cringed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oh wow, really? Wow," said Yuri. "Did you come up with that one all by yourself?"

"Aw, screw you, man, it was funny!" said Rick. "I draw. I will activate the spell card, Ancient Telescope. Now I get to see the top five cards on the top of your deck."

"Here," Yuri said picking them up and placing them on the interface so Rick could see them.

"Now let's see," Rick said looking at the cards. "Huh?" he gasped. "A Black Tyranno! So I guess it was true what they said about you. Look at that attack strength; and that effect. I could use a heavy hitter like him. And you're about to draw it on your next phase. No matter, after this power up, he'll be too weak to face my dragon. Because I equip him with Axe of Despair, boosting his attack to thirty-three-hundred. Now he's stronger than your Black Tyranno."

Patty gripped the rail even tighter. "What's worse is that now he's stronger than your Giga-whatever-the-hell-it's-called!"

"Yeah, you're right," said Rick. "Hope you like steak, Patty, because my Kaiser Dragon once again brings me closer to our date!" The dragon screeched and attacked Giga Gagagigo burning him to a crisp. Yuri's Life Points dropped to **550.** Rick smiled and rubbed his chin. "It's your move, Yuri. But nothing you got is stronger than my dragon. Give up your card, and the girl now so you can save yourself some embarrassment."

"I play Pot of Greed," Yuri called out. "I draw two cards. And now I summon my Black Tyranno!"

"YES!" Patty cheered, giving a joyful jump. Her heart raced as the prehistoric titan appeared on the field and roared at Rick.

"So what?" said Rick. "My dragon is still stronger than your Black Tyranno."

"Not for long he's not," said Yuri. "I'm going to decrease your dragon's with this card. Shrink. Now your dragon's attack is cut in half,"

Rick babbled in shock as his dragon's attack went from 3300 to 1650. Black Tyranno then ran to Kaiser Dragon and destroyed him with a heavy crunch, dealing 950 damage to Rick's Life Points, dropping them to 0.

"You did it!" Patty cried. "I don't believe it. Yuri won again!"

"You doubted me, Patty?"

"Well, no offense, Yuri. But you were one of the worst duelists I've ever seen. I only egged you on to play in this match just to see your Black Tyranno again. I knew you were going lose."

"So you wanted to go out with Rick?"

"You think I would've even if he'd won?" said Patty. "I was wrong, Yuri. I don't know what's going on, but, you're winning your games."

When the holograms shut off, Rick sadly sulked away in defeat. Patty and Yuri exited the arena and headed outside.

The doors of the arena were soundproof, but as Yuri and Patty went outside, their ears were bombarded with noise. Giant screens were displaying the matches in different arenas, and the arcade booths were loud.

"Way to go, Yuri," Patty said, placing a hand on his back. "I think you're getting a whole lot better at this game."

"You think so?" Yuri asked.

"Yuri!" Crystal called out from the concession stands.

"Aww, great," Brett said with his wallet out, ready to buy some popcorn to watch a match in which his closest friends were competing. Crystal ran towards her friend despite, Brett's protests.

"What are you doing here?" Crystal asked.

"I just won a duel," Yuri answered happily.

"You did? You mean you won again?"

"That he did," Patty said placing her hands on the back of her head. "He just beat the rank ten duelist in the regionals last year."

Crystal looked at Yuri. Her eyes and mouth were wide with excitement. "Wow, Yuri, that's great."

"Hey wait a minute," said Patty. "Now I know who you are? You're Crystal Anderson, the Duel Monsters National Champion, and that singer my two friends keep drooling over. Yuri...you're friends with Crystal Anderson? And you never told us?"

"Well, I -"

Patty playfully punched his shoulder. "And you scorn me for keeping secrets! You're serious though, right? You're THE Crystal Anderson?"

Crystal nodded. "Uh-huh. I am. And you are?"

"Pamela McKnight, but my friends call me Patty."

Crystal's face lit up and she snapped her fingers. "Ah, the girl with the fiends. I saw you beat Randall Lawson. You were amazing. Say, you two look rather close. Is this a date Yuri?"

"What…uh…no!" cried Yuri.

"You're so cute when you get defensive," Crystal said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, he makes it sound like going out with me would be bad," Patty said folding her arms sternly.

"No, no, that's not what I meant, Patty I…"

Again, Patty punched his shoulder. "Calm down, kiddo; I was joking."

At the concession stand, Brett and his party watched with venomous eyes as Crystal talked to Yuri.

"Who the hell's the freak with the glowing eye?" asked one of Brett's companions.

"That's Yuri Montgomery," Brett answered picking up the snacks.

"He bothering your girl man?" asked another of his friends. "Need us to get rid of him?"

"It's best you don't get near him," said Brett. "I'm in enough trouble as it is with that guy. He's a runt, but he's well protected."

"Yuri, huh?" said another friend. "Isn't he the guy who beat your protégé?"

"Ex-protégé," Brett said coldly. "Crystal!" he called out. "Let's go!"

"Just a minute," called Crystal.

"Now!" Brett shouted.

"Okay, okay!" Crystal pouted. "Yuri, I'll see you later, all right."

Patty shook her head, aggravated by Brett's tone. "Hey, girl, don't let that jackass push you around. He has no right to treat you like that."

"I have no choice I'm afraid," Crystal said sadly.

"We all have a choice, sweetie," Patty said, with a scowl towards Brett.

"Crystal!" Brett called again. He sounded even angrier.

"What are you stupid and deaf?" called one of Brett's goons. "Come on, let's go!" he shouted, clapping his hands.

"Coming!" Crystal called out. "Bye guys. Hey, can I add you as a friend online Patty? You look quite cool not to mention...very pretty."

"Sure," Patty chuckled. She slapped Yuri in the back of the head for the reaction he made. "Just look up Pamela McKnight on Life, and let me do the rest."

"Great, maybe we can talk later."

"CRYSTAL!" Brett shouted again. Everyone in the Dueling Grounds were looking at them, making the situation much worse.

"Uh oh, bye guys." She turned, her hair swung behind her as she sprinted gingerly towards Brett and his posse.

"Don't you ever make me call you more than once," Brett growled into her ear. "When I say move, you move!" He slapped her in the buttocks. She jumped and gave a yelp.

"What the!" shouted Patty.

"HEY!" Yuri cried. He felt a hand grab his shoulder. "Ren?"

"Do you remember what happened last time?" Ren said to him. "Just let it go, Yuri."

"Ren, you're here too?" said Patty. "Wow, long time no see. Where you been?"

Ren shrugged. "Here and there. My dad's business pays well, but man does it keep me busy." No doubt in everyone's minds that Ren was making a very poor excuse as to his absence. He saw that they doubted him by the looks on their faces. But they were shocked over Brett's dominance over Crystal. Ren cleared his throat and fixed his tie. "I wanted to see the new arena, but obviously, there isn't pleasant company here."

"Now wait just a minute!" someone called out. It was Nick, darting out of the line of the concession stand.

"Nick wait!" Tyson called from behind the velvet rope of the line. "Don't do it man, he's a Martinetti!"

Two of Brett's goons blocked Nick's path, but that did not stop him from getting to Brett verbally. "You never ever hit a girl you creep!" he shouted.

"And who are you?" Brett asked loftily. "Hold on a minute, don't answer that. I know who you are. Raggedy clothes. No sense of hygiene. A lack of manners. And that ridiculous Earth beanie on your head. You must be Consuelo's boy, aren't you?"

"A stowaway, huh?" said Santiago. "Disgusting."

"And what of it?" Nick asked, getting horribly red in the face. His fists were balled up and ready to strike.

Brett grinned to get at Nick, and it worked. Nick started seething so loudly, he was spitting all over the place. "She's late in her payments, that's what," Brett responded. "If she wishes to keep that cottage down in the edge of Aquarius, she better start paying up!"

"Your family is nothing but a stain in this beautiful city you know that!" Ren growled, storming towards Brett.

"Ren, I believe you know this miscreant?" Brett asked, the horrid grin still implanted on his face, further bothering Nick, feeling quite horrid that his antics weren't working like he thought they would."

"He's a friend of Yuri's that's all I know," Ren replied, putting a hand on Nick's shoulder.

"That explains a lot, eh boss?" said another of Brett's friends.

"Indeed, it does," Brett grinned, rubbing his chin. The gold on his family signet ring flashing each time the sunlight touched it. "I'm surprised someone of high stature like Yuri would even call rat from Los Angeles Rojas a friend. But, this is Yuri we're talking about after all. Only somebody like him befriends someone of low class. Speak of the devil," he said when he saw Yuri slowly making his way towards Brett and Nick. "Yuri, would you kindly tell your… _dog_ to back off."

"DOG!" Nick retorted.

"Brett that's going too far!" Crystal argued.

"Shut up, will you? If I wanted your opinion, I'd ask for it."

"She doesn't need your permission to speak, you jerk!" Nick tempestuously declared. "This is a free city. Everybody has a voice."

"Are you wasting my time to speak about the politics of our flawed democracy or do you have a point? If you do, speak it, otherwise, make your leave. We have things to do."

"As a matter of fact, I do!" said Nick. "I challenge you to a Duel!"

Nick and his entourage laughed. Even Yuri had to suppress a chuckle. Nick was as confident as he was stupid, for not even Ren could best Brett at Duel Monsters.

"Yeah, that's right!" Nick nodded. "And if I win the girl leaves your company once and for all.

"Who are you to set up a match with my freedom of choice as a stipulation?" Crystal asked haughtily. "You don't know me."

"No," said Nick. "But, I know he does." He turned to look at Yuri, his face blushing bright red. "Some friend," he added all the while grinning. "Doesn't even have the decency to let me know the girl of my dreams is his best friend."

"But how did…" Yuri began to ask.

"Ren told me everything, Yuri. Of how you guys were friends since you were babies. And of how this slime-ball-in-a-suit almost trashed your friendship. Well, I'm going to show him what for! How about it, tough guy? You and me. One-on-one."

"No, thanks. From what Ren told me you're really bad at the game. Dueling someone of your level would be an insult to my title and my family."

"Oh yeah!" shouted Nick.

"But, if you're in the mood for a thrashing, then so be it. And to show you I'm not all that bad of a guy your admittance into the arena is on me. In fact, Yuri, why not let all your pals come in? My treat."

"Whoa," Tyson said surprised. "Did the Martinetti prince just buy me a ticket into the second most advanced arena in the city?"

"Guess he did," said Carter. "Come on."

"I see Yuri's taste in friends isn't all that flawed," Brett jeered, eyeing Patty, who was standing behind Ren. "You can sit in the box with Crystal, babe."

"You're too kind," Patty shot him a narrowed look, all the while crossing her arms.

"This way, everyone." Brett clapped his hands. "This is going to be one hell of a show."


	26. Pitch-Black Red-Eyes

**Yuri**

* * *

Yuri took his seat in the Dueling grounds and began to question Nick's intelligence. His eyes glued to them both while they shuffled their decks before placing them on the drive recognizer of their Dueling pod.

"Challenging me to a Duel was a big mistake, kiddo!" Brett declared, drawing his cards.

Nick was quick to disagree with his pompous declaration. "We'll just see about that!" he retorted. "I happen to be good friends with the owner of Red Dragon Gaming. And he hooked me up with some pretty sweet cards."

"That true?" Yuri asked.

"It is," said Tyson. "Ever since his loss to Ren, Nick has been taking Duel Monsters a little more seriously. He's even nabbed himself some victories these past few days."

Carter rubbed his hands together in anticipation. As much as he wanted Nick to beat Brett Martinetti, he already had a good guess as to who the victor would be. "He must be really confident with his newfound skills," he said. "Especially if he thinks he can take on Brett. But I don't think he can stand a chance. Not even a Duelist of Ren's caliber can beat Brett."

Tyson lightly nudged Carter on the shoulder. " Be careful what you say, man. He's up there."

Yuri and the others looked up the rafters and spotted Ren sitting by himself. His arms were crossed and he had an unimpressed look imprinted on his face. It was almost like he knew he was going to be bored with this match. Yuri took a look at the VIP seating in the front row that was usually reserved for birthday parties and other special gatherings. Patty and Crystal were sitting on a leather couch with Brett's friends were treating them like queens, serving them snacks and drinks. Even though Patty detested Brett, she couldn't deny a few refreshments. And, hey, it was free, which was an added bonus.

"Let's Duel!" The two Duelists shouted.

**Nick-2000 LP**

**Brett-2000 LP**

"I'll start off first!" Nick declared, sliding the top card off the top of his deck.

"By all means," Brett bowed. "It won't matter who goes first."

Nick narrowed his eyes. "Damn right. I'm gonna beat your ass, rich boy! I'm summoning my Frenzied Panda!" Nick slapped the card onto the interface. The field started lighting up as the projectors worked their magic and rendered the giant behemoth of a panda on Nick's side of the field. It grunted at Brett, holding onto a bamboo stick.

**Frenzied Panda**

**ATK/1200 DEF/1000**

Brett laughed out loud. "Is that it?"

Nick responded with a grin. Incredibly, he thought he summoned something very formidable. "Yeah, he's quite the brute, isn't he? I bet you got nothing that can stand up to him."

"I beg to disagree," said Brett.

"Show me what you got, tough guy!"

"Very well then. I summon Familiar Knight in defense mode!"

Brett's steel-plated knight appeared, knelt on one knee and holding up his shield.

**Familiar Knight**

**ATK/1200 DEF/1400**

"Is that it?" Nick said, mimicking Brett's words. "Man, and here I was expecting the former world-champ to be playing something scary. Well, since his defense is greater than that of my panda's, I'm going to lay down this bad boy. Sonic Duck in attack mode!"

After a display of sparkles and green feathers, the duck creature was rendered next to Frenzied Panda. It had green feathers and was wearing a red scarf around its neck and a bucket on its head.

**Sonic Duck**

**ATK/1700 DEF/700**

QUACK! Shouted the Sonic Duck.

"Then, I'm going to perform a little combo, a little something I learned from a hotshot Duelist like yourself. I equip my Sonic Duck with the spell card: Fairy Meteor Crush."

"Not bad, kiddo," said Brett. "Now you can pierce through my monster's defense and take a piece of my Life Points."

Feeling boosted by Brett's compliment, Nick puffed out his chest and confidently pointed at Brett's knight and ordered his duck to attack the Familiar Knight.

The duck squawked and sped towards the knight at an incredible rate. It used the bucket on its head to ram the knight in the chest, cracking his breastplate. Familiar Knight grunted in agony and shattered into pieces.

**Brett-1700 LP**

**Nick-2000 LP**

"Okay, Brett, you're up…huh?"

Brett's field lit up and then a quadrupedal dragon made of shiny black metal with spikes and claws made of fool's gold emerged onto the field. The horn on its nose reflecting the arena perfectly.

"What is that?" Nick asked.

"It's called Rare Metal Dragon. He was summoned by the effect of my Familiar Knight. When he is destroyed, both of us can summon level four or lower monsters from our hands."

**Rare Metal Dragon**

**ATK/2400 DEF/1200**

"That's a level four?" Patty asked in utter shock. "It's so powerful."

"It will only get worse," Crystal said coldly, while watching as Nick summoned a Mega Thunderball in defense mode. "I've seen Brett pull this on so many Duelists. He brings up their hopes with that Familiar Knight only to shatter their spirits by summoning that dragon. Nick was really sweet putting his foot forward for me, but I fear he may have put it in his mouth."

"Is that Mega Thunderball all you can muster?" Brett sneered.

Nick lost his confidence at the sight of Brett's dragon. His cards started to tremble in his grip. "No, I switch my panda into defense mode."

"And so, the slaughter begins," laughed Brett. "I summon Garnecia Elefantis!"

The arena's seats took their cue to shake for the incoming monster. A gigantic purplish-blue elephant warrior in decorative tribal armor emerged onto the field. It let out a thundering war cry raising up its swerved sword.

**Garnecia Elefantis**

**ATK/2400 DEF/2000**

"Attack his pathetic duck, my great beast!" The elephant warrior charged at Sonic Duck and slashed it across the neck. The duck squawked pathetically as it vanished. Nick's Life Points dropped to **1300** with just one devastating attack.

"Now, my Rare Metal Dragon, make mincemeat of that panda!"

Rare Metal Dragon roared in agreement, firing blue flames at Nick's Frenzied Panda, burning it to cinders.

Poor Nick was in complete disarray. "But…but I thought…," he stammered

"Thought you had the lead over me?" Brett interrupted pretentiously. "Ha! Did you honestly believe I Dueled so amateurishly? This is just the beginning, Nicky-boy. I have plenty of monsters ready to slaughter every pathetic monster in your deck."

Nick gritted his teeth and slammed his fists on the liquid-crystal playing mat. "There is no monster in my deck that's pathetic. I promise you that."

"Then make your move!" taunted one of Brett's friends.

Nick drew.

"Damn," he grimaced. "I summon a monster in defense mode."

Brett found the dousing of Nick's confidence rather pleasing. He drew his card, chuckling. "Now to bring out your next torturer, ready to bring forth the pain. I summon Judge Man!"

The card was Ultra Rare and shimmered with horizontal reflections.

**Judge Man**

**ATK/2200 DEF/1500**

"Another monster with more than two-thousand attack points," gasped Patty.

"His deck is full of them," said Crystal. "This Duel is already over."

"Attack his Mega Thunderball!" ordered Brett.

Judge Man grunted, charging forward and whacking Nick's monster with his spiked clubs. Mega Thunderball spun into the air and exploded upon coming into contact with the ceiling. The seats shook again.

"I summon a monster in defense mode!" Nick said.

Brett's turn. The next card he drew made him snigger cruelly at Nick. "I will summon Mr. Volcano to the field!" Brett boasted, summoning a fiery gentleman in a graceful display of magically animated flames.

**Mr. Volcano**

**ATK/2100 DEF/1300**

"Brett. He's too strong," Carter said helplessly. "His monster's attack points are reaching the top of the charts. Where does he find all these rare and powerful cards?"

"He's a Martinetti," said Ren, from his lonesome perch. "He can get anything he wants."

Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Mr. Volcano conjured up a fiery spell that incinerated Nick's defensive Stone-Ogre Grotto.

"Time for a new hand," said Nick. "I use the spell Card Destruction. Now we discard…"

"I know what it does!"

Brett tossed his hand into the Graveyard and drew a new one, replacing the four cards he had while Nick drew three new cards. He smiled. "Okay, now, Brett. You're not the only one who can summon strong monsters."

 _It's all or nothing, pal. You and I are a team. I've held you back long enough. I promised I would use you only when it was absolutely necessary. And now's the time._ He looked at Crystal. _She needs your power to escape the clutches of that jerk. He doesn't deserve her._

"You don't have any strong monsters, do you?' sneered Brett. "I guess my arsenal of powerful monsters have really messed up your head. Why don't you spare yourself the humiliation and quit?"

"I won't quit!" shouted Nick. "Yuri's told me all about you, Martinetti. I didn't want to believe someone was so cruel and arrogant, but after seeing you treat Crystal the way you did today, oh, you proved me wrong. She's a person, not some glittery accessory you can parade around to flaunt your ego. She's a girl who is free to make her own choices. She doesn't have to bend to your whim every time you call her like some common dog. As far as I'm concerned, you don't deserve her!"

"And are you saying you do, Romeo?"

"Far from it. I'm not saying the one she deserves is me, as much as I'd like to be. But she's a friend of Yuri's. I know how much they mean to each other. So long as my best friend is happy I will be happy and that's all that matters."

"That is so sweet," Crystal mumbled to herself.

Brett scoffed and gave a roll of his eyes. "And I suppose you have some card in your deck who can help you achieve this miracle?"

"I do! And here he is. I summon…Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

Everyone in the arena gasped and shouted in amazement. Brett leaned forward over his interface to watch the arena render the rare dragon that not even he had laid eyes on before. The beast gave out a mighty roar flying over the arena and spreading its wings. The creature was nightmarish-black, spiked, and massive in size, dominating the entire arena. Its wings went from wall to wall and its tail coiled behind Nick. The Red-Eyes Black Dragon was no doubt the biggest monster played so far in this Duel.

"It can't be!" Brett gasped, staring at its glowing fiery-red eyes.

The beast snarled viciously, lowering itself onto the floor where he shook the arena. Brett's friends all took out their phones and started recording the dragon.

"Where did he get the legendary Red-Eyes Black Dragon?" Ren gasped in wonder. "How is it possible that a dragon of such power and myth be in the hands of a third-rate Duelist like him?"

"I…I don't believe it!" roared Brett, scratching his head in envy and frustration. "My…my family searched far and wide for years looking for that card. And it's been in the hands of this edge-dwelling rat."

Patty smiled triumphantly and folded her arms over her chest, and crossing her legs. "Well, Brett?" she said defiantly. "We're waiting? Think any of your monsters have what it takes to defeat the legendary Red-Eyes Black Dragon?"

Brett dropped his cards and held out his hands. "Nick, wait a second, pal. If you give me the card, I will concede the match and, and, I-I-I'll pay you anything you want I assure you!" He took out a checkbook from his suit. Then he reached for a pen on his breast pocket and gave it a click. "I can write all kinds of numbers on this check, my friend. Just say the word and the match is yours. And I will give you my word that I will never bother Crystal again."

"That's quite a deal," said Yuri. "I've never seen Brett so worked up before."

Tyson had his eyes on Nick the entire time. He felt that his dragon could win him the match, but the deal would be so much sweeter. "Nick will be a fool not to take the offer," he said. "Think of the reward. A surrender from the world champion; Crystal's freedom; and a blank check. A blank check that can be loaded with whatever sum Nick wants. He could finally move out to the better parts of Aquarius."

Brett tapped the checkbook with his pen. "What do you say, my friend? Do we have a deal?"

"You're willing to do all that for this card?" Nick asked. "As generous as it is, I'm going to have to call you mad. The numbers you write in the check could put your family into welfare. You so sure about this?"

"I am. Come on, Nick, be a friend."

"But we're not friends."

"Not yet, but if you sell me that card we can be. Look at my monsters."

He picked up the cards in the Graveyard, showing off monsters like Beast of Talwar, Gaia the Fierce Knight, Luster Dragon #2, Cosmo Queen. They were all shimmering in holographic foil and their names shined brightly in gold letters.

"Impressive huh? Each of them powerhouses with more than two-thousand attack points. You want these babies in your deck, right?"

Nick leaned forward with a greedy look on his face. "Yeah, more than anything."

"I can buy you the perfect deck," boasted Brett. "I can get you the best cards, and teach you how to use them, oh, and I can coach you into the pro-leagues."

Nick gasped in amazement. His mouth formed the biggest smile he had ever made. "You'd do that for me? It's been my life's dream to Duel in the pro-leagues."

Brett laughed triumphantly. "Yes, all you have to do is sell me that Red-Eyes Black Dragon card and we can begin a long and distinguished career. I promise you, you'll be a better student than Randall Lawson."

"Don't do it!" shouted Crystal, jumping out of her seat. "As rare as that card is, it's still just a card. Do you really think a few million dollars is going to hurt Brett's family? For that matter, do you think he'll easily get rid of me for it? Don't do it, honey."

"Will you stop!" commanded Brett.

"But, I can finally have a better life," said Nick. "And you can forever be free of this creep."

Crystal balled her fists. "If you think this is going to have a happy ending you're wrong! Deals with Brett never go well. You'd be better off making deals with the devil. Don't do it!"

"Be quiet!" shouted Brett. "You stupid bitch! What did I just..."

"Red-Eyes Black Dragon! Attack his Mr. Volcano! Infernal Fire Blast!"

The dragon of black charged up a ball of fire and launched it at Mr. Volcano. Brett shielded his face from the gust of the fans which were supposed to mimic the blast of the holographic explosion.

"What are you doing!?" Brett shouted.

His Life Points dropped to **800**.

"But how is that possible?" He looked at the field and noticed the Red-Eyes Black Dragon's claws were encased in adamantium steel. "What the hell is that?"

"A spell card called Dragon Nails," Nick said holding up the card. "It boosted the power of my Red-Eyes by six hundred points."

"Three-thousand!" gasped Crystal. "Color me impressed."

Nick felt his knees get weak and it took all he could muster to keep his face from flushing red. His idol was complimenting him for his combo. A rush of confidence flushed through him as if a wave of confidence was cleaning out all the doubt and fear he felt. His Red-Eyes Black Dragon standing before him obeying his commands and bringing awe to everyone, even Brett and his gang. He really did look cool. He had never felt such joy in his life as a Duelist. He felt invincible.

He chuckled with conviction and said, "You make a great offer, Martinetti. One that only a moron would reject. But this card was given to me by someone special in my life. And she expects it back when the day comes that she returns. So, sorry, _pal_ , but I'm going to have to decline."

Brett shook his head slowly and menacingly. His face turned red and his body trembled. "So, that's the way it's going to be, huh? I offered you a chance at a new life. I offered you friendship. A chance at the pro-leagues under my wing. And you spit it in my face."

"More like blasted it in your face," joked Nick.

His Red-Eyes Black Dragon roared triumphantly at Nick refusing to give him up. Yuri even applauded Nick for his valiance. Brett offered him a chance to fulfill his dreams and a chance to leave the edge of Aquarius, but he held his own and refused. The card must have been very precious to him, and not for its rarity or its strength. But, because it was a token of someone dear to his heart. _The question is…who?_ He wondered.

At the beginning of his turn, Brett summoned a Swordstalker, a powerful warrior with 2000 ATK, but it was useless now that Nick had a souped-up Red-Eyes Black Dragon on the field. For the past two turns, everyone watched as Nick's Red-Eyes Black Dragon decimated Brett's powerful monsters one by one.

But all of that was soon about to change.

"You played a good game, for a complete fool. I bet you had fun destroying my monsters. But all that ends now. I play Polymerization fusing the two Thunder Dragons in my hand in order to create the all-powerful Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon."

**Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon**

**ATK/2800 DEF/2100**

"Some all-powerful," laughed Tyson. "As strong as that dragon is, he's still no match for Nick's Red-Eyes Black Dragon."

"That's where you're wrong!" shouted Brett. "You're going to pay for not taking up my offer, Nick. Now your punishment with ensue with this!" he slapped the card down. "Mystical Space Typhoon! This will destroy your Dragon Nails card! Now your Red-Eyes is weaker than my great beast!"

"Oh-no!" stammered Nick.

He was so confident with his dragon and so flooded in his own ego that he failed to have his dragon protected with traps or spells. He could only watch with a wide-open mouth as Brett ordered his dragon to attack.

The Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon's large nose horn began to glow bright blue as it was being filled with electricity. Saffron sparks lit up the nose and it released its attack turning Red-Eyes Black Dragon into a smoldering crater.

"Not even the Red-Eyes Black Dragon can match me!" Brett announced with the grin of a madman on his face. Nick though he was up to his waist in his own ego. But Brett, he was drowned in it.

"He was my best card," Nick said sadly.

With his Red-Eyes gone there was no point in going on. He placed his hand on the top of his deck and surrendered. The scoreboard above displaying his Life Points dropped to 0 and was replaced with the words **Surrender**.

Everyone in Brett's group laughed.

"And he thought he could just come here and rescue the girl huh?" Brett sneered. "Look at that! Is there a leak coming from the roof or did I just see a tear?"

"Aww, is the baby gonna cry!"

"What hopes did he have beating Brett?"

"What a disgrace."

"Shut up!" shouted Patty. "Nick may have lost but he played great. I doubt any of you can do better."

"They could do some decent damage to me," said Brett approaching the box where Patty and Crystal watched the match. "These guys are some of the best players in the Aquarius, so they would have been more of a challenge than Nicky-boy over there. Say, you're a pretty thing, Patty. We're going to my penthouse for a party after a few games here in the arena. Why don't you come join us?"

"Don't count on it," Patty said, slipping on her backpack. She was about to leave but Crystal stopped her. She fixed the silk pink bow in her hair which was coming loose from the excitement of the match. "Thanks," she said. "See you around."

"Bye, Patty," Crystal said.

Brett laughed and gave a shrug. "Suit yourself, babe. No matter, we got plenty of tail to chase while we're there! All of them prettier than some punk-goth like you."

Patty flicked him off and stormed out of the arena.

"Who's the next contestant!" said Brett. "Miller, you game."

"Hell yeah, I am, boss!"

As the two began their match Nick was sulking towards the stands to meet his friends.

"Aw man, that was hard to watch," said Yuri.

He was waiting at the bottom of the rafters for Nick to join them. He was walking an inch each step. Clearly the defeat was hard on him.

"Yuri, don't you have to work today?" asked Ren, coming down the steps.

"Aw, crap!" Yuri shouted as he darted out the doors. "Bye guys!"

"Hey, Nick," Ren said approaching him.

A Spikebot appeared behind Nick as the Duel began.

Nick swiped his sleeve under his nose and sniffed. "Let me guess, I was a fool to challenge him, right?"

"While that's true, I just wanted to say what you did took a lot of guts. Not a lot of guys can stand up to Brett the way you did, let alone put him on the ropes in a Duel. I get him down to at least a thousand Life Points before he manages to beat me. But you did good. I see Mr. Sergei helped you a lot. You really improved at the game, Nick. Perhaps we can Duel sometime."

"I'd like that." Nick wiped a tear from his eye, pretending he was just scratching his face. "Well, I better get home. Got a lot of homework to do. Come on guys."

* * *

Late again, Yuri thought. Sergei was going to give it to him now.

He took the bus to the shop. He was now five minutes late and getting later by the second. The bus finally made it to the stop, and Yuri dashed for Ruby Dragon as fast as he could. When he stepped through the doors, he screamed.

A blue dragon known as Winged-Dragon Guardian of the Fortress #1 was snarling at him. It roared causing Yuri to run outside, almost smashing through the glass doors.

"STOP!" someone shouted before he could go any farther. Yuri tripped and fell down on the ground scraping his hands on the sidewalk.

Yuri turned and saw Sergei coming out of the shop with some contraption on his wrist.

"Yuri, you're late again!"

"What is that!" Yuri cried out, trying to catch his breath.

"It's the new machine that will revolutionize Dueling forever, Yuri. It's called a Duel Disk. With these babies in arm, you won't need oversized arenas to see monsters rendered in holographic form. The Phobos Corp's technological division has been working on it for years. Now you can have exciting Duels anywhere you go. Provided you pay the modest fee of twelve-hundred dollars."

"Holy crap, dude, I know what a Duel Disk is. I used one of the prototypes before." Yuri said, getting up from the ground. "But the one you're using. Wow! That was so real."

"Da," said Sergei. "These new devices are going to be used for the upcoming Millennium Tournament."

"So, that's the big tournament everyone's been talking about," said Yuri.

"And I see you've been personally invited," Wanda, the cashier of the store, said coming out of the shop. She had a gold letter in her hand with an extravagant seal on the back.

"I've been invited to attend?" Yuri asked, timidly taking the letter.

"Word has reached the ears of many, that you beat the regional champion and one of the Sensational Dragon Sisters," said Sergei. "I think Leon has finally acknowledged you as a decent Duelist."

"He can shove it up his ass," said Yuri tossing the letter in the trash.

"But, Yuri!" said Wanda.

"No one said Leon was going to be there!" Yuri retorted.

"Boy, you've got to let that go," Sergei said fishing out the letter.

"What's going on?" asked Wanda. "Why does, Yuri hate Leon Caldwell so much."

"He wasn't always called Leon Caldwell," Sergei said coldly.

"What do you mean?" Wanda asked.

Sergei let out a scratchy sigh, sliding his large palm down the back of his head. "The boy used to be called Leon Montgomery."

Wanda put her hands over her mouth. "So you mean that…"

"Yeah," Yuri said, sadly. "He's my older brother."

"So what's with the name change?" Wanda asked.

"Complicated family issues," said Sergei. "Let's just say that Leon does not like our Yuri. Despises his very existence so much that he'd move away from his family and legally change his name out of spite as long as the child drew breath."

"That's horrible," said Wanda. "Why would anyone hate their brother that much?"

"As I said," said Sergei. "Complicated family issues."

"Leon came up with this ridiculous notion that I was not legitimate family," Yuri said, balling his fists. "He tried hard to prove I wasn't part of the Montgomery family. He stated that they found me dumped in the yard. The other day Brett said he overheard my mother and his mother talking about the same thing."

"Yuri, please," said Sergei. "Regardless of what anyone thinks, you have Montgomery blood flowing through your veins. The love you get from everyone makes those losers jealous. That's why they say and do these things."

"Excuse me, sir," said the tremulous voice of Crystal Anderson.

"Well, hello, hello," Wanda said lightly nudging Yuri in the ribs.

"Mr. Dargon," Crystal said, bashfully. "Could you excuse Yuri from work this afternoon?"

"Oh? Why would I do that?"

"I…I want to have some time with him. Alone, if you don't mind."

Wanda giggled, elbowing Yuri's side. "Alone time with the ladies. Yuri's getting good."

"Wanda, please," said Yuri. "What's wrong, Crystal? You look…distraught."

"It's nothing really," said Crystal. "I just…want to spend time with you."

"Is it okay, Sergei?" Yuri asked.

"Well…" Sergei said, stroking his square chin.

"I'll pay you for the trouble," Crystal said, holding up her purse.

"No, no. It's all right," said Sergei. "Besides, it's a slow day today. I don't think we need your help today, Yuri."

"You sure?" Yuri asked.

Sergei smacked Yuri's back playfully. "You're questioning going out on a stroll with her?" Sergei asked.

Crystal smiled and did her best to look timid. She flushed blood into her cheeks, making her look rather cute.

"Okay, okay," said Yuri. "Thanks, Sergei."

"Think nothing of it, my friend. I'll see you some other time."

He and Wanda went back into the store while Yuri and Crystal began their long walk down the streets of Aquarius.

"What's going on?" Yuri asked, following Crystal into the city. "I thought you were going to hang out with Brett today at the new arena."

Crystal grimaced. She looked away, pretending to giggle. "I told him I wasn't feeling well. He doesn't know I'm here."

"You shouldn't have to lie," said Yuri. "You can just tell him off. It's not like he owns you or anything, right?"

Crystal bit her bottom lip. She then smiled and said: "I feel so much warmer when I'm with you," she said, followed by a shiver that caused her to rub her hands up and down her shoulders. "That Duel arena was so dark and cold. And there's only so many Duel Monsters matches I can take. By the fifteenth game, I was getting bored."

"There's more to life than Dueling," said Yuri. "Screw those losers."

"Yeah, want to head to the beach?" Crystal asked.

"I don't have any swimming trunks."

"I'll buy you some then," said Crystal. "And don't forget, the party is tomorrow night."

"Oh geez," said Yuri. "Already?"

"You haven't forgotten have you?"

"Well with all the excitement going on, can you blame me? Beating an Intercontinental champion, your former friend; a tag team champion herself; and having my Black Tyranno in general. I mean, come on. Parties wouldn't be on your mind, right?"

Crystal shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. "No. I guess not. Come on. We're getting closer. I can hear the waves."

The two friends found a shop to purchase their things for the beach. Crystal bought herself a white bikini and Yuri got black trunks with gold Chinese dragon designs on the right leg. Then she purchased towels and sunscreen, and they made their way to the beach. The sand was blistering hot, but thankfully Yuri's new sandals guarded his feet. Crystal spread out the towels then stripped out of her cutoff jeans down to her bikini. Yuri, gulped focusing on the ocean ahead of him. Crystal noticed him blushing, and giggled.

"You like it?" she asked.

Yuri pretended to look. "Uh...yeah...you look great."

Crystal gave a twirl, then sat down and applied her sunscreen making her body shine. Yuri didn't want to look so he just continued staring out into the ocean watching the people dodge the waves.

He felt something soft on his shoulder. He looked down and saw that Crystal was resting her chin on it.

"You sleepy?" Yuri asked.

"Yeah, I've had these dreams," said Crystal.

"Really, what about?" Yuri asked, eating a pretzel from their bag of snacks.

"Well, I'm all alone in the darkness. There are these shadowy, faceless masses surrounding me; laughing at me; undressing me with their gaze until I stand before them completely naked. I scream at them to stop and leave me alone, but they keep on laughing at me. I shout for help, and none comes for me. The shadows begin to surround me, and I feel their cold touch on my flesh. I thought I was going to get killed by those wretched creatures...then...he shows up."

"Who?" Yuri asked.

"There's this radiant glow surrounding me. I look up, and I see a knight adorned in platinum standing before me. He waved this massive blade and shouted: 'Foul creatures be gone!' And with one mighty swing of that beautiful blade, he smites the shadows. And then he picks me up, and clothes me in his glimmering, white cape. God, I felt so...so warm. I felt safe...and then...I wake up. I... I think the knight was you."

Yuri gave a disapproving laugh. "You believe that this knight is me why?"

"I don't know," Crystal said, not appreciating his doubting tone. "I just feel it. The warmness I felt when he saved me. I felt like I was in a sanctuary of calm and serenity. It's a feeling I have when I'm with you. You had to have been the knight. All these years you and I have been friends. I know you're tired of hearing this, but you're like a brother to me. I care a lot about you, buddy. It's kind of why I broke up there in the restaurant the other day when Brett said those awful things. I hate having to see people disrespect you."

"Don't worry about me," said Yuri, biting into another pretzel.

"Can you promise me something?" Crystal cooed.

"Hmm?" said Yuri

"Promise me that...if I'm ever in a bind. You'll come to my rescue. Just like the knight did."

"What's gotten into you?" Yuri asked.

"Can you just promise me?"

"I can't be." Yuri sighed. "I don't have what it takes to be your prince charming, Cinderella."

"Why not?"

"I could barely help you the last time you needed help. That night Brett got wicked crazy and beat you. In the end, Ren was the one who rescued you. Not me. You bailed me out of jail after I fought him and lost. If there's anyone around here who's to be your knight in platinum armor, it's Ren."

"But, I don't want it to be, Ren," Crystal whined.

"He should be," Yuri sadly continued. "He's older than me; stronger than me. Better looking than me."

"I don't care for those things," said Crystal. "You're my hero."

"I'm no hero," Yuri said looking at the scar on his wrist. The cut he got from Brett the night he fought him. "I won one Duel, big deal."

Yuri took out his deck from the pocket of his jeans folded by the towel and stared at the Black Tyranno.

"If he didn't wind up in my deck, I would have lost that night. Even in Duel Monsters, I must rely on someone else to get me out of trouble. I can't seem to do things myself. I was too weak. Someone had to bail me out once again. No. I'm a failure, Crystal. I tried to be your knight in shining armor once. But, I can't…. You're going to have to find someone else to get you out of trouble, honey. I'm...I wasn't meant to succeed."

"That's not true," Crystal said nuzzling Yuri's arm. "You're not a loser. If you were, I'd have nothing to do with you. I don't deal with losers. Save for Brett, but that's complicated. You're something much greater. I feel it in my heart."

"You think so?"

"Would I lie to you? Now, just...just promise me."

"I promise."

Crystal smiled. Her golden hair fluttered in the gentle ocean breeze. "Thanks, bro, you're the best friend a girl could ask for."

They sat under the sun for a while then ran to the water to cool off. Crystal laughed when she went waist-deep into the water. "The water's so much clearer, today," she said with a heavenly smile.

"And colder!" Yuri said, running away from the waves coming to engulf his feet and ankles.

Crystal beckoned him back into the water, doing her best to assure Yuri the water wasn't too bad. He eventually took her word for it and walked towards her. Three Black Hawk Helicopters from RAPTOR soared over the beach on their patrol for pirates. Just as quickly as they came, they were gone. Yuri took a deep breath, then hand-in-hand he walked with Crystal farther and farther into the water until it was up to their waists.

Crystal held onto Yuri as tightly as she could. She saw a huge wave approaching. She smirked mischievously, finding this an opportune time to play a prank on Yuri and get him completely wet. She turned him around so he could not see the wave coming. She pretended to coax him farther, but he dug his feet into the mud, anchoring him down so he could go no further. He looked up and saw the wave. He wanted to run, but it was too late. It crashed into them. Crystal laughed, then screamed as she was engulfed by a wall of water. Yuri felt his feet get ripped from the mud as he fell backward. He flung his arms to push himself back up. He took a deep gulp of air.

"You did that on purpose!" he shouted as he laughed. He saw Crystal laughing as she struggled to pick herself up. "Nice tan!" he shouted, laughing at the exposed upper region of her buttocks.

"Hey!" Crystal cried. She pulled her bikini bottom back up and waded towards Yuri laughing. "You big jerky; you know you like it," she said. She screamed and wrapped her arms around him. "ANOTHER ONE!" she shouted as a huge wave headed right towards them.

They screamed, preparing for impact. The wave hit them with a loud smack, knocking them underwater. They played in the water for an entire hour before going back to the sand to dry themselves. Then they decided to call it a day. They went to the stalls at the boardwalk to clean the sands off their bodies. They left the beach and went to a restaurant at the pier where Crystal invited Yuri to try lobster. They cracked open the shell with ease and ate the meat. Crystal took a big chunk with her forked and dipped it in tarter sauce.

"I was never accustomed to seafood," said Yuri with a mouth full of lobster. "But, it's not that bad."

Crystal gave a soft chuckle, helping herself to another glob of lobster meat. "I'm glad you like it. See, all you have to do is try." She was still clad in her bikini, but she had a white pareo wrapped around her waist. She reached towards her plate, fork in hand, and took out a piece of the juicy lobster meat.

"Oh, before I forget," she said with a mouthful of lobster. "I bought you something."

Crystal dug into her backpack and pulled out a box set of cards, colored black with golden filigree designs.

"Oh, man you didn't," said Yuri. "The Duel Monsters Premium Gold Series?"

"Hell, yeah," said Crystal. "Sadly, I don't think I'll be around for your birthday next week. Brett and I have to engage in a photoshoot to promote a magazine in Santorini." She rolled her eyes. "Anyways, think of this as a very early birthday gift. The gold series has bling as well as power. Come on, let's open them."

Yuri picked up his knife and slit open the plastic over the box. He opened the slot to reveal five mini boxes inside. Inside were black and gold booster packs. "Wow, these look amazing. The whole card shimmers."

"I see someone's day has gotten brighter," Crystal said, setting down her soda.

Yuri opened more and more packs, each one thick with twenty-five golden cards. "Mirror Force; Mystical Space Typhoon; Tri-Horned Dragon! Look at all these." Yuri said with joy.

"Yeah, I like the packaging too," said Crystal, picking up one of the discarded casings. "In fact, I love it. They look like boxes of chocolate."

"You'd just give me a whole box of Gold Series cards?" Yuri asked.

"Why not?" Crystal said with a shrug. "I got an entire truckload full of these damn things from admirers as a gift for my birthday. The son of EveCorp's CEO gave me these and a diamond ring. He hoped gold cards and a fancy ring would make me marry him. Twit. I figured you could use one or two considering your deck suffers pretty badly."

"That's because I don't play much," said Yuri. "No offense, but I don't like the game as much as I used to. In fact, before my match with Lawson, I was starting to hate it."

"That's gotta change," Crystal said taking another sip of her drink. "I'm going to make you a pro if it kills me. That inscription on your necklace reads Passionate Duelist. I know whoever wrote that is right."

Yuri opened the shield to let the song play. Crystal hummed along to the music rocking her head from side to side.

"I thought I was the one doing the rescuing," Yuri said sarcastically. "As far as I'm concerned you've been the one saving me."

"This doesn't mean much compared to what happened last time."

"Let's not talk about that," Yuri said, opening another pack. He looked through the cards. "That was the worst phone call of my life."

"I'm sorry," Crystal said, setting down her glass.

A man suddenly approached them. He was young; blonde and dressed in azure swimming trunks and a white sleeveless shirt and an aqua blue Duel Disk was mounted on his right wrist. "Hey you!" he called out. "You Crystal Anderson?"

"Yeah."

"The name's Chris, you may have heard of me. I'm the surfing champ of Aquarius."

"Not a big surfing fan, bro," Crystal said. "Was there something you wanted?"

Chris flashed her a white grin, standing out against the orangey flesh he had. "I see you've got a Duel Disk. You got some time? Let's have a match."

Now that was something Crystal wanted to hear. She rewarded the surfer with her beautiful smiles. "Sure, I was getting a little bored."

"If I had him as company, I would be too," the young man said, commenting rudely about Yuri.

That Crystal did not appreciate. "Now, I'm really gonna kick your ass," Crystal said, rather offended. Her face blushed pink from her anger. If there was one thing she hated more than thunder and lightning, it was someone insulting her best friend. She got up from the table with force, causing all the silverware to jingle.

"Why don't we put ante up some cards just to make this interesting?" said Chris.

"What do you have?" Crystal asked.

"This!" the man said holding up a card. "It's called Serpent Night Dragon."

"Ooo, shiny," said Crystal.

"I see it impresses the lady," sneered Chris. "Yeah, this card was given only to finalists from the regional tournament last year. A tournament in which, I ranked second. As for you, babycakes, why don't you put up that legendary dragon everyone's been talking about."

"As rare as that Serpent Night Dragon is," said Yuri. "I don't think your..."

"I got it, Yuri," Crystal interrupted. "All right you're on."

"Yeah, let's do this!" he said activating his Duel Disk that looked like water made solid.

Crystal put on her gleaming white Duel Disk, shaped like an angel's wing. It had an aesthetic effect in which holographic white feathers shot out of the deck when Crystal drew her cards.

"Whoa, custom Duel Disks?" said Yuri.

"That's right," Crystal said making hers shimmer. "Aren't they cool?"

"You are so hot," said Crystal's opponent. "How's about we ditch, limp-dick, over there and have some fun at my loft after dinner."

"Your card will suffice, thanks," said Crystal. "And if you laugh at my friend again, you'll regret it."

Chris wriggled his fingers. "Ooo, scary. How's about we let you start off first?"

"You're too kind," Crystal said, drawing her card. The white feathers fluttered out of her deck when she drew. "I'll summon Spear Dragon, lay a card face down, and that'll do it for me."

Crystal's dragon was the size of a mini-van with a sixteen-foot wingspan. It was dark blue with a white underbelly, and its head had a long and pointed beak the size of a full-grown man. Its ATK was **1900**.

Their Duel was drawing up quite a crowd.

"Not bad," said Chris, drawing his card. "I use the spell card, Polymerization, to fuse Gruesome Goo, Amazon of the Seas, and Sea Kamen into the Man-Eating Black Shark!"

Chris summoned a 30-foot shark with jet-black flesh and eyes like molten gold. Two muscular arms protruded from underneath its flipper.

**Man-Eating Black Shark**

**ATK/2100 DEF/1300**

Chris continued: "Next I'll play the spell card, Pot of Greed, which lets me draw two cards." He drew his extra cards. "Ah, cool. I'll use my field spell card, A Legendary Ocean,"

The ground turned into water. Crystal looked down and saw she was standing over a sunken civilization many miles below her feet.

Her opponent began to explain the card's effect.

"This card reduces the level of my water monsters by one. I now summon Giant Red Seasnake!"

A serpent-like creature jumped out of the water; its blood-red scales glimmered in the sun. The sea monster had cerulean stripes and a cerulean beard with matching appendages slithering around the sides of its mouth where gleaming razor-sharp teeth made their home.

**Giant Red Seasnake**

**ATK/1800 DEF/800**

Giant Red Seasnake gave a roar as it fell back into the water. The field spell also increased the attack of Chris's water monsters by **200** , so now Man-Eating Black Shark's ATK was **2300** , and Giant Red Seasnake's ATK was **2000**.

He attacked, but Crystal activated her trap card, Negate Attack. The trap card allowed her to, of course, negate his attack, thereby ending his Battle Phase.

"You got lucky, sweetheart. Make your move."

"I will, and don't call me sweetheart," Crystal said with irritation as she drew her card.

"Or what? Your little imp over there is gonna hurt me?"

"Keep insulting him, see what happens!" Crystal said, almost raising her voice. "I should just end this Duel and walk away because jerks like you are not worth my time. But, since you insulted my best friend over and over again, and I'm gonna make you pay, by beating you and taking your Serpent Night Dragon."

"You want him, come get him!" Chris said holding up the card.

"Oh, I will. I use the spell card: Trade in; this lets me discard one level eight monster from my hand, so goodbye Van' Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord."

She kissed her rare card and gently put it into the Graveyard. Crystal was always rather delicate with her cards. They were a treasure to her. Yuri felt she even treated her dragons as friends. Apologizing to them every time she sent them to the Graveyard.

"Now I will draw two cards!" she announced. "Sweet. I summon Des Volstgalph!"

The dragon flew down from the sky. It spread its wings to slow down and roared as it landed beside his master with a great crash. It was a unique-looking dragon with dark blue flesh shielded by gleaming scarlet armor.

A spiked armored vest seemed to cover its torso. It had crooked wings, feathered just a little at the top. Its ATK was **2200** and could inflict **500** points of extra damage when it attacked a monster. The opponent came prepared, though.

As soon as Crystal called her attack, a wall of water spouts erupted from the water and stopped her dragon from going any further. They did nothing to stop his only two monsters from being destroyed, but they shielded his Life Points.

Tornado Wall was a card that could negate damage to the user's Life Points, but it could only be activated if the field spell, Umi, was out on the field. However, A Legendary Ocean could still be treated as the Umi card.

Crystal had the most powerful monsters on the field, but it didn't mean anything if she couldn't inflict damage.

The Duel continued in Chris's favor, but soon Crystal turned things around.

The time was right to summon her ace dragon.

"And now," she declared. "I'll banish one light monster and one dark monster from the graveyard to summon...Chaos Emperor Dragon-Envoy of the End!"

Crystal summoned a dragon with glossy turquoise scales and adorned in razor-sharp platinum armor. It had a long neck and claws that shined brightly in the warm southern sun. The reflections on its armor were almost blinding.

It was also true what they said about Crystal only using it when she was mad. Even though he had seen it before, Yuri could not get used to seeing the creature in its monstrous form under the command of someone like Crystal. A card like Chaos Emperor Dragon-Envoy of the End was too brutal for her, but if she was angered enough, and she was, her opponent had to contend with it.

It had long fiery orange hair coming out from underneath its helmet. It gave a powerful roar as it opened its wings stretching thirty feet. The attack and defense point display showed the beast's stats.

****

**3000 ATK and 2500 DEF**

The surfer began to shiver. The hologram was so realistic, as was the dragon's ferocity. He looked down at the boy and snarled as if it too was mad that the surfer kept insulting Yuri. Crystal stood proudly in front of her ultimate beast. Her beauty matched with the dragon's imposing presence was truly a sight to behold.

Even Yuri began to feel intimidated. No monster in his deck, not even his Black Tyranno could equal the dragon in power and majesty.

Now Crystal activated its effect. She paid **1000** Life Points, and then she, and her opponent discarded all cards from their hands and destroyed all monsters on the field.

300 points of damage were inflicted to the opponent for each card that Crystal sent to the Graveyard. And there were many for a total of 3600 points of damage.

The surfer fell to his knees as Chaos Emperor Dragon fired white-hot flames.

His Life Points went down to zero.

"And that's all folks," Crystal said, brushing her hair over her shoulder. Her dragon roared one last time before it disappeared.

The crowd around them cheered.

"They don't call her Queen of Dragons for nothing," Yuri said, in disbelief.

"Well, a deal's a deal," Chris said standing up. He sighed heavily, handing Crystal his Serpent Night Dragon. "I shouldn't have underestimated you like that."

"Quite all right," Crystal said taking the card. She looked at it and giggled as the holographic foil shimmered in all the colors of the rainbow.

"You're good. I hope we can play more often."

"If you promise to stop acting like a total jerk, and apologize to my friend there. I'll add you as a friend online," Crystal said, looking her opponent in the eyes,

"Promise," the surfer said shaking her hand. "And I'm sorry too, buddy."

Yuri smiled and nodded his head. The loss humbled her opponent. It seemed more like Crystal's kindness had more to do with it than the Chaos Emperor Dragon

* * *

**Nick**

* * *

"Goodbye, Nick!" Tyson called heading to the neighborhood called the Martin Estates.

"See ya, Tyson!" Nick called skulking towards the bridge leading away from the city. Phobos Corp Tower could still be seen dominating all of Aquarius glimmering like a diamond in the night. He reached the shack town of Los Angeles Rojo, _The Red Angels_ or the Edge of Aquarius, as it was often called by the snobby elite living in the city.

Nick had to show a special ID to the guards each time he crossed the bridge for school each morning. The card was a gift from Yuri's father as well as the funding for Nick's education as a sign of gratitude for saving Yuri from a group of bullies who almost threw him over a bridge when he began his second year of middle school.

As Nick entered the town the night began to shake from the beat of salsa music. His nose got excited sniffing the sweetmeats grilling on the outdoor cookers. The faint orange glow of the bridge's street lamps faded as he set foot into the plaza where the citizens were getting ready for a festival.

Skeletons dressed in mariachi outfits danced from wires over the town and colorful skulls decorated the stores. Nick found his home, a crumby townhouse with the first floor being used as the restaurant. He went through the brick archway into the restaurant. Consuelo Ollanta was popping papas into the fryer. Twelve chickens were being broiled in the spit spinning over the roaring fire. Five small flatscreen televisions hung on the walls were turned into a soccer game. Consuelo's country, Peru, was winning by five points over the other team, Chile. A few more by the entrance tuned into some dramatic soap operas called _novelas_.

"Nicholas!" Consuelo snapped, slapping her spatula on the greasy counter. " _P_ _uta madre_! Do you know how late it is?"

"Sorry," Nick said with a shrug.

"Oh, you're in trouble!" Sam jeered.

Consuelo clicked her tongue impatiently. "Probably wasting the afternoon playing cards again. Go upstairs and do your homework. No video games until it is finished. Then I need you to come down for supper."

"Yes ma'am," Nick grumbled before going upstairs to the upper rooms where he and Consuelo lived.

He showered and then got to work on his homework. He took school a lot more seriously now that he was a senior and his friends were graduating he didn't want to get left behind. Mr. Montgomery promised that if Nick left high school with a 3.0 GPA he would pay for his college tuition as well. He couldn't afford to let him down, let alone all his friends. He was tired of always coming back to Los Angeles Rojos after school and seeing his friends go home to multi-million dollar mansions.

Not to mention he was sick of seeing Phobos Tower dominating him from Aquarius in the distance. Even from his window here in the edge, the damn tower was mocking him. Consuelo often said that the tower was a giant middle finger from the rich and powerful living on Aquarius.

"If that was so true, then why is the man living there paying for my education?" Nick always countered.

Not everyone in Aquarius was a complete snob. Yuri, Patty, Tyson and Carter, and even Ren were proof of that. But Consuelo was a hard woman to convince.

When he was done with his homework, Nick went downstairs to the restaurant to eat his dinner.

"Mmm-mmm," he said finishing his meal. "I know I've said this over a hundred times, but you make an excellent _pollo a la brasa_ , Consuelo."

"Don't forget to clean your plate," she ordered.

Sam pointed and laughed.

"And as for you, Samuel. It's your turn to sweep the store."

"But-"

"No, buts!" snapped Consuelo. "Or yours will meet my chancleta!"

Nick sniggered while chewing the last of the chicken. "You're so angry with me tonight. Why?"

"This!" Consuelo said pointing at one of the television screens.

"In an amazing turn of events," said the anchor. "A rare Red-Eyes Black Dragon was played in a Duel this afternoon."

The anchor was replaced by scenes of the dragon blasting away at Brett's army of powerful monsters. Someone recorded the match with their phone.

"The dragon was used in a match against Brett Martinetti, who is rumored to be the sweetheart of pop-sensation Crystal Anderson, and the favorite to win the invitational Phobos Corp. Millennium Tournament next summer. It is unclear who the Duelist who owns the card is, but sources say he is friends with Yuri Montgomery, the son of Duel Monsters creator, Jacob Montgomery, clearly seen here in the footage at the time of the dragon's summoning. The Red-Eyes Black Dragon is an exceptionally rare card rumored have been printed six times."

A cut to show the card.

"Four of the dragons are in the private collections in the eastern hemisphere. One in said to be in China; the second in the collection of the Russian Prime Mister; the third in France used by lingerie model Vanessa Lefevre; and the fourth resides in Greece in the deck of national champion,Tula Konstantinopolites. It is unclear where the remaining cards are, but it appears one of them is in the western hemisphere in the city of Aquarius. As of now, private collectors are said to be storming the island city in search of the Duelist who owns the Red-Eyes Black Dragon."

"Oh yeah, sorry about that," Nick said slouching in his seat.

Consuelo yanked his ear. "You were told never to play that card, Nicholas. It is not yours!"

"You heard the news," said Nick. "I was in a Duel with Brett Martinetti. I almost had him beat. I would have won that match had I not been so overconfident."

"I don't care who you were playing against. No one is to know you have that card. Now my restaurant is going to be overrun with…"

Before she could finish she gasped. Nick felt his heart beating faster in his chest when he saw Brett entering the restaurant. He was not surrounded by his usual group. These goons at his side were tall fierce-looking men. One of them was wearing black tactical gear.

"Sam, go upstairs!" Nick ordered his brother.

"You don't have to tell me twice." Sam darted up to his room.

Brett sniffed the air.

"Smells good," he said walking towards the counter where he pulled out a chicken leg from someone's order. He savored the flavor after savagely biting into it. "Oh man, this is good chicken."

"You're not here for the card, are you?" Nick asked. "Cause if you are, you're even crazier than I thought."

"Mmm-mmm!" Brett shook his head throwing the bare chicken bone into the trash.

He took a handful of brown napkins from the chrome dispenser and wiped away the grease.

"Do you really think a guy like me would come to the ass end of the city for some stupid Red-Eyes Black Dragon? Someone has been watching too many Saturday morning cartoons. No, no, Nicky-Boy. I'm here for her."

"Consuelo?"

"You're late in your payments, lady."

"Please, sir," begged Consuelo. "The restaurant hasn't been doing well lately, what with you deporting all of my best customers away. We can't make the bounty your uncle demands of us. We need more time."

"My uncle gave you a month to get your payments sorted out Consuelo."

Brett arrogantly sat down on the booth where Nick was sitting in. He took one of the fries from Nick's plate, dipped it in ketchup and plopped it into his mouth.

He talked as he chewed. "You can't possibly tell me you haven't been able to make the mark I gave you. Hell, woman, I even deducted two grand just to make things easy on you."

"Have pity, child," Consuelo begged. "What with the repairs my restaurant had to go through after the hurricane and the loss of my customers I'm way behind on my work, señor."

"Excuses, excuses. I gave you plenty of time. Remember, my uncle brought you here to live in Aquarius. And you are under our control until you pay back the expenses it took to get you here. You either pay up or you get sent back to Mexico."

"I'm from Peru, señor!"

"Peru, Mexico, what does it matter? They're cesspools in the underbelly of the world. We have been very patient with you thus far, Consuelo, but rules are rules. And if I were you, I would have thought twice before adopting a kid to take care of. You can't even take care of yourself."

"At least she tries!" shouted Nick. "She knows how to make sacrifices and work hard, unlike a spoiled brat like you. You cannot do this to her! That's against the law?"

"What law?" scoffed Brett. "This isn't America boy-o. This is Aquarius. We have our own set of rules here and we're far and away from the jurisdiction of the American government. This is a city for the one percent. And people like you should be thankful that my uncle was gracious enough to build you a place to stay here in the city."

"Yeah, he built them a swell place!" Nick retorted. "Look at this dump, Brett. He doesn't give a shit about the people! He just uses them as a means to fill his pockets."

"Ding, ding, ding! Bingo," said Brett. "That's the cold hard truth, kid. This is business, Nicky-boy, not a charity. These people wanted a better life and we gave it to them. Provided they pay back the money my uncle spent getting them here."

"Five hundred dollars a month is ridiculous!" Nick countered.

"A small price to pay for what it took to get them here," Brett answered with his trademark Cheshire cat grin.

"You're an inhuman monster, Brett."

"I do what I can. Sorry, Consuelo, but I'm afraid you must go back. You can't pay up then you get out."

Brett's men grabbed Consuelo by her arms. She sobbed protesting for mercy.

"Stop! Let her go!" shouted Nick. "We can pay you back! We need more time though."

"You are out of time, Nicky-boy. But I have an idea. You fork over that Red-Eyes Black Dragon and I can consider it as three months' worth of payments. That will give you both plenty of time to start scrounging up for the future."

"You don't understand, Brett. This card was given to me by my sister, Jeannie, after my parents got divorced I never saw her again. This is all I have of her."

"I wouldn't want to separate you from something so close to your heart Nicky-boy. But it's either the card or your foster mom."

"Fine, fine. Take the card. Just let her go."

"Santiago!" ordered Brett. "Take the card from Nick."

"Yes, sir," said the man in the tactical gear.

"I'll get it," Nick protested. Santiago got closer. "I said I'll get it!"

Santiago punched him in the face, knocking him to the floor. He picked him up and held his arms behind his back.

"This is for going against my offer," Brett said, slipping off his leather jacket. He punched Nick in the stomach. "This is for talking to my girl!" he punched him again.

Consuelo screamed for him to stop.

"And these are for the monsters you destroyed in our match."

He punched him in the gut again and again for every monster he lost in their Duel.

Nick was gasping for air. Saliva oozed from the side of his mouth. Brett reached into Nick's pocket where he pulled out his deck and searched for the dragon.

"Ah, yes!" he said after finding the card. "The mighty Red-Eyes Black Dragon is mine at last. I heard Mr. Montgomery invited you to attend the tournament. Take my advice and save yourself the humiliation, Nicky-Boy. Without this card in your deck, your chances are all but gone."

He tossed the rest of the cards at Nick's face. Santiago let him go. "I appreciate your business, guys. See you in three months. Until then, ta ta."

"My Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" Nick groaned in pain, reaching out for it in vain.

He could only watch, beaten and broken on the floor, as his most prized possession disappeared into the night.


	27. Legacy of Darkness

**Patty**

* * *

The alarm on her phone buzzed, announcing that it was midnight.

"Happy Birthday to me," Patty said glumly and she slit a candle.

She had turned eighteen this day and bloomed into a young woman. But, like all her birthdays, there was no one around to celebrate it.

As usual, Patty's father and step-mother had gone out after a long day's work, no doubt to drink their troubles away and forget that it was Patty's birthday.

Patty had her own way of dealing with her troubles. Painting. Tonight, she thought she would try something new.

"Well, Zera, let's see if I can do this," she said to her ace monster, Zera the Mant, the closest thing she had to a best friend.

She mounted the card on a black stand and put black candles around it forming some sort of shrine. Paintings that she made of the beast were hung all around it. One painting depicted Zera holding the severed heads of her father and stepmother.

She went to her laptop and started blasting her favorite song. _Ich Tur Dir Weh_ by Rammstein. She laid out a large white canvas on the floor after moving her furniture around. Then she brought out her paints.

She turned her head to look at Zera and smiled, then she stripped down to her purple panties. She blew the card a kiss then dumped dark blue paint all over her body.

She got on the floor and started rolling herself all over the canvas. The heavy metal blasting on her laptop filled her with adrenaline and she grinned feeling the paint cool her body. She felt her skin get dotted with goose prickles while rubbing herself on the canvas and mixing the colors to just the right shade of blue that matched the armored flesh of Zera the Mant.

Thankfully, her parents wouldn't notice, for they were both away at the bars spending their payday. She let herself loose this night. Nothing could stop her. It was just her and Zera alone. When she had the color she wanted, she danced to a large canvas on the wall and started to create her masterpiece.

She was painting Zera the Mant with her body as she twirled and shook her hips to her favorite song all the while looking back at Zera and sending it kisses. She went back on the canvas on the floor to mix colors again.

She was on her back dancing to the music, shaking her shoulders and kicking her legs up and down. Patty peeled her underwear off and flung it across the room. She pretended that Zera liked what he saw.

Was the girl insane? Indeed, she was. Nick often said that Patty was one Trap Card short of a Dueling deck.

But succumbing to her insanity was the only way for her to feel alive being confined to such a family. Though Yuri and her friends meant the world to her, it was not enough to keep her sane from the madness of her life. So much heartache. So much pain.

It took three hours and constant replays of the song for her to finally finish her piece. To celebrate she snorted coke which she hid in her dresser drawer. As her head became light she looked back at her work.

* * *

That afternoon, Patty went outside to do her chores. The air was heavy and humid and thick. The sun-baked the city with its harsh light. The sky to the east was blackened with rain clouds, which many of the citizens prayed would reach them soon, to quell this infernal heat.

But despite the great discomfort, Patty had a job to do. It was time to paint the shutters again, a job she didn't mind. To combat the heat she put on a very short white midriff top under loose denim overalls. She climbed up the ladder to reach the shutters on the second floor and started to paint while singing a song.

Someone whistled from down below. Patty turned and frowned at what she saw.

Nick waved at her. Sam was right beside him admiring the view. Meanwhile, Yuri was across the street waiting for the traffic to pass. Trucks and military vehicles from RAPTOR rushed by, not giving him a chance to cross, leaving him cursing and screaming.

The sight made Patty laugh, but she did so quietly, keeping her smile and giggles concealed behind her fingers. She knew how sensitive Yuri could be when people made fun of him when he was struggling.

"Hot damn, you know how to make me happy!" Sam said admiring the view below the ladder.

Patty ignored him and kept an eye on Yuri. She was high enough on the ladder to see that there were cars coming, but they were at a safe distance for Yuri to cross. "Go!" she called, and Yuri darted across the street before a RAPTOR Humvee drove by. The private security contractors honked to get Yuri's attention, as well as Patty's from her perch. She blew them kisses as they drove by.

"What are you guys doing here?" Patty asked, brushing the hair from her face with her fingers. Beads of sweat rolled down her face. The hot tropical sun was practically cooking her from her spot on top of the ladder. It made the boys feel ill seeing her act like it was nothing. "Nick. Glad to see you're out of your house. You feeling better?"

Nick frowned and shook his head. The last thing he wanted right now was to be reminded of that horrible loss. "Let's not talk about that," he said. "We came to wish you a happy birthday. So let's forget about Brett and Crystal. We bought some gifts for you." He stepped forward, showing her the bags and parcels they brought for her. "Some of this stuff is from Natalya and Sergei."

"I got you a new card by the way," boasted Sam. "Took me a while to find it, but you're going to love them."

"No," said Nick, "Yuri was the one who got you the new card. It's this really awesome card from Mr. Montgomery's collection. And from the Gold Series to boot."

"A Gold Series card? For me?" Patty's face lit up with joy and she slid down the ladder to greet Yuri. "Yuri, you shouldn't have."

"Not a card," Yuri corrected, checking the pockets of his backpack for the gift. "Cards."

"Cards!" Nick almost shouted. "You told me there was only one."

"For good reason," Sam chuckled, for he found Nick's overly dramatic reaction quite humorous. "If Yuri told you how many cards he got Patty, you would have bothered Mr. Montgomery for cards too. Say, Patty, what's with all the paint on your neck?"

"Huh," Patty asked. She checked her reflection on the water window by the sides of her door. "Oh, yeah, I was painting a mural of Zera last night."

"Must have been messy," said Yuri, still trying to find the present.

Patty giggled. "It was, baby, I was using my body."

"Hurk!" Yuri went as he froze.

Sam bobbed his head up and down. "With your bod, huh? Now that's lit!"

"Where have you been all my life?" growled Nick. "You are so awesome, Patty."

"Ew," said Patty, taking a step back from the rapist stare he was giving her.

"Ah, here it is," Yuri said, taking out the present. "But you've got to promise you'll use them right away."

"Okay," Patty said, ripping open the black wrapping paper and pink bow to reveal a black velvet box. "Oooo," hooted Patty. She opened it. "Oh wow! Oh wow! Oh wow!" she cried out and leaped with joy. "Yuri you have no idea how long I was looking for this!" She hugged him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Yuri cringed, feeling his windpipe get clogged. He could smell the sweet scent of her suntan lotion, and the fruity shampoo in her hair.

"What did you get?" Sam asked, jumping up and down all around them. "Come on, don't leave us dangling!"

"Dark Ruler Ha Des!" Patty shrieked. "He's almost impossible to find! And Gold Rare to boot! Oh, Yuri!" Patty opened her arms and wrapped them around Yuri, again, crushing him. Nick and Sam seemed to glow red with jealousy.

"What else?" Nick asked, trying to remain calm. "Yuri said cards. Plural, meaning more than one."

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Patty said, shutting her box and stuffing it into the pocket of her overalls.

"So why don't we head to the Duel Dome and find out?" Sam asked. "Yuri's father gave us money so we could get a spot there."

"Maybe we should come back another time," said Yuri. "Looks like Patty has a lot of stuff to do. Should we drop by later and pick you up tonight?"

"Maybe we can help out," Nick suggested. "You know the old saying? Many hands make light work."

"Forget it," said Patty, she held on tightly to her butterfly necklace. "I'll hire some guy to do it. It's my birthday after all."

"Won't your parents get mad?"

"I don't give a…"

"Mmph!" went Yuri to remind Patty there was a child in their presence.

Patty put her gear away and called the nearest painter to get the job done for her. As she showered upstairs, Yuri, Nick, and Sam helped themselves to all the snacks in her food closet. She came down wearing terribly tight denim cutoffs with shiny zippers in odd places, and a black midriff top with a white escutcheon; the logo of her favorite rock band. Bangles jingled on her wrists and a shiny navel piercing glistened in the light. She put on her black baseball cap backward and placed her hands on her hips as if she was modeling her ensemble for her friends.

"When did you get that?" Yuri asked, referring to her navel piercing.

Patty looked at her new 'gift' and smiled. "Last night," she answered. "Isn't it cool?"

"Ha!" Nick blurted out loud. "If Consuelo was your mother, she'd rip it out with pliers. Personally, I'm not one for those kinds of piercings. But you do you, Patty. So, did you add those new cards to your deck?"

"I did," Patty said, reaching into the deep pocket of her trousers. They were so loose that when they jerked, the waistband of her underwear poked out for a second, causing Sam's eyes to widen.

She pulled out the deck. The cards were protected by black sleeves with a 3D purple mist. The sleeves, thankfully, would not prevent the microchips in the cards from being read by the scanners on the gaming systems she'd place them on.

"So, let's get this show on the road," she said, putting her cards pack into her pocket.

They took a bus downtown on Naros Island where the Duel Dome stood. Inside, their ears were bombarded with all sorts of noises. Children were screaming and laughing. Monsters roaring in the giant screens displaying various Duels going on the arenas. An arcade was recently built in the main atrium, which was lit up with fluorescent lights and a fountain that could glow in different colors. Sam quickly ran to the nearest booth about a tactical shooter while Yuri and the others registered themselves to confirm their reservations for an arena all to themselves.

"What about Carter and Tyson?" Patty asked. "It's not going to be a happy birthday without them."

"I just texted them," Nick said, looking at his phone. "Tyson is doing something with his family in town and Carter has his own birthday celebration right now. But he wants to know if we can meet up with him later, Patty."

Patty nodded. "Sure. I want to enjoy this day with all my friends. As I said, it's not a happy birthday without all you guys."

"Yuri!" someone shouted. "Yuri Montgomery!"

"Well, well, well," Patty chuckled cruelly upon seeing Randal Lawson. "How's the pro-leagues going little man? I'd imagine they're difficult without Brett managing you."

"Well, that's why I'm here!" shouted Randall. "My life has been hell because of you, Yuri. Ever since I lost to you I've been nothing but a joke."

Patty laughed. "You've been nothing but a joke even before Yuri beat you, Randall."

"I wasn't talking to you whore!"

"What did he say!?" Sam shouted. Nick grabbed him by the arms to keep him from starting any trouble with Randall. "Don't talk about my girl like that, you big jerk! Lemme go, Nick! Lemme go! He can't say that! He can't say that!"

"Now just wait a minute!" shouted Yuri. "First off, I don't have my deck right now. Secondly, I'm not going to Duel you even if I did. You're a loser! How dare you call my friend such a nasty word?"

"Did I strike a nerve, Yuri?" Randall sneered. He looked at Patty, examining her from head to toe. "She is one, Yuri. I expected your taste in girls was poor, but never did I think anything like this. Beautiful platinum blonde hair ruined by those ridiculous pink highlights. Your eyes are masked behind some stupid anime-blue contacts and darkened by lord knows how much mascara." He examined her curves. "Such a wonderous body she has. Girl, you are fit to be a model. But you choose to degrade yourself acting like some punk whore. I wonder how many men you've slept with."

"Why the fuck does that matter!?" Nick shouted, still keeping Sam's arms locked; his legs flailing up and down.

"It only proves my point," Randall answered obnoxiously. "Just look at her. All that skin she's showing. And half your underwear is visible for all the world to see. You're nothing but an attention seeker. Ah yes, I've also seen your MyLife account. You may have been Yuri's cheerleader during that Duel, but nevertheless, you were a very pretty face. I just had to learn who you were." He cackled. "Oh, Yuri you should see her MyLife. Lots of...'cheeky' photos were posted all over the place since last night. You just love showing off that ass of yours, don't you?"

Patty shrugged and slapped her behind twice. "It puts food on the table and adds cards to my deck," she responded calmly, although the fluorescent lighting accented the flushing of her cheeks, showing that was getting rather bothered by his remarks. "But if you want, I'll Duel you. No one calls me a whore and gets away with it!"

Randall hooted. "And what do you got, princess? Fairies and cute little warriors?"

"You'll be surprised what I've got in store for you, Randall," Patty retorted confidently. "Now, are we going to play or what?"

"I think not. Brett said he'd give me a second chance if I faced Yuri and beat him!"

"I'm just as good," said Patty.

"Maybe even better," Yuri added.

"Fine, but Yuri's next in line, no ifs, ands, or buts! Hmm. Butts..."

"Don't even think about it," said Patty. "I wouldn't bet to sleep with you even if you were the last man on this fucking island. Yuri, I believe your father rented us an arena for the evening. Let's go, please."

"Sure," Yuri said. "Teach him a lesson, Patty."

They found the arena reserved for them to play in. It was time to start the match. Patty and Randall shuffled each other's decks and then choose which platform to use for the match. Randall chose the blue one, so Patty was going to use the red. The hopped aboard. The platforms rose ten feet high over the stadium. The scoreboard above them displayed their Life Points.

"Why don't you save yourself the humiliation!?" Randall called from his side of the field. "Yuri got lucky because his daddy got him that super-rare card. But I don't think you've got such luck, do you?"

"Probably not," Patty. "You going to stand there boasting? Or are we going to play?"

"I'm going first!" Randall declared. Patty shrugged her shoulders to show she didn't care. "Watch closely, Yuri, I'm about to give your friend an ass whooping she's never going to forget. Which is exactly what I'm going to do to you."

"I'm willing to take you on again, Randall," Yuri yelled from the bleachers. "All you have to do is beat my friend."

"I won't lose! I've beefed up my deck with lots of strong cards. I've grown far more powerful since we've last met, Yuri. It's very sad you're going to let your little girlfriend over there take such a beating. Again, Patty, it's not too late to back out. Just step down from there like a good little girl, and let the men play."

"Blah, blah, blah!" Patty said, fanning her face with her cards. "Are you going to make a move or are you going to bore us with your rhetoric all night?"

Sam stood up from his seat. "Yeah! Shut up and just play!"

Patty smirked and put on her fingerless gloves. "While we're young, loser," she said, stretching her fingers until they got used to being confined in the leather.

"Watch it, girlie! I summon Judge Man with a powerful force of twenty-two hundred!"

"Is that all?" Patty asked, drawing her card.

Yuri looked at her in disbelief. _She sure is confident. If I saw a monster like that get played on the first move of the game, I'd be terrified. But Patty's got this look of coolness on her face. What could she be up to?_

"Wow," said Nick. "I did some searching around Patty's profile. There's no sign of her in anything provocative. But there's a tag on someone else's profile. A promoter of hot and sexy girls on MyLife. Patty has a pic on one of his albums. And hot damn she's got a big ass."

He was gawking at a photo of Patty in front of the mirrored doors of her closet. She was wearing a black hooded sweater, a baseball cap placed backward, and black thong wedged so tight into her yoga-frim buttocks that it was almost invisible.

"Patty?" Yuri said looking at the picture, adoring the caption of the photo that read: _Let's cuddle and watch hentai tonight_. "Well. That's a side of you I've never seen before."

"What!" cried Sam. "Let me see! Let me see!"

Patty gave a loud gulp. "Put that away, Nick. It's nothing. Don't think anything about it, please?"

Yuri could tell Patty was bothered by what Nick found. He hated to admit it, but wanted to know more about Patty's 'other side'. Nevertheless, he respected her wishes and swiped the phone away from Nick and stuffed it in his pocket "Uh, uh, uh!" he said wagging his finger over Sam's face. "That's not for young kids to see."

"Can I have my phone back, Yuri?"

"After the game. Patty needs our support."

Randall slammed his fist on the board. "And you fools complained that I take too long. What's going on over there? Make your move or forfeit the match."

Patty glared at her arrogant opponent. "Put your tampons on and relax, will you? I'm thinking here. Your Judge Man is a pretty formidable monster. Hmm. I summon the Thirteenth Grave in defense mode!"

A skeleton wearing teal-colored rags and carrying a large, heavily rusted claymore rose out of the ground from a veil of purple mist. It let out a hideous laugh as it stared at Randall's Judge Man. With a DEF of only a mere 900 points, the 13th Grave was not a capable monster to play. Randall knew this all too well and laughed at Patty.

"Really? I heard you were better than Yuri. You've proven me wrong if you think your puny skeleton stands a chance against my Judge Man."

"Hmm, I guess not," Patty replied uncaringly. "I set a card face-down. That ends my turn."

"I draw!" Randall said. "I play the Ritual Spell known as Novox's Prayer. This lets me sacrifice these two weaker monsters in my hand as a sacrifice to summon the all-powerful, Skull Guardian!"

The warrior rose out of the ground after a ritualistic circle appeared. He had bladed arms and dark brown armor.

**Skull Guardian**

**ATK/2050 DEF/2500**

**LV 7**

Sam started jumping up and down in his seat. He balled both his fists anxiously and whined. "Come on! That just isn't fair. What's she doing?"

Patty meanwhile braced herself as Judge Man was ordered to attack the 13th Grave. He gave a mighty battle cry and ran towards the skeleton monster. He brandished his heavy steel maces in the light and lifted the right one, slamming it down on the 13th Grave's skull. Or he tried to at least. The mace seemed to freeze a mere inch from the 13th Grave.

"Your attack activated my Trap Card. Spellbinding Circle! It freezes your Judge Man and prevents him from attacking."

The golden magical circle spun under Judge Man's feet. It rose up to his chest and bound him tightly. Judge Man growled, writhing; moving his shoulders from left to right in frustration. He spat as the 13th Grave laughed at him.

 _BWAH! Ha! Ha! Ha!_ The skeleton hollered.

Randall looked at the field in disbelief. "No!" he cried, placing both hands on the sides of the board and leaning forward to get a better look at the damage that had been done. Yup. There was no getting out Patty's trap. "Your Spellbinding Circle may have stopped my Judge Man, but I've still got my Skull Guardian to finish the job. Attack and silence The Thirteenth Grave!"

Skull Guardian raised his bladed arms, crossing them over his chest ceremoniously. Then he sprinted towards the 13th Grave and sliced him up with a powerful cross-slash attack.

It almost laughed at the blow. _Bwah! Ha! Ha! Ha! GYAH_! He exploded. Bones flew in all directions and the rusty claymore fell to the ground with a loud clank. Randall laughed, relieved that he no longer had to listen to the 13th Grave's infernal laughter anymore.

"Nice try, Patty. But not good enough. Come on, now. I expected so much more from you. Especially with all that praise Yuri just gave you. I bet it was just a bluff to get you from Dueling against me tonight, wasn't it, Yuri? I knew that defeat was nothing more than sheer dumb luck. Why, if you hadn't drawn that beast, I would have been the victor that night. You're pathetic. Just like this little whore you've sent to play against me."

Nick stood up at once. "One more word, Lawson, and I'm going to break my foot up your ass."

"Nick forget it!" Patty cried, trying to calm him. "He's not worth it."

"Not worth it?" Randall slammed his fist on the board and laughed. "It's you who is not worthy. It should be a privilege for local players like yourselves to even be playing against a champion like me. Go on, Patty. Play your next pathetic card so I can end this Duel and take down the kid who ruined my life!"

"If you say so," Patty said. She drew her card. "I summon Reaper of the Cards!"

She laid the card on the board and summoned the wraith said to be lurking in the Card Graveyard, taking the souls of fallen monsters. The phantom was hovering over the board, howling and moaning.

It wore a dark brown tattered cloak with a hood keeping its face concealed in darkness. Glowing blue eyes and a mouth could be seen glowing in the shadows of the hood. From torn sleeves came out long, bony hands with flesh stretched and brown with decay. The long fingers with black nails wrapped themselves around the wooden handle of a crude but horrifying scythe, which it used to take the souls of thousands of fallen monsters. A necklace of Duel Monster cards flapped around the neck, or what little it had.

**Reaper of the Cards**

**ATK/1380 DEF/1930**

Patty then equipped the Reaper of the Cards with Axe of Despair, increasing its attack to 2380. But Randall was too clever for her, activating his Magi Jammer card to cancel out the effect. Patty played Book of the Moon during Randall's battle phase, flipping the Reaper face down. His DEF was too weak to withstand an attack from Skull Guardian, but it still defended her Life Points.

"You're starting to annoy me," Randall sniggered. "Now, let's remove my Judge Man from your trap with the spell card Remove Trap!"

Judge Man released himself from the magic bindings of Patty's circle. He thumped his chest and grunted. "You can't do anything to stop me, Patty. You've lost. I won! You don't have a hope of defeating my two monsters. Surrender now. Whore!"

Patty drew. She smiled and held up her card. "From your darkest fears, the angel of death emerges to fill the battle with dread! I summon Lich Lord King of the Underworld!"

****

**ATK/2400 DEF/1200**

The ghastly creature was a skeleton whose bones were blackened to the color of ash. It was draped in a torn red hood cloak and carried a gold staff. Black wings spanning sixteen feet opened behind him. Patty ordered the attack and the monster used its staff to conjure a spell of death that choked Judge Man, destroying him.

Randall gulped in horror. His Life Points dropping to **1800**.

"That card," he wailed. "It's so evil. But I will destroy him. I place a card face down and summon a monster in defense mode and switch Skull Guardian to defense mode, too!"

_Just try attacking me, Patty. The card I set face-down is a Nobleman-Eater Bug which can destroy two monsters when you attack me. So it doesn't matter what you play next; my bug will render them useless._

Patty drew her card and began her turn. She smiled when she saw the card and looked at Yuri. "Yuri, thanks again for this awesome gift. It wouldn't be a happy birthday if this guy didn't make his debut."

"Gift?" said Randall.

"Oh yes," said Patty. "I got plenty of them for my birthday today. It's one of the benefits of having friends who love you." She looked down at the boys, beaming at them. "Friendship. It's something I don't expect a snob like you would understand. I first activate a rare spell known as Tribute to the Doomed. I discard a card and I get to destroy one of your monsters. So say goodbye to your Skull Guardian!"

Bandages slithered out of the ground and wrapped themselves around Skull Guardian. Then, a giant hand came out of the depths of the underworld, grabbed Skull Guardian, and dragged him down to the Graveyard.

Randall was shaken. Not only was his monster destroyed, but he was haunted by the sight of the hand coming out of hell and dragging Skull Guardian down. He would see that image for the rest of his days. He grew scared almost as though he had walked into some horrible nightmare. And it was far from over, for it was still Patty's turn.

She gave a devilish grin as she held her card. "From the dreaded depths of hell comes for the lord of all Fiends. The master and ruler of the dark planes of the Shadow Realm. I summon…." She slapped the card on the mat. "Dark Ruler Ha Des! In attack mode."

A fissure opened in the ground next to Lich Lord. Flames came out, followed by the moans and groans of a billion souls consumed by the Shadow Realm. Sam shivered and held his brother close when the vile demon rose from a pool of shadows that manifested on the fissure.

****

**Dark Ruler Ha Des**

**ATK/2450 DEF/1600**

**LV 6**

"Bro, how can someone so cute summon something so vile?" Sam whimpered.

"And she likes it, too," said Nick.

Patty's face was glowing red from the eerie red radiance irradiating from the ground beath Ha Des' feet. Ha Des cackled loudly. His humor echoed across the arena and sent chills down their spines. A creepy organ was playing a wicked song as the entire arena was bathed in darkness, save for the red fiery glow that illuminated the monsters on the field and Patty, who was grinning horribly from her platform.

Dark Ruler Ha Des turned to look at Patty. "What's going on?" Yuri thought as he watched Dark Ruler Ha Des lightly touched Patty's face. She smiled at him, breathing heavily, enjoying the sight of the horrible Fiend she just summoned.

Sam held Nick even tighter. "Remind me never to Duel her, bro, that deck is wicked scary."

Patty continued to her battle phase. "And now, Ha Des, attack his face-down monster!"

Dark Ruler Ha Des laughed manically while conjuring an evil spell from the eyes of his skull. costume.

"You fell for it!" said Randall. "I activate my Nobleman-Eater Bug's effect. When attacked he can…"

"Yeah, I don't think so," Patty said, blowing in her nails and rubbing them on her shirt for a quick polish.

"Wha?"

Ha Des' spell coiled around the Nobleman-Eater Bug. The giant insect screeched and wriggled as it gasped for air. Doom fell upon it and it shattered. Randall was expecting the bug to work its magic. Dark Ruler Ha Des and Lich Lord, King of the Underworld were still on the field. Nobleman-Eater Bug's effect did not work, much to Randall's horror.

"What's going on?" he babbled. "My Nobleman-Eater Bug's effect was supposed to destroy your two monsters!"

Dark Ruler Ha Des let out a thunderous laugh which sliced Randall's ego like a hot sword through butter. Thunder boomed in the arena and the lights dimmed. Patty, meanwhile, let out a delightful giggle. It sounded so cute, which was odd; for it came from behind the two demons on the field. "I guess we 'whores' aren't as stupid as you think we are. Dark Ruler Ha Des negates the effects of monsters when they battle with Fiend-Type monsters."

"But-but!" stammered Lawson.

"Yeah, yours is about to be kicked," said Patty. "I play a card face down. Make your move. I've got more fiends on the way, and the two I have on the field are thirsty for more carnage."

Randall gulped as he drew his next card. "I play Pot of Greed and draw two cards. Now I summon Rude Kaiser in defense mode ( **DEF/1600 ATK/1800 LV 5** )! Then I play the Ritual Spell, Garma Sword Oath. Arise my ultimate monster!"

"That's the monster Randall almost beat Yuri with," Sam shouted over the howling winds blowing around them as the ritual was being processed.

"You remember, don't you!" sneered Randall. "Now, my beast returns to wreak his vengeance on you, my dear!" ( **ATK/2550 DEF/2150 LV 7** ) "Yes, now the first fiend to be slain will be your Dark Ruler…what?"

A vortex of decayed rose petals spun on the monster zone next to Dark Ruler Ha Des. The powerful crack of a whip caused them to disperse to reveal a woman dressed in a blood-red armored gown. The mask she wore over her face was in the same style as her dress and a veil of white hair flowed down her back.

"What is that?"

Patty explained. "When you special summoned your Garma Sword, I discarded a card from my hand to do a special summon of my own. Say hello to the beautiful Chaos Hunter!" ( **ATK/2500 DEF/1600 LV 7** )

"More monsters!" cried Randall.

"Yup," said Patty sending a kiss his way as she fanned her face with her cards.

"It still won't save your Ha Des!"

"No," said Patty, flipping her trap, "but this will."

"Negate Attack!" cried Lawson. "No! Now my attack is nullified!"

"You're damn right, and now it's my turn, kiddo. I summon Diabolos King of the Abyss!"

Patty's newest monster gave a thunderous roar that caused all the monsters on her field to bow. Except for Ha Des, for he had some rough dealings with the beast in card lore. The red glow went out and the arena darkened, only to be lit up by a dull dark blue glow coming from the patterns on the beast who armored body was black as night. His arms and legs bound by chains which he released himself from upon being summoned by his master.

**Diabolos King of the Abyss**

**ATK/2800 DEF/1000**

**LV 7**

Patty clutched her butterfly pendant and said: "From the lowest and darkest depths of Yami emerges the king of darkness and master of all its spoils. Open your malevolent wings and unleash thy fury upon my foolish foe!"

Diabolos gave a low, metallic shout, causing the arena to rumble. "Patty, that's one sweet dragon!" Sam shouted. "Trade for it?"

Patty held up her middle finger in response to his question. He and Nick were having fun watching Patty summon those fell creatures. But Yuri was growing rather cold.

"Diabolos?" he whispered. "I didn't give her that card."

"Wow, Yuri," Nick shivered, his teeth chattering in fright. "I don't think Black Tyranno is the strongest card on the island anymore."

Yuri had no choice but to agree on that. Once Diabolos destroyed Garma Sword, Randall could take it no more, and he ran out of the arena.

"Look at that," said Patty. She placed a hand on her hip and laughed; it almost sounded the vile cackle of a witch. "And I didn't even lose a single Life Point."

"That's why I love her," Nick whimpered, he sunk in his seat, not believing the devastation that someone he found so cute had caused. All those vile, ugly, monsters swarming onto the field at her command. It felt unreal.

"She is so hot!" Sam declared as Patty tossed her hair over her shoulder once the monsters disappeared.

"Not bad for your eighteenth birthday, eh?" Yuri asked as Patty headed towards them.

She smirked and stuffed her deck pack

"Hey, it's not over yet. We have to visit Carter, remember? He's celebrating his big One-Eight in the Black Rose Club." She looked at Sam and shook her head. "Ooo, sorry about that Sonny-Jim, but you have to go home. You're too young for the clubs."

But Sam was proving rather too reluctant to leave. Patty had to give him a kiss on the cheek to finally cool him down. The boy went red and silent for the rest of their walk out of the arena. They bought him a ticket back to Mobius Island and then proceeded to the center, where they would join Carter in his own birthday celebration. Usually, the group would meet at an arcade or a hamburger restaurant to celebrate each other's birthdays. But now, by law on Aquarius, they were old enough to frequent the night clubs. Although, venturing into them was nothing new for Patty. Yuri already knew she would haunt many different places for a quick drink or even a boy to take home to satisfy her pleasure.

That always terrified Yuri about Patty. Now that she was eighteen and legal to do almost anything she wanted, how far would she go to satisfy her different curiosities? He hated to admit it, but it was a question he was rather looking forward to seeing answered. Patty was grown up and he found her rather -dare he say it? - sexy. He always did; for Patty was gifted with great beauty since she was born. Even the bright pink highlights, heavy eyeliner, and rude mannerisms could not hide that about her. She walked far ahead of them and gave a spin as she listened to her favorite song blasting through her earbuds. Everywhere she walked, men would turn to gawk at her.

"What's gotten into her?" Nick asked. "I've never seen her this pumped up about anything before."

Yuri shrugged. "She's eighteen-years-old now, Nick. She's finally free to do whatever she wants. However she wants."

Nick shivered, staring at her posterior, barely hidden by her cutoffs. "Kind of makes you feel warm inside. Eh, Yuri?"

"I feel a lot of things but warm isn't one of them," Yuri said as they stopped for the traffic light. Cars rolled by them. Patty was still swinging her hips and moving her shoulders to the music she was listening to. "I still can't believe she's that little girl I met back in Kindergarten. She used to make mudpies in the beach during her free time. She painted butterflies until she ran out of paper. I remember her singing along to Barney the Dinosaur as she picked flowers for my mom at the park. Man, and those little ribbons in her hair. To see that little thing that was once so innocent and pure transform into someone like..."

Patty started twerking and she didn't care who was watching. She looked back at Yuri and laughed.

"...Like that. I'm just at a loss for words."

Nick slapped Yuri in the back. "Hey man, you've got to leave those memories where they are. In the past." The light turned green and they crossed the street. "I've got to admit, I've known Patty before this whole goth-punk stage of hers, too. It feels odd but I've come to terms that we're all grown up. I mean, no offense, but you didn't exactly grow up like an angel when we were younger."

Yuri looked at the ground and tightened his throat to keep himself from sighing.

"I mean you were a thug back in the day, man. You were dangerous. You made the Martinettis run for their money when you were the top dog in Los Angeles Rojas."

"Don't remind me," Yuri said, sliding the sleeve of his shirt down over a scar on his wrist. "Everyone on the island wanted me dead for the things I did."

"You atoned for them, though," Nick said, putting an arm over Yuri. "That's more than I can say for most folk."

"I atoned because you saved me from being thrown off the bridge by those punks. I realized what I did was wrong. Or at least I think I got the wrong inside of me blasted away."

He closed his eyes and remembered the big, red, dragon with two mouths roaring at him. His breath felt like being pushed by hurricane-force winds. He recalled the pointy-haired man shouting that he was going to be 'cleansed' of all his sins with that monster's attack. Maybe he was. He sure didn't feel the same after the first time he had the dream with Yami and his little counterpart, Yugi, who was much kinder and gentler when he Dueled. He dreamed about the Prince dueling him the night before actually...

* * *

"Why do you sometimes appear to me so small?" the hooded prince said to the boy standing in front of him in the same chapel where they always seemed to meet.

Yugi gave a friendly chuckle. "The Spirit of the Puzzle can get a little extreme with his methods," he replied. "I thought it best that maybe we could have a little fun for a change."

"Fun?"

"Don't tell me you don't know what fun is, Your Highness."

The prince shrugged. "Dunno. Ever since you two goons showed up in my life and haven't given me a good night's sleep, I don't know what to think anymore."

"Yeah, but how else can we keep the shadows from consuming you again. They're after you, my friend, and they want to take everything away from you. Your crown. Your kingdom. Your God Cards."

"I think you got the wrong guy, Yugi."

Yugi grinned. He looked rather odd wearing that black armored trenchcoat as the prince was. "I think its time you saw the truth tonight, Prince Daveed. Or is it...Yuri that they're calling you now?"

"What!"

"We know all about you," said Yugi.

"How do you..."

"Uh-uh, if you want answers, you have to beat me in a Duel. But not just any Duel. This is going to be a Dimension Duel."

"What's that?" asked the Prince.

"Just a little something to make things interesting," Yugi replied confidently. "You see, we can summon monsters without sacrifice by using our Spirit Energy. The attack points of your monsters is determined by your Spirit Energy. Also, when a monster gets destroyed in battle in a Dimension Duel, we don't take damage times the difference of the monsters who fought. No, we lose Life Points equal to the monster that was destroyed. Understand? Good. Now, let's go!"

"Yuri...that name...it sounds familiar."

"This should clear up your memory," Yugi said, placing a black GEN 5 Duel Disk on his wrist. He removed a holo-lense from it and put it over his eye. "I'll start first. Try getting past this. I summon Sentry Soldier of Stone in defense mode!"

He summoned an enormous homunculus made of dense rock with three legs. He removed two stone cleavers from the sheaths over his chest and swung them around to intimidate the Prince.

**DEF/2000**

"I'll play your little game, Yugi," the Prince said, holding up his wrist and forming the arcane circle Duel Disk. "I Dimension Summon, Dark Driceratops!"

He squeezed his muscles and his body was outlined in a light blue auro. He clenched his teeth, feeling his energy being drained to summon the monster he wanted.

He chose a card from his holographic hand. It digitized and then formed a green-skinned four-legged ceratopsian dinosaur with gold-feathered wings. It had an ATK of 2400, and it could inflict damage to Yugi's Life Points even if his monster was in defense mode.

Yugi grinned, not at all phased by such an attack. "I'm impressed," he said. "You were able to Dimension Summon with your monster's attack points to the max. Well, I suppose I shall take things up that level, too. With this. I use the Ritual Spell, Chaos Form!" he shouted. "Behold, the Magician of Black Chaos MAX!"

Behind Yugi, the gateway to chaos opened and from it emerged an all-powerful form of a monster he once used. Magician of Black Chaos MAX wore all black that was hued with dark magenta. His blackish-purple hair waved behind him like a cape and three long sashes flapped behind him as well. He wore baggy, black, trousers with magenta flame designs on both his legs. The magician wielded a scepter that could double as a battle axe.

**ATK/2800**

Yugi commanded his magician to strike. The Chaos MAX magician swooped forward and smashed the axe-blade on the dinosaur's head. Dark Driceratops groaned and exploded. With that attack, Yugi was allowed to add a Spell Card from his Graveyard.

"Are things starting to get clearer?" Yugi asked. "Don't answer that. I can tell you want to keep this match going and go back to sleep." He laughed. "But if you want to lose that badly, be my guest. I set two cards face-down and end my turn."

"He's new," Prince said, referring to the Magician of Black Chaos MAX. "But each time I face you two I get better. Watch! I draw!"

* * *

"Yuri..."

"Huh?"

Nick and Patty were staring at him.

"What happened?" Yuri asked.

Patty shook her head. "I dunno, you tell me. You just stopped and phased out there for a few minutes. People were starting to think you went brain dead."

Yuri felt his face getting hot. People? Goodness. Who knew how many people had been watching him just stand there.

"Come on." Patty grabbed him by the arm and yanked him further down the street. "The club is this way. You'll feel better once we're inside. I'll order you a basket of fries."

They waited in line outside of the club. The building was painted black and outlined with rose-red neon. Bushes with hundreds of roses growing from them lined down the red carpet where the people were waiting their turn to get inside. Patty took her phone out and started taking a dozen selfies before she posed with Nick and Yuri. It was finally their turn to go in. They showed the bouncer their ID's. He told Yuri to stay off the bar since he was younger by a year. That caused him to grumble. At last, they went inside.

There was a black stage lit up with small, round, bulbs. Dancing on there was a woman in a revealing red dress with blonde hair. She shook her hips and blew kisses to the crowd as the song **_You Make Me Feel Mighty Real_** by Sylvester played loudly on the speakers around the stage. Bubbles flew out of machines and a few rose petals rained down on the woman.

"Damn!" said Nick. "We just walk in and already we see a fine-ass...OH GOD! IT'S CARTER!"

Yuri took a closer look. He burst out laughing when he figured out that it really was Carter. He was having the time of his life up there. He had not a care in the world what anybody thought about him. Nothing. He was who he was and whoever was around him had to shut the fuck up and accept it. Carter looked down from the stage and saw his friends. When he saw Patty among them, he called up her. He took her by the hand and dragged her up on the stage. The two of them started dancing. Patty bent forward and began grinding her butt on Carter's crotch. Carter playfully put his hands on his hips, making a disapproved face. He wagged his finger and started smacking her derriere.

"Man, Carter gets more action from her than me, God damn it!" Nick shouted. He turned and walked to the bar for a drink. Yuri went to join him, finding it rather odd to see his friends act so crazy.

"I'll just have a soda," Yuri told the bartender. "That's going to be burned in my memory forever."

"I should have gone home," said Nick. "Now I'm not in the mood to party anymore."

"Why, because Patty's having a good time with someone else other than you? Come on, Nick. We've been through this before. Patty is not for you. And she never will be. How many times does she have to reject you in order for you to figure that out?"

"I don't expect you to understand," Nick said sadly.

"Hey, wipe away that long face," said Yuri, patting Nick's back. "Come on, let's have some fun."


	28. The Last Prince of Elleria

**Patty**

* * *

Friday's were usually quite busy at the Ruby Dragon's diner, but ever since word got out that Yuri beat both Randall Lawson and a legendary Dragon Sister, and was good friends with Crystal Anderson, players flocked from far and wide, even from the mainland to come to the shop where Yuri both worked and played. Thus the shop from the second floor down was full of eager Duelists looking to test their luck against Yuri and his Black Tyranno, a beast who had become quite legendary.

Patty ran up and down the shop passing by tables full of rowdy characters and hotshot Duelists showing off their skills and their best monsters on the Duel Screens located around the shop. Others were waiting for their turn to use the new arena that Sergei had built into the basement. Flatscreen televisions hung here and there on the walls displayed the matches taking place down there. Patty occasionally glanced at the screens to get a glimpse of a few matches, but she had to focus on work, otherwise, she would get an earful from Peggie, the assistant manager of the Ruby Dragon, who mostly involved herself with operations in the diner. She was a tall and stout woman with puffy cheeks, pink with makeup and a blonde hair fashioned in a beehive style from the 50's.

In fact, there she was, leaning against the jukebox while chewing her gum. Her bright green eyes were like that of a hawk's scanning the diner for anyone who needed help so she could flag down one of the girls to assist them. Also, she was on the lookout for troublemakers. Peggie called the waitresses her 'babies' treating them more like daughters than employees. Though the Ruby Dragon was a game shop, there was beer being served for older customers who the shop was mostly catered for. She had a knack for tackling drunken reprobates who got too rowdy with her girls. Rowdiness was behavior that was not uncommon given the tight gray shirts and black shorts the waitresses wore.

Sergei often said Peggie once wrestled a grizzly bear, and given her show of strength and nasty attitude, everyone believed it. She once grabbed two young men who were harassing Candy, one of the waitresses, by the scruff of their necks with the greatest of ease before throwing them out of the store.

As Patty scurried down the stairs to the kitchen her eyes darted from left to right, looking for customers who needed assistance. But most of all, she was looking for Yuri. If he was in the house, the crowd would flock around him and gather around to watch him use his Black Tyranno. Therefore, the diner wouldn't be as busy, for they would have Yuri's skills to snack on instead.

"Wow, busy night!" Candy said, holding up a black tray with nachos, mini-burger sliders, beer, and hot dogs. "You gotta thank Yuri for this."

"Yeah, terrific," Patty said sarcastically, leaning against the wall to catch her breath. Though content with her earnings, she was not too happy with the long hours and the rowdy customers of the diner. "You doing good?" she asked.

"So far I've accumulated fifty bucks worth of tips," Candy said with a wink.

"Keep using words like 'accumulated' and you'll see those tips go down," Patty said sternly. "Some of these guys get scared at the thought of a girl with a brain in her head."

"She aint lying'," said Ruby, a red-haired latina girl. She was picking up messy plates from a recently vacated table and set them on her tray. "Babe, I know you go to that fancy-pants Phobos University, but it's best to leave that image out there. Once you're in here, with these guys, you're nothing but a pair of breasts that talk."

"It pays for my books," Candy said with a shrug.

"Uh-oh, you better get moving," said Patty. "Mama Peggie is watching us."

Candy's head darted to the left so fast, her long braids whipped over her shoulders. She saw Peggy furiously tapping her wristwatch. "Oops!" Candy said, darting for her table.

"She's so cute," said Ruby, fixing her black cap, which was part of her uniform.

Patty nodded. She wore her cap backward. "Yeah, if it wasn't for Peggie and Sergei, she'd be eaten alive every night."

"So, _Sombra_ , how do you like the job?" Ruby asked.

"It pays better than The Blue Crab, that's for sure," Patty said. "Nice to know my little nickname is getting out."

"You've got to play sometime," said Ruby. "I'd love to see you use that Zera the Mant card. Some of the players here say they get a very spooky vibe when you play it."

"You know these Duel Monsters nerds," said Patty. "They watch the cartoon and like to live like they're in it. Now with these holograms being used, their fantasy has come to life."

"I've been meaning to ask," said Ruby. "You and Yuri hang out a lot, so I heard. Is there something going on between the two of you?"

"No," Patty said instantly. "Of course not."

"Come on, don't lie to me, Pats." Ruby set her tray on her hand and balanced it with ease despite the heavy pile of plates. "He's the son of Phobos Corp's President and founder of this city. The heir of over seven trillion dollars and the game Duel Monsters. I mean, that eye of his is a little off, but he's not too bad on the eyes."

"He's cute, but I'm not into boys."

"Oh!" said Ruby. There was an awkward pause before she winked. "Call me." She walked away.

"Hey!" shouted an angry customer from his table near the window. "We've been waiting for like twenty minutes, what's the deal?"

"Sorry!" Patty cried out, reaching into her apron to pull out her notepad. "Welcome to the Ruby Dragon Diner. My name is Patty and I'll be..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," said an obnoxious muscle-head, waving a hand to shut her up. "We're next in line for the arena and thanks to you, we've got twenty minutes before game time, meaning we can't have a decent meal. So make us a batch of curly fries and ten sliders. Make it snappy will you?"

"Sure, I can do that," said Patty. "Sorry for the inconvenience."

"And you can forget about your tip, sweetheart," said a third member of the party. "You girls are cute, but this service sucks."

Patty wrinkled her nose and quickly turned around making way for the kitchen while ignoring a few stealthy comments about her posterior. She saw Tyson from the kitchen window. He was sweating profusely and was covered in a veil of smoke from the grill.

"Curly fries and ten bacon club sliders," Patty said, sticking the order on the hook over the window. "And if you can toss them all over the floor, spit on them, and sneeze on them, I'd greatly appreciate it."

"No problem," Tyson said, flipping six patties with lightning speed. He looked at Patty and smiled. He loved the way her uniform fit on her. "Woo, Patty. I've got to hand it to you. You can look really cute when you clean up. Give me a spin, girl."

Patty rolled her eyes and gave a turn to show him how the uniform looked on her.

"I like it, I like it," said Tyson, slapping the spatula on his palm. "So, those rich white boys giving you trouble?"

"You have no idea," said Patty.

Ruby approached holding a new order for Tyson. "You'll get used to it, Pats. These guys are here for a few things. Duels, cards, and a little bit of ass. Thanks to Peggie, they'll never get the latter."

"Thank, God," said Patty, lightly slamming the back of her head against the wall.

"Tyson!" Candy sang out, skipping for the window. "Three hot dogs; extra chili, a plate of fries, and a double-decker bacon burger."

"Coming right up," said Tyson. "Once I'm done with Patty's order."

"So what are we talking about?" Candy asked, blowing a bubble with her gum. "What's the occasion?"

"Patty's having trouble with the boys over at table twenty," said Ruby. She began filling glasses full of beer. "Oh, Candy, hold still. One of your pigtails is coming undone."

She set the glasses of beer on a black tray and called on another waitress to take the drinks. When the order was picked up and taken to the table, Ruby began to fix the pigtail. "Working hard?" she asked.

"Are you kidding?" Candy said, trying to ignore the pain when Ruby pulled her hair. "We're so busy thanks to Yuri. He's like a celebrity around here. I heard some hotshot Duelists from the States are here just to face him, and that Black Tyranno."

"So far there's been nothing but disappointment," said Ruby. "Yuri's a no show tonight. Weird. I thought he was supposed to come to work today."

Patty shook her head. "He had some Phobos Corp business to take care of."

Ruby shrugged. "Oh well, but it's best not to let any of these guys know. If they hear that Yuri aint coming tonight, we're gonna lose a lot of business." She finished with Candy's pigtail. "There you go, sweetie. Now get back to work before Mama Peggie finds us standing around."

WHACK!

A wooden spoon smacked a fatty palm that belonged to Peggie. "Well, and what are you dears doing standing around?"

"Sorry, mama," said Ruby. "Patty's having some guy troubles with those muscle heads over there."

Peggie turned to see the boys Ruby was talking about. They were pointing at their heads and shrugging, gesturing a look of confusion; for they wondered what was taking so long. "Don't worry about him, baby," Peggy said, squeezing Patty's cheeks. "One day, one day. You'll find yourself a prince charming to get you out of this hole."

Candy shrieked and pointed toward the ceiling. "Speaking of Prince Charming, take a look at the screens."

Patty's eyes widened when she saw Yuri was going to have a Duel with Nick. She smiled and shook her head. "That Nick. It's no surprise he'd want to have a go at Yuri's Black Tyranno."

Black Tyranno roared and stomped on Nick's Garoozis to the ground with his massive foot, wiping out his Life Points. Nick scratched his head in fury while Yuri held up his fist in triumph. This caused the patrons to get out of their seats and cheer. Some had the arms crossed with stern looks on their faces to show they were unimpressed with his skills.

"Prince Charming, eh?" said Patty. "Maybe you'll find one someday."

* * *

**Talion**

* * *

With a powerful thrust, he cut down an orange flag with an escutcheon of a grizzly bear with crossed swords behind it. It pathetically fell from the face of an ancient watchtower and crumpled to the ground where warriors wearing black began to stomp on it and burn it. Prince Talion Alteria then jammed a flag of black and red in its place. The flag was proudly displaying the emblem of his family, a black knight, riding on an armored horse in a field of crimson. His warriors below raised their arms and started cheering. They waved their swords, slammed their shields, and the occasional rat, tat, tat of a battle rifle went off.

"Talion!" the warriors shouted. "Talion! Talion! Talion!"

"Crystannia!" Talion shouted. "This fair city was once the crown jewel of our beloved country." Behind him, the city was burning, blanketed by fire and cloaked in smoke. Nevertheless, it was theirs once again after a year under the banner of King Forrest. "This city was once a place of music, art, Dueling, great beauty, and love. And now with the banner of Lord Eolingas flying high in the great watchtower of Green Rock, it shall be once again!"

His soldier cheered holding up their fists clenching sword, shield, bow, and shield.

"Let the armies of the Fat King know this. So long as I am alive, the lands of Elleria will never again fall into his fat and greasy hands!"

"Huzzuh!" the warriors chanted.

"The Naralian fools thought, yet again, that they could best us!" he shouted. "But, yet again, we show them and their fire-worshiping cult that these lands are ours, now and forever!"

"Huzzah!" his soldiers chanted.

"This war is not over yet, brothers!" Prince Talion continued. "I assure you our enemy will be back. And they will return again, and again, and again! To ensure, they enslave us with their religion. But we will be ready to trounce their asses back to where they came from again, and again, and again!"

"Huzzah!"

"If their soldiers wish to be in the fiery embrace of their phony Yeyu, then I say we will send them to him!"

"Huzzah!"

"You all fought bravely, brothers. But none challenged the forces of the Fat King with the ferocity of Ser Kevin Garat, the Black Knight, and the champion of my beloved sister, Evelyn!"

"Huzzah!" the soldiers cheered for the young knight. He raised his black sword up high, still dripping with Naralian blood. The soldiers were fired up from the sight and roared. The warriors of the royal phalanx battered their shields.

"And, let us not forget, the valiance of that bastard-of-a-bard himself, Ser Dancer Firewing. The Knight of Wine and Songs."

The eldest and most fetching son of the cadet branch of Prince Talion's House waved arrogantly at the soldiers below.

"Huzzah!" they shouted. He bowed elegantly for them inciting another cheer.

"Now, let us celebrate!" called Ser Dancer. "The day is yours, my brothers! And as your drink let us remember our fallen brethren who gave their lives for this day. They who have lost their lives to stop the ideology of hate and murder from the north. May the Stars of Horakhty guide their path to the paradise. Hail!"

"HAIL!"

"Alright, boys!" Dancer called out. "The day and all its pleasures are on me. Bring out the ale and send out the women! And those with cards set up the tables and ready your Star Chips. It's time to Duel!"

With one final cheer, the soldiers of the Ellerian army stormed into their tents and brought out keg after keg of Emboldorian ale. Each flask was filled to the brim and chugged down in massive gulps. A band from one of the inns on the road to the Emerald Marches, the site of the day's battle, came forth in a covered wagon.

A troupe of circus dwarves rolled over the hills with a giant wooden pig for their comedic play about the tragedy of Lord Ester the King of the Cascade Falls. It was being pulled by two Griffor monsters.

"Well done, my friends!" Prince Talion said clinking his jeweled cup with the cups of his three best friends. "I could not have held back the Naralians this long without you."

"We may have had a slight hand in the wins against King Forrest," Dancer said swirling his mug. "But three men alone did not fight back the Naralian forces."

"Bah! It was not mere footsoldiers who destroyed the ballistae and catapults of the enemy forces. To say nothing of that squad of Cannon Soldier they brought out."

"That raises some concern," said Ser Kevin. "What in the world are Naralians doing sending Duel Monsters into battle? And a Machine-type monster at that."

"What does it matter?" laughed Ser Dancer. "We can beat them. There is no need to ponder what the Naralians are doing with their military. They were still no match for us."

Talion's sister arrived pushing aside the flaps of the party tent to come inside. Talion smiled while his two companions' eyes widened as they admired the raven-haired beauty that was the Princess of Elleria.

"Why is it then whenever the three of you are together anything is possible?" she asked, embracing Talion in a hug.

"Lady Evelyn!" cried Ser Kevin. He went down on one knee to show his respect for her.

"All hail the Princess!" shouted Ser Dancer. He and the other soldiers in the tent bowed.

"Sister!" Talion called out with joy. He hugged her so hard her spine cracked and she winced from the insignificant pain.

"Little brother!" Evelyn croaked after being released from his embrace.

"What are you doing here, Evelyn?" Dancer asked. He took her hand and kissed it. "Not to say your presence isn't appreciated. This battlefield needed a touch of beauty."

"Always the charmer, Dancer," Evelyn said rolling her eyes. She tossed back her shadowy black hair.

"Did you see the action today, dear sister?" Talion asked, putting an arm around her shoulder.

"Of course," Evelyn replied, accepting a goblet from Dancer. "I heard so many songs detailing Dancer's combat ferocity when on the field. I wanted to see if that was true."

"You shouldn't believe every verse in those songs, my lady," laughed Ser Kevin. "Those songs were written and sung by the arrogant bastard himself. He is the Knight of Wine and Song."

"I would have been the Knight of Wine, Women, and Song," said Dancer. "But Evelyn's father thought the name too long."

"We know that's not true," said Talion. "We all know it's because the women of the land cannot stand you."

"Ah, because the mere sight of me makes them wet. That's why they cannot bear to see me."

"Gracious!" Evelyn gasped, covering her mouth.

"Must you be so crude before the princess?" asked a young Eldori with spiky black hair. He went to the table to serve himself another cup of cold water. His skin was as pale as snow, and he wore dark blue robes trimmed with silver thread and adorned with plates of steel over his chest shins and arms.

"Lord Princeton!" said Evelyn.

"Just Chazz," the Eldori boy said.

"Another brave warrior!" boasted Talion. "He was one of the finest on the field. I wished to praise him in my victory speech earlier but, he refused."

"There was no need," Chazz said furiously. "I was just doing what I could to stay alive."

"And you did so quite well," said Evelyn. "You're an exceptional swordsman, Chazz."

"I'm not a swordsman. I'm a Duelist. If my family didn't have close ties to yours, I'd be sharpening my skills at the academy. Not to mention my brothers are too lazy to fight, which explains them losing those eggs they promised to guard for Pegasus, so naturally, father sent me to fight against the Fat King."

"Forgive us, Lord Princeton," said Evelyn, feeling rather offended. "Clearly you are in no mood to talk. We'll leave you be."

"Where are the Duels taking place, your Grace?" Chazz asked. "I'm in need of a match. The battlefield is so boring."

"They're taking place in the hills over the camp," said Talion. "I wish to play some games as well and try out my Gilford the Legend. It's been months since I've played him."

"Really?" said Chazz. "That's an excellent card. Why not try it out against me?"

"I think I shall," said Talion. "Come on, let us Duel."

"I shall come along," said Ser Kevin. "I have heard stories of Lord Princeton's Armed Dragons. I want to see them for myself."

Chazz smiled brashly at those words. "So, word has spread of my dragons eh? I assure you, Ser Knight; they will not disappoint."

Evelyn stopped them from moving with a raised hand. "Before we begin with the games, what exactly are these four golden eggs I keep hearing about?"

"They were supposedly some weapon to be used by High King Julius," said Chazz. "My dad says they were dragon eggs and that Julius planned to hatch them."

"Oh dear, the Dragonhearts already had Des Vosltgalph in their arsenal? I imagine more dragons would have been terrible."

"Yeah, but who the hell cares?" said Chazz. "Julius is dead and the rebellion is over. I believe we have a game to play, Prince Talion."

"Then we have a match," said Talion.

"Not yet you won't!" snapped King Helmsley stepping through the tarp of the party tent. He stared viciously at Evelyn. His daughter gave a timid gasp and shielded her blushing face by looking down at the grass at her feet. Any moment she would feel the humiliation of being yelled at before her friends. She just wanted to disappear.

"Your Grace," Evelyn squeaked. "We-we d-did not know you were c-c-coming."

"You!" he said spotting his rebellious daughter. "I should have known I would find you here."

"Father, please," pleaded Talion. "Her being here was my idea. She has more right than anyone here to be here and celebrate the reclaiming of Cyrstannia. She is the Princess of Elleria."

"A title she's lucky she still has," King Helmsley spoke coldly towards his daughter. "And if I'm not mistaken, this city would never have been conquered by the Fat King if it hadn't been for her. Defending Crystannia was your chance to prove yourself to me. Unsurprisingly, you failed. Evelyn. If I didn't need her so badly I would have tossed her into the streets to be eaten by the dogs a long time ago."

Evelyn let out another gasp, this time it was sorrowful. She walked out of the tent, sniffing and blinking her eyes to keep the tears from falling. They could hear her sobbing from outside.

"What is wrong with you?" Talion snarled going face to face with his father. "She needed more numbers to defend the city against the Naralians. You failed to give her reinforcements. Because of your hate for her, Crystannia fell and we lost 20,000 good men."

"Entrusting the city's protection to her was your idea, Talion. I should have followed my instincts and refused to let her take charge. I expected more from you, Talion," King Helmsley said, stroking his oiled black beard. "We could have lost our only chance at ending this war because of your foolishness."

"I'd best leave," said Chazz.

"Lord Princeton," said King Helmsley. "Well done. Your combat prowess stays true to your reputation. I believe much praise is in order for your service."

"Praise your daughter," Chazz said tucking his blue-plumed sterling silver helmet under his arm. "She hired those Shamrock mercenaries who charged down from the hills and turned the tide in our favor. This battle would have been lost if it hadn't been for her."

Chazz marched out of the tent pulling open the flaps to make his exit.

"See, father?"

"I care not," said Helmsley. "Fighting ill-trained legionnaires and hiring sellswords is nothing to boast about. If she really wants my affection she will do as she is told."

Talion stepped closer to his father and tilted his head in anger. "By marrying her off to some stranger? Huh? Is that how she must gain your favor?"

"That stranger will be the Lord of Termnnia,"

"What reason for her to marry Daveed?" Talion asked. "With the alliance that Master Yu-Gi-Oh has created, there will be no need for her to marry him. We'll have so many allies backing us that King Forrest will be a fool to continue attacking our country."

"An alliance? Pah! Alliances were made all throughout history. If you were smart you'd realize that history is always doomed to repeat itself. Alliances are made but are always broken. I am warning you now, son. Don't join this petty alliance of princes. To the shadows with the whole world. All that matters is the Alteria legacy."

"Sometimes I am ashamed to be your son!" Talion snapped. He was ready to make leave.

"Before you go storming off there is something I must ask you. And for your sake, and your sister's, you'd best not refuse."

* * *

After hearing what his father had to say, Talion dashed out of the party tent. He spotted Evelyn sitting alone on a bench lit up by a lamp post.

"Sister," he said soothingly. "You should not let what father said in there get to you."

"He doesn't like me," Evelyn said quietly. Her eyes red with weep. "All my life he has ridiculed me and swept me under the shadow of your glory. This marriage he is planning is just his way of getting what he wants. And what he wants is to be family connected to the High King and...and me out of his life."

"We will not need to marry you off," Talion said, placing his hands on his sister's shoulders. "I will see to it. Master Yu-Gi-Oh, who loves you like you were his own daughter, will see that this ridiculous plan does not come to fruition.

"Hey!" Chazz called out. "Are we going to Duel or what!"

"Come, sister," Talion said, taking Evelyn's hand. "Let us cheer you up with a Duel.

He followed Chazz to the hills outside the city walls (What was left of them).

They got into their positions and activated their Duel Disks, morphing them from jewels. Talion's signet ring was what he used to morph his Duel Disk and Chazz used his family ring as well.

"Duel!" They both shouted. And they were off.

"I'll start first!" shouted Chazz, furiously and dramatically drawing his card. "I place a card face down and summon Chthonian Soldier!"

"Then I shall begin my turn!" Talion said, drawing his first card totaling his hand to six cards. "I will play the spell: Polymerization! To fuse M-Warrior number one and two in order to create Karbonala Warrior!"

A tall purple knight emerged from a portal above Talion and jumped down to the field. He grunted, swinging his sword for intimidation and then stopped to show his stats. **1500 ATK and 1200 DEF.**

"He's stronger than Chazz's monster!" exclaimed Evelyn.

"Don't get so excited, Princess!" declared Chazz. "I activate the trap card: Chthonian Polymer."

The trap allowed Chazz to take control of a summoned fusion monster for the price of one of his own. His Chthonian Soldiers was engulfed in flames which then turned into hands, grabbing Talion's Karbonala Warrior.

"We're just getting started!" sneered Chazz. "I've got you on the ropes and I don't even have my armed dragons on the field!"

The match went back and forth for the first few rounds of the match. But later, the bigger monsters started coming out. Chazz had his Armed Dragon LV 5 out in the field. Talion summoned a Warrior Dai Grepher to complete his wall of warriors on his field.

"I will overlay my three monsters to Xyz Summon: Number Ten: Illuminknight!"

"What did he just do?" Evelyn cried out in shock.

She watched as Warrior Dai Grepher, Warrior of the Labyrinth, and Marauding Captain turned into orbs of light which began to orbit a silhouette of a large knight in reflective silver armor. His massive blue steed also adorned with plates of mirror-like steel plates.

"Looks like your brother has learned the art of Xyz Summoning," said Dancer. "That Illuminknight must be one of the rare Number Cards I heard so much about."

"Magnificent!" breathed Evelyn. "What a marvelous creature."

"Impressed Chazz?" boasted Talion.

"So, I see that you learned how to Xyz Summon. I haven't seen that until now, so color me impressed."

"You'll be more impressed when you see what I've got in store for you," boasted Talion.

For a good while, Talion had fun tormenting Chazz with his new monster. He even managed to destroy his Armed Dragon LV 5, but Chazz being the expert in Duel Monsters that he was, could bring it back to the field again with a confusing combo of spells and monster abilities. Then he leveled up the beast to Armed Dragon LV 7 which made short work of Talion's Illuminknight. But Talion, working hard and keeping his cool was able to summon his mightiest warrior a few turns later. He summoned his own rendition of Gilford the Legend. His monster was wearing plates of gold armor. His hair was white as snow and his cape flowing and glittering like a river in the sunset.

Both Duelists had their best monsters out in the field and they were locked in intense combat. Each player countering each other's moves, destroying their monsters and then bringing them back. But unfortunately for Talion, he was not at the same level as Chazz.

He wiped sweat from his brow, clearly perspiring from excitement. "You played a good game, Your Grace, but now I'm going to finish you off. Armed Dragon Level Seven! Destroy his Gilford the Legend with Photon Disks!"

The dragon roared in compliance and took off into the air. His massive wings creating violent gusts. Evelyn gasped trying to hold down her skirt.

"Oh dear!" she cried. "What an unfriendly wind that beast is making!"

Ser Dancer and even Ser Kevin couldn't help but scan the corner of their eyes to catch a peek at Evelyn's exposed knickers.

Armed Dragon Level Seven then fired glowing blue disks from its chest at Talion's Gilford, destroying it and reducing Talion's Life Points to 0.

"That's Game!" announced Chazz.

"Your Armed Dragons did not fail to disappoint," said Talion. "Well-played game my friend."

"It was an honor Your Grace," Chazz bowed. "I'll see you in a few months at the academy then."

"I hope you'll consider a rematch," Talion said.

Chazz smirked. "With the way you Dueled today, I look forward to it." And with that, he went down the hill back to camp.

"You played a good game, little brother," said Evelyn.

"Thank you, sister," Talion said morphing his Duel Disk back into a ring. "Say, why don't you come to me to the pass? I have something I must tell you."

They traveled down a dirt path to a lonely, but beautiful valley.

Prince Talion took a white flower from a knapsack he carried in his hands. He was facing a burned down stable once belonging to a farmer who lived in these lands many years ago.

"The Stable of Anen Harda," said Talion, spinning the flower from its stem in between his thumb and index finger.

"This is what you wanted to see?" Ser Dancer asked unimpressed. "A dirty old stable?"

"The wine, weed, and women have clouded your mind, Dancer," chuckled Talion. "If you studied actual history instead of your bloated stories, you'd realize that this is the place where Lady Luthia gave birth to our savior, The Eradicator of Anubis."

Ser Kevin gasped and knelt in respect.

"Prince Daveed was born here?" Evelyn asked.

"Yes," Talion said in almost a whisper. "This is where Luthia came to flee from the witch-hunters sent by the Fat King."

"The coward!" spat Evelyn. "Only King Forrest would be so callous as to send those religious mercenaries after a Celtra."

"The poor woman," Ser Kevin said sympathetically. "Pregnant and in pain and cold. These mountains reach freezing temperatures in the autumn."

"And it was raining," Talion added. "But she cared for her unborn baby so much she would suffer anything to see him safe. But despite escaping the clutches of the King of the North, the poor woman could not escape death, for it soon came in the form of the dark lord."

"But she was avenged by the child she swore to protect," said Evelyn. "Because of her love for her son, she not only saved him but all of us. Oh, my Lady Luthia. Bless you."

"Thank you, Lady Luthia. Rest in Paradise." Talion kissed the flower before tossing it into the stable where it fluttered gently into a pile of other white flowers.

"Silver Mountain Bells," said Talion. "Those were Luthia's favorite flowers. Those who honor her migrate here to pray for her soul and offer her these flowers as a thank for the gift she gave us."

"I see," said Dancer. "Excuse me for my outburst. I meant no disrespect."

"You didn't know," Evelyn said, gently placing a hand on his shoulder.

"That's the irony," said Dancer. "I should have known. He's a bard for the sake of the Goddesses."

"You said there was something you needed to tell us?" Evelyn said.

"Yes. As you can see, this is more than just a piece of land my father holds, and that I must protect," said Talion. "This is where the answer to our troubles emerged. This is a special place. If I must keep fighting Forrest forever just to protect it, then so be it. But it seems I must do just that."

"Whatever do you mean?" asked Evelyn.

"I received word from father that I must travel farther and attack Forrest's territory."

"You cannot obey that order!" stammered Ser Kevin. "You're already putting up a valiant effort defending the Emerald Marches from Naralia. So what use will the lands further north be?"

"He wants us to teach Forrest a lesson. One he so rightfully deserves. He takes our lands so now we must take his. I must obey, Kevin. These are not only orders from the king, but of my father, and I must obey him."

"But, Talion!"

"Oh, sister," Talion said placing his hands on her shoulders. He leaned forward to kiss her forehead. "I was hoping you wouldn't have to hear this news from me."

"And when do you begin your conquest of the north?" asked Dancer.

"On the morrow."

"So soon!" gasped Evelyn.

"Yes. But worry not, dear sister. For in the midst of this grim news I bear a good one. Master Yu-Gi-Oh has chosen me to be part of an alliance of princes to join High King Daveed in the royal Termnnian Table."

"That's wonderful!" said Evelyn.

"Yes, and think, dear sister. If I join Prince Daveed in the alliance, then…"

"There will be no need for mother and father to go through with their ridiculous plan," Evelyn answered with glee.

"What plan?" asked Ser Kevin.

"Have you not heard?" laughed Dancer. "With Daveed, or Yuri as I heard they call him, coming back so soon; princesses and other daughters of nobility are primping themselves in hopes to be his bride. Thousands of the most beautiful girls in Termnnia will be after him when he returns. I envy him."

"Whatever for?" Ser Kevin asked.

"The girl who marries the future High King will bring her family to power," said Talion.

"Oh, bollocks on all of them!" said Ser Kevin. "It's the War of the Infant all over again."

"Now it's the Princess Wars," laughed Dancer. "I've heard that girls from four or five Houses in each kingdom are at war, charging into battle with mercenary armies, each trying to wipe the other out so they get to Prince Yuri first."

"And it seems mother and father have asked my dear sister to undergo this quest," said Talion. "But with Master Yugi naming me a Knight of the Royal Termnnian Table, there will be no need."

"What of the battle into the north?" asked Evelyn. "What if you don't come back?"

"I will, my dear sister. Have no fear, okay. And I swear to you that I will do everything I can to come back for your twenty-first."

"You had better," said Dancer. "Princess Evelyn's former betrothed is going to be there in the games honoring her birthday. I look forward to teaching that Dino-dummy a lesson or two."

* * *

Night fell over the camp. Frogs croaked in the Azure Fork and the cicadas hissed in the trees, singing their evening song.

"You shouldn't have to go," Ser Kevin moaned as he lay naked on top of Prince Talion in his tent. A lone candle on the night table provided their only light.

Talion waited for Ser Kevin to stop kissing him before he spoke.

"I must do this," said Talion. "For Goddesses and Country. It is my sworn duty."

"Then I go with you," Ser Kevin said, grinding his manhood on Talion's.

"No. You must stay with her." Talion ran his hand down Ser Kevin's ribs. "Guard her against anything that will do her harm," he commanded. "My father included. Do this...for me."

"My love, You are a fool marching to Naralian territory like this. If you think you can impress me with a glorious battle then you are mistaken."

"I do this for her," Talion said. "I love her, you know. My sister. I love her so much. Even more, than I love you."

"And she loves you no matter what," said Ser Kevin. "She knows about you and I and has accepted it."

"She is my darling sister," Prince Talion beamed. "I raised her that way, despite she is the oldest. Odd isn't it? That the older sibling sees the younger one as their role model."

"Will you stop running your mouth and just make love to me!" Ser Kevin growled through his teeth, eyes burning with unsatisfied lust. He squeezed Talion's sides to show he was serious.

"All right," Talion whispered and he raised his head up to kiss his lover. "When I come back," he said. "I promise I will marry you."

"I can't think of anyone else I'd rather spend my life with, Your Grace," said Ser Kevin. "May the Goddess of Victory bless your campaign."

* * *

**Yuri**

* * *

Headphones blasting jazz into his ears, Yuri lay on a park bench while watching the stars twinkling in the inky blackness above. He was alone in the central park of the main island's city. Manmade hills, forests, and even a pond for a mile. His eyes suddenly drifted toward Phobos Tower. Try as he might, Yuri could not avert his gaze from the marvel of architecture. He found it hard to fathom that he would soon inherit the building and countless billions from his father as President of the company. A responsibility he did not want, much like that Prince Daveed character from his dreams who refused that cartoon character with the strange hairdo. He would rather a crown right about now, but he perished the thought. Be it a crown or that tall building, the whole world would be watching him, waiting for him to screw up his new and underserved post.

He could not refuse his father's business, for there was nothing Mr. Montgomery wanted more than to see his children take over the family business.

"Why me?" Yuri wondered to himself, and he removed his headphones, resting them around his neck. His ears rang after being freed from listening to Kenny G's horn. They were soothed by a gentle ocean breeze and crickets chirping in the grass.

"Hey you," said a familiar voice from the darkness. Yuri lifted his head, looking around for the voice's owner. He knew who it was the moment he heard her. Crystal came out from a dark path and stepped into the light of an arched street lamp. She smiled and waved at her best friend. She was clad in a white summer dress and a leather jacket to keep her warm from the chilly ocean air. "What are you doing out here all by yourself?"

"I could ask you the same question," Yuri said, sitting up. "Anyways, I always come out here to think. It's a good way to rest my brain after I'm done with homework. Math especially."

"Oh yeah?" Crystal asked, walking towards him. "What kind?"

"Trig," Yuri answered.

"Oh, ow," said Crystal. "My brain hurts just hearing the name."

She sat down next to Yuri. Her sweet perfume filled the air. She brushed some hair over her ear with her fingertips. The diamonds on her dragon-shaped ring twinkled in the light of the full moon. "I kind of wish I was that smart."

"You can do it if you try," said Yuri.

"No," Crystal said shaking her head. "Brett paid the academy to get me into easier classes. I'm stuck in basic algebra, yet I thirst for something higher."

"Why would Brett do something like that?"

"Two things," said Crystal. "A) He wants me to pass with high marks, so he gets me in ridiculously easy classes. B) He has no problem taking high-grade math classes, so he's not stupid. He's just doing his best to make sure that I am the one who's stupid."

"What the fuck, Crystal?" groaned Yuri. "He's making you look inferior to make himself seem smart."

Crystal nodded her head sadly. "That's the way of it. But at the same time, he needs me to pass at the top so as to make me seem like I have a pulse."

"So he needs you to look smart, but not too smart?" said Yuri. "Oh yeah, sure, because that makes total sense. He can take all the math classes he wants, but with plots as dumb as that, he looks stupid either way."

Crystal laughed. "Yeah, I never thought of it that way. It really is a stupid plan, isn't it? Thanks, Yuri. That's why I love being with you."

"Huh?"

"It's not just because you're my best friend. It's because you treat me like a person, and not some party favor. And that's what I've felt like these past few months as I've gone to Brett's parties. I feel dead when I'm with them. Like I don't matter. Like I don't exist. They kiss me and compliment my beauty. But when they're all done, they toss me away like garbage. I feel so lonely."

"Bullshit," said Yuri. "You go to special events, you're a pop singer surrounded by millions and millions of fans, and you go to some of the most exclusive clubs in the world. You can't tell me you feel lonely. You meet so many people."

"Those people aren't my friends," said Crystal. "Sure I talk to them, and I have a great time, but once I leave I never see them again. I go back home into my prison at Brett's mansion. All I have to comfort me..." She reached into her pocket and took out her deck. "Is them." She looked at her Tyrant Dragon at the bottom of the deck.

"Is that why you treat your dragons as friends?" Yuri asked.

"Yeah," Crystal said, rubbing her finger over the rising image of the dragon's ultimate rare foil. "Whenever I summon them, I feel free. I feel like I'm surrounded by family than monsters. After everything, we've been through together fighting in those big tournaments. Insanity? Maybe. But live a day in my shoes and you can't tell me you won't feel the same way. It's such a damn shame I only get to see you every once in a while. Every time I go out for a walk, I always pray for a chance to see you or Ren. And just my luck, here you are."

"Well, glad I could be of some help," said Yuri. He looked back at Phobos Corp tower. He sighed heavily.

"It must be so overwhelming isn't it?"Crystal said, also looking at the tower. She giggled. "How cute. Yuri the Flower the big and powerful President of Phobos Corp."

"Flower?" said Yuri. He stood up furiously. "Goddamnit, Crystal! I told you to stop calling me that!"

"Huh? But everyone calls you that," Crystal said in shock from his outburst. "I thought you..."

"Yeah, well, I don't!" Yuri shouted. He adjusted the strap of his backpack and stepped forward, abandoning her on the bench.

"Where are you going?"Crystal asked.

Yuri stopped. The both of them went silent. The cricket's chirping eased the tension.

"It's a cute name," Crystal said at once.

"It symbolizes my weakness," said Yuri. "Yeah, I'm nice to look at, and I can be sweet and kind. But handle me wrong and I break apart. It's not just some cute nickname. It's a curse. Nevertheless, it speaks the truth. I am weak. You know this. I failed to protect you when you needed me."

"I-I'm sorry, Yuri. I had no idea you felt so strongly about it. I'm sorry."

Yuri stood silently. The hum of cars in the distance could be heard. "Yeah, me too. I didn't mean to snap at you."

"Please don't," said Crystal. "I get that from Brett. The last thing I need is that attitude coming from you."

"Yeah, I'm sorry," said Yuri.

"You sure have a knack of hanging out with bad boys, Crystal!" sneered Randall Lawson, coming out of the darkness.

"What do you want?" Yuri asked.

"I want a rematch, Yuri!" Randall shouted. "Do you have any idea what that loss did to me, Yuri?"

"Does it look like I care?" said Yuri. "And you're out of luck. I didn't bring my deck."

Crystal smiled and stood up. "But I did," she said. "You could always face me."

Randall sneered. "As much as I want to face the Queen of Dragons, I'm afraid it wasn't you who beat me, Crystal."

Crystal shrugged. "No, but it was my idea for you to face Yuri in the first place. This whole thing started because you challenged me first. Besides, for all we know, Yuri beat you through sheer dumb luck. He could still be an amateur. We have yet to see if he has skills, no offense Yuri."

"None taken," said Yuri. "I admit I still have to let my skills bloom."

"My little flower," Crystal said, beaming at him.

"Stop that," Yuri said grinding his teeth.

Crystal puckered her lips, gesturing a kiss, and turned back at Lawson. "So, anyways. Beating Yuri will prove nothing. However, you'll gain more respect if you beat me."

Randall rubbed his hands together. "You know what, you're right. But I want more than a reputation boost from this Duel, Crystal."

Crystal rolled her eyes. "Let me guess, I give you my panties if you win, right?"

"What!?" Yuri shouted in disgust.

"He does that all the time," said Crystal, shaking her head.

Yuri looked at Randall. "You're a fucking sicko, dude!"

Randall laughed. "Well, no, Crystal. I don't desire your unmentionables tonight. I'm after a much bigger prize. Your Dueling Deck."

"So you want my dragons?" Crystal asked, folding her arms over her chest.

"Yes," said Randall. "Everyone knows you have the rarest most powerful dragons in the game inside that deck. And once I beat you, they're going to be mine. Unless, you want to serve yourself as a replacement, as my girlfriend."

"My deck will suffice, not that you'll win it, anyway. You're on, Randall."

The three of them walked to the Duel Dome which was not too far away from the park. Yuri slid off his backpack and sat on the front row seat of the stadium overlooking the arena.

"You ready for this, Crystal? Say goodbye to your dragons. After tonight, it will be the last you'll ever see of them."

"Just go," said Crystal.

Randall bowed. "Ladies first, I insist."

"If you say so," said Crystal. "I'll start things off easy for you." She drew her first card.

 _Flick!_ The card went as it slid off the deck in her fingertips. "Infernal Dragon in attack mode!" (ATK/2000 DEF/0 LV 4). "That ends my turn."

Yuri looked towards Randall, wondering what he was planning in his hand. The Infernal Dragon snarled and whipped its trident-shaped tail back and forth, eager to do battle. Randall didn't look nervous at all.

"My turn!" said Randall. "I play the Ritual known as Synthesis Spell, and discard this card from my hand to summon Lycanthrope in attack mode!" (ATK/2400 DEF/1800 LV 6).

Crystal grimaced and leaned back as she cringed, feeling stupid for leaving her dragon out in the open with no protection. She underestimated Lawson. Her opponent commanded his new monster to charge and slash Infernal Dragon to shreds. Infernal Dragon bellowed in defeat and shattered.

**Crystal-1600**

**Randall-2000**

"What?" said Randall. "You thought your dragons could intimidate me? You're even more stupid than you look, babe. Care to prove me wrong. I end my turn by playing this card face-down. Make your move!"

"Not bad," said Crystal. "Not bad. I guess it's time I stopped playing around. I summon Krystal Dragon!" (ATK/2500 DEF/1000 LV 6). "Attack and destroy his Lycanthrope!"

"I don't think so, Crystal! Randall flipped over his face-down card.

"A Trap Card!" gasped Crystal.

"That's right," said Randall. "Reinforcements, which will boost my Lycanthrope's attack by 500 points, making him stronger than your dragon. Lycanthrope! Counterattack!"

Slash! Slash! Slash! Lycanthrope cut Krystal Dragon to pieces with his claws of adamantium steel.

**Crystal-1500**

**Randall-2000**

"Look at that," Randall laughed. "Down for the count already. These new monsters are making it a cinch to beat your dragons, Crystal."

"You won't be so lucky next time, Lawson, I can promise you that!"

"Don't get cocky on me, Crystal," said Randall. "You're already dumb enough as it is."

"Shut the hell up, Randall!" shouted Yuri.

"But she is," said Randall. "Crystal is nothing short of worthless. If it wasn't for Brett, you'd be nothing Crystal. You know that."

Crystal narrowed her eyes. Her heart beat with fury. The cards in her hands quaked in her grip.

"Yeah, that's right. The only reason you have those dragons in your deck is because of Brett. Your singing career wouldn't be what it is if it wasn't for Brett. Brett had to do everything for you because of your stupidity! You can't do anything right! You're useless, Crystal! You always were. You had to climb the back of people greater than yourself to get where you are. All you had to do was wave your golden hair and wag your apple ass like a little dog begging for a scrap of food from the feast on the table, and you'd always get what you want. Ha! A little dog. That's what you are, Crystal. A bitch!"

Yuri was ready for a fight. "Why you..."

"Sit down, Yuri!" said Crystal. "Don't listen to him. I can take him on. Don't worry."

"No you won't!" said Randall. "I draw. Yes! Garma Sword Oath! Now I sacrifice these two worthless monsters to bring forth my Garma Sword! And next, I will equip my Lycanthrope with Ritual Weapon, boosting his attack to 3900! Now there's nothing in your deck that can stand up to me! Your dragons are as good as mine!"

"Humph," said Crystal. "I drew Graceful Charity. Which lets me draw three cards and discard two. My Lightpulsar Dragon and Darkflare Dragon."

Yuri gasped. "A light and dark monster. She's going to use it. She's really going to use it!"

Crystal held out her card. She brought it to her lips. "Fly!" She whispered and kissed it twice before she slapped it on the field. "I summon Chaos Emperor Dragon-Envoy of the End!"

"What!?" cried Lawson.

Flames erupted on the field, and from them emerged a colossal-sized dragon that towered over both players. Its turquoise-colored scales sparkled in the flames, and it wore armor of platinum. A long jet of fiery-orange hair protruded from the back of its head.

"That can't be!" cried Randall. "Only three of those cards have ever been printed! You-you can't have one of them! You just can't!"

"I do," said Crystal. "The only one in the western hemisphere, and it's all mine. Of course, I have someone very special to thank for it." She looked at Yuri who nodded.

"Yuri!" shouted Randall. "Yuri gave you that card!? No! No! That's impossible!"

"Overdramatic much?" laughed Crystal. "He's Yuri Montogomery! The son of Phobos Corp's CEO. He can get any card he wants. And it just so happens that this card was stored in the vaults. Thanks to Yuri, he convinced Mr. Montgomery to give it to me as a sweet sixteen present."

"NO!" cried Randall. "But...but...what good will it do you? My Lycanthrope is far stronger than he is."

"So what?" sneered Crystal. "Once I activate my dragon's effect, your points will be meaningless. By paying 1000 of my Life Points, Chaos Emperor Dragon destroys all cards in our hands and on the field. What's more, you take 300 points of damage for every card sent to the Graveyard."

"Oh no!" shouted Lawson. "There must be something I can do!"

But there was nothing he could do. Randall could only watch in horror as Chaos Emperor Dragon bathed the field in flames. It destroyed itself in the process, for its effect destroyed even the dragon itself. The flames sped for him and burned all his Life Points away in a single blow.

After that night, Randall swore he would never speak badly about Crystal ever again, for the dragon would haunt his nightmares forever.


	29. Konami

The sun was setting over Aquarius, filtering the city in an explosion of warm colors. Yellow, orange, reds, and pink all clashed for dominance against one another against the towering high-rises and citadels. Their windows flashed as if made of gold and the bright neon that festooned them started to turn on so they could light the night and shine with the pretentiousness of those who owned them or lived in them. RAPTOR helicopters soared over a park, on the alert for a gang of pirates that were spotted getting close to the island. Buildings anywhere near the ocean were kept on lockdown and homeowners were asked by MPs to lock their doors and wait for the all-clear.

But in the midst of all the excitement, Patty McKnight was getting ready for bed. Pirate alerts were nothing new for her. Most likely they were just fishermen with AK-47's thinking they could hop aboard, rob a store, and sail away. Not if her father had anything to do about it. Pirate Hunter was one of his silly nicknames. If there's one thing her father hated more than Stowaways, it was pirates. After what happened to Yuri many years ago, she didn't blame him for his prejudice.

Patty was done changing into her pajamas and was at last ready to retire for the night. She needed it, especially after long, grueling hours of geometry homework. She had her messenger bag stuffed with her folders, textbooks, and her laptop, all set for tomorrow's lessons. She was clad in a long, black t-shirt with a glow-in-the-dark splattered heart design.

The song Bette Davis Eyes was playing on her radio. Old music wasn't her thing, but her stepmother had a love for it, and there were a few songs that tickled Patty's fancy, and this song was no exception. She started dancing around, swinging her hips sensually and rotating her arms. Her fun was cut short when Max started acting weird. He scampered about, barking under the windowsill as though someone was out there. Patty looked at him and raised an eyebrow. He had done that for the past ten minutes. Now she was starting to get rather agitated. He was barking so loud she couldn't hear the music.

"What's gotten into you?" she said, picking up the tiny puppy. She looked out the window and saw nothing but the oak tree's branches, rustling in the tropical evening breeze. Patty looked around. Nothing. She tittered and gave the puppy a kiss. "Come on, baby. I think you need a treat."

She held him up, his head and paws rested over her shoulder. Max started whimpering, for he saw a little boy crawling out of the shadows, grinning at the dog as if taunting him for the fact that his barking failed to get Patty to notice him.

The boy stuck his middle finger at the poor puppy who whined helplessly as his master took him down the hall and out of sight. The boy saw his chance and swung into Patty's room. He looked around. Her room smelled sweet and pungent with the aroma of dirty clothes on the floor and hanging from various places. The back of her gaming chair was concealed by t-shirts and a denim jacket. Denim cut-offs and short gym shorts littered the floor along with socks. The boy wore superhero pajamas as if he came out of bed. He found what he was looking for. A leather binder that resembled a dark, tome. It was thick with plastic pages, which meant only one thing. He found her collection of rare cards.

The boy undid the strap and opened the book.

"Ah!" he said greedily.

Cards! Rare cards indeed. Black Luster Soldier, Exarion Universe, Buster Blader, Beast of Talwar, Blade Knight, Imperial Order, Axe of Despair, Obnoxious Celtic Guard, The Fiend Megacyber, and Cosmo Queen to name a few. He got to work at once. He took out an empty deck case and started pulling out all the best and rarest cards he could find. Then he spotted an even greater prize.

There, sitting on gold stands and surrounded by black candles was Patty's Dueling deck. And somewhere in there was the fabled Zera the Mant card he heard so much about. Not to mention the dark dragon Diabolos, King of the Abyss, who scared the pants off the now-disgraced Regional Champion. The boy walked to the deck and as soon as he touched the top card, the image of a hellish orb flashed before his eyes. He gasped in fright, for he heard something scream in his ear.

What in the hell just happened? His finger...it burned. Like he just touched a hot flame. Something was terribly wrong with this room.

He didn't spend too much time on it; for he was here to retrieve something else. He opened the top drawer of her dresser and had no trouble finding what he was looking for. He triumphantly held up a pair of little black panties with a pink lace waistband. "Nice," he said, stuffing them in his pocket. He searched for more until he heard something whisper in his ear.

He gasped and turned around. There was no one there. Now he was getting scared. He hated to think it, but this mansion was probably haunted by an evil spirit. Suddenly, the tales his friends told about Yuri having some sort of demon as an imaginary friend came to thought, and caused his mind to start to play tricks on him. What if the demon called Bakura didn't just hang around Yuri? The wind blew, Patty's curtains flapped eerily in the wind like two phantoms wailing. And then, the lights in Patty's room started to flicker. Sweat poured down the boy's forehead. Coming here, he realized, was a very, very bad idea.

Then, he heard an even more terrifying sound. The sound of the staircase creaking. Oh, great! Not only was there some sort of...ghost in Patty's room, but she was on her way up, too. To hell with it. He snatched one last pair of her underwear, slammed the drawer closed, and jumped out the window, grabbing onto a branch. He didn't care if he fell at this point, he just wanted to get out of that room. Get away from Patty and whatever evil was lurking in her room. Mercifully, he didn't fall. He was safe. He stopped himself from letting out a triumphant call. He heard Patty call something out to her father and shuffled closer to the darkness on the other side of the tree.

He did so just in time. Patty came into the room a few seconds later. "You're only seeing things you little silly," she said to her dog. "Now, let's get some sleep."

Patty didn't see the boy out her window, but Max sure did. He whimpered from her hands, watching as the boy flicked him off again, and waved his master's underwear victoriously as he slid down the tree trunk. He jumped over the wall of the estate and disappeared into the night.

* * *

**Sam**

* * *

Now that the hour was of late Sam and his friends were told to unroll their sleeping bags and get ready to go to sleep. The mother of Sam's friend, Gordon, was making them popcorn so they could watch one more movie so they could fall asleep. The window to Gordon's room opened and he swung inside. It was the thief who entered Patty's house.

"Ha! I did it!" he said, holding up both the cards and the underwear he swiped from Patty. His friends all gasped in amazement and cheered for him. The boy bowed.

"Hold on, lemme see," Sam said pushing his buddies out of the way. He examined the catch and nodded. "Good job, Kenny. They don't call you The Gleeper for nothing." He paid him the ten dollars he owned him.

"Pleasure doing business with you," Kenny said, resting on the couch. "Alright, Sam. It's your turn. Truth or dare?"

Sam pondered this for a moment. "I dunno." He rubbed his chin and kept on thinking. "I'm a good sport. Dare."

"Dare, huh?" Gordon said, rubbing his hands together. "Okay, Sam. I dare you to challenge Yuri to a Duel tomorrow!"

"WHOA!" the boys cried out all at once.

Sam bobbed his head confidently. "All right. I accept that challenge. But I'll do it only with the cards Kenny swiped from Patty."

"What about the cards?" asked another boy named Gizmo. "What did you get?"

Kenny took the deck case out of his pocket and tossed it at Sam. "She was coming upstairs so I didn't have time to get much. But these will fetch an excellent price."

Sam examined those too. "What!? None of these are from her deck! Where's Zera the Mant? Dark Ruler Ha Des? Diabolos? I wanted those."

Kenny didn't appreciate his tone. "I told you, I couldn't get anywhere near her deck. Something about her room seemed really weird. It feels like she collects souls or something, I dunno. Patty's hot, but she's one eerie girl."

"She sure is," said a boy named AJ, reading a book. He was already in his sleeping bag. "I saw her in the park the other day as she was walking her dog. She was holding up her Zera the Mant card. She was...talking to it. I swear she even kissed it."

"I wish I was that card, man," Sam said, getting into his sleeping bag. "Speaking of cards, these aren't too bad. I think I'll use them tomorrow against Yuri."

"No way!" said Gizmo. "You're going to challenge Yuri to a Duel? What about that Black Tyranno, man? That thing has some serious power."

Sam waved it off like it was nothing. "I got some other cards yesterday. I saved up enough money to buy a booster box. I picked up a lot of rare cards from that set. Now my deck is pimped out with secrets, ultras, even an ultimate rare. Yuri doesn't stand a chance against me."

"You sure about that?" AJ asked. "That guy is just full of surprises."

Sam scoffed. "So he's got one rare card. Big deal. How hard can Yuri be to beat? It's not like he trains in his sleep, right?"

Maybe not, they concluded. After a few hours of playing video games and watching movies, they fell asleep. But it would be a long night for them. Kenny found himself being tormented by monstrous nightmares the whole night. He screamed, pleading that whatever it was in his head would leave him alone. And before his friends could comfort him, Kenny screamed like a banshee and ran out of Sam's house disappearing into the night with only the sounds of his madness echoing in the darkness.

* * *

**Yuri**

* * *

The Prince of Aquarius sighed as he leaned against a guardrail, rusted by the salty ocean air. He heard a bouey rining out in the dark ocean waves, crashing against the walls of the giant floating city. From where he was, he saw the Phobos Towers glimmering at the center of the island. It just stood there Like a middle finger from his destiny. To think that one day he would be up there one day, running both the game of Duel Monsters and this entire city and the company his father so loved.

He took his deck out of his pocket and stared at the Black Tyranno card at the bottom. He tilted his cards back and forth so the moonlight could shimmer on the Black Tyranno's strange rising image. The golden letters above the artwork flashed beautifully.

"Yuri," Crystal cried out from the other end of the boardwalk. She hurried towards him. Yuri watched as she approached. From the white blouse, black tie, and red plaid skirt she wore, he guessed she had just came back from school. Her backpack jingled and the contents inside smashed together dangerously. "What are you doing here?" she asked, bumping her hip against the side of his stomach.

"Oh, just thinking," Yuri replied.

"About what?"

Yuri grinned and shook his head, stuffing his deck back in his pocket. "Don't worry about it. It's no big deal. What are you doing here? Working late again?"

Crystal laughed. "Yeah, I've been hitting the books and doing some afterschool activities. I am class president in the academy, you know. Busy, busy, busy."

"Why so late?"

"Me and the student council have been discussing programs for Stowaways to take advantage of. You know, making it easier and affordable to come to our school. Hopefully, with a chance at an education, they can stay off the streets and avoid those bastards the Atlantic Kings or Los Locos del Mar. I'm surprised RAPTOR hasn't hunted them all down."

"They're slippery bastards," Yuri said. "Shouldn't you be heading home?"

"I'm in no mood to go back there. Brett and his boys are having another party and I don't want to be around for that. But while you're here, why don't we go and do something together?"

"I mean, if you want," Yuri said with a grin. "What do you want to do?"

"I want to get a hot dog. Lots of stuff on it. And then, I want to take off my shoes and walk on the beach with you. Like we used to do when we were younger."

Yuri nodded. "Sure, I'd love to do that. I'll buy. My treat."

They traveled further down the boardwalk until they found a vendor truck with the words Aquarian Footlongs written in red neon above the window. Yuri and Crystal ordered two footlongs and had them drowned in all sorts of things like relish, onions, cheese, chili and such. And a coke to wash them down. The two walked down stone steps to the beach and removed their shoes and socks. It proved a difficult thing to do with one hand, so Yuri had to hold Crystal's hot dog while she freed her legs from the confines of the black, leg-length socks she wore. Yuri gave Crystal his hot dog, while he took off his shoes and rolled his torn jeans up.

"This sure brings back memories," Yuri chuckled as they walked down the beach. They only had the light of the moon and the city across the water to illuminate the dark. Phobos Tower was in his sights again. Yuri tried his best to look away from it. He didn't want to bear such a heavy responsibility. His siblings were allowed to leave and do their own thing. He nervously bit into his hot dog. His teeth dug through a thick, messy, layer of chili that got all over his mouth.

"Aw, shit!"

Crystal laughed. "You little piggy!" she teased.

"I need a napkin!"

"Oh, come on, it's not that much."

"Are you sure?"

Crystal had that glimmer in her eye. She leaned forward and licked the chili off his face. She then licked her lips and wiped her mouth with her tie.

"What did you do that for?" Yuri asked, rooted to the spot where he stood.

Crystal shrugged. "I dunno. You...you look different...from when I last saw you."

"And that means what?"

Crystal bit her lips and hissed through her teeth. "Nothing." Her facial expression changed when she heard someone walking behind them. "Who?" she said, turning.

A figure walked out of a mysterious cloud of fog. And by mysterious, I mean that it wasn't supposed to be there. These conditions were not right for fog. It just came out of nowhere as if commanded by the will of the person coming out of it. He was clad in a tattered brown cloak over red and white clothing. What stood out the most was his red cap. It covered his eyes in shadow. Without a single word, he held out his Duel Disk from underneath his cloak and activated it.

"I think he wants to Duel," said Cyrstal.

"I guess he does."

"Here." Crystal took off her backpack. "I bought myself one last night." She opened her backpack to reveal a Duel Disk.

Yuri leaned forward to get a better view of the machine. "Sweet!"

Crystal slapped the Duel Disk around Yuri's wrist. At once, Yuri took his deck out of his jacket and put it in the drive recognizer. The Duel Disk lit up and extended to make the blade for Yuri to put his cards on.

The Red Duelist nodded his head. "You first," he said.

"So he speaks," Yuri muttered. He drew his card. "I summon Uraby in attack mode! Then set two cards face-down."

"Ooo," hotted Crystal. "Look at the detail on that monster. These new holograms are something else, huh Yuri?"

"They sure are," Yuri replied. "The Duel Disk is even producing the creature's odor. How? I don't know, but color me impressed."

Crystal's face creased in unpleasantness. "I wish it didn't have to be that immersive. That thing smells like a swamp."

"Your turn!" Yuri said to his opponent.

The Red Duelist drew. He didn't a thing, as he activated the effect of his monster. He discarded a dinosaur to special summon a creature from Yuri's worst nightmares.

**Two-Headed Kaiser Rex**

**ATK/2400 DEF/1800**

**LV 7**

Yuri felt as though all the air in him escaped with one powerful gasp. He couldn't believe it! It had to be another nightmare. There was no way!

"Yuri, what's wrong?" Crystal said.

"That...that... monster! It's the monster from my dream."

And just like his dream, Two-Headed Kaiser Rex gained 200 ATK for every dinosaur on the field and in the Graveyard. Himself, Uraby, plus the dinosaur he discarded was 600 points, raising Two-Headed Kaiser Rex's attack to 3000. But it got worse. The effects of its second head activated. The head reared up and opened its mouth, releasing a violet energy beam that decreased Uraby's attack by 1000. Then, thanks to its two heads, it could attack twice.

"Yuri!" Crystal cried out. "That thing is too powerful."

"You don't know the half of it," Yuri whispered. "There's more." He looked nervously at his face-down cards. Hopefully, they could stall Two-Headed Kaiser Rex long enough until he got what he needed to defeat it. Yuri prayed that taking this thing down wouldn't require him using his best cards.

It felt like an eternity before the Red Duelist held out his hand, silently commanding his Two-headed Kaiser Rex to attack Uraby. Yuri activated his Trap Card, Shadow Spell, which could stop his monster and decrease its attack by 700 points. It worked! The chains slithered out of the sand and wrapped themselves around Two-Headed Kaiser Rex. The creature couldn't move, no matter how much it struggled.

Patty breathed a heavy sigh of relief and placed her hand on her chest. "Wow, that was close."

The Red Duelist set a card face-down and ended his turn.

"My turn!" Yuri declared. "I activate the spell, Raigeki! This will destroy your Two-Headed Kaiser Rex!"

The Red Duelist smiled and held up a card. Yuri felt as though someone dropped an anchor in his heart when he saw it. Regaliazowler. The dinosaur, who could negate the effects of cards that effected dinosaurs.

At once, the improved version of Megazowler came charging from behind the Red Duelist. Like his dream, it was white with gold tiger striped down its body. The elongated frill was broad, tall, and adorned with golden spikes and the horns on its head also shined bright gold. Growing out of its shoulders were golden blades resembling crescent swords with scrollwork inlaid with platinum. The white ax-blade on its nose shimmered in the moonlight. It's bright-green eyes flashed. Yuri knew what that meant.

Regaliazowler summoned an arcane aegis of white with animated glyphs and arcane circles spinning around in its design. The Raigeki spell smashed against the barrier and was gone.

"No matter," said Yuri. "My Shadow Spell has weakened your Two-Headed Kaiser Rex. And now I call upon Black Dragon Jungle King!"

Crystal stood back behind Yuri once his monster was rendered. But it was different. It was bigger, meaner, and its spikes were longer and glowing neon green. Its head was crowned with three long spikes and it didn't have the mandibles it had before, but a large mouth filled with sharp teeth.

"Yuri," said Crystal. "That doesn't look like Black Dragon Jungle King."

"No. He is. But this is an alternate card art made by Monster Energy. They offered me a sweet deal and this card if I advertised their products. Isn't he cool?"

"Yeah, he is. Good on you. But even with the Shadow Spell, Two-Headed Kaiser Rex is still stronger than he is."

"Not for long," Yuri said holding up a card. "I use the spell, United We Stand, which increases my Jungle King's attack by eight-hundred for each monster on my field. Together with my Uraby, that's sixteen-hundred extra points."

"Nice!" Crystal said clinging to his shoulder.

Black Dragon Jungle King's attack increased to 3700. He went for the attack. The Monster Energy Black Dragon Jungle King fired a jet of acid-green flames. But Two-Headed Kaiser Rex roared at the moon, calling something to aid him in battle/

"NO!" cried Yuri. He remembered the dream.

BOOM! The ground exploded and out came a dinosaur with sleek, metallic gray skin and glowing blue stripes. The beautiful spikes, the trident tail. It was him. Noble Swords of Dragon. If the monster that attacked it failed to destroy it, then it got destroyed instead. He smiled. Black Dragon Jungle King was far stronger than the dinosaur's 3000 DEF points, so there was no chance of that happening. He was relieved until he saw the face-down card rise to reveal a spell.

Shrink.

No! That card cut an attack monster's ATK points in half!

Noble Swords of Dragon held up its tail and created a beautifully designed glyph that stopped the green flames and sent it back to Black Dragon Jungle King, destroying it. Yuri lost 1150 points of damage, bringing him down to 850 Life Points. All Yuri could do now was watch in horror as the Duelist in red launched an all-out assault on him.

_Good Dueling...I'll see you again..._

* * *

Yuri writhed in bed as though he were a beast caught in a net. He removed his shirt as quickly as he could and examined his chest. He was fine. There was no puncture wound on it, nor was there blood coming out. Just a burning sensation where Two-Headed Kaiser Rex struck him. He breathed heavily.

An hour later, he packed up and headed for school. The day was long and rather droll, but there were extra security guards outside; for the city was still on alert for the sightings of pirates. When the day ended, Yuri headed out and spotted none other than Ren, sitting on the fountain in the school's courtyard. There was a group of girls surrounding him, asking him for his autograph and begging to go out with him. A RAPTOR F-15 Eagle soared over the school.

"Ren," Yuri said. "What are you doing here?"

Ren told the girls he had to go. The awwed sadly and watched him leave, getting up to talk to Yuri. "Your mom and dad asked me to pick you up and take you home. They don't want you out and about with all these pirate sightings going on. It's the real deal this time. RAPTOR just shot a boat of them near Mobius Island a few minutes ago."

"You serious?" Yuri asked. He looked at the sky. "I guess that explains why the Aquarius sent their fighters up. How hard can it be to find a boatload of pirates?"

Ren looked to the sky as well, searching for the plane. "Well, there's a rumor going around that they've already infiltrated the city. You need to come with me, now. I don't need to remind you why your parents want you back home so badly."

"I wonder why they didn't ask Bill or McRaven to come get me," Yuri wondered.

Ren chuckled. "Would you have listened to them? You have a history of dodging your security detail, Yuri."

Patty came running out of the school when she saw Ren. "Yuri! Ren! Hey guys!" she called out. "Did you hear they killed some pirates off the coast of Mobius Island?"

"I heard," Yuri replied. "Pretty crazy, huh?"

Patty fixed her hair when she saw Ren. "Hey," she said.

"Well, hello there," Ren answered rather suave. "You made quite a name for yourself, little lady. I heard how your monsters scared the shit out of Randall in your Duel."

Patty laughed. "He couldn't even touch my Life Points. How a poser like him became Regional Champion is beside me. I guess anyone could have beaten him in Duel."

Yuri sighed. "Gee, really? Way to undermine my victory, Patty."

She put her arm over Yuri's shoulder. "Don't sweat it, little guy. What you did to him in your Duel was pretty kick-ass. So, where are you guys headed off to?"

"Yuri's place," Ren answered. "His parents requested that I take him home."

Patty's face twitched with disappointment. "Bummer. I was hoping we could head to Sergei's a play a little. But this is a big emergency after all."

Ren rubbed his chin. "Actually, I think going to Sergei's shop would be the best choice of action. He's in the center of Phobos Island. It's deep in the center of town, heavily guarded by RAPTOR, and we can all be together and safe from harm. Plus, we can be stuck there until the emergency is over. Yuri, why don't you give them a call and let them know. If you're under Sergei's watch, Jacob will definitely let you go."

Yuri his phone out and dialed his father's number. "Here goes nothing,' he said. He walked away from his friends as soon as his father answered. Yuri walked back and forth, trying to explain things to him. Moments later, he started smiling and chuckling. "Thanks, Dad. Okay, I will. I love you, too. See ya." He hung up and pocketed his phone. "All right, Ruby Dragon Gaming it is. Patty, didn't you just become one of Sergei's diner girls?"

"Oh..." Patty froze. "You heard about that."

"Uh, duh? You only posted half a dozen photos of yourself in that uniform the other day."

"Really?" Ren said curiously. "You have an Instagram, Patty? Mind if I follow you?"

Patty shrugged. "Not at all. What you see in there is what you get. If you want lewds, you need to go to my off site accounts."

Ren raised an eyebrow, intrigued by what he just heard. "Oh, lewds, huh?"

"Uh-huh. Check it out. I just posted some sets of me in a Dark Magician Girl cosplay. And later this month, my new partner and I are doing shots together as the Gemini Elf."

"What?" Yuri croaked. "You're already posting lewd photos of yourself? Patty you just turned eighteen."

She shrugged again. "Yeah, I know. I ain't wasting no time. Come on, I'm at the legal age to drink around here. If I wanna show my ass off, fucking let me. Besides, I worked hard on this bitch. Do you know all the working out I had to do and the diet I had to endure to get my peach the way it is? I'm not going to do it justice by hiding it all the time. I'm an adult, my dude."

Ren gave her a high five. "I love your way of thinking, Patty. Damn, you're rebellious."

Yuri did no approve. "Yeah, that's how it starts. And the next thing you know, you're selling your bathwater."

Patty and Ren started laughing at him. Yuri felt his insides getting cold. He shook his head and walked off. "Fuck me," Yuri said walking around.

Patty rolled her eyes and laughed. "There he goes, our over-sensitive little flower at it again. Come on, Yuri, let me live a little. And it's good money."

"Fuck you!" he said, his blood boiling. He still kept on walking.

Patty frowned and stepped forward after him. "Don't talk to me that way, Yuri Montgomery! I can't help it if you've always got a dildo up your ass all the time." Yuri ignored her and walked off, leaving them behind. "Come on, Yuri. Lighten up will you?"

Yuri kept on walking. "Whatever. I'm going home. You do whatever you want. Slut."

Patty's eyes widened. She covered her mouth with her hands. Ren saw the tears of hurt in her eyes and chased after him. "Yuri!" he snapped. "That's no way to talk to Patty." Yuri didn't listen and kept on walking. "STOP!" he shouted. "Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

Yuri stopped and turned to see his friends. Patty had her arms crossed over her chest and her back towards him. She didn't want to see him. Ren felt he had to do something. Patty was right. Yuri was way too sensitive. He wasn't about to let that ruin their friendship.

"Look, can we all just calm down?" he said. "Patty, Yuri didn't mean what he said. He regurgitates a lot of shit when he feels angry or confused."

"Confused?" Patty asked, looking over her shoulder. "Confused about what? What's so confusing about a girl doing some raunchy cosplay? I'm still his friend no matter what. I don't see why that has to change anything?" A tear went down her cheek and she sniffled. "He's been acting this way all year. I can't walk into a nightclub or a bar without him freaking out and getting angry at me. I hate it when he gets angry with me." She sobbed, her shoulders started quivering.

Ren patted her shoulder. "When I say confused, it's because Yuri hasn't fully comprehended that you're an adult now. Some people have different ways of growing up. You sure did, Yuri. Growing up with you was an emotional roller coaster. Or have you forgotten all the shit you did to those people when you were young? You were a monster, man. But Patty never left your side or abandoned you. You two have been together since you were little kids I take it."

"He was my first friend," sniffed Patty. "My only friend."

"You two have done a lot together, huh?"

"Yeah," they both answered.

Ren looked at Yuri. "Yuri," he said, "Apologize to Patty right now."

"I...I'm sorry, Patty."

Patty scoffed. "I love you, Yuri. But call me a slut one more time and I'm never speaking to you again."

"I'm sorry," Yuri said approaching her. "Friends?"

Patty turned and hugged him. "Friends," she said replied. Ren clapped until he heard a loud thud and Yuri groaning in agony. He was bent forward and rubbing his stomach. It didn't take long for Ren to realize that Patty had punched him in the stomach. She left, but not before giving Yuri a kiss on the cheek. "Come on," she said. "The Ruby Dragon awaits."

"Okay," Yuri croaked. "I deserve that."

* * *

**Yuri**

* * *

Ren wasn't the only one in the city who thought taking refuge at the Ruby Dragon was a good idea. All three floors of the shop were filled to capacity, as was the diner downstairs. There was hardly anyone at the register, most people came to hunker down and be with friends and Duel than to shop. Patty removed her blazer, for it was getting awfully hot, and wrapped it around her waist.

Sam saw them from his table. He was about to call them over until his friend yanked his hand down.

"Any word on Kenny?" his friend Gordon asked.

Sam's grin faded as soon as the question popped up, killing all the joy he had as though it were a balloon popped like a needle. "No," he said. "Has anyone heard from him?"

"No," said his friends.

"His parents called the police. They were up all night trying to find him. Kenny just disappeared."

His friend A.J gulped. "Remember what he said about all that creepy stuff in Patty's room? What if all those rumors about her and Yuri are right? What if there is some kind of monster around them? What if that's what made Kenny go crazy last night?"

"You think the monster..." Gordon gasped, placing both hands on his cheeks. "Oh my God! It killed Kenny! That bastard!"

"Look, I'm sure he'll turn up," said Sam. "Ghosts. Ha! The idea."

"Whatever, man," AJ said, leaving the table. "I'm steering clear of that girl. She's all kinds of weird." He picked up his backpack and left, disappearing into the crowd as if wanting to avoid being seen by Patty and the fell presence that lingered over her.

Sam said: "Whatever," and he, too, got up from his table to greet Patty and Yuri. "Yuri, my man. Glad you to see you here." He looked at Patty and winked. "Hey, babe."

Patty rolled her eyes. "Hello, Sam."

"And is this Ren Kakihara?" Sam said, shaking Ren's hand. "My goodness. It's a real pleasure to meet you. Actually, it's kind of cool that you're here, really. Today is the day I become famous."

Ren laughed and ruffled the boy's hair. "Famous? What's going on today, hotshot? Win something big?"

"Not yet," Sam said, looking at Yuri. "Today is the day I beat Yuri and make a name for myself."

Patty burst out laughing. "You? Beat Yuri? Boy, have you got your beanie screwed on a little too tight. Have you not seen what happened to the other guys who decided to take on Yuri? Randall Lawson? Floyd from Phobos Academy? What the hell makes you think you have a chance?"

Sam's friend Gordon walked toward them to defend his friend. "Shut up, you. Sam's one of the toughest Duelists in our school. He might turn into one of the Duel Kings of the school."

Yuri laughed. "Duel Kings. Oh, man, I miss being a kid. But, okay, 'Duel King', I'll play against you."

"You think that's funny?" said Sam's friend, Gizmo - what an odd nickname for a boy. "You shouldn't laugh. You may have beaten Randall, but that doesn't change the fact Sam has more victories than you. He's better in every way, shape, and form. You, on the other hand, got lucky."

Patty scoffed. "Yuri, I can't wait for you to prove these little bastards wrong. Beat him, will you?"

They found a vacant table and began the game.

"I'll let you go first," said Sam. "Consider it courtesy of a future Duel King."

Patty sniggered behind her hand. O' the joys of being a child. It was just like watching a Saturday morning cartoon. Ren stood over Yuri and examined the cards in his hands. He nodded, keeping the contents of the hand to himself. They were good cards, many of them were shiny. He's been opening packs it seems. Now, it was time to see if Yuri could use them.

Yuri smiled back at Sam. He was amazed to see him so confident playing the game. Confident enough in his schools to brag about them to Patty. Before, when he first taught Sam the basics of the game, he would lose his cool and cry if he lost even one monster in battle. When Nick played him, he ran away crying because he was so frightened he would lose. Now, it seems like he surpassed Nick. And if these Duel Kings were the best in his school and he was to join them, then he must have done a good job. Of course, Sam had a lot of help from his friends. Friends who he had Yuri to thank for. If he never gotten used to the game, he probably never would have met Gordon or AJ or Gizmo. That frightened boy was gone. Now, sitting across from him, was a Duelist determined to take his former teacher down.

**LP 4000**

"Okay," said Yuri. "I draw. I summon Two-Headed Kaiser -ahem- King Rex in attack mode!" Yuri turned his head to look at the monster appearing in 3D on the Duel Screen. To think that there was probably a far stronger version of him out there. He remembered the Two-Headed Kaiser Rex from his dreams. The power he had. How easy it was to summon it. For a moment, Yuri wished the normal Two-Headed King Rex he just summoned was the alternative form he used against Yami and Yugi when they Dueled. Sam would be trembling in his boots right now if that were the case.

"Is that the best you got?" said Sam. "A two-headed Barney the Dinosaur? Man, where's the Yuri that fought against Lawson? Is he home? Cuz I wanna face him. No matter. I play the spell, Double Summon. This will let me perform two normal summons this turn."

His friends cheered and crowded around him to see his cards.

"Watch this, you guys. I summon Little Chimera and the Ultimate Baseball Kid! Now don't let their appearance fool you, Yuri. These guys have some very nasty effects. First, Little Chimera looks like a mere cat with wings, but when it's out on the field, all Fire-Attribute monsters gain five hundred attack points. So now my Ultimate Baseball Kid is at fifteen-hundred and Little Chimera is at eleven-hundred. But the fun doesn't stop there, Yuri. Ultimate Baseball Kids gains additional one-thousand attack points for each Fire Attribute monster on the field. So that's two-thousand points, raising Ultimate Baseball Kid to thirty-five hundred."

"Oh my God!" Patty gasped.

"Ha!" laughed Gizmo. "That shut her up for good."

Sam looked around at his friends. "But I'm not done there, you guys. I activate the field-spell, Molten Destruction. This card will increase the attack of my Fire monsters by five-hundred points. Now, Ultimate Baseball Kid's attack increases to four-thousand!"

Ren whistled. "Impressive."

Sam saw the disgruntled look on Yuri's face and laughed. With this one attack, Yuri's Life Points would be terribly devastated. He then saw Patty, nervously biting her lip as she had her eyes to the field. He admired how cute she looked when she was nervous, especially when Yuri was so close to losing a match. The way her eyes sparkled and her face blushed pink like the highlights in her hair. She was so gorgeous. He peered down her chest, eyebrows bouncing up when he saw the blouse of her school uniform was opened to let some air in her chest. he could make out her lacy black bra and her cleavage exposed for all to see. He went warm on the inside, knowing that he had something of hers that was rather personal back in his room. Patty leaned towards Yuri and placed a hand on his shoulder. This, sam did not tolerate. He stopped staring at his crush and ordered his powered up Baseball Kid to begin its onslaught.

"Attack his Two-Headed King Rex!" shouted Sam.

Ultimate Baseball Kid summoned a ball of fire which he smacked with his baseball bat. It hit Two-Headed King Rex in the chest, blasting it to pieces. Yuri's Life Points plummeted to 1600.

Sam laughed while his friends cheered around him. Patty grimaced at the sight. The hand she had on Yuri's shoulder tightened into a fist. The glittery stars on her fingernails shimmered under the light of their table. Ren was also quiet. He stunned silence brought much joy to Sam. It made him proud to see players far older than he was tremble at his skills. None more than Patty - not just because he had a crush on her - but because her confidence in Yuri annoyed him. Deep down, Sam held a fear that she loved Yuri. She saw how much she touched him, hugged him, even kissing him on the cheek. Maybe, he thought, just maybe, she would be drawn to him with this victory. Why wouldn't she? Patty loved it when players put down powerful cards and turned the game around. Skill was the key that turned her on.

San grinned. "You might as well quit now, Yuri. Not even your Black Tyranno can stand up to my Ultimate Baseball Kid."

Yuri tapped his finger on the table. He was in quite a predicament. "Hmm," he said. He had to think of something. Compared to what he had to face against last night, that Ultimate Baseball Kid should be easy. But, he supposed it was because of the powers of those otherworldly monsters. If only he had them. Could accepting the fact that he was some king from another world allow him to gain such power?

"Are you gonna move or what?" Sam urged him impatiently.

"He can't," teased Gordon. He's too scared to move. You've got him on the ropes and there's nothing he can do to get out."

Patty looked at Yuri. She was nervously biting her lower lip. She had too much pride in Yuri to see him lose to a younger player. Even worse when that player was Sam. If he beat Yuri and became one of those Duel Kings, there was going to be no end of it from them.

Yuri knew this, too, and drew. _Heart of the cards. I hope you're right, Yami_. "I summon Black Tyranno!"

Patty jumped with excitement and placed grabbed Yuri's arm. "Come on."

The sight of Patty embracing another man infuriated Sam. "You know, Patty, every king needs a queen."

Patty stood up and placed both hands on her hips. "Suggest such a thing, and not only will I pulverize you and toss your cards in the ocean, but I'll stop talking to you. Understand!? Enough is enough!"

Sam held up his hands. "Okay, okay. Whatever. Yuri, it's your move."

Ren placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her. "Being a true Duelist is more than just having the coolest and strongest cards, Sam. You need to play with honor and respect. And, if the time calls, you need to be a gentleman."

Sam gave a wave of his hand, showing that he did not care for what Ren had to say. Yuri grew tired of the boy's effrontery. It had gone on long enough, and he did not survive countless Duels against a master player just to lose to this snot-nosed brat. Yuri didn't know why he would ever call such a child his friend. Not after everything he did. Everything he said. He gets good and now thinks he can trash talk and belittle him and his friends as though he was already one of those stupid Duel Kings?

No. Patty was right. Enough was enough. Sam needed to be taught a lesson, and, thankfully, he had just the cards he needed to do so. First, he activated a spell known as Riryoku. It cut the attack of Sam's Ultimate Baseball Kid in half. Then, those points were transferred to Black Tyranno. Now his attack was 4600. he attacked Ultimate Baseball Kid, dealing 2600 points of damage to Sam.

His mouth fell agape. His Life Points quickly dropped to 1400. Yuri was in the lead. Patty couldn't help but start laughing at what just happened. It was incredible! Yuri, quite possibly one of the worst Duelists she had ever seen, had defeated a monster that had 4000 ATK points. And he did so with ease. So easily. Sam was still in shock over what happened. He couldn't move. He couldn't speak. His friends were also silent, wondering how in the world Sam's 'unbeatable' Baseball combo could have been taken out like it was nothing?

Yuri set two cards and ended his turn. The effects of Riryouku ended and his ATK returned to 2600. Sam was not about to let Yuri get away with that. He wanted to be one of the school's Duel Kings and he wasn't about to give up now. He summoned...Nope. Yuri activated Torrential Tribute. It was an ultra-rare Trap Card that wiped the field when a monster was summoned. Then, Yuri activated another trap. Call of the Haunted. Black Tyranno returned to the field, ready to strike. Sam could take it no more. He slammed his fist on the table, gathered his cards, and stormed away.

Gizmo went after him, then stopped to look at Yuri. "Bad draw," he said. "You got lucky this time, Yuri. Next time, your ass is getting kicked." He followed after Sam, who went to play with the other kids his age.

Patty gave Yuri a long kiss on the cheek. "Way to go, baby! I knew you could do it!"

"Okay, okay, okay," Yuri said. "But another kiss like that, and I just might wind up in the hospital."

Ren laughed, giving Yuri a friendly slap on the shoulder. "Good cards, Yuri. I calculated that Sam was going to lose the moment I saw your opening hand."

"Uh, thanks, I guess. Who's up for some grub? Man, I'm starving."

Patty giggled. She was so close to Yuri that it tickled his neck. "Always thinking with your tummy, little prince?" she teased. "Come on, I'm buying you something. My treat."

 


	30. A Kingdom of Ebony

**Evelyn**

* * *

"Isn't she a dream?" said the raven-haired, Queen Sera Alteria.

She was sitting lazily on a decorated sofa, watching the fitting of her daughter's school uniform. She noisily sipped her wine showing off the massive diamond on her golden ring to the servants and guests who were attending brunch with the queen. They all sat around white-clothed tables around the hassock where Princess Evelyn Alteria stood.

Her bright blue eyes darted around the room at the guests; all were women; the most elite in all the land. Duchesses, noblewomen, anyone with the chips and title to be Sera's friend were all in the room helping themselves to a meal of tea, sweetly decorated cakes, and steamy buttery scones. The windows nicely covered with long crimson drapery and a few rays of the setting sun peered through to shine only on the princess. Evelyn wore a black blazer with gold buttons over a white shirt with a red tie, and a plaid skirt with leg-long, black, laced leather boots that had seven-inch heels.

The patch over her right breast showed the Divine Beast, Obelisk the Tormentor, behind a glimmering escutcheon roaring with pride. The beast was the mascot of the top dorm in the school called Duelist Academy, also named The School of Kings for only those with noble title and wealth could enter its vast and majestic halls.

The Obelisk Blue Dorm. She worked tirelessly to maintain her rank throughout her years in school. Obelisk Blue is the top dorm of the school, a dorm where people spent thousands of pounds of gold to get their kids in. Many of Evelyn's summers and holidays were spent studying politics, mathematics, mannerisms, and Duel Monsters.

As a child, Evelyn would sit in her room, quill in hand; her desk covered with summer homework, gilded scales, and abacuses mixed with a mess of Duel Monsters cards. Her stained-glass windows were open to let in the cool grace of a summer breeze, but her ears rang with the blissful cries and laughter of the city's children playing games and making mischief out on the red cobbled streets of King's Rock. She could hear their happy cries ringing over the waves crashing on the cliffs. Evelyn would ask her mother for a break so she could go out and play, but Sera would refuse her daughter and send her back to her room to study.

She would sadly look outside and saw boys on the ramparts of the wall having a game of Duel Monsters. Their beasts were looking fierce and beautiful by the afternoon glow of the Bay of Lendos below. They played for the thrill of the game, but Evelyn was raised to play the game far more seriously. Her father once said that Duel Monsters was once a game played only by kings and the wealthy and powerful.

But since the foundation of the city-state of Domino, the game became heavily marketed towards younger players, and over the years the monsters grew more child-friendly. Decades past. Soon anyone from bakers to the lowly piss-boy could buy a pack of Duel Monster cards and play.

 _This game has lost its honor_! Her father ranted one night at the dinner table. _We once had monsters such as the noble Celtic Guardian and the frightening Summoned Skull. Now we have this!_ He held up cards that showed cartoon monsters such as Truckroid, Cycroid, and Maldoche Chickolates. _The monsters grow childish and stupid. A mockery is what it is_. And he tore them up furiously.

"Hold out your arms dear," said Evelyn's lady-in-waiting.

Josephine Hart had cared for Evelyn since the day she was born. It was she who taught the princess the basics of Duel Monsters. She taught her how to sit properly, eat properly, and speak properly. Evelyn knew not to test her patience. Josephine had a firm and swift hand that easily whipped Evelyn back into shape should she choose to be defiant.

Evelyn watched as Josephine approached, holding carefully with both hands a blue velvet pillow where a gleaming white bracelet rested.

 _Another expensive birthday gift,_ Evelyn thought. _Mother could have fed an entire village with the chips spent on whatever that is._

It was enameled with gold that stretched over the pearly-white surface like vines. The leaves held tiny raindrop-sized crystals that twinkled like the morning dew.

"Arm dear," Josephine said again. Evelyn did as she was told and elegantly held out her right arm. Josephine undid the gold cufflinks, then raised up the sleeves of Evelyn's shirt to just above her forearm and placed the bracelet on her wrist.

"Ah, a perfect fit," said Sera.

Her guests clapped with delight.

"Well, activate it!" Josephine said, urgently.

The princess gave a timid nod, and she held up her arm to which the bracelet began to glow and morphed into a gleaming white Duel Disk; a magical device used to render monsters from their cards in a phantom form making them appear as though they were battling on the field for real. Her Duel Disk was shaped like the wing of a butterfly. Two glowing crystals spun over the contraption and each time they hit the sun they cast rainbow hues around Evelyn making her look like she was an Arva from the ages of old.

"Well, go on, summon something!" snapped her mother.

Evelyn took a card out of her deck and placed it on the surface. Outside the window a monster called Fairy's Gift appeared, flapping its wings in rapid motion. The women stood up from their seats and clapped. Josephine made a swinging motion with her hand and lowered her head, signaling Evelyn to perform curtsy. Evelyn bent her knees, hunched down, and gingerly held out the hems of her skirt while giving a grand smile.

"Beautiful," jeered Sera. "Simply beautiful. Crafted by the finest mages this side of the Emerald Mountains with gems from the dwarves of Greenton; and the most elegant gold from the lands of his Grace, Lord Peter Albrecht. Is it not befitting for the soon-to-be Queen of Rassay?"

Sera announced the words with such certainty. Evelyn did all she could to keep the smile on her face. With all the excitement, she forgot it was her duty to seek Daveed Wollcroft, the future High King of Termnnia, and impress him so he could take her hand in marriage.

It was a deadly burden, and it weighed her down more than the elegant Duel Disk on her arm. That was the reason why her mother and father went to great lengths to customize her uniform, to make her look beautiful, and even a tad racy. Her top was exquisite, but it showed off her shoulders, and her skirt was cut a little bit shorter to show off her legs to the prince when she met him

"If we are quite finished, mother," Evelyn said, summoning back her monster. "I must make my leave."

"To where?" Sera asked gulping down wine from her gem-encrusted goblet.

"Mother, have you forgotten? My friends have traveled from afar for my birthday next month. They're going to help us with the preparations. Afterward, we're going to aid my charity in helping the poor and downtrodden of Arborleen. The town is the hardest hit of the war with King Forrest. I am using the money I raised with the tourney to open a shelter for the orphans. The summers are quite hot here in Elleria, and the children will surely die from the heat if nothing is done to help them. Princess Rhodes will be joining me; she has brought food and water and Star Chips for the needy."

"You girls and your silly charities," Sera said with a roll of her eyes. She brushed her raven black hair over her shoulder and chugged down more wine. "Very well. You may go then."

"Thank you, Mother," Evelyn said with a bow. "Ladies," she said with another bow.

"Well wishes on your betrothal, princess," said the Baroness of Crestwood.

Evelyn bowed to more well-wishes and left the room.

* * *

"My lady must be happy with the news today," Josephine said, waddling after Evelyn who was doing all she could to gain distance from her mother.

"Why do you say that?" Evelyn asked.

Josephine laughed with excitement. "Prince Daveed blooms into his eighteenth year in a few days. He will return soon. You must make your preparations for the wedding."

"Josephine not you too," Evelyn groaned, following the indoor rivers on both sides of the hallway paths to the east wing. A squadron of Ebony Knights saw her and stood at attention as she passed.

"As you were," groaned Evelyn, gloomily walking past them.

Josephine stopped for a second to catch her breath and continued trailing Evelyn. "My Lady, I know this seems a little overzealous, but you must marry the boy. Not for yourself. But for your kingdom."

Evelyn stopped and made an about-face to look Josephine in the eye. "And will marrying some boy save my home from utter destruction?" she retorted.

"He is not some boy, princess," said Josephine. "He is the High-King. The Summoner of the Divine Beasts. Your betrothed has monsters that can wipe out a country. Surely that will stop the Naralian invaders."

"I don't have that much time," Evelyn said, turning around and continuing her walk back to her chambers. "Talion wrote to me a few days ago saying he lost many battles against Naralia. It looks grim. I don't have the time to wait for Daveed and say: _'Hello, I'm a beautiful princess from a country in distress. My parents want you to use your monsters to fend off my enemies will you marry me'?_ It doesn't work that way, Josephine. And it's completely unfair. Both to me and Daveed. You heard about how he's lived his whole life. He's been locked in a fortress for his own safety. Poor thing. The last thing he needs is to get pressured into marriage."

"But you must, dear. You're not the only daughter of nobility who's been obligated to marry the future High King."

"Exactly. He's going to have enough stress as it is with all those other daughters of nobility going after him. I won't be one of them. And my brother has already pledged an oath to join him in the alliance Master Yu-Gi-Oh plans to construct. He'll already be a great ally to my country so why does he need to be my husband?"

"You will go against the wishes of your parents?" Josephine said, getting rather stern. "Stop, young lady!"

Evelyn froze. She turned to face her lady-in-waiting after a stealthy scoff and folded her arms.

"You will do as you are told!" said Josephine. "You are a princess. You have as much of a responsibility to your nation and your people as your mother, father, and brother. You have done well with your charities and fundraisers for the war-struck in the cities near the border, but I fear that sadly it is not enough to ward off the oncoming charge of the Bear of the North. Now, you will do as you are told and heed your parent's wishes. And your House must atone for losing the golden eggs in the Battle of Red Ridge!"

"It was no battle," said Evelyn. "It was a massacre."

"Regardless, your House was chosen to aid Lord Pegasus in securing them to High King Antar. And we failed. You must marry Yuri to atone for that."

"I will not," seethed Evelyn. "To the shadows with all of them. And to you as well!"

She stormed down the hall leaving Josephine dumbstruck and paralyzed in the hallway. When she finally reached her chambers, she dressed out of her school uniform and put on her Dueling Raiment to practice in the gardens in the back as she awaited her friends. It was an outfit with tight black breeches, and a laced white shirt. There was a knock on her door.

"Uh, enter!" Evelyn said, yanking up her breeches.

Ser Kevin opened the door and kneeled. "Princess. Your friend is here. She awaits you at the ramparts."

Evelyn smiled and fixed her hair. "Well, it's about time. Thank you, Ser Kevin. You are dismissed."

"My Lady," said the Knight. He rose back up and slammed his fist on his chestplate. He bowed and made a quick turn, leaving her alone.

Evelyn made a few more adjustments to her Dueling Raiment then proceeded to a tent up in the ramparts of the city walls to meet with her long-awaited guest. An Eldori girl stood behind a table eating candied fruits. The girl was tall and blonde with a tiara made of platinum and sapphires glittering on her head. She wore white arm-length gloves and a gleaming white gown with tiny diamonds sewn onto it in the shape of waves and water flowers. A pendant of aquamarines glimmered around her neck as did the earrings shaped like drops of water.

"Alexis!" Evelyn cried out.

She ran and embraced her friend. Alexis Rhodes. The princess of Lorin; a majestic kingdom down South. The city was unique in that it was built like a colossal water fountain with the castle on the top level, and it was quickly adapting to the technology from the city-state of Domino. Alexis had a device in her hand that was alien in Evelyn's eyes. Even after all these years as friends, she had never known such a thing existed.

"It's called a cellular phone," explained Alexis. "With a push of a button on the touch-screen, I can keep in contact with all my friends. It has a reliable tool called texting."

"Texting?" Evelyn asked, looking at Alexis swipe her finger across the screen activating all sorts of applications. She was so confused, yet intrigued.

"Uh-huh," said Alexis. "It's so much faster than sending letters." Alexis suddenly beamed, looking up at her friend. "Which totally reminds me. I even bought you one, birthday girl."

Alexis turned towards the table and picked up a white box with a fancy golden laced ribbon.

"Oh no, I couldn't," stammered Evelyn. "My family looks down upon the technology of Domino. And even if I did keep it, I wouldn't know how to use it."

"You've seen us use them before, girl. I thought you loved Domino City."

"The city is beautiful, but your technology is quite alien to me. Especially with these gadgets."

"It's easy," said Alexis. "Come on, I'll teach you."

The two princesses then walked around the gardens. Evelyn's fear of the cell phone quickly washed away and became a fascination. Her favorite feature was the texting application. Alexis showed her how by sending her a message. She dashed to the other side of the park and sent her a quick hello. Evelyn was astonished by how quickly she got it. By traditional mail, it would have taken days or even weeks to get a message. But Evelyn got hers in mere seconds.

"Incredible," said Evelyn.

"Have I changed your mind?" Alexis asked, putting an arm around her friend's neck.

"Oh, yes. I think it's wonderful." Evelyn said, putting the device in the pocket inside her sleeve.

"So, has Kevin been accepted into the Obelisk dorm as well?" Alexis asked as they strolled down a red brick path through the trees and gardens of flowers, adding shades of yellow, red and pink to the vast canvas of green. Ebony Knights trailed behind them holding up their black halberds bearing the black and red flag of Elleria.

"Not yet," Evelyn replied. "He's still trying, though."

"He's going to have to work even harder," chuckled Alexis. "I remember trying out for the Obelisk Blue dorm too. I had to attend that prep school in Monde to do so, but I tell you it was worth it. And maintaining that rank is much more fun. Now that we're university students, we're going to get much grander benefits and privileges. Oh, and what news of your brother?"

"Poor Talion," Evelyn said, looking up at the sky. "Another victim of our crumbling world."

"So, it's up to Termnnia's youth to change things," Alexis proclaimed. "Our elders have failed to restore order in Termnnia after Anubis' downfall. But let's face it. That was never their agenda. All anyone has done since the defeat of the Dark Lord was quarrel for a bigger slice of pie on the map. Thank the Mothers that Master Yugi is forming that alliance with the princes of Termnnia and Daveed our future High King. When you think about it, we're also part of that plan. So really, it's up to us kids to save Termnnia."

"Daveed," said Evelyn, changing the subject, for she wished to discuss her current conundrum with Alexis. "Or do they call him Yuri now. What do you prefer?"

Alexis smiled and looked at the sky, pondering the question. "Well, I kind of like Yuri. It's a cute name. And it matches with his master, Yugi, who will be teaching him at the university. I can't believe that's coming so quickly. In a matter of weeks, he will come to reach his eighteenth year and return to us. He'll have many burdens when he comes back."

Evelyn stared at her gleaming white bracelet. "First, he trains with the Aurelian Legion, then he must learn the art of Duel Monsters at the Academy. Afterward, he has to rule the Kingdoms of Termnnia."

"Let us not forget he must cross the Sea of Glass and climb the Pillar of Termnnia to reclaim the Children of Horakhty," added Alexis. "It's a perilous journey. Many who attempted to claim the God Cards failed miserably. He's going to have so much on his plate the moment he gets back."

"Yes," said Evelyn. "Poor thing."

"And what of you, old friend?" Alexis said stopping on a bridge over the garden stream. She turned to look at her friend and placed her glove-covered hands on Evelyn's hands. The knights ceased their march with a loud halt. "How have you been with all this nonsense with King Forrest?"

"It... it's been difficult," Evelyn replied.

"Any word on Talion?" she asked.

"Yes," Evelyn replied sadly. She opened one of the pouches on her belt and handed her a letter from Talion.

"What does this mean?" Alexis asked when she finished reading the letter.

"He's staying longer," Evelyn said, biting her lip. "He's not going to make it to my birthday."

"I'm so sorry," Alexis said sadly.

"My life couldn't possibly get any worse," she stuttered. "My brother risks his life in a pointless war, and my family asks the impossible."

"What do they want?" asked Alexis.

"They expect me to marry Prince Daveed."

Alexis's eyes bulged. She gasped and covered her mouth politely with her hand. "They can't be serious!" she stammered.

"I'm afraid they are," Evelyn replied. "I'm more afraid of what they'll do to me should I not fulfill their wishes."

"It is a daunting task to undertake," said Alexis. "They should at least give him some time."

"My parents won't see reason, my friend," Evelyn said looking at Alexis' eyes, getting wet with sorrow. The wind blew her curled bangs over her forehead. "Our country is in turmoil. We're on the verge of economic collapse, and King Forrest is but another few battles away from conquering my home, and our army is too broken and weak to fight back. What's worse is my father is in debt to the Termnnian Bank."

"The Termnnian Bank!" Alexis said aloud in shock. She leaned against the iron guard of the bridge. "Your father took a loan from the Termnnian Bank?"

"He owes The Big Five twelve million gold Star Chips."

"Oh, by the Stars of Entuli," Alexis cursed, using the name of the light goddess in vain. She sighed, burying her face in her hands. "Things in Elleria must be dire if its king is asking for loans from the Termnnian Bank, and one so huge. Helmsley should know better than to seek aid from The Big Five. They're snakes, crooks, and murderers. Why didn't you come to me for help? We can send you the finest navy in Termnnia to guard the Bay of Lendos."

Evelyn gasped. "And have you at war with Forrest too? No, this is our conflict."

"It will be mine as well if Forrest conquers Elleria," said Alexis. "This land is a one-way ticket to my mother's kingdom. To say nothing of how much their power will grow if Forrest and the Church get their greedy hands on our technology. Ships or no ships Lorin must deal with him sooner or later."

"Hopefully, my mother and father's plan will come to motion, and we can avoid a long and costly war," said Evelyn.

"You actually want to go through with this?" said Alexis. "Why not just befriend Daveed and then ask to see if he can help?"

"I told them that," said Evelyn. "But they want more. With Elleria having close ties to Emboldor they'll have their grip on the Grand Vaults and their rolling hills of Star Chips."

"Is that what this is all about?" Alexis asked. "They want a little spending money?"

"And Daveed's seed in me," Evelyn replied coldly.

"Ew," Alexis shuddered. "Don't worry, Evelyn. We'll think of something."

"I hope so," Evelyn said, feeling pools of tears welling up in the corner of her eyes.

Alexis used her thumbs to wipe her friend's tears away. "It's okay," she whispered. Alexis then spotted a group of youngsters approaching them. She smiled and gave a wave. Evelyn turned, and she felt a surge of relief go through her frame when she spotted her friends from the Academy.

Four youths in their late teens, all human, happily made their way into the tunnel and greeted the two princesses.

The first to kiss Evelyn's hand was Antoine Veradius, of the Redborne; a dark-skinned race of people from Akuuda; a continent across the sea. His hair was short-cropped, and he smelled of very sweet perfume. His eyes were like molten gold, as are all the eyes of the Redborne people, and he wore a long leather trench coat. His left arm was shielded into a long metal gauntlet that morphed into his Duel Disk.

Then, there was a young girl, Ezra Bryce. She was a mage on holiday from The Citadel, a home away from home for youths gifted with the power of magic. She was a fair-faced young woman with red hair tied in a long braided ponytail. She was clad in a black leather corset decorated with bright gold filigree. The runes on her skin were of arcane designs; planted on her when she became a master of magic. Her leather gloves had gold plates with the symbol of Spellcaster monsters forged onto the surface. She clung to a long metal staff with a bright glowing crystal spinning on the top. Ezra worked hard to receive a scholarship to Duelist Academy. She too attended the prep school in Mondé to be put into the Blue-Eyes White Dragon dorm. She was also a bastard born from rape: her mother was an apprentice mage who was captured and deflowered by a band of drunken bandits on her way back to the Citadel.

The third youth was a dark-haired young man named Ethan Morris, the son of a duke from the kingdom of Riverturn in Emboldor. He walked with confidence and a bright smile on his face, wearing stylish black clothing and a black Duel Disk. He wished to travel to the academy to learn alchemy as well as being a skilled duelist, and to meet the beautiful Academy girls.

And finally, Dancer Firewing. The handsome youth from the battle of the Emerald Marches. Evelyn felt herself getting weak in the knees seeing the Knight of Wine and Song approach her. His smile seemed to make her day light up.

"I thought I saw the two of you walking about," said Antoine. "Ser Kevin," he said greeting Evelyn's champion, who was standing behind Alexis and Evelyn. The knight nodded his head and smiled.

"How've you been?" asked Ezra, resting her cheek on her staff. "It's been a while."

"Yeah, we thought you forgot about us," said Ethan.

Dancer chuckled softly. The sound was soothing and revealed his teeth as white as the snows of the ice-capped mountains looming above the city. Evelyn felt herself melting inside.

"You guys make it sound like we haven't seen each other in ages," he said. "It's only been two seasons." He slowly and proudly marched to Evelyn. He took her hand and raised it to his lips. "Princess," he said before kissing it.

"No, I'd never forget any of you," said Evelyn. "I'm so glad you all could make it."

"I regret Talion could not join us," Dancer wistfully said. "I pray, too, that he is safe." He looked at Ser Kevin, who looked like he was about to weep before them. "Ladies, if you don't mind, I wish to have a word with Ser Kevin. Antoine if you could join me, please."

Antoine nodded. "Yeah, I see there is much we must discuss."

"I shall remain with the girls then," said Ethan.

"You most certainly will not," said Alexis. "We're about to change into our Dueling uniforms and there are no dressing rooms here in the gardens."

"Come little one," said Dancer. "Let us leave the girls in peace. Maybe you can help me prepare for my match in the games later today."

"Very well," said Ethan. "Ladies, Princess; I will see you in the arena at sundown."

"Knights, you are dismissed!" commanded Evelyn.

The knights slammed the bottom of the halberds down in compliance and marched away to let the ladies have their privacy as they slipped into their dueling raiment to play a few matches.

When they were done changing they decided who would go first. Ezra grunted with displeasure as she tried to pull up her trousers. "These breeches!" She grunted. "They're always so tight on my butt!"

"Well, it's not the fault of the raiment," giggled Alexis. "You're giving them too much to work with."

"Why do we need to dress into these anyway?"

"Because Duels are violent and we don't want to get our dresses dirty," said Alexis. "A lot of handsome knights from Rimgarden, Emboldor, and Monde are on the way to fight for Evelyn in the games. I want to look my best."

Evelyn found that notion humorous. "Hah!" she said. "And since when does Alexis Rhodes the legendary Glaive of Entuli care about men all of a sudden?"

"You let me worry about that," said Alexis. "Anyways, I'd like to see those Buster Bladers that Master Yu-Gi-Oh gave to you, Evelyn. So why don't you play first Ezra?"

"Okay, if you insist." Ezra walked to her side of the field, pulling at the back of her breeches.

Evelyn took her place as well and morphed her bracelet into a Duel Disk. "As Master Yu-Gi-Oh would say: It's time to Duel!"

**LP-8000**

"I'll start first," said Evelyn. "I use Foolish Burial to discard my Buster Blader the Destruction Swordsman to the Graveyard. Then I place two cards face down and end my turn."

"It's been a while," Ezra said. "Let's see if I still got it. I Pendulum Summon the Magical Abductor!" ( **ATK/1700 DEF/400 LV 4** )

"Pendulum Summon?" Evelyn said in amazement. "Interesting, I thought those rules stayed in Domino City."

Ezra smiled and began to explain. "Since Pendulum Monsters are a mix of Spell and Monsters, my order has taken an interest to them. Now, to continue my turn, I use the Spell Card, Spellbook of Secrets! This will let me add a Spellbook card from my deck to my hand. And I'll bring it to the field immediately. Say hello to the Spellbook Magician of Prophesy!" ( **ATK/500 DEF/400 LV 2** )

Once the mage came onto the field. He began to glow, for his effect activated, allowing Ezra to bring another Spellbook card to her hand.

"And now I activate the Spell Card, Spellbook of Masters. I reveal a Spellbook card in my hand. The Grand Spellbook Tower. Thus my Spellbook of Masters gains the effect of my Spellbook of Secrets and I add another Spellbook to my hand. Now for my Magical Abductor. When I activate a Spell and its effect resolves, she gains a Spell Counter. But I'll get to her later.'

"What's all this about?" Evelyn asked. "Spells, spells and more spells."

"I am a mage after all," said Ezra. "So it's only natural I play with cards that fit my lifestyle." Both continued to play fiercely. As their best monsters and spells came onto the field, the friendly smiles they wore on their faces turned into competitive looks of determination. "Now I will Xyz Summon, Empress of Prophesy!" Ezra shouted.

It gained 300 for each Xyz material she had on her monsters. It was just her and with the two cards stacked at the bottom of the Empress of Prophesy, she gained 600 attack points bringing her to 2600 ATK. But it was lowered to 2300 when Ezra activated her monster's ability. She removed a material monster from her Empress to excavate the top five cards on her deck, and for each Spellbook card she found, it meant one less monster for Evelyn. Fortunately, Ezra only drew one card, so Evelyn lost her Buster Blader.

"Attack!" Ezra commanded her Empress.

The Empress of Prophesy stood up from her throne, gave her staff a twirl and struck Evelyn with a powerful spell that sent her flying backward. Evelyn dug her heels to the ground and skidded to a stop. To retaliate, she summoned Buster Whelp of the Destruction Swordsman. Used its effect and summoned a Buster Blader from her hand."

"Oh shoot, he's back!" Ezra cried.

"He won't be staying for long," Evelyn said.

She equipped her Buster Blader with a monster called Dragon Buster Destruction Sword. The little furry dragon-like cat hopped onto the swordsman's massive shoulder. The creature was a Tuner monster, meaning Evelyn could perform a Synchro Summon. The little whelp became a colossal dragon with six arms and massive wings armored with natural plating colored black. At the bottom of the armor plating were rows of gleaming feathers.

****

**Buster Dragon**

**ATK/1200 DEF/2800**

**LV 8**

"Uncle! Uncle!" Ezra shouted for mercy.

Evelyn let out a hearty laugh as she activated her Buster Dragon's effect and summoned her Buster Blader back from the Graveyard. She played Destruction Swordsman Fusion which merged her Buster Blader on the field and a Buster Whelp in her hand into her ultimate monster. "Come forth and unleash your fury, O' mightiest of Dragon Slayers! Buster Blader, the Dragon Destroyer Swordsman!"

A sword fell from the sky and landed at Evelyn's feet. Then, a swordsman in armor of white, indigo, and gold flew down from the back of a Buster Dragon and landed with a powerful crash on the dueling field, causing a large crater to form at his feet. He raised himself, looked down at Evelyn and nodded his head. Buster Blader the Dragon Destroyer Swordsman picked up his sword and then struck the Empress of Prophesy taking Ezra down to **0**.

Ezra flipped through the air from the impact and landed on her stomach.

"Hey now!" said Alexis. "That was awesome. You still up for a game, Ezra?"

"Sure," Ezra said, brushing the dirt off her butt. "Why don't we make this a three-way match."

Evelyn nodded. "I like the sound of that, let's play."

They formed a circle around the water fountain and activated the Duel Disks, ready for an intense game.

"Let's let the birthday girl go first," said Alexis. "So, Evelyn, looking forward to any of the knights coming to the festivities tonight. You are one lucky girl mind you. A week-long celebration for your eighteenth year."

"Well," Evelyn said, drawing her card. "It's worrying me. People out there are starving and here we are having a festival with fifty-seven-course meals, jugglers, and musicians from all around. Not to mention father has set up a tournament with a pool of one million Star Chips." Once her combos were done, she summoned Buster Blader to the field. "RROF!" he growled, swinging his sword to intimidate his opponents. Evelyn beamed at her monster. "As for knights, well, I can't think of any. I end my turn."

"He should know better than that," said Ezra, drawing to start her turn. "That's the Big Five's money he's giving away." She played spell after spell until she had what she needed to summon Master Peace the True Dracoslaying King."

"Wow!" Evelyn said, admiring the brilliant dragon-warrior monster. His armor, his overall design was just beautiful to look at. "Evelyn is that your Spellbook/Dracoslayer deck?"

"It sure is," said Ezra. "I've been playing it easy the past few games, and I've been meaning to save this deck for the academy. But, you've really fired me up, princess. And just because he's a dragon doesn't mean he's going to be easy pickings for your Buster Bladers."

"Oh, we'll see," said Evelyn. "So, are you done yet? I'm eager to see Alexis' new Cyber Angels."

"Nope," said Ezra. "I still have a few tricks up my sleeve."

Another dizzying combination of her Spellbook cards and soon she had another Master Peace on the field. Even though they gave Evelyn's Buster Blader more strength, she seemed less than worried.

"It's your turn, Princess Alexis," said Ezra. "Speaking of which. Alexis, you finally find something hard to go between those white-bread thighs of yours."

"Draw," said Alexis said with a quick laugh. "No," she answered, examining her hand to figure out what to play. "Who knows. Maybe I'll get lucky tonight."

She played Prepreperation of Rites, allowing her to draw a Ritual Spell from her deck. She used it and summoned Cyber Angel Dakini. She then summoned Manju of the Thousand Hands which brought a ritual to her hand. And she ended her turn, handing the match to Evelyn.

Evelyn drew, and in no time at all had her beloved Buster Blader the Dragon Destruction Swordsman on the field. The Dracoslayers went to defense mode, and Evelyn ordered the attack. Buster Blader the Dragon Destruction Swordsman readied his attack, but Ezra saved herself with a Negate Attack. Evelyn grunted, seeing her beloved Swordsman slam his extravagant sword on a swirling force field. Sparks of electricity surged all around the Buster Blader, knocking him back to Evelyn's field on her side of the fountain.

"I'm so sorry," said Evelyn. "Are you all right?"

Buster Blader nodded. He picked up his sword and stood proudly by her side, eager for her next turn to do battle with Ezra's dragons. It was now her turn. She tributed one of her Master Peace Dracoslayers for a Vanity's fiend. She tried to attack Alexis, but she was well-defended behind her trap cards. Evelyn even came to her rescue with some of her won.

"Two against one!" cried Ezra. "It isn't fair. You two are ganging up on me just because you're princesses!"

"No," said Alexis. "I'm sure you would have done the same for us, too, right."

"Oh don't play dumb with me, Alexis!" said Ezra.

"So come and get me!" Alexis turned and slapped her rump vexingly to get a rise out of Ezra.

"Fuck you, Alexis. I end my turn."

"Now it's my turn," said Alexis. "Draw!"

She ritual summoned again, this time calling forth her newest ace monster. She sang the summon chant and out from heavenly flames emerged Cyber Angel Vrash. With an ATK of 3000, Ezra and Evelyn had a lot to contend with.

They heard someone clapping from the tunnel leading toward the gardens. "Ah, such allurement can only be a gift from Ava!" Dancer said approaching the grounds where Evelyn and her friends played.

"Dancer!" said Ezra. "What are you doing here?"

"I've come to watch the games. You are looking quite ravishing in your Duel Raiment, princess. And those monsters are nothing short of spectacular. My compliments. The three of you make such a beautiful bouquet alongside your monsters. The Cyber Angels. Warriors of untold beauty being summoned by the lovely Alexis of the House Rhodes. Princess of Lorin. Ah, and the legendary dragon hunter himself, Buster Blader, in his ultimate form as the Dragon Destroyer Swordsman. And under the command of the birthday girl, Princess Evelyn. And Ezra, with her majestic Dracoslayers and her Spellbook monsters. I must be blessed to witness such a work of art."

"You're too kind, Dancer," said Alexis.

"Do you really like my Dracoslayer's Dancer?" Ezra asked.

"How could I not?" said Dancer, taking a seat on a white stone bench. He feasted on an apple while he watched the girls pummel each other with their monsters. In the end, Alexis came out on top, attacking Ezra with Cyber Angel Natasha, and Evelyn with Cyber Angel Vrash after she wiped their fields clean. Both girls grunted as they were launched in different directions across the garden. They landed with a heavy thump on the ground. Their Life Point counters dropping to 0.

Dancer clapped. "Bravo!" he said. "That was wonderful."

Alexis bowed. She then wiped sweat from her chest. Evelyn and Ezra got up from the ground and dusted themselves. Their monsters and all the damage they caused in the battle disappeared.

"Well played!" Dancer joyously declared. "The three of you played a spectacular match."

"Are you done with your preparations?" Alexis asked. "You're Dueling a former Emboldorian champion."

Dancer tossed the finished apple core away in a nearby trash can and said: "Yes, and as much as it delights me seeing you beauties duel, I fear I must cut your game short. Queen Sera demands you proceed to the hall for dinner. The nobles and their knights are arriving as we speak. If I may have a word alone with Princess Evelyn."

Alexis grinned. "Very, well," Come, Ezra, let's go wash up."

"You mean bathe together!" Ezra squealed as Alexis grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her away.

"Princess," said Dancer. "Would you care to dance with me?"

"What? Now?"

"If you please. You will be busy on the floor this evening dancing with the other lords of the kingdom. And, I may not get my chance to dance with the birthday girl at the party this weekend."

"Oh, of course," Evelyn said with a bright smile. Dancer held out his hand and she took it. He then led her to the middle of the garden with only limestone statues of warriors and Arva watching them.

Dancer couldn't help but notice how upset she looked. "You look troubled, Your Highness."

"I am," said Evelyn. "My brother will not grace me with his presence tonight. He promised."

"I know he did," Dancer said, giving her a twirl. "But he is a patriot. And he loves his country. He does what he's doing, not for his father or the upcoming alliance, but for you. If the Fat King conquers Elleria I fear what plans he has for you. He has been known to treat beautiful women as mere objects. But I've heard that Talion's absence is not all that bothers you."

Evelyn did what she could to change the subject. "Josephine brought up those golden eggs again. You lost your mother and father in that battle yes?"

"Aye, I did. But that's ancient history, and those eggs were snatched by the Orcs, so I imagine they're long gone. I can't help but have a feeling that golden eggs are not what's bothering you. Tell me the truth."

"My mother and father want me to marry the Prince of Termnnia when he returns."

"Daveed sounds like a nice young man," said Dancer. "I bet when he sees you he will propose on the spot."

"What do you mean?" Evelyn said blushing.

"You have grown to be very beautiful, princess. Your heart is pure and you are very thoughtful and kind. You are also very brave, for any person in a situation like yours would have given up by now. Despite all you go through, you have the will to continue. To keep fighting for what you believe in. One would have to be a complete fool not to fall in love with you, Evelyn."

"I... I appreciate that, Dancer." Evelyn said, full of joy. "But...being his friend is all I care about. My heart...has no place for him I'm afraid."

"And who deserves the honor of having a place in your heart, princess?" Dancer said softly.

Evelyn's heart beat faster than ever. He knew the answer to that question. They had made love before and on this very spot many months ago. Just that thought alone made her feel almost breathless. She recalled putting his manhood in her mouth that night. The places he put his fingers to make her happy. Those memories excited her, as he most likely had planned, playing with her emotions in a place like this. Dancer lowered his head to look at her closely, his eyes shimmered like two chocolate diamonds.

"You're shivering," he said in a whisper. "Do you grow cold?"

Evelyn gasped when she suddenly missed a step and tripped. Dancer caught her at once. "Whoa! You okay?" he asked.

Evelyn nodded and fixed her tiara, which dropped from her head during the fall. She looked back up at him and smiled. Her eyes widened as he lifted her to bring her close. She gasped as Dancer leaned forward to kiss her. She couldn't resist and buried her mouth in his. An icy blast of minty breath from his mouth chilled her tongue and throat. His long, thin bangs tickled her forehead. Not since Talion vanished had the princess felt such bliss. A fiery sensation ran through her veins, hot like sweet wine. Her skin got covered with goose prickles as she felt her the hands of her forbidden love caress her body, searching for a place that was not covered in the engraved silver plates of her Duel Raiment.

Dancer's hands ran into the gold-demasked breeches of her raiment. Evelyn gasped timidly and let out a soft moan feeling his fingers squeeze her tender buttocks, molding them as though they were made clay. The hot, sweaty, flesh burned his hands as he slid them up and down the form of her perfect rump. His fingers snaked around, looking for her forbidden parts. Dancer pushed her closer. His masterwork iron chestplate was crushing her breasts.

Evelyn felt his hardened manhood rub between her legs from inside his black silk trousers. She wanted more of him. She wanted his cock in her mouth now! She released herself from his lips, pushed him against the railing and knelt down. She started fumbling around his golden belt buckle, panting with passion and frustration, for it seemed wedged tight and proved difficult to dislodge. She wanted him to do her right here in this spot, and she didn't care who was watching.

"Princess!" cried out Josephine.

Evelyn jumped, releasing herself from Dancer's embrace.

_Damnation!_

"Josephine what are you doing here?" Evelyn cried.

"Lady Josephine," Dancer said, his voice quivering. He quickly took his hands out of Evelyn's pants.

"Everyone is looking for you, princess. Look at you! You haven't even bathed or brushed your hair. If Ser Dancer wasn't here I would put you over my knee and tan your bottom!"

"By all means don't mind me!" Dancer said backing off.

Evelyn glared at him narrowing her eyes in fury.

Josephine angrily stomped her foot on the ground and pointed towards the castle. "Go to your room this instant and prepare yourself for the party."

"Okay, okay," said the princess. "Good luck in your match, Dancer."

Evelyn yanked up her trousers and walked away. Without warning, Josephine slapped her in the butt to quicken her pace. "OW!" yelped Evelyn with a jump.

"Move!" commanded Josephine. "And as for you, Ser Knight. I suggest you keep your distance from the princess. She is betrothed to Daveed Wallcroft the Lord of Termnnia. She is not for you. You'd do well to remember that, lest you want your head mounted on a pike!"


	31. The Grizzly of the North

**Yuri**

* * *

_Terretar! Terretar!_

_Es auxtre kruel venell suuth!_

_Es auxtre corderie vendinas vasrek!_

_Terretar! Terretar!_

_Es auxtre dinas salve Termnnia!_

_Salvenus! Terretar! Salvenus!_

_Ad es auxtre calminus exules Odiva fin!_

* * *

"YURI! WAKE UP!"

Yuri gasped and bolted upright. His mother was standing in the doorway. Her hair bundled up by colorful curls, and her face was painted green with her face mask. "Come on, kiddo. You don't want to be late for school...again."

"Sorry, mom," Yuri said. The first thing he did was grab his deck from the side table beside his bed.

Paula leaned on the doorframe. "So...who's the lucky girl you're taking to the homecoming dance on Friday?"

"I'm not going with anyone, mom," Yuri replied rather droll. "I haven't found anyone."

Paula rolled her eyes. "You haven't found anyone? Or you haven't tried?"

Yuri shrugged. "A bit of both."

"Come on, Yuri. You're a Montgomery. It's not right for someone with our name to be without a girlfriend or at least some arm candy to parade around for the papers."

"That's the last thing I want, mom. Some brainless bimbo hanging on my arm and leeching my funds away."

"What about that Patty girl? She's a cute one."

"We're just friends."

"And Crystal? You two have been together since you were babies. She's perfect for you, baby. She's rich. She's beautiful and sexy. She has one hell of voice and is an amazing Duelist. Not to mention it'll be the talk of the city, hell the world."

Yuri slid his hand down his face. "So, that's why you want me to date her? Because it's good for publicity?"

Paula scoffed. "Because she loves you. She told you I don't know how many times, and you always refused her."

Yuri shook his head. "Things with her are complicated. You know the mafia runs her career right?"

"The mafia?" Paula snorted. "Don't you think you're being a little overdramatic, Yuri? Sure, the Martinettis done some questionable things, but your father has them on a very strict watchlist."

"For what good that does," said Yuri. "Do you mind, mom? I'm not dressed."

"Oh," Paula said backing away from the door frame. She put her hand on the door, ready to close it. "Well, hurry up. The ferry leaves soon." She closed the door shut.

Yuri groaned in relief and slammed his head back on his pillow. "Watchlist. Yeah, that doesn't work when half of Aquarius' Security Division is under their payroll." But that did not concern him for too long. "Just what in the world was that song I heard last night?"

It was a language he never heard before. "Terretar?" He wondered. He frowned and shook his head. "I must be out of my mind."

He got out of bed and proceeded to prepare himself for school.

* * *

"Hey," Patty said walking into the classroom. She found her seat next to Yuri. Her hair was dripping wet and her uniform was almost ruined.

"You're soaked," Yuri said. "What happened?"

"Mom and dad got in another fight," Patty replied, slipping off her backpack and sitting down. "I missed the ferry, therefore I had to wait for the next one. However, that one wasn't going anywhere here in the school district. The closest port to school was Friendship Harbor. So I had to walk all the way from there past Tabitha's place. Wouldn't you know it, I walk through her home when the sprinklers turn on."

"Hmm, sounds like a rough day," Yuri said.

"Yeah, it was a blast," Patty said sitting down at last. Nick, sitting on the desk beside her, had his head down and was snoring, hoping to catch a few winks before class started.

Yuri picked up his backpack and set it on his lap. "Well, hopefully, this will make you feel better." He unzipped the backpack and pulled out a bag perfumed with the sweet scent of hot food. Patty felt her spirits get lifted when she saw the food in his hand. "I got you breakfast," he said. "Two griddles. Sausage, bacon, egg, and cheese and a hashbrown like you asked."

"Oh, Yuri!" Patty said, taking the bag. "Thank you so much. But why?"

"You told me yourself. You don't have time to eat because of your parents," Yuri replied. "Besides, your stomach rumbles pretty loudly when you're hungry."

Patty heard Tyson laugh behind her. "Yeah," he said. "Is that a Black Tyranno in your stomach, or what?"

"Could be," Patty said, biting into her griddle. "Mmm, so good," she said. "Thanks, Yuri. I owe you one."

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Natalya said from the seat behind Yuri. "It's not very ladylike."

Patty rolled her eyes. "Yes, mom."

Natalya folded her arms. "Good girl. So, anyone find dates for the dance on Friday?"

"Aw yeah!" Tyson boasted. He snapped both his fingers and jerked both his thumbs at himself. "Got me a date with Allie Washington from the cheerleaders. Of course, I gotta thank my man Yuri for that. Once she knew I was buddies with him, it was smooth sailing from there."

"That's wonderful, Tyson," Natalya said, patting his shoulder. "But uh...what about the Prince of Aquarius? Eh, Yuri? Find yourself a date yet?"

"No," Yuri responded immediately. "I never asked anyone to go."

"But plenty of girls asked him out," Patty said, taking another bite out of her sandwich. "Yuri, what the hell, man? Do you not want to go to homecoming?"

"No."

Patty gave a heavy sigh and shrugged. "Well, so much for that. You know I thought that maybe...we could go."

"Oh shit," said Carter, looking up from his homework, which he was double-checking. "Sure glad Nick is asleep right now. He would have flipped if he heard that."

Patty gave a wave of her hand to show she didn't care. However, she got up from her seat to check her answers with him. "Do you mind?" she asked.

"Not at all," Carter said.

Patty walked to the front of his desk and leaned over it, setting down her homework. "I mean it, Yuri. If you got not one to go with, I'd be more than happy to go with you."

Yuri scratched his chin. It was one thing to deny the girls in the hallway, but one of his best friends? What was Nick going to think? Patty may have been snobbish towards his feelings for her, but he still loved her.

"I'll think about it," Yuri said, stretching the collar of his shirt.

But Patty did not tolerate that answer. She crossed her arms and drummed her fingers on her biceps. The tiny stars on her fingernails twinkled with each movement. "Hmm," she said impatiently. "I'll give you after school to think about it. It's a yes or no question, Yuri. It's not supposed to be that hard."

"Sorry," said Yuri. "It's just..." He rolled his eyes to the right and tilted his head towards Nick's direction. "He's been asking you to go for quite some time now."

Patty narrowed her eyes. "I could give two craps about what he's going to say. I'm not interested in him. Besides, I'm not letting him take me anywhere after what happened last time."

Yuri lurched backward in his seat. "And what, pray tell, happened that caused you to be this mad at him?"

Natalya leaned forward, clearing her throat to get Yuri's attention. "Patty and I went to the beach on Sunday. Nick Jr. was there with a camera. Took some nice pictures of her and shared them with his friends. Nick hasn't done anything, which leaves us both to believe he's gawking at them too. Pigs; both of them."

"Damn," Tyson said, trying to hold back his laughter. "Sneaky little bastard, aint he?"

"So you see, Yuri," Patty said, erasing one of her mistakes. "Nick is not an option for the dance. I simply won't do it." She felt a sharp sting on her derriere, followed by a loud snap! "Yowch!" she cried, jumping out of her spot in front of Carter's desk.

"Sit down, Miss McKnight," ordered Ms. Perrizow, their math teacher. She held a ruler in one hand which she used to hit the students with if they misbehaved. "Everyone to their seats, please. Quiet! Quiet! Georgios, settle down back there will you? Nicholas, wake up, it's time for class?"

"Twenty-two?" Nick said stupidly, raising his head up.

"Wake up, Nick," Yuri groaned, shaking his head.

Ms. Perrizow made it behind her desk after the students did as they were told. "Good morning, class," she said cheerfully, though her eyes were heavy with a strictness she just couldn't wait to unleash upon her pupils.

"Bitch," Patty mumbled, massaging her bottom.

"Now then," Ms. Perrizow said, opening her textbook to chapter five of their calculus lesson. "Every turn to page one-hundred and forty-seven of your books. We will be discussing...blah...blah...blah...blah."

As Ms. Perrizow was writing complicated equations on the smartboard, Yuri whispered to Patty. "Ahem, ahem," he said. Patty looked back at him with a droll look on her face as she was chewing on one of her pencils.

"You still mad at me?" he whispered.

Patty gave him an annoying look with her eyebrows raised, her eyes half-closed as if still sleepy, and her teeth sliding left and right over her pencil. Yuri couldn't help but feel that look meant: _Yeah, so what are you going to do about it?_

"Look, Patty, I...it's not you."

Patty still had that bored look on her face. Her teeth still sliding left and right over her pencil.

"All right, fine, be that way. I'll give you my answer after school."

Patty shrugged and turned to face the front of the class again.

"Ahem," Ms. Perrizow said.

"Uh oh," said Yuri.

"Is there something you'd like to add to this lesson, Mr. Montgomery?" Ms. Perrizow asked. "Perhaps if you feel so emboldened to interrupt my lesson, why don't you teach us a thing or two?"

"I'm sorry," said Yuri.

"Ah, pah, pah, pah, pah, pah," she said holding up her finger. "Please, Yuri, share what you know with the class. Step on up."

Yuri did as he was told. He stood in front of the smartboard without making a move, much to Ms. Perrizow's delight.

"So you don't know," she said, tightening her grip on her ruler. "Hold out your hands."

Yuri gulped and showed her both his palms. WHACK! "OW!" Yuri shouted when she slapped the ruler on his hands.

"Sit down, Mr. Montgomery. Interrupt my class again, and I will see you after school for a paddling."

"My father's going to hear about this!" Yuri threatened her as he walked back to his seat, massaging his palms. No doubt the look on her face meant his threat worked, and she said no more, allowing him to walk back to his seat without another word.

"The nerve of that woman!" Yuri said after class. He led his friends to the gymnasium for their next lesson. He seethed, looking at his hands still red and stinging.

"That's what you get for talking during class," said Natalya. "I think you of all people should know better than that, Yuri."

"I was trying to make Patty feel better," Yuri said glaring back her.

Patty was silent. She sucked on a cherry-flavored tootsie pop. The stick hung out of the corner of her mouth. Her eyes were rolled to the side to avoid looking at him.

"I'm sorry, Patty. Like I said, I'll give you my answer after school."

"Hmph," Patty went before quickening her pace towards the girl's locker room to change.

"What's with her?" Nick asked. "I've seen Patty pissed off, but never at you, Yuri."

"Nothing," said Yuri.

Natalya hurried to walk beside Yuri. "Well, if you boys are interested, bring your cards with you. One of the new Dueling Arenas has been completed, and the staff is allowing student's turn to play on it."

That bit of news lit up the boys' spirits.

"You serious, Natalya?" Carter asked. "We can play on it?"

"Uh-huh, but do hurry up, there's already a long line to get on it. Well, I have to get changed. Class starts soon." She turned and walked away, disappearing down the hall towards the girls' locker room.

Wasting no time, Yuri, Nick, Tyson, and Carter hurried to change into their gymnasium attire and see this new arena that was causing quite the stir about the school.

"That's incredible," Yuri said, marveling at the gigantic machine that took up almost half of the gymnasium, which was blocked off by giant white sheets. They were transparent, so the students could see a lot of activity going on back there. They saw men hammering, sparks flying from blowtorches, and even the blue glow of holograms radiating from the unfinished machines.

Already there were four students playing on the machine, for the arena had the capabilities to allow Tag Team Duels. The students surrounding the machine cheered as someone Special Summoned their Summoned Skull to the field.

Carter rubbed his chin. He was quite disappointed by the holograms. They were translucent and staticky. "Hmm, they're not high quality like the championship tournaments, but I guess it's better than nothing."

Nick smashed his fist against his palm. "Yuri! We gotta play together man. I'm sure we can handle anyone of these chumps."

They heard someone scoff behind them. Patty and Natalya approached them with humored looks on their faces...well, save for Patty who was still upset about Yuri's lack for giving her an answer for the dance.

"If you ask me," Natalya said with a rude snigger, "I think Yuri will be carrying the match."

Nick frowned at her. "Well, nobody asked you," he retorted. He looked at Patty and smiled, studying her from head to toe. He admired how her shirt raised and showed off her midriff with each movement. "Well, look at you," he said smoothly. "Your curves are more...detailed. Have you been working out?"

Patty tilted her head to the side and raised her middle finger, much to everyone's humor. "You going to play or what, Yuri?" she asked.

"Oh, hey, you're talking to me again," Yuri said relieved.

"Just play so we can see your Black Tyranno. To be honest, I'm interested in seeing him more than I am you. So, be a good boy and register while you can. The sign-up lists are coming out the office now as we speak."

"Aw, damn," Nick said, sprinting away. "I'll sign us up, Yuri!"

"What's your problem?" Yuri asked, looking back at Patty.

"It's a yes or no question, Yuri. Is it that hard to answer?"

"Well, no, but-"

"But what? Think you're too good for me because you're the Crown Prince of Aquarius? I thought you were better than that."

"Kind of jumping the gun, don't you think?" Yuri said, upset with Patty's condescending remark. "I don't think of myself that way. And I sure as hell don't think of you as any less. Now look, I'm not the one who left you out in the rain and split with some bimbo to Dubai, so don't take it out on me!"

Patty's lips trembled. Yuri could see tears of hurt bubbling in her eyes. She closed them shut and sighed before turning and walking away. Yuri swallowed. He could hear her sniffling as she walked back to the girl's locker room. He felt a smack to the back of his head.

"Ow!" Yuri cried.

"You idiot!" Natalya shouted. "You just had to bring that up, didn't you?" She ran after Patty, calling her name and telling her to wait up.

Tyson put his hands on Yuri's shoulders. He patted the left one. "You're a real Casanova, Yuri."

"I...I didn't mean to bring that up."

Carter approached cautiously, hoping not to fuel the flames of the situation with a horrible question. But Patty, too, was a dear friend of his. "I haven't known you guys for that long, but what happened?"

Tyson sighed. Yuri cringed when he got a whiff of his sour breath. "Tell him, Yuri," he said.

"In our freshman year, Patty met some guy; the son of a very wealthy man. We all thought he was the one for her. He treated her nice. He bought her lots of nice and expensive things. They were together throughout most of our time here. Right before summer let out last year, his father found some business in Dubai. They had to move away from Aquarius. Patty was so upset. However, the beau promised Patty he would take her with him. He swore to her that they would get married after graduation. For Patty, it was a very big deal. It was her only means of escaping. All her life, she's been beaten and abused by her parents. They've done all they could to keep her from following her dreams. And what she wants to do most of all is be an artist."

"An artist?" said Carter. "She draws very beautiful pictures when she doodles in class."

"Right," said Yuri. "Her boyfriend even told her that he already had her enrolled into this very fancy art school over there. Me and the guys, we celebrated with her with a goodbye party at my house the night before their flight. Later, she had dinner with her future husband, and went to a nearby hotel to...uh... well, fool around, according to Patty anyway. She woke up, and her man wasn't there. He left her a note covered in roses, telling her that he had to take care of some business, and took pack her things and go to the airport. He said that he would meet her there later with their passes. So, Patty went. She stood there for hours... He never came. Even as midnight struck, Patty waited and waited. Poor Patty, texted him hundreds of times. She called everyone he knew. None of them had the heart to tell her what really happened."

"He went without her?" Carter asked.

"He did all that and more," Tyson said coldly. "The next day, the asshole posts a picture of himself in Dubai. With another girl."

"No," Carter gasped.

"I have my own problems," said Yuri. "I have my reasons for not wanting to go to the dance." He looked at his wrist, bearing a horrible scar. "But I was so focused on my own issues that I wasn't thinking about Patty's past experience. She's never really trusted guys since then."

"Is that why she's so mean to Nick?" Carter asked.

Tyson and Yuri found it within themselves to laugh. "Naw, dawg," Tyson said, slapping Carter on the shoulder. "Nick's just an asshole."

Yuri finished chuckling. "Yeah, but that's the way of it, Carter. I think I just made things worse."

"So man up and take her to the dance, Yuri," said Tyson. "Like you said, Patty shouldn't take out her past on you, and you shouldn't either. No one's gonna be there to beat your ass up like last time."

"Sheesh," Carter said, rubbing his hand up and down his head. "You guys have been through a lot."

"Yup," Yuri said with a slow nod. "I better go fix things up with Patty before they get worse." He sprinted out of the gym towards the girl's locker room. He stopped out the door and called from outside. "Patty!" he called. "It's me, Yuri!"

He heard a snivel just around the bend to the locker room. She was close by. "Go away!" she sobbed. "You're just like Max was, Yuri. You're no different than he was!"

"Look, I didn't even give you my answer yet. Besides, you said you didn't care what my answer was."

"I didn't say that, you big jerk! I said it was a yes or no question!"

Yuri turned and slammed his back lightly against the tiled wall. He slid down until his butt touched the ground. "Look, Patty, I'm sorry. I'll go with you."

"It's too late for that! I'm not interested!"

Yuri slapped his forehead then slid his hand down his face. "What do you want me to do? Beg?"

"Ask nicely!" Natalya shouted from within the locker room.

Yuri groaned. "Patty, will you please come with me to the homecoming dance?"

"No, thank you!" he heard her say.

"You can do better than that, Yuri!" Natalya's voice followed after. "Be a gentleman, will you?"

Yuri groaned again, tapping the back of his head against the wall. There were two girls standing outside the gym teacher's office giggling at him. Yuri ignored them and thought of something. "Patty...it will be a great pleasure...if you could...join me for the homecoming dance on Friday." He rolled his eyes. "Please." He said through his teeth with an aggravated groan.

Silence answered his call, followed by the stamping of sneakers coming out of the locker room. Patty and Natalya finally appeared into the hallway. They stood over Yuri sternly. Patty, eyes still red with weep, formed a smile. "Okay, Yuri. If you want to go with me that badly, I suppose I'll let you take me to the dance."

"You suck, Patty."

Patty held out her hand to help him back up on his feet. "Come on," she said. "You've got yourself a Duel to win."

Once they got back to the gymnasium, one of the gym teachers blew on his whistle. "Montgomery! Yuri Montgomery! Where the hell are ya? You either make it to the ring, or you forfeit your turn. You got two minutes!"

Nick as already at the booth shouting out for Yuri to hurry and play. Wasting no time, Yuri sprinted away from Patty and Natalya and into the crowd of students. They cheered once they saw Yuri coming through and parted to make a trail for him. But it wasn't him they were cheering for. "Black Tyranno! Black Tyranno! Black Tyranno!" No doubt his classmates were more interested in Yuri's monster than him. But he cared not. He wanted to finish the Duel as quickly as he could; for he was not fond of the spotlight. He climbed up the stairs to his booth.

"Well, it's about time!" Nick shouted. "You almost cost us our turn."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Yuri said, taking his deck out of his pocket. He set it down on the drive recognizer and a multi-colored circuit board pattern slithered from underneath his cards.

Their two opponents named Marcus and Andre readied themselves as well. Once all four decks were scanned, their holographic Life Point counters hovered over their heads, displaying a score of 2000.

"Call it!" the gym teacher said, holding up a golden coin.

"Heads," said Andre.

"Tails, then," said Nick.

The gym teacher flipped the coin, caught it with his hand, and slapped it over the back of the other. "Heads. Andre and Marcus go first. Keep it clean boys, or your barred from using these machines for the rest of the school year. Let's Duel!"

"I draw!" said Andre. "I summon Griffore in Defense Mode!" He summoned a very mischievous-looking beast, with a body made of a tough, pink, hide and claws. It growled and puffed steam from his round, green, nose.

"Then I set one card face down, and that ends my turn."

"It's your move, Yuri!" said Marcus. "Let's see what that Black Tyranno of yours can do."

Yuri smiled and drew his card. "Trust me, you don't want that. I summon Mammoth Graveyard in Attack Mode!" He set the card on the field. The displays hummed as they projected the image of a giant mammoth skeleton. It bellowed loudly, causing many of the students to cover their ears. Patty shook her head in displeasure, wondering why Yuri would choose to summon Mammoth Graveyard. She was certain he had stronger monsters to play with. Perhaps he was up to something up there in the booth. Or, maybe he just didn't want anyone to see his Black Tyranno anymore.

"I will set these two cards down, and end my turn," Yuri said.

"A Mammoth Graveyard?" scoffed Marcus. "Man, I was hoping to see these big, tough, dinos you got in your Deck, Yuri. Oh, well, I summon Hard Armor in Defense Mode."

Nick started sniggering in his booth. "Yuri, man, they're making this too easy. Look, all they've done was play defensively this whole time. Black Tyranno's special ability lets it attack someone directly if they have nothing but defensive position monsters out, right? It's like they're practically begging you to take them down."

"No, Nick. Black Tyranno's effect works only if my opponent has _nothing_ but defensive monsters on the field. And look, Andre has two cards face-down; Black Tyranno's effect wouldn't work even if I got him out. Not only are these guys probably setting a trap for him, but it looks like they were expecting me to make that poor judgment you have. You have to read the text carefully, Nick."

"Aw man," said Andre. "Looks like Yuri was smart enough to see past our ploy. Guess he's not the noob we thought he was."

"I don't get it," Carter said as Nick summoned a Tiger Axe on his turn. "Why did they expect Yuri to make such a dumb move?"

"A lot of new Duelists make the mistake of never reading the text on their card," said Patty. "Sometimes they cherry-pick the effect. They only see the part they like and use the card as though it was plug and play, without seeing the necessary requirements for the effect to activate. These two guys are total dicks for assuming that Yuri would be that dumb."

"It sure worked on Nick though," Tyson sniggered. "Yuri's going to have a hard time holding this Duel in their favor if Nick is making those kinds of mistakes."

Nick, feeling a little too excited about summoning his first holographic monster, proceeded to make another foolish move. "I attack your monster with-"

"Hold it, Nick!" Yuri said holding out his hand. "We haven't all finished our first turns yet. You can't attack."

"Oh..." Nick said, his face turning red. The other students laughed at him from below.

Patty sighed. "Poor Yuri. With a score that low, I give them both two more turns."

"I choose to end my turn without playing a card," said Andre. "Your move, Yuri."

Yuri drew. "I summon Trakadon, and I'll use her to attack Marcus' Hard Armor!"

Trakadon sprinted towards Hard Armor faster than the wind. The dinosaur looked like a blur of blue and green. In a split second, Hard Armor's chestplate smashed to pieces. Chips of steel and bits of ornamentation scattered in all directions. To anyone who blinked, the attack was over. As fast as he left Yuri's zone, he came back, both feet steaming from the enormous amounts of friction.

The students cheered for Trakadon's attack.

"My turn," Marcus said. He drew. "I summon a monster face-down and end my turn."

"You're both a bunch of wimps!" Nick jeered. "I'll show you what a real Duelist can do! Tiger Axe, attack his face-down monster!"

"Nick wait!" Yuri cried, but it was too late.

Tiger Axe roared and charged for the defensive monster, much to Andre's glee. "He fell for it!" He laughed as Tiger Axe smashed his ax onto something very strong and hard. The monster he attacked was Stone Statue of the Aztecs. The other students groaned at the sight of the monster.

"That he did," said Marcus. "Andre, show them what you've got face-down."

Andre laughed, revealing his two face-down cards. "I activate the Trap Card, Castle Walls, and the Spell Card, The Reliable Guardian. Castle Walls increases a monster's defense by five hundred, and the guardian increases defense by seven hundred. And, any damage you take when they attack Stone Statue of the Aztecs is doubled."

Tyson held out his fingers. "So that's five hundred...six...seven..."

"Twelve hundred points!" Patty grumbled.

The Spell and the Trap raised the statue's DEF to 3200. Nick took 1900 points of damage, bringing him down to his last 100 Life points. Yuri moaned, burying his face into his hands.

"Way to go, tiger," Patty said, holding up her thumb at Nick.

Natalya face-palmed herself. "How could one be so stupid?"

"My turn!" Andre said. "I switch Griffore to attack mode and equip him with the Horn of the Unicorn! This spell will increase his attack points by seven-hundred!"

Griffore grunted and bellowed as a golden unicorn horn appeared on his forehead, radiating with magical lightning. His ATK was now 1900, and to kick Nick out of the game, Andre commanded Griffore to attack Nick's Tiger Axe. Griffore let out a battle roar and charged up his horn. He blasted Tiger Axe with a violent attack of magical lightning. Tiger Axe screeched from the pain and shattered to pieces. Nick's Life Points went down to 0.

"No..." he said, leaning over his playing board. "I...I lost. I'm out of the game."

"Get off the booth then, loser!" shouted Andre. "Let the grown-ups play."

"Sorry, Yuri," Nick said, picking up his cards. "I didn't..."

Yuri held out his hand to silence him. "Just get down from there, Nick. I've had it with you and your overconfidence. Either learn how to play the game the right way, or don't play at all."

Nick said nothing and climbed down the booth. He felt so horrible about his loss that he didn't even stay to watch Yuri play with his friends. He just sulked out of the gymnasium and went down the hall out of view.

"Your partner's hightailed it out of here, Yuri. Now, you got no one to hold you back. You can show us your true potential. Prove to us that your win against Randall wasn't just pure dumb luck."

Patty cupped her hands over her mouth and shouted: "You're going to get everything you asked for and more, Andre! Come on, Yuri! Show them what you've got!"

Yuri drew, and as he did, he couldn't felt but feel a sort of warmth rush over him. He couldn't describe the feeling. Whatever it was, it made him smile and pull back the card with all his might. "Perfect, but first, I activate the Spell Card, Graceful Charity! I can draw three cards, and discard two. Next I summon Sword Arm of Dragon!" Yuri shouted, summoning his prehistoric beast.

"Well that's new," Patty said over the roar of the students, who were finally content with seeing a 'big' monster appear on the field. The dinosaur Yuri summoned was a four-legged monster resembling a stegosaurus, with spikes growing on its head and down its spine that looked like gleaming swords. The end of its tail was shaped like a massive arrowhead, and the dinosaur sported a skin pattern to help it blend in with the golden meadows of its ancient home.

"And that's not all. I play Polymerization, fusing Two-Headed King Rex and Crawling Dragon Number Two together to create Bracchio-Raidus!"

Carter jumped from the awe that overtook him. The sauropod Yuri summoned was tremendous in size. It almost took his entire field. Bracchio-Raidus bellowed majestically. It stomped on the ground to announce it was ready for battle against the stone walls and the beast guarding the life points of Yuri's opponents.

Yuri then used his face-down card, Monster Reborn, to bring back one of the cards he discarded. A ceratopsian dinosaur known as Megazowler.

With 1800 ATK, Megazowler was more than ready to smash through Andre and Marcus' defenses. While his classmates were pleased with the new dinosaurs he acquired for his deck, they were still far from content. The monster they were hoping to see was the Black Tyranno that defeated the Intercontinental Champion. Unless Marcus and Andre had a strong monster in their decks that could take out Yuri's army of dinosaurs, there was no hope in seeing him now, because the field was now full.

Yuri continued with a Spell Card. "Next, I equip him with the Equip-Spell Card, Invigoration! This card boosts the attack of Earth monsters by four hundred points, however, it decreases their defense by 300. With an attack of Twenty-one-fifty, my Sword Arm of Dragon is more than a match for your Griffore! Sword Arm of Dragon, attack!"

Sword Arm of Dragon let out a low-sounding roar and dashed for Andre's Griffore. It smashed its feet on the ground to make a power slide to move to its side, all the while building a powerful momentum in its tale. At the right distance, Sword Arm of Dragon swung its tale at Griffore, smacking it atop the head, breaking the Horn of the Unicorn in half and cracking its skull. Griffore shattered to pieces and left Andre sitting at 1750 Life Points.

"Yuri's ahead of Andre," said Patty.

"But it's still two against one," Natalya added. "Let's see if he can hold up alone."

All throughout the game, Andre and Marcus played defensively.

"Boring! Boring!" the students chanted at them. Earlier they seemed pretty confident that they would win the game, especially with Nick as Yuri's partner. Now, they were just doing what they could to find a way to take down Yuri's Bracchio-Raidus, who was currently the strongest monster on the field. Time was running out; for gym class was almost over, however, Yuri drew a Fairy Meteor Crush which allowed one of his monsters to pierce through an opponent's defenses and deal damage anyway. Just as Yuri brought them both down to their last bit of Life Points, the bell rang.

"Aw, I was winning," Yuri groaned.

Marcus and Andre picked up their cards and dashed away, not wanting to say anything. They didn't lose, but then again, they didn't do a good job of keeping the game in their favor.

"Deckers," Patty said, once Yuri climbed down from the arena. "They talk a big game but lack the skill to back it up. Nice set of monsters you got there, Yuri. Where did you get them?"

"Someone...someone sent to me."

"Really?" Patty said. "Who?"

"A friend of mine," Yuri said walking away, not having the will to tell her that Crystal was the one who sent him his new monsters. He stopped and turned around. "Patty!" he called, just in time before she left the gymnasium. Patty turned. "There's something happening on Friday. Uh...something important."

Patty crossed her arms. "So, you're saying you're not going to take me to the dance."

"I do, but, I've been invited to another affair that night. Is there a way you can join me for both events. The dance and that other engagement?"

"I guess," Patty said, putting a hand to her hip. "What's going on, Yuri?"

"I know somebody..." he said. "Somebody very 'important' on this island. I'll introduce you to her if you promise we can do the dance and her affair at the same time."

Patty raised an eyebrow. "Well...I didn't want to stay the whole night... Okay, Yuri. You've got yourself a deal. But I want you to be honest with me from here on out. You're a pretty weird guy. Secrets, lies. No more of that. I want you to be honest with me from here on out. Will you be able to do that for me if I say yes?"

"Of course I will," said Yuri. He offered his hand. "You have my word. No more secrets."

Patty smiled and gave a nod. She shook his hand. "Good, I'll see you Friday then. And uh...Yuri...thanks." She leaned forward and kissed him briefly on the lips. She giggled, wondering what on Earth she just did. "Uh...sorry...Uh...see ya!"

She turned and walked away, leaving Yuri rooted to the spot. He felt Tyson come up from behind, locking him in a friendly chokehold. "Tyson!" Yuri croaked.

"Ah, Yuri! I see you! I see you! So, you and Patty, huh?"

"It's not like that," Yuri said, forcing himself out of Tyson's arms. He coughed. "It's not like that at all Tyson!"

"What do you mean?" said Carter, waddling towards Yuri and slapping him on the shoulder. "We saw the two of you kissing."

"She kissed me, I had nothing to do with that!" Yuri retorted.

"Come on, lover boy," Tyson said, putting an arm over Yuri and leading him to the locker room. "I've got a few tips I wanna share with you."

"Tips?" Yuri croaked.

"Uh-huh. Now, when you take her home after the dance, you need to love her. Caress her. And make sure you smack that ass, they like that."

"Tyson!" Yuri cried, pushing his arm off.

Nick suddenly burst out of the locker room, already dressed in his uniform. "Nick?" Yuri asked. "Wait up, we..."

Nick shoved Yuri out of the way and left the gymnasium.

"Guys, look!" A boy said pointing at a wastebasket by the door. "I think these are his."

Yuri, Tyson, and Carter looked inside. What they saw broke their hearts. A deck of Duel Monster cards was inside mixed with the water bottles and tissue paper.

"Oh no," Yuri said, picking them up. "Nick's cards."

* * *

**King Forrest**

* * *

Forrest Ungard III of the House of the Bear and King of the Northern Realms opened his eyes, which felt like they weighed down by a horrible burden. He saw a glint of sunlight peek through the opening of his curtain, and shined directly into his eyes. He seethed like an angry serpent and blocked out the light with a large, hairy forearm. He cursed Sol with all his might and groaned. If he had the ability to summon the mighty Star Eater, he would have commanded it to eat that blasted star hovering above the world in the Void, and cast Keya in the eternal night so he could host his parties under the light of the moon and stars forever.

But Forrest knew better than to mutter such a thing out loud. It was unreasonable for one; for if the sun were to go out, Termnnia would be doomed. What's worse was that he would be in trouble with the Red Priests, who walked about the castle at their leisure, no thanks to his uneasy alliance with the Church. But his troubles went away, and he smiled greedily when he felt his beefy hands touch the warm and soft skin of the women sleeping all around him. His bed was oversized, lavish in design, and blocked out the sun with its wine-red curtains.

Twenty women, he said, remembering how to count through the drunkenness that impaired his memory. Forrest smiled and listened as his harem inhaled and exhaled softy. Some cooed like puppies at the foot of his bed and tossed and turned as they felt the morning creep through the painted window. The women were scattered all around his bed in various stages of undress; all of different races. Elven girls, Norman girls, Eldori, and even a Nymph he captured dancing near the rivers of silver tracing through the Lionheart Forest outside the city walls, which kept the trolls, ogres, and giants away.

But the _jewel_ of his collection, as he brazenly called it, was a girl from House Dragonheart, whom he kept as a ward when he conquered the Scarlet Isles. She lay next to him. Her reddish-blonde hair strewn all over her wine-red pillow. Forrest smiled and ran his hand down her scalp to feel her silky hair run through his sausage-sized fingers. Dalaris Dragonheart. Daughter of King Antilles of Dragonrock.

"You have work to do," Dalaris said softly.

"You don't think I know that?" Forrest said, still petting her. He kissed her shoulder, then lifted a leg, and greeted the morning with flatulence.

"Lovely," Dalaris groaned, burying her face in her pillow.

Forrest laughed, but he did so briefly when a grim memory came to him. The warmth in his belly chilled, and he felt his heart turn to stone in his chest.

He remembered the news of a Summoner of Dragons waking in the west. It couldn't be true? It just couldn't. Dragon Summoners have not been seen since their departure in the Second Age. What reason for them to come back now? After all, the shrines to Saafani, the dragon goddess, were all lost to history, buried or destroyed by the last alliance of Arva and Elves so the Inquisitors of the Church, and their followers, could not pillage and loot them.

Forrest sat up and made his way out of bed. Any poor woman in his way hollered and squealed when his horrible weight crushed them. He slowly hobbled to a nearby window to stare out into the city. Red roofs and smoking chimneys as far as the eye could see.

The Great Chapel of Yeyu stood in the center of town. Its gothic arches and size was a masterpiece to behold. The shimmering mithril bells rang to awaken the people of the city for the Morning Prayer. Forrest paid them no heed.

He was a Yeyunist, but not by choice. He needed the aid of the Covenant of Yeyu to stay unchallenged and achieve his goal of total Termnnian conquest, which was his dream since he was a small boy. He scratched his chin, buried under a thick, classic beard of messy red hair as he basked in a make-believe glory he felt was right at his fingertips.

All his life, Forrest wanted to be like the heroes of the First Age. None more than Norman the Conqueror, the first supreme ruler of the world after the War of the Giants shattered Termnnia into five continents. And using his powerful Divine Beasts and Ancient Beasts, Norman brought the entire planet to its knees and established the first ruling kingdom, bringing the races of men and beast together for an alliance that lasted thousands and thousands of years, only to be broken during the Zorc Wars of the Second Age.

Forrest knew that the world's most ancient enemy, Orcs, were amassing their forces across the Black Sea. If he did not bring this world together, everything he loved would be destroyed. He had to bring Termnnia together under his mighty rule, but the other kingdoms did not wish to be conquered and were fighting back. He could not take Feldia; for House Delgado protected its lands with prehistoric monsters and dragons. The guardians of the Realm of the Dinosaur Lords; Laggia, Dolkka, and Solda, forced his army into retreat months ago.

His campaign in the Province of Katina, the realm of magicians, was also at a grim standstill because the Katinians were using a weapon the Church heavily despised. Magic. The Royal House of Balor controlled an army of mages and magical Duel Monsters.

Recently, he launched troops into the cold and unforgiving mountainous kingdom of Riftgaard, home of the Berja; a sturdy race of warriors who thrived on the cold. He so longed to capture those ancient lands, and steal the runes of power said to dwell in ancient vaults of crumbling mountain ruins. More than anything, he desired the twelve warrior princesses of Clan Jahangir, known as the Jewels of Riftgaard.

He grinned and picked up his jeweled cup from the nightstand. He poured the last bit of wine in the ewer.

"They'll be perfect for my collection," he whispered, looking back at the women in his bed. "Prince Jon and his Gearfried will prove to be a nuisance to deal with, but if the Church is correct, they will have the right weapon to deal with him."

He shivered thinking about spending his nights with the princesses. He looked to the corner of his chambers. There, five women were chained to the wall, dressed in small, thin loincloths of white silk, with only a sash wrapped around their upper torsos to cover their breasts. Forrest signaled for one to come to him; an Eldori with magenta hair and a cute face glowing with innocence. She crawled towards him like a beast. The chain around her neck jingled with each movement. She made it to Forrest, and began to please his morning with her mouth.

"All the beautiful women of this world belong to me!" he growled, placing his massive hand over the girl's head. "Summoner of Dragons or not, I will find her."

"Summoner of Dragons," Dalaris scoffed, laying on her side. "They don't exist anymore; the puppets pulling your strings saw to that. There's no proof that this, what? _Dragon Summoner_ , is even real. If you ask me, it's nothing but propaganda from Yugi Muto and his band of cheerleaders."

"Yugi Muto is a great deal many things," Forrest said, groaning in pleasure. He pulled the girl's hair. "But he is no fool. The Blue Priest tells me Yugi sent someone of great importance to the Dragon Lands across the ocean. And word has reached my ears that dragons attacked a village in defense of a girl who was about to be executed. How do you explain that?"

Dalaris rolled her eyes. "And I suppose this 'word' came from the mouth of the traders and merchants? You should know better than to trust them. They over exaggerate things. I have no doubt dragons attacked a village; it happens all the time. But doing so in the defense of a girl? No, no, no. Dragons don't do that."

"Master Yugi would not go through the trouble of sending someone all the way to Normandia for nothing. The boy is up to something. Dalaris, I tell you she's out there. The Last Summoner of the True Dragons, as was foretold in the White-Gold Tome of Yeyu. A girl with hair like melted gold. A voice like a thousand bells of silver. Eyes that shame the stars that glimmered in Evangelia's. And the power to control dragons at her fingertips." He held up his hand and clawed his fingers greedily. "When I tame her and acquire her power, the whole continent and its armies will bow to me."

"Is that so?" Dalaris said, getting out of bed. "And if she was real, how do you intend to tame someone with so much power? Armies flee at the sight of dragons. I could only imagine what the sight of one would do to you, O' Conqueror of the North."

"Soon, they will name me THE Conqueror," Forrest groaned. "When I defeat Prince Daveed and win those Divine Beasts, I will have what I need to begin my campaign to unite this world under my banner. And when all the armies of the world bend the knee to me, we will sail to the Black Continent and destroy the Orcs. Termnnia will be at peace, and I will establish a dynasty that will last for ages to come. I would be in Rassay right now if the other kingdoms were not so...difficult."

"Did you give them that much of a choice?" Dalaris asked, fluffing her mangled hair with her hands as she sat at the edge of the bed. She got out of bed and swiped the goblet from Forrest's fingers with the greatest of ease. She leaned against the drawer. "After all, you didn't ask very nicely, My Lord."

"Your Grace!" Forrest shouted, pointing a sausage-sized finger at her. He poked her on the chest, though it didn't faze her one bit, adding more to his frustration. "I am the king, remember?"

"My father said that any man who must shout _I am the king_ is a complete fool not worthy of the crown."

Forrest looked towards her with a frightening scowl on his face. Dalaris was not intimidated in the slightest. "Your father is nothing more than a speedbump on the road to fulfilling my dreams!" snapped Forrest. He pulled the girl's hair out of anger, and of pleasure; as he felt himself tingling from her favor.

"His Dragon Brigade sure is quite the speedbump," Dalaris said, turning her head to look at him, and smiling defiantly. "If your Church would accept to use newer weaponry and gave a damn about magic, we could have been gaining more ground."

"I will deal with them soon." Forrest looked down at the girl and filled her mouth with his pleasure. "All right, that's enough!" The girl wiped her chin and crawled back to her corner, whimpering in shame."The only province that is ripe for the taking is Elleria. Prince Talion has led a noble campaign to stop me, but his forces were brought to a stop at the roots of Black Mountain. I will oversee the young prince's defeat myself when I march there after tonight. After what I do to him, Elleria will have no choice but to bend the knee."

A rhythmic thudding rasped against the iron door of King Forrest's bedchamber. He growled and rubbed his eyes. The rhythm of the knocking was all too familiar to him. It meant the person behind the door was the Friar, Carson Dunhall. Without permission to enter, the friar stepped inside.

"Your Grace," Friar Dunhall said waddling into the room as fast as his chubby legs could carry him.

Dalaris screamed, covering her nakedness as she darted back into bed to hide from his view. The other women were alerted to his presence and quickly shut the drapes to conceal themselves. Friars were not allowed to indulge in pleasures of the flesh, but Friar Dunhall had the look of a madman when he saw the pile of beautiful flesh upon his bed.

"Oh, so sorry, my ladies," Friar Dunhall said with a chuckle.

He was short and stout. His wiry brownish-black hair cut into a tonsure. He wore robes of brown wool that reeked with his body odor, for he wore those same robes for more than two years now, only washing them when he remembered too, which was once or twice every two months. A rope belt was fastened around his bulbous waist to carry his tome, a leather holster for his scrolls, a lantern, and the keys to various rooms across the castle from the library to the dungeons.

"And, Dunhall, what is it now!?" King Forest grumbled, putting on a mahogany robe.

"Apologies, Your Grace," Dunhall hung his head begging forgiveness. "But there are urgent matters at hand that require your attention. His Holiness wishes to speak with you in the chapel post-haste."

"His Holiness is here?" Forrest asked. "In Naralia? What of the Festival of the Harvest Moon back in your homeland? Was that not a matter requiring his supervision?"

The friar shook his head. "A mere festival does not matter to His Holiness. Your campaign against the southern kingdoms has brought you at quite a stand still. The faith is still rejected in many countries, four priests have been killed, and now talk of a dragon summoning girl is flowing around like the plague. This war is costing His Holiness a fortune in gold, and there are no results."

King Forrest's face became a mask of quaking fury. He stomped towards the Friar and went nose-to-nose with him. "If he would stop being so stubborn and lend us his machines of war, perhaps we could make quicker progress."

"I fear His Holiness and the Emperor of Balodrum will not lend you their Navies. There is fear amongst them about this exiled prince. This, Daveed, or Yuri as everyone has grown accustomed to calling him. The boy is close to coming back to Termnnia and claiming the Heart-Earth Crown. If Yuri gets his hands on the Divine Beasts, Termnnia will have its only means to expel the faith, and you, from these lands."

"I will stop him!" Forrest assured him, holding up his fist.

"I wish His Holiness shared your optimism, Your Grace," the monk replied mockingly. "The bards in the south sing of his return and the Legionnaires of Aurelia prepare for his training day. Ah, ah, yes, and not to mention Master Yu-Gi-Oh has acquired two princes for his alliance. An alliance, His Holiness assures, is to stop you."

"We'll just see about that," King Forrest said.

He dressed into his finest robes, put on his crown, and hurried out the door. His guards slammed it shut. He took a golden key from his pocket and locked the women inside.

* * *

"Curses," King Forrest grumbled as a heavy curtain of rain fell over the town. "Curses! Curses! Curses!" he said, looking for his chamberlain. "It had to rain as soon as I'm within walking distance of the bloody place."

"Perhaps it is a sign we should not go to his Holiness," crooned his Court Wizard, Donald the Vulture.

His familiar squawked upon his shoulders. A Duel Monster by name of Queen Bird. She had a long neck of sleek golden feathers that were ringed by a fluffy crest at the base. Her head, body, and legs were colored in bright red, and her wings in light green fusing into tan at the top. But Donald was not called 'The Vulture' because of his Queen Bird. It was a name given to him out of insult, due to his crooked nose and long neck.

King Forrest looked at him and grumbled while walking to the chapel. "If I do not go to his blasted meetings, I could jeopardize the alliance. The only reason I have made these gains, as little as they are, is because of their numbers."

The doors of the chapel opened in an instant. A squadron of Templars, holy knights of the church, swarmed outside in two fluent columns which they formed into a square to make a defensive barrier between them and the Hierarch of the Church. Hierarch Innocence III. He was clad in armored robes of white and gold, with sashes of crimson, magenta, and blue decorated with golden ornamentation.

He carried with him a blessed tome radiating with a sort of holy aura, with runes of white hovering over its cover of gold. Though nearing his late eighties, Hierarch Innocence stood strong and proud. From behind the doors, loud chanting thundered into the plaza outside of the cathedral. Once the music came to their ears, many people stopped what they were doing and went on one knee as he stepped into the grayish-blue light of the rainy morning.

The people clasped their hands in prayer and muttered songs of prayer, thanking Yeyu for the presence of the man considered his eyes, ears, and voice. A monk following the Hierarch, rang a golden bell, crafter to resemble the eye of Yeyu, to let everyone know of his coming. Two high-ranking Platinum Priests walked out of the cathedral, muttering something in their native tongue; a blessing to purify their air of sin and evil spirits, which they scared off with their jeweled, golden thuribles. Forrest felt diminished, seeing all the hubbub just for allowing the Hierarch to walk out the door of the cathedral. Though he was king of the entire country, he felt as though he was nothing more than an afterthought.

Five young girls in white dresses with golden sashes and silk flowers followed the Platinum Priests. They held onto baskets with petals from the flower known as the Meyuga Yeyutarna, or the Blessing of Almighty Yeyu. They were white with a bioluminescent glow and were believed to carry the blessings of Mother Taylor Louet, for it was after she was turned to ash by the dragon, Túltóron that they began to grow and flourish over her deathbed.

The girls tossed the glowing petals on the ground to create a blessed path for the Hierarch. When they finished with their path, they walked back up the steps of the cathedral and lined up in front of the Hierarch. One-by-one, he kissed the girls on the forehead and sent them off to their rooms.

Innocence looked at Forrest with a welcoming smile that was nothing more than a screen concealing a cunning Forrest knew all too well. Innocence was surrounded by six powerful clerics known as Iron Priests. Their costumes were out of this world, especially in King Forrest's eyes who had lived a more traditional life. He stood where he was and eyed the priests as though he were gawking a company of ghosts.

Their robes seemed more of machinations than clothing, something quite common back in Balodrum, the continent to the northeast where they came from. Their gear was beautifully decorated in holographic ornaments. Hierarch Innocence smiled at King Forrest's humbleness. No doubt his Iron Priests have put him in line with their presence. There would be no lip coming from him; behavior that was quite common in Forrest.

The Templars in front of Innocence III parted to let him through. One of the Iron Priests, wearing a metallic robe as black as night with a pattern of red X's going own the front, opened an umbrella, and held it over Innocence before they walked down the slippery steps of the chapel.

"Your Holiness." King Forrest fell to his knees. He ground his teeth, feeling the cold water soak through the fabric and chilling his flesh.

"Your Grace," Pope Innocence said, holding out his hand with fingers adorned in magnificent jeweled rings. The one on the middle finger, with the flaming eye of Yeyu, was the one King Forrest had to kiss.

He did so feverishly. He did not want to, but he knew he must. Otherwise, he would be at the mercy of these Iron Priests for disrespecting the Hierarch of the Church.

"Come," said Innocence. He turned and walked back to the chapel.

King Forrest got back up to his feet and followed him inside. The Templars of the Church, in their black/gold armor, followed right behind him. Once inside, Forrest could smell the sweet scent of incense burning. He heard the monks singing hymns of prayer as they walked about the five-floored structure giving thanks to Yeyu for the new day.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Forrest asked, walking side-by-side with the Hierarch.

"We have made considerable gains in our conquest of the Southern Kingdoms."

Forrest couldn't help but scoff at his words. "One victory does not mean considerable gains," said Forrest. "What about Katina? What of Riftgaard? What of Akuuda, Skyhold, and Uzumè?"

"Patience, my son, patience," Innocence said, calming down the arrogant king. "These things require time. I assure you, we are looking into these matters personally. We will find a solution to this problem very soon."

"And what of this girl to the west? This Summoner of Dragons, Your Holiness? What is to be done about her?"

"Summoner of Dragons?" Innocence laughed softly. "Forrest, you are letting these old tales get to your head."

"But there are rumors going about the ports. Dragons attacked a village in Normandia."

"Dragons attack villages all the time, Forrest."

"But not like this. I have heard that they attacked to come to the defense of a girl who was about to be beheaded."

"Were those who spread these ludicrous rumors there when it happened?" Innocence asked, stopping in his tracks. "Did they ask the dragons personally if they were attacking the village in defense of a girl? No. These are just rumors."

"But the White-Gold Tome-"

"I am perfectly aware of the prophecy in the White-Gold Tome," Innocence interrupted him with a stark chuckle. "However, it talks about a girl who can summon dragons at her whim. Her time will come when Four Termnnian Kings perish, and the Tower of Yeyu crumbles. Look around you, Forrest. No kings have died and the tower still stands in the capital. There is no need to look into this matter of a-" he snorted in humor. "Dragon Summoning Girl. No, my desires go to something far greater."

"I am listening, Your Holiness," Forrest said. They stopped in front of a red door. One of the templars opened it, revealing a dark stairwell that led into the dungeons hundreds of feet below the chapel.

One of the Iron Priests took a torch from a nearby table and held it over a firepot to light it. He went down first to light the way for the Hierarch and the King.

"Orcs are massing their numbers in the Black Continent," Innocence said as he casually walked down the stairwell like it was nothing.

King Forrest looked back at Donald. The Court Magician nodded but was stopped by one of the Templars. "The mage stays here," he said. "Bad enough we have a filthy magic-user polluting our sacred chapel with his presence, we don't need him stinking up its heart."

Donald's Queen Bird flapped her wings and squawked. "Temper, temper," he said. "I shall await you here then, Your Grace."

"You will await him outside," said the Templar.

Donald was silent for but a moment before he said: "Very well." And he made his own way out of the chapel. When he was gone, Forrest walked down the stairwell after Innocence.

"Apologies, Your Holiness," he said.

"Quite all right," said Innocence. "As I said, Orcs have begun to amass their numbers in the Black Continent. As to why this is happening, we are not sure. But we cannot afford to be without the Divine Beasts if they prepare for conquest."

"I will see to them when I win the Diamond Throne," said King Forrest. "Once Prince Daveed is out of the way-"

"You will do nothing to Prince Daveed!" Innocence said loudly.

King Forrest was flabbergasted by that statement. He looked at the Hierarch with disapproval and said: "How am I to be High King if the boy lives?"

Innocence smiled back at Forrest, and turned to walk back down the stairs. "You will be High King, Forrest. But the Divine Beasts will not go to you."

"What!? You traitor! I thought we had a deal!"

"The deal was that you could claim the kingdoms," Innocence said, his smile ever-growing. "And you will. But I seek a greater prize."

King Forrest stopped, confused, still, by Innocence's words. One of the Templars behind him pushed him to keep him moving. Forrest looked back at him with an angry look. Yes, he was the King of Naralia, but when in the presence of The Hierarch, he was no more than a serf with a crown.

"What do you mean a greater prize?" Forrest asked, continuing his trek down the stairs. "What prize is there that is greater than the Diamond Throne, The Heart-Earth Crown, and the Divine Beasts?"

"I seek the people," said Innocence. "Billions populate this glorious continent like sheep without a shepherd."

"That is what kings are for," Forrest proclaimed boldly.

"No," Innocence said at once. "Kings govern laws and land. And while he forces the people to follow the laws and pay for the land, he does not control them or their faith."

"You mean you seek to conquer Termnnia just to convert people to the Covenant?"

Innocence nodded. "I do. These people are lost, Forrest. Too long have they been fooled by the false testaments of these so-called Goddesses. It is their belief in these heathen entities that causes them to remain in sin. They practice magic. They allow the beast folk, Elves, and Dwarves to walk these lands which were built by the Creator for us, his children! And Duel Monsters. A game of magic that calls upon demons from another world. It is a game of evil, yet they play it feverishly. They gamble, bloat their pride, turn on one another, and turn everything into a commodity with this game. Those with the skills become icons in their miserable world. They get worshipped like gods! But no more. Not when Prince Daveed returns. He will be the messiah the people of Termnnia need. The Messenger of Yeyu himself! Once Slifer, Obelisk, and Ra are summoned by one who serves the Holy Flames of Yeyu, The Covenant shall reign supreme, and the world will finally find order."

"Any fool can dream, I suppose," Forrest muttered to himself. After ten, long minutes, they finally made it out of the stairwell and into the dungeons.

Tiny cell lined the crisscrossing hallways lit by torchlight. Behind the iron doors was nothing but pitch black. Rivers of blood poured from within the cells and down the halls. Rats squeaked from their hiding places and bats chirped from their perches of the vaulted ceiling, nibbling their little claws and eyeing the passersby with caution and curiosity. Forrest's face creased into a countenance of disgust when his nose picked up the horrid stench of urine, feces, and rotting flesh.

He gagged, then reached into his pocket, taking out a handkerchief with Dalaris' sweet scent fragranced on it. He slapped it over his mouth and nose, taking steady whiffs so as not to drain the scent from the fabric.

Though his nostrils were shielded from the grim scent, his ears brought him great discomfort when he heard the sound of whipping, screaming, and horrid devices of pain groaning and creaking from who knew where. Chains rattled from here, there, and yonder. A hellish cacophony of utter misery composing a music that made Forrest want to tear his own ears off.

Forrest knew that those being tortured were probably non-believers, sinners, and non-humans, given the roar of a Leogai coming from down another stairwell leading into darkness further and fouler than the abyss Forrest tread into.

"Why do you bring me into this nightmare world, Your Holiness?" Forrest asked, to which he heard Innocence chuckle.

"Because I have found us what we need to go further south."

He stopped in front of a cell guarded by two Templars in forbidding gray armor. They bowed for the Hierarch and parted away from the door to let him through. One of the friars following them took a ring of keys from his belt and opened the heavy wooden door reinforced with iron. The rusty hinges creaked open. The cell was dank and smelly, lit with only a few candles in the corner. A man with long, curled ebony hair hung by his wrists by shackles chained to the ceiling.

"Your Grace," said Innocence. "May I introduce you to Prince Talion Kastanis Romannario Alteria. The heir to the Ebony Throne of Elleria."

Talion coughed, raising his head slightly to see, at long last, the face of the enemy who was bringing his country to ruin. His teeth chattered from the agony he had been inflicted the past few days. He was naked. Bloody scars could be seen all over his body. Markings of when he was whipped, beaten, and burned by the Inquisitionists. He shivered and heaved, wondering what they were going to do to him now.

"Well," Forrest said, walking in slow circles around the prince. "So you're the brave lad King Helmsley sends to my lands to attempt to...conquer me? Is that what you thought you were going to do, boy?" He punched Talion in the stomach. He lurched forward and grunted. His chains rattled. "When are you Ellerians going to get it through your heads? This is my time now. My time. My reign. My kingdom."

"Termnnia," breathed Talion. "Termnnia, belongs...belongs...to High King...to High King Yuri."

"Yuri?" Forrest began to laugh. "Your Prince of Termnnia, he'll never stand a chance. You need to get those illusions out of your head. The time of heroes, knights, High Kings, and Duelists of supreme skill, are over. Your ways have failed these kingdoms. Now it is time for the people to wake and accept my rule and the one-true-church."

"The Goddesses made this world," Talion seethed, spitting those words through his teeth.

"The Goddesses are not real, my child," said Innocence. "If they were, why do they leave you in such misery. Where is their divine power? Where is the Goddess of Mercy? Why does she not come down and rescue you from this prison, like the days of old? Why did the Goddess of War not favor you when your forces were defeated in Black Mountain. Ah, and we confiscated a pendant depicting a sigil of Norman the Conqueror around your neck." He held up the keepsake so Talion could see. "It's very good craftsmanship," he said examining it. "Who gave this to you?"

"My sister," said Talion. "She's a firm believer in the Conqueror. You'll never shatter her faith."

"No, we can't. Because Norman already did. Your sister prays to him, you say. Where was he when the mighty King Forrest's forces destroyed yours in Black Mountain? They don't exist. None of them, exist."

"Yuri!" said Talion. "Yuri is the one sent down by..."

"Yuri is a gift from Yeyu," said Innocence. "Once we get a hold of the south, we will enlighten him with the faith of the one true master and creator. Yeyu the Lord of the Flames of Judgement. Obelisk, Slifer, and Ra will make examples of those who do not believe."

"You'll never find him," Talion said. He hung his head. Beads of sweat dripped from his brow, nose, and his hair. "Master Yu-Gi-Oh will protect him from you. LONG LIVE HIGH KING YURI!"

One of the Templars approached and punched him in the stomach three more times. The knuckles of his gauntlets left a bloody imprint on his flesh.

Forrest approached Talion slowly and with a cruel smile. Talion looked at his lips. They looked like worms wriggling in the mud underneath his bushy beard. "You wish to go home, don't you? Oh, what am I saying? Of course, you do. Who wouldn't want to escape this place? I'm not even a prisoner here, and I want to get out. Send a letter to your father. Tell him to surrender his lands and relinquish his crown to me. He and the people of Elleria will refer to me as the one-true-king. Do this, and we will send you home."

"My father will never surrender Elleria," whispered Talion. "Not even for his own kin."

Forrest was quiet. The smile once again formed on his lips. "Then we will have to take Elleria by force it seems. I don't mind, with the state the kingdom is in, they won't last a week. Your family will be labeled as traitors once I take the kingdom. They will be beheaded...well...all except for your sister."

Talion looked up at him, gasping.

"I've heard a great deal about her." Forrest flashed his yellowed teeth. "They say her hair is like ebony beaten to the finest silk. That's how she got her name, isn't it? The Ebony Princess. Her eyes, as blue and green as the waters of the Bay of Kings. Her skin, the rich color of buttermilk." He licked his lips. Talion growled like a chained beast. "The traders also tell me she has the plumpest ass in the kingdom. A work of art they say. I can't wait to see it and touch it with my own hands. Maybe..." He stuck out his tongue. "Have a little taste."

Talion wriggled in his chains. He snarled and grunted as though he was a dragon ready to break from his prison. But Forrest was a safe distance from the prince. Safe enough, that he felt so bold as to continue taunting him. "And her breasts, some say it's like she's smuggling melons in her dress. I wonder what they'd feel like in my hands. Ah, and the best part. They say the sweetest tasting pleasure drips from between her legs. I'd like to see for myself."

Talion roared and Forrest laughed. The Templars held him down after hitting him in the stomach again. "If your words will not sway your father's mind, then perhaps your flesh will. They tell me you have a man lover back home. Is that true?"

"You beast!" Talion shouted, writhing in the grips of the Templars. "Leave them alone!"

"I'm sure your lover misses that cock of yours, My Prince. Let's do him a favor and give it to him."

"NO! NO!" Talion shouted as the Templars held up his legs. "NO!"

"So should be the fate of all sick freaks like you!" said Innocence.

An Iron Priest unsheathed his dagger from the scabbard and held it over the torch until it burned red. Then the dungeons then shook as a high-pitched scream rang across the darkness.


	32. The Monster of the Autumn Forest

**Yami and Yugi**

* * *

Many days had passed. Akuuda was now a hundred leagues behind him. Though he left on good terms with the king – who allowed Marcel control of the armies in exchange for having the protection of the Divine Beasts whenever they needed them – and Marcel was now a member of the alliance, Yami still felt awful leaving them. The country in a very bad state. Half its citizens were crying out for war against Forrest for the murder of the Prince of the Red Mountains. And the Naralians were more than obliged to answer it, marching towards the kingdom in full force with advanced machinations of war that surpassed the traditional weapons of Marcel's people.

"Michael's going to be joining the fight!" Yugi called over the loud roar of the Duel Runner gifted to him by Marcel and his friends after they raided the Naralian base and found the information they needed to hunt down General Baldric. "And now Prince Jaeyoung is involved, too. Shouldn't you be happy about that?" Yugi asked. "I mean, Prince Daveed – er – Yuri isn't even back in Termnnia and already the members of the alliance are working together."

"I know this!" Yami shouted over the noise. "But that is not why I worry, Yugi."

"Now what's on your mind?"

"Girls all over the continent are killing each other for Yuri's hand in marriage. Daughters of all ranks of power go to war for him. Eight Noble Houses went extinct the past month, Yugi. This is not good. Armies are weakening up north and much of the south. If this keeps up, King Forrest's campaign to conquer the kingdoms will be achieved in no time."

"So what do you plan to do now?"

"Something I swore I would never do," Yami responded with a heavy sigh. "I have to find Yuri a bride."

Yugi's eyes widened. He was shocked. An arranged marriage was the last thing he thought the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle would think of.

"You can't be serious? But what about Prince Jon and Stas and Ryon? We still have business with them."

"I can't afford to go from country to country anymore to see our pacts met personally, Yugi," Yami answered furiously. "War is coming. Antilles has shut down the Gates. And our contact on Earth claims Rare Hunters have been spotted looking for Yuri. There is a tournament taking place very soon there. Kaiba set it up to help Yuri bolster his skills in Duel Monsters, but at a price. He has to surrender his rarest card."

"Oh no," Yugi groaned. "It's Battle City all over again."

Yami nodded and steered the Duel Runner sharply through a long curve in the road. He avoided a merchant traveling by, who had a look on his face as though he had seen a ghost. Yami tossed the merchant a gold Plate for the inconvenience as he passed by.

"Battle City indeed," he said, "no doubt Kaiba is using this to keep Yuri a little more focused. But that Black Tyranno in his deck is no ordinary card. Kaiba should know a little better than to have Yuri risk losing it."

"I agree it's a little harsh, but as you said, it should keep Yuri a little more focused. But back to this bride business. Uh, don't you think that's a little too bold? For that matter, what's that going to do to our relationship with the other Houses?"

"I'd rather a little hate from families I don't care to remember than have Termnnia turned into a religious dictatorship. Besides, nobody told them that Yuri was theirs to marry. Nobody told them to go to war. Half our territories in the north have fallen because of this conflict. The Princess Wars is what they're calling it. A lot of backstabbing, plotting, and other forms of betrayal were carried out because of this war. Alliances that lasted thousands of years were suddenly broken because someone's daughter wanted to marry the High King. But fear not, Yuri. I have already thought of a bride for Yuri."

"You have? So soon?"

"Yes. Princess Antoinette Trossan of Bauna. Her family has served House Plantegrast since their foundation. They are loyal to the High King. So loyal, that they disregarded their duties as the High King's stewards and joined Antar in his rebellion against the Dragonhearts. King Reynolds was a good friend of Gabriel and I. We even spoke of having his daughter married to the Prince should the need arise. And it has."

"She's one lucky girl," said Yugi.

"Luck had nothing to do with it," Yami responded with a chuckle. "House Trossan's devotion to honor, loyalty, and friendship earned this girl the right to marry the Prince of Termnnia."

"So why aren't we heading to Castle Pinehold to inform her?" Yugi asked.

"She's not at Castle Pinehold, Yugi. Were you not paying attention to the letter King Reynolds wrote to us?"

Yugi scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Uh…well…I was…my mind was on other things."

"And that is why I'm the one running around," Yami responded in agitation. "You're far more worried about the Duel Monsters aspect of Yuri's life. I digress. It seems Princess Antoinette is in trouble of some sort. Her father sent us here into the forest to remedy the situation."

"What happened?" asked Yugi, leaning forward so his ear could be in range of Yami's mouth to better hear his words which were drowned out by the roar of the Duel Runner.

"If you had been paying attention, you would have known. For now, you must see for yourself what's going on with the princess."

Yami continued the drive along the road, and for a long period of time, Yugi said nothing. The night was soon falling upon the world. The sky turned purple-orange from the sunset. The stars were already twinkling in small splotches of inky black. The mountains once a beautiful shade of green were no colored in bright orange. As the Duel Runner sped down the road, Yugi and Yami could hear crickets in the grass, katydids hissing in the trees above, and the occasional hoot of a great owl.

The air had gotten colder, now that the warm light of the sun was fading away. Even though he was in spiritual form, Yugi could feel himself getting chilled to the bone. He shivered and looked at Yami, who was unfazed by the briskness of the air pounding him as he sped faster and faster toward their destination, wherever it was. As he rubbed his hands up and down his cold shoulders, Yugi repented not paying attention to the letter Reynolds gave Yami once they landed in Gold Harbor after their voyage from Akuuda.

But there was just so much excitement going on around him that he didn't concern himself with it. Oh, he recalled the wondrous sight of the Eredi Navy sailing in perfect unison across the waters to Akuuda to aid Prince Marcel and his people from the Naralians. It was going to be a stern message to King Forrest.

An alliance unlike any the world had ever seen was forming. If he messed with one of them, he would have to contend with all of Termnnia. Whether he liked it or not, Yuri was coming back. And the God Cards would be with their chosen wielder. Yugi swallowed. During the Battle City Tournament many years ago, when the God Cards were stolen by Marik and his Rare Hunters, he could have sworn that he and Yami were their chosen wielders. There was a time throughout that tournament that many had come to the conclusion that not only would a new King of Games be crowned, but a new King of Kings. A new High King. Seto Kaiba had wielded Obelisk the Tormentor as though he were his master. Slifer the Sky Dragon blew away Yugi's foes, and The Winged Dragon of Ra obeyed Marik like he was born to use him.

Even though he and Yami won them all at the end of the games, Yami could not find it in his heart to keep them, and put them back in their sacred chamber deep within the Spire of the Kings. But now they were gone. Not long after Yami put them back, the three mightiest monsters in the world flew out of the spire and flew towards the dark waters of the west. Yugi knew where they went. Only a fool would seek them in the place where they chose to remain hidden to not be stolen again.

Just as Yugi was about to ponder the thought of Yuri adventuring into that awful place, a horrible sound sent fear surging through his small frame. He looked over his shoulder and saw shadows dashing behind the trees. Their paws crunching the leaves beneath them and snapping twigs. He saw burning red eyes glowing in the darkness. The creatures chasing them were running as fast as the Duel Runner. And they were hungry. An eerie chorus of spine-tingling howls pierced the night, frightening all the animals in the forest.

"Dire wolves!" shouted Yugi. "Faster! Faster!"

"Hold on!" shouted Yami, revving up the Duel Runner and gaining speed. He had to be careful around the sharp turns of the road. One wrong move and he and Yugi would be doomed.

Yugi looked behind them. The dire wolves were now on the road, snarling, tongues hanging out of the sides of their mouths, drool pouring from between their teeth in hunger. The glow of the Duel Runner's tail light cast a hellish red on their faces. Their fur was black on the top and dark brown on the side. Their claws were as black as darkness and their teeth like swords glistening in the summer rains. Their breath came out as puffs of smoke. Their ears wriggling as they pushed their bodies to the limit to bring down the Duel Runner and the rider.

"Can't this thing go any faster!?" Yugi cried. "They're gaining on us!"

Just then, Yami saw something poke out of the treetops in the distance. Glistening white towers with brilliant blue tiled roofs and windows glowing in an inviting orange light meaning someone was home.

"I found it!" Yami cried. "Hold on, Yugi!"

"To what?" Yugi cried. "Nothing can't happen to me!"

But Yami did not listen. He let go of the right handle and pressed a button on the touchscreen mounted on the cockpit. A compartment to the side of his seat opened. A neon blue light illuminated the item within. A black sword, beautifully decorated with gold ornamentation that wrapped around the dark blade, like vines. A beautiful diamond with a light in the center hovered under the pommel radiating a brilliant glow that let out rainbow hues.

It was a sword that was gifted to him by Marcel and his lord father as a token of thanks for allowing them into the alliance with Prince Yuri. Yami slid the Duel Runner to the side. Dust and pebble were launched into the air. Yugi hollered at Yami's sudden daredevilry. A dire wolf pounced forward, but Yami cut the beast's head off with one powerful strike just seconds before the monster's teeth would sink into his slender neck for the kill.

The other wolves back away upon seeing the death of one of their pack members. Yami saw that his actions merely made them angry. He turned the Duel Runner forward down the road and sped away. The wolves howled and gave chase.

Many of them were so hungry, that it fueled them to go even faster. Yami could hear them grunting and snarling beside him. He looked to the left and saw a dire wolf get so close that it was snapping at his ankles. Yami jabbed the sword into the left side of the animal's head. The dire wolf yelped and tumbled forward before laying still. Yami then heard the other wolves yelp and dash into the forest.

"Spirit!" Yugi called. "Look!"

Yami looked to the orange sky and what he saw almost caused him to lose control of the Duel Runner. There, flying high in the sunset, a dragon roared at the pack, scaring them off. One half of its body was glistening like platinum hued with a whitish-blue tinge. And the other half was black and decorated with intricate glowing patterns as red as the sun slowly looming behind the mountains that even bowed to the majesty of the castle in front of him. Yami and Yugi, both being Master Duelists, recognized the dragon as an Eclipse Wyvern.

It seemed to pay them no heed. The dire wolves were the only thing it wanted to scare off. In fact, it just ignored them. Yami did not wish to ponder why there was a dragon here considering they were all but extinct; nor did he wish to question its decision in ignoring him. The dire wolves were gone and for that he was grateful. Eclipse Wyvern continued to fly farther and farther into the forest. The frightened howling of the wolves got fainter until they could be heard no more. Without a word, Yami continued his ride to his destination, hoping Princess Antoinette was somewhere in there so he could get to the bottom this strange fiasco her father wrote about in the letter.

The castle was getting closer. Yami could see the black iron gates which stood at the center of a tall white wall festooned with undulating vines covered in white flowers that were ringing like little bells. He slowed down and parked the Duel Runner beside a fountain that had run dry years and years ago. The walls were cracked and covered with fines. Weeds grew from every nook on the ground. The fountain was carved with a friendly-looking fish with its mouth open. Yami guessed it was where the water had poured out.

He got off the Duel Runner and walked for the gates of the castle. His boots crunched on the bluish-gray pebbles and dead leaves scattered across the ground.

"Doesn't look like anyone is home," said Yugi. Yami ignored him, refusing to believe that. "Let me take over," Yugi suggested. "It's been a long road and you need rest."

Yami looked at the boy over his shoulder. "You are sure?"

Yugi nodded. "I can handle this, Spirit."

Yami nodded back. The Wdjat eye at the center of the Millennium Puzzle glowed. There was a flash of warm light. Yami's height dwindled drastically. His hair became less pointy and his eyes were taller and wider as he turned into Yugi Muto, the true owner of the body he had been using for weeks and weeks. Warm golden specks of light flew around the boy and vanished into the night.

Yugi felt even colder now that he was in full control of his body again. He had been in spirit form for so long, he had almost forgotten the use of his flesh and bone. He wobbled for a moment until he remembered how to use his legs again. He wriggled his fingers to get used to them and took a deep breath of fresh air for the first time in weeks. Once he had gotten used to being in solid form, he hesitated for a moment at the task ahead and then walked toward the gate. He touched the ornate brass knocker. What happened next caused him to yelp and jump back. He placed a firm grip on his digger, still sheathed on his hip. The gate slowly swung open. The rusty hinges creaked ominously. The bottom rail swept aside clumps of stones and dead leaves.

"Be careful," Yami warned him. "I sense a great sorrow in this place. This castle and the lands around it have been cursed."

Yugi gulped. "Very comforting, Yami," Yugi said with a roll of his big purple eyes.

He stepped into the courtyard. It was in complete disarray. The bushes, once green and dotted with beautiful flowers, were dry, brown, and bare. Weeds grew out of the gardens. The shutters of the castle matched the blue rooftops above. Some were crooked and others dangled on the last clumps of rust on their hinges. They creaked and some smacked the windows in the wind.

"Hello!" Yugi called out, holding a hand over his mouth to amplify his voice. "Anybody home? Anybody home?"

No answer. That made him feel uncomfortable considering the orange glow of the windows. The constant flickering meant that there was a fire going in every room. Clearly someone was up and about in there.

Yugi heard the soft sound of silver bells coming from the left side of the courtyard. Amongst all the dead flora was a bush, still green and healthy and covered in blue roses. Yugi adjusted the brooch of his cape and walked toward the bush to inspect the strange flowers. The flowers were ringing with a melody far more beautiful and soothing than the one growing on the vines outside the wall of the castle.

The flowers were dark blue with a neon blue pattern glowing on the tips of the petals. He thought that Téa was going to love one of these for her birthday. Being a princess of Gardenrealm, flowers were a love she held close to heart. And these specimens were very special with the radiant ringing and bioluminescent glow.

"Yugi, wait!" Yami called.

But it was too late. As soon as Yugi picked one of the flowers, the air around him grew cold. The shutters of the castle burst open and then a loud roar thundered from the woods on the other side of the ruined wall.

Yugi braced himself when he saw what made that horrible roar. From the darkness of the woods, a monster was running toward him. In an instant, Yugi held out his arm. Three runic circles hovered over the length of his arm while another formed over his palm. He quickly knelt down and smashed his palm on the pebbles, conjuring an arcane circle around himself. Just as the monster was getting closer, Yugi summoned his Celtic Guardian.

The elf warrior appeared in a flash of light. He grunted and drew his enchanted steel sword, pointing it at the monster. The creature came to a complete stop, spraying dirt and pebbles. Yugi drew his dagger, confident that his Celtic Guardian would provide him with enough protection to fight back the horrible beast in front of him.

The beast was humanoid and, surprisingly, wore stylish clothing. A midnight blue gentleman's outfit with lavish gold ornamentation. His fur was auburn in color with a mane of dark brown. Two horns adorned his head. The two lower canines protruded up from the corner of his mouth, glistening white. His snout was like a bear's and his eyes were odd. The left eye was cerulean and the right in brilliant aquamarine. A portion of the mane on the back of his head was formed into a ponytail complete with a blue ribbon.

He stood up on two legs, dwarfing both Yugi and his Celtic Guardian. The beast was ten feet tall and brandished his claws. He flashed his sharp, gleaming, dagger-like teeth at the boy, hoping to draw fear. The hair on the monster's body stood on end like bristles at the end of a broom. His odd blue eyes flashed dangerously as they peered down at Yugi. He snorted, releasing a puff of hot air before he growled.

"THEIF!" the beast shouted at Yugi. "I let you into my home and you repay my kindness by stealing my roses! You shall die for this treachery!"

"Don't even think about it," Yugi said, unfazed by the monster's loud and intimidating voice. "My Celtic Guardian is fast with the blade. You will die if you take another step."

He almost grinned, pleased that his threat worked. The beast in front of him remained still, legs apart, arms out, and claws brandished. But even the beast knew better than to tangle with the elven warrior in front of him, let alone the boy standing behind him. The monster could sense a great power radiating from him.

At the same time, Yugi and the Celtic Guardian did not dare to challenge the beast's strength. Even though the Celtic Guardian was well-armed and fast as the wind, the beast looked like he could rip him apart if he got the chance.

The beast almost grinned as well. It seemed both he and Yugi were at an impasse.

Neither one of them moved. The silence and the lack of fear in Yugi started to annoy the creature.

"GET OUT!" roared the beast, although his confidence was gone thanks to the Celtic Guardian standing in front of him. "Get out. Or I'll…I'll…"

"You'll what?" interrupted Yugi.

The beast stepped back and gave a wheezing gasp. He was annoyed as he was astonished. Most fools who set foot within his property uninvited would have ran for the hills the moment they heard his roar from the forest. "You think you're so bold, don't you?" the beast asked. "If it weren't for that elf, I'd rip you limb from limb."

"How do you know the elf is here for my protection?" Yugi retorted confidently. "He's actually here for yours. I am a well-trained wizard, good sir. I could have turned you to ash the moment you came running out of the forest."

"Indeed," said the beast, rather calmly. "Tell him to lower his iron, if you will? Regardless of who is in power right now, this is MY castle. And that was MY rose you picked. Unless of course, it's law where you're from to just storm into someone else's property and take things from them at the mercy of a monster's blade."

"Well, it is," Yugi replied. "Especially if the host threatens visitors with cries that he'll kill them for taking a flower and threats that he'll tear them limb from limb."

"Goddesses!" shouted the beast, waving a monstrous arm across the air. "What times we live in. When brigands can come barging into someone's home, act the king, and thinks he'll be brought bread and butter. Bah! What times we live in. What times indeed."

They both stood still for a long while. Celtic Guardian growled, still brandishing his blade at the beast in the waning sunlight.

"So," Yugi finally said. "Are we just going to stand around all night?"

The beast shook his head from side to side in frustration and he snorted, letting out a puff of steam from his nostrils. "Oh, really?" he replied. "What do you have in mind, boy? You want to argue lying about on the floor then? Tell your monster off, I said!"

Yugi nodded and called back his Celtic Guardian. "Don't get any ideas," he said. "I can call him back faster than you can blink."

"What business do you have here in my place?" the beast asked, scratching his ear.

"I've come here looking for Princess Antoinette of the House Trossan. Daughter of King Reynolds of Baun. She's but a child of nineteen. And maybe some food if it's not too much of an inconvenience."

The beast rolled his head to the side with a confused look on his monstrous face. "Uh…" he began. He stuttered for a moment before he said: "Are you really not frightened of me, boy?"

Yugi shrugged. "Should I have any reason to be frightened of you?"

The beast growled and ran a paw down his face. He cleared his throat and fixed his coat, standing up straight and puffing out his chest to look sophisticated. "Very well, then. If you are an honest boy, I will invite you in. It's not often that I meet someone who doesn't scream or faint at the sight of me. But be warned, my dear guest, don't try anything stupid. Past those doors, you enter my kingdom. I am the lord and master. I am the judge, jury, and, if the need arises, executioner."

"That's fair," Yugi responded, sheathing his dagger back in the gold damasked scabbard on his belt.

The beast extended his arm toward the door. "My house is your house."

"Is Princess Antoinette here?" Yugi asked. "My business is with her."

The beast frowned. "She is. But, we will get to her when we get to her," he said briskly. "Now are you going to make use of my lavish invitation, boy? Because if you aren't, well, the gate's right behind you."

"Very well," said Yugi. "We'll eat first. Then we can get on with my business."

The beast smiled and stood straight up again. "What should I call you, dear guest?"

"Yugi Muto."

The beast's eyes widened. "The King of Games...HA!" he shouted, grabbing Yugi's hand and shaking it. Yugi yelped helplessly, feeling that the monster was going to rip his arm out of its socket. His fur was soft and warm. "Why didn't you say so, dear boy!? I have been a fan of yours since your victory at Duelist Kingdom." He laughed, finally letting go of Yugi's arm. "This is a tremendous honor, my dear boy. Please, please. Come in, come in."

"Uh, thank you," Yugi said weakly, rolling his arm in circles until he felt his shoulder pop back into place. "And what may I call you, good sir?"

The beast bowed. "I am Grigoris of the House Goldenshield. Duke of the Father Woods and Lord of the Marble Mountains."

"It's a pleasure," said Yugi.

He followed the monster into the castle, past oversized hallways with intricate arches and ceiling frescos, windows of painted glass, black and white tiled floors.

As soon as Yugi and the beast neared the arched entryway into the dining hall, the beast stopped and blocked his way.

"What's going on?" Yugi asked, putting a hand on the grip of his dagger.

"There is no need for that, dear guest," the beast implored him. "I have a bit of a challenge for you."

Yugi lowered his head and ground his teeth. "What sort of a challenge?"

The beast held up his wrist to show off a gold bracelet that transformed into a gold Duel Disk, lavish in design with scrollwork, leafy ornaments, and a white marble surface to play his cards. "Yugi Muto. I challenge you to a Duel! If you win, we may proceed to dinner. Lose, and I will see that you're a liar, and you'll be kicked out of the gate with my boot print on your ass!"

Yugi smiled. The Millennium Puzzle shimmered and shook over his chest.

"What's this?" the beast gasped, backing away from Yugi.

"YU-GI-OOOOOOOOOH!" Yugi shouted, his voice getting deeper and deeper. A flash of golden light and now Yami had taken its place.

"What devilry is this?" the beast shouted, seeing that someone quite different had taken Yugi's place.

"If it's a Duel you want, Grigoris. Then it's a Duel you shall have." Yami held up his wrist, transforming the ring on his finger into his own custom made Duel Disk, updated with Seto Kaiba's latest innovation in holographic technology.

**LP 8000**

"Let's Duel!" Yami and Grigoris shouted.

"I shall begin first," Grigoris said, drawing his card with ease despite he had four claws. "I play the spell card, Foolish Burial. I send a monster from my deck to the Graveyard. Like so." He searched his deck, found the sacrifice, and put it in the discard pile. "Then, I shall summon Soul Tiger in defense mode!"

Grigoris laid the card down on his Duel Disk. The machine whirred and conjured the monster. A tiger with a flaming body and four large tusks coming from the lower jaw. It snarled and slashed a claw across the air to intimidate Yugi. ( **ATK/1800)**

"Not bad," said Yami. "Your Flame Tiger will make it difficult to get to your Life Points."

"That's the idea," said Grigoris. "Your turn, dear guest."

Yami drew. "Then I shall start mine, dear host. I summon Gamma the Electromagnet Warrior in Attack Mode!" Yami placed his card on the field. The electromagnet warrior buzzed as he came into place. His body was so shiny, it reflected everything around it on its surface, turning it from dull metallic gray to brown, gold, and white. ( **ATK/800 DEF/2000** ). "Now, I activate his effect and summon Alpha the Electromagnet Warrior ( **ATK/1700 DEF/1100** ) Now Alpha's effect activates, and I can draw a card. Next, I send Alpha and Gamma to the Graveyard to Link Summon, Missus Radiant!"

Yami summoned a very pompous-looking dog with shaggy, brown bur and adorned with gold and jewels. He had a stuck up look on his face. It let out an obnoxious, 'hump' and sat still on the Link Zone.

**Missus Radiant**

**ATK/1400**

**LINK-2**

"Now, I activate the spell card, Soul Charge. Now I get to summon monsters from my Graveyard, but at the cost of one-thousand Life Points for each one. Return, Alpha and Gamma the Electromagnet Warriors!"

The beast wrinkled his nose. He knew he was going to be in for a world of hurt. Link Monsters? He had never heard of such a thing before. And odd that Yugi would summon something like that puppy dog of all things.

_What is that boy up to?What is that boy up to?_

Yugi held out his hand dramatically. "And now, Grigoris, it's time you witnessed the power of my Missus Radiant!"

"Power?" laughed the beast. "What sort of power does that oversized fur ball have that can scare me?"

Yami smirked. "I expected you to know not to judge one by their appearance, Grigoris. Missus Radiant will increase the attack and defense of Earth monster by five hundred points. Alpha, attack his Flame Tiger!"

Alpha made beeping sounds to show it complied with the order. It hovered towards the Flame Tiger and sliced it across the chest with his magnetic sword. The tiger roared and shattered like glass dealing 400 points of damage to Grigoris.

Yugi pointed at him. "Now, Gamma, attack his Life Points!"

Gamma zoomed toward the beast. It raised its fist, ready to strike him in the gut.

"I do not think so!" said the beast. "I pay one-thousand of my Life Points to summon a monster from the Graveyard. Behold, Green Baboon, Defender of the Forest!"

A gateway opened beneath the beast's feet. From it, emerged an ape-like creature in thick, heavy armor and wielding a massive wooden club made from a tree's trunk.

The Green Baboon howled once it was fully rendered on the field. Gamma stopped just in time. Green Baboon screeched and swung the trunk horizontally. Gamma hovered back, missing getting hit by the trunk by inches. At 2600 ATK, Gamma was no match for the creature. Even worse now since its points rose up to 3100 thanks to Missus Radiant, who affected ALL Earth attribute monsters.

"I think you won't," said Grigoris. "My turn, if you please."

"Very well," said Yami. "I end my turn."

"Good lad. Now, I will activate Graceful Charity, allowing me three cards for the price of two. Ah, very good. I have just the cards needed to ensure my victory tonight. Tell me, Master Yugi, have you ever heard of Puzzle Cards?"

Yami grunted. Yes, it was a familiar term to him. A very familiar term. "Where did you hear that name?"

"You should know," sniggered the beast. "Prince Daveed's mother created them."

"You knew Lady Luthia?"

"No. But I knew all about her, though. I knew that Maximillion Pegasus hired her as a card designer for Industrial Illusions after she and Gabriel were married and kept safe from the wrath of House Delgado. She loved you very much, so I heard. Loved you like you were her own brother. Bah. She and Gabriel wanted you to be their House Carl, did they not?"

"Get to the point!" Yami said impatiently.

"The point is, Luthia knew you since the day you got that golden puzzle around your neck. She must have admired the way you were messing around with it all those years she knew you at school. So, she got the bright idea to create monsters that were built like the pieces of a puzzle. Pegasus loved the idea, unfortunately, there were many complaints from players who demoed the cards. They called the cards 'broken'. They were far too powerful. Pegasus cared not, players find ways to break the game. That's the art and beauty of the game. Every card has a way to get you out of trouble if you know how to use it."

"Wise words," Yami said with a smile. "It's rare I find a Duelist these days who understands that the cards are strong no matter what. And you Duel with honor."

"Thank you, dear guest," the beast said smiling. "Unfortunately, that bit of business in Karad Antha took place shortly after the cards were patented and ready for distribution. Luthia was obliterated before she could see her concept come to life."

"I know," said Yami. "The cards were going to be used as exhibition trophies for tournaments, but the caravan carrying them was attacked by Rare Hunters. The cards were never seen again."

"All, save for these two," said the beast holding up two cards with exquisite artwork and design. Their surface was covered in scrollwork and their images and text, usually outlined with a dull metal box, were beautifully encased in gold ornamental designs.

"Puzzle Cards!" gasped Yami. "But how?"

"Lady Luthia was a lover of my music. Before I became the monster that turned me into a monster, I was a master piano player. The girls were what drove me mad. I was handsome as well as gifted with the art of music. They flocked from all around, Luthia included. When I first saw her, I felt like I had stumbled into a dream. A Celtra. As beautiful as the tales tell. I invited her to the west wing so we could speak on a more professional level. We talked for hours and hours, Yugi. And before she left, she presented me with these two cards. She promised they would change the game forever."

"Poor woman," said Yami, bowing his head sadly. "She was so sure of her invention."

"Indeed she was," replied the beast. "Let's see for ourselves if the King of Games can hold his own against one."

"Argh!" grunted Yami.

The beast held up his card. "Behold! I summon, **Lutharia, the Wings of Beauty**!"

The entrance hall faded away and turned into a lake in the middle of the forest at night. The full moon was peeking from behind the mountains, showering the world around it in brilliant silver. The black, glassy, waters of the lake sparkled like the stars above. In the center of the lake, a gorgeous white swan swam gracefully through the water, leaving gentle ripples in its wake. She had a symbol emblazoned on her chest in gold feathers which looked bright yellow amongst the white feathers that could make snow look gray.

**Lutharia, the Wings of Beauty**

**ATK/2000 DEF/0**

**LV 4**

"Ah, yes, perfect. And when she is placed on the field, I can pay five hundred of my Life Points to add the second piece of this card. From the shadows of the night, the lover soars into the embrace of his companion, forming a love that will conquer all. A love that will lead me to victory. Behold, **Sideon, the Wings of Love!** "

Yami heard the honk of another swan. A black one with a symbol emblazoned in red on his chest. The two swans swam together and arched their necks as they touched one another's heads. Their necks formed into the shape of a heart in front of the moon.

**Sideon, the Wings of Love**

**ATK/0 DEF/2500**

**LV 6**

"Now, the pieces are complete," the beast said, combining the two cards. Their images, when put together, formed an even bigger picture. Now that that the two cards were together, the two swans honked and flew high above the lake. They hovered back to back. Lutharia was facing the beast and Sideon faced Yami.

"What are they going to do?" Yami asked.

"For the time being, nothing," the beast replied. "But for now, I will activate Monster Reborn to bring back a monster I discarded with my Graceful Charity. Rise, Ancient Crimson Ape!"

He conjured a fiery ape-like warrior covered in glowing red fur and adorned in stone armor and brandishing a sword of wood and stone. ( **ATK/2600 DEF/1800** ).

Yami countered the ape's summoning by sending his two Magnet Warriors away for another one. He switched them for Delta the Magnet Warrior (ATK 1600). The beast, though pleased that Missus Radiant also gave him a boost, was smart enough to now that it gave Yugi even more of an edge than he, so he attacked with Green Baboon.

The monster thumped his chest and slammed his club on the dog, flattening it and dealing massive damage to Yami's Life Points.

On his next turn, was at a loss. But his quick wits and ability to draw the right cards at the right time allowed him to Special Summon one of the strongest monsters in his deck. He offered Alpha, Beta, and Gamma the Electromagnetic Warriors as tribute to conjure Berserkion the Electromagna Warrior, a monster with an ATK of 3000.

Grigoris was not nervous, even with the Electromagna Warrior on the field, he was as calm as ever. Without wondering why, Yami went for the attack.

"Berserkion, the Electromagna Warrior, attack Green Baboon!"

Berserkion hovered over the ground and soared towards the ape. The sword cut deep through Green Baboon's thick armor. It hollered in pain before shattering.

Suddenly, the emblem on Sideon's belly started to glow. A red energy slithered from the spot where Green Baboon was slain. The energy went into Sideon's emblem. Then Lutharia honked and flapped her wing. The energy transferred from Sideon towards her and came out of the emblem on her chest as brilliant green. The energy then flew toward Grigoris.

"What is the meaning of this?" Yami shouted. "What are your swans doing?"

"Simple," Grigoris said with a toothy grin. His Life Points increased by 400 points, the amount of damage he was supposed to take.

"I can't be!" cried Yami. "Your swans absorbed the battle damage and converted it into Life Points."

"You are correct, dear guest," said the beast. "That is their special ability. So long as my swans are on the field, any battle damage I take will be turned into Life Points for me. Ah, yes, and Sideon gains attack points equal to the damage I would have taken. So now his attack points are at four hundred. You see, dear guest, Sideon, protects those he loves from harm. Alone, he cannot be targeted by card effects. And Lutharia's lovely wings heal those who have been harmed by the fell deeds of the world. She cannot be chosen to do battle and heals my Life Points by five hundred every turn. Separated, these Swans are strong. But together, in love, they are invincible. Now, their abilities merge into an even more powerful magic. Now, my swans share their abilities with one another and cannot be targeted for battle or be targeted by your card effects."

"This cannot be!" Yami gritted his teeth. "Every monster has a weakness, Grigoris. And I will find theirs."

"So you say," Grigoris said with a grin. "Oh, and by the way. When a monster I control is sent to the Graveyard, Ancient Crimson Ape increases my Life Points by one-thousand points!"

 _He is a worthy foe_ , Yami thought to himself _. He knows every aspect of this game and can wield Luthia's Puzzle Cards with great efficiency_.

Just when Yugi thought it couldn't get any worse, it did. He summoned Magician's Valkyria and boosted her ATK with a spell called Mage Power, increasing her points by 500 for each Spell and Trap card on his side of the field. He had four, which increased her power to 3600. She attacked the Ancient Crimson Ape, but suddenly Simeon flew down from his spot and took the attack.

"What's this!" cried Yami. "The black swan intercepted my Valkyria's attack?"

"It's another of his special abilities," said Grigoris, feeling rather proud he was keeping Yugi Muto down through the Duel. Sideon defends the ones he cares about from harm. His love for them is so great, he will even sacrifice himself for the ones he loves. And remember, since he was sent to the Graveyard, my Ancient Crimson Ape increases my Life Points by another grand. Ah, but it's not over for you yet, once per turn, Lutharia can bring back a monster from my Graveyard."

Sideon flew out of the water, spraying droplets in all directions. They were caressed by the silver moon's light and sparkled in the air. Sideon flew back to his perch and connected with Lutharia, completing the puzzle once again.

"I don't believe this," Yami groaned. "I cannot do damage to him because of his swans. So long as they are connected as one complete puzzle piece, there is no doing damage to him. His Life Points will only increase. And now I have to worry about the black swan protecting his monsters. If he gets sent to the Graveyard, Grigoris' Ancient Crimson Ape will only increase his Life Points by more.

As hard as Yami tried to get by the abilities of the two swans, it was quite difficult. Grigoris would always bait Yami into attacking him by summoning weaker monsters. He knew that his desperation to end the game would get the better of him. And it was working, for the beast would activate Spells and Traps that would decrease his own monster's ATK to 0. The monster would be destroyed and then Simeon would absorb the damage, convert it into his own ATK points and then Luthania would turn the damage into healing magic to increase his Life Points.

Three turns went by and now Sideon stood at 4500 attack points and Grigoris had more than 10000 Life Points. Grigoris ordered Sideon to attack Magician's Valkyria. He honked and shot a laser from the emblem on his chest. Magician's Valyria screamed and shattered to pieces. Yami activated a trap card called Rainbow Life, so the damage he took was converted to Life Points instead, giving him one final chance.

Yami shivered. "Oh no. I'm trapped. Grigoris has created a very strong defense. Now that he's powered up his black swan, he's also got a powerful offense. But he's going to have to attack me sooner or later. This Duel can't go on forever and I have to find Princess Antoinette. Heart of the Cards…guide me." He drew. "All right, Grigoris. This card I drew made decide the outcome of this Duel. I activate Card of Demise. With this card, I can draw five cards, but I must discard them in five turns. I assure you, dear host, things will be quite different before then. I activate Polymerization, fusing together Berserkion the Electromagna Warrior with Valyrion the Magna Warrior. Merge together to become Imperion Magna the Superconductive Battlebot!"

Valkyrion and Berserkion broke into pieces, which combined to form a quadrupedal mech armed with a laser cannon on its back and a powerful sword.

**Imperion Magna the Superconductive Battlebot**

**ATK/4000 DEF/4000**

**LV 10**

"Impressive monster, Yugi," said Grigoris. "Very impressive. But I fear it won't be enough."

"We'll see about that," said Yami. "Imperion! Attack his Ancient Crimson Ape!"

Imperion let out a loud groan and galloped towards the ape. Naturally, Sideon came into play, blocking the attack and sacrificing himself.

"Good try, dear guest," chuckled Grigoris. "But I fear Sideon's departure will only be temporary. I will activate Lutharia's effect to bring him back from the…"

"No, you won't!" shouted Yami. "Imperion Magna's effect activates. He can negate the activation of you card effects and destroy them, so your swan is no more!"

Imperion Magna fired his laser cannon and blasted the swan, destroying her.

"MY SWANS!" shouted Grigoris. NO!"

Having lost his best combination and now having to deal with a powerful monster with 4000 ATK, Grigoris put his hand over his deck and surrendered. "You've won," he said humbly. "Not even my swans could grant me victory. You were a most worthy foe." He bowed.

Yami grinned. "You were a strong opponent, Grigoris. I hope we can Duel again one day."

He transformed back to Yugi. Grigoris rubbed his eyes, now seeing that Yugi had shrunk. Perhaps I had too much wine, he wondered. Nevertheless, he led Yugi to a table at a vast dining hall with tall walls of glass giving a panoramic view of the Marble Mountains and the forests spread across their feet. The sky had now turned a shade of purple and the stars were coming into full view. The three moons were now glowing brightly in their spots above the Mt. Geralt, the tallest mountain in the range.

"This way, please, dear guest," said the beast. "I invite you to relax and put up a chair."

"Thank you," said Yugi. Once he found his seat, he jumped back with a yelp as the luxury dinner chair yanked itself back to let him sit down. Yugi sat on the chair and braced itself as it scooted forward as though it had a mind of its own.

His host looked around the room as if waiting for someone. He then shouted: "Well, what are you waiting for? Light, if you please!" The beast clapped his hands and the candles on the table ignited at once, bathing the table in a soft orange glow. He looked to the ceiling and clapped again. The chandelier, covered in cobwebs, illuminated the dining hall as best it could.

The beast sat down on the royal purple throne at the head of the table and clapped his hands. Carts full of food rolled out of the kitchens and parked in a neat row beside the table. Little silver ramps lowered to allow the saucers, silverware, cups, gravy floats, salt shakers, sugar bowls, and wine bottles to march into place at the table.

"I'm impressed," said Yugi as a plate rolled his way and fell flat in front of him. A fork, knife, and spoon hopped his way and placed themselves neatly beside the plate.

The beast grinned at Yugi as the dinnerware got into place and then the food. Mashed potatoes in handsome floats of platinum marched after a silver platter bearing a handsome roasted hen seasoned with herbs and glazed in honey sauce and filled with cranberry stuffing. Bowls of soups from clam, chicken, and potato hopped off the carts and into their spots beside the candelabra.

"Your powers bring everything in the castle to life it seems," said Yugi. "You've had this ability for quite a while?"

"Oh, indeed," said the beast. "Beats having servants, doesn't it? Please, please, now is the time for eating. Let us discuss our personal matters when we have had our fill. Here we have glazed boar. This is sirloin cooked to perfection, I do not mean to boast, Heh, heh. Ah, and here we have swordfish. King crab. Ah, try the gray stuff."

"What is it?" Yugi asked.

"Well, it's…I do not know what it is. But it's delicious."

"I'll take your word for it," said Yugi, scooping up as much as he could and dumping it on his plate. "Anything else you'd recommend?"

"I recommend it all, dear guest," said the beast, ripping off the leg of a hen roast. He bit into it savagely and chewed politely before speaking. "Help yourself, of course, Master Yugi. Please. Be our guest."

* * *

A loud burp thundered across the glass dining hall. Yugi sighed, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his belly. "Sorry," he said, requesting an excuse for his bad manners. "It just happened."

"No, no, not at all," said Grigoris, patting his own fat tummy. "That was good eating. Can I treat you to some dessert, Master Yugi?"

Yugi grinned and waved his hand. "No, no thanks. Any more food and I'll burst. Believe me, you don't want to be around when that happens."

 _Pfft_ , Yami scoffed, standing above Yugi in spectral form. _No. No, he most definitely won't_.

Yugi jabbed his fork into one last piece of steak and put it in his mouth. "Now, Grigoris, tell me. What has become of the Princess? Shouldn't she be joining us for dinner or something? This is a really important matter, and I fear I don't have time for secrets. Is there something going on?"

The beast's smile faded. He leaned back sadly in his chair. "I suppose it's time I should tell you why Princess Antoinette is staying here in an enchanted castle owned by a hideous, monstrous, beast." He pointed to the hearth beside their table. "Look at those portraits, my dear guest."

"I am," Yugi assured him.

The beast nodded his head. He picked a seed from his teeth with his pinky claw before he explained who it was. "That handsome devil right there is me."

Yugi and Yami both gasped. They looked at each other.

"You're under a spell?" Yugi asked.

"A curse," the beast corrected him. "I was a spoiled boy, Yugi. A very, very spoiled boy. A long time ago, there was a town not far from my castle. Littell it was called. A little town, full of little people. Bakers, farmers, master craftsmen who furnished my castle, and smiths with such skill, one could call their work art. The cutlass you see on the wall above the fire was my tenth birthday present."

Yugi looked at the weapon. The thin blade was glimmering silver. The intricate guard was gold and not lacking in useless ornamentation inlaid with scrollwork and a few gems to make it glitter. It hung over the fire on a polished wooden plaque.

"I had used that sword for years and years until it happened. When I was seventeen, I had turned into somewhat of a brat." He grinned awkwardly when he saw Yugi's unconvincing glare from his chair. "Oh, who am I kidding? I was a bastard in every sense of the word, Master Yugi. The things I had done to women. My father had beautiful maids from Aurelia, Mondé, even Uzumé working for us. Per my request, I had them outfitted in these uniforms that didn't leave much to the imagination. I grew worse after the night when my father died. He left me to the Green Chair, the seat of power in this hold if you will. I was the lord of the castle and what I say went. They could not object. Every birthday, I demanded all the beautiful girls from the village to come to my castle for a party. Then, I demanded all the food from the farmers. The winters here in my castle were warm and jolly, while Littell fell in chaos. One day, my lust would prove to be the end of me. The boys and I made a gang. The Rich Kids of the Marble Mountains. We rode about the countryside, going into inns and playing a game of who could bed the most girls before I turned eighteen, it was the eve of my birthday, you see."

Yugi crossed his arms. The beast's ears dropped, for he could see the King of Games was horribly disappointed in him. He could not find it within himself to continue the story.

"Go on," Yugi said, rather calmly.

"Well, I reached a new low in my life," said the beast. "As the boys and I rode back to the castle, we heard singing coming from the river. A voice as rich as bells and soft as the water flowing in the river. We stopped. And then we saw _her._ A girl. A most beautiful girl. I had never seen such a finer specimen in my life. Her hair was like the sun made into silk, braided and adorned with colorful flowers. Even from atop my horse and standing a yard or two away, I could see her eyes glistening like little sapphires. And her curves, Yugi. Oh, she was perfect. Unable to control ourselves, the boys and I rode towards her. We demanded her time. She objected of course. I would not have that. It's the eve of my birthday. I wanted her, and I would not take no for an answer. So, I hopped off my horse and pushed her to the ground and I stripped her."

Yugi looked out the window, not believing what he was hearing. "Did you…"

"No. Not yet anyway. I forced her back on her feet and told her to run into the forest. We were going on a little hunt. If she escaped us, she would be free to go. If not, then she was ours. She ran. We got on our horses and chased her down. We hunted her like wild game. She ran very fast, but she did not get far. We surrounded her. She fell to the ground and begged for her purity to remain intact. Naturally, I did not listen. My pride, my lust, plus the thrill of seeing her naked and from the chase, I finally got what I wanted. My friends cheered for me. Cheering for me, the stupid little bastard that I was. The girl screamed. It was at that moment, that I noticed she was reaching for something. A crystal that was dangling on a chain around her wrist. I thought she was going to use it to stab me. To my shock, it was for herself. She jabbed the crystal into her throat and slit it from ear to ear with one quick swoop. The crystal was pink."

"Oh no," said Yugi.

"Yes. She was a Priestess of Ana. I had forced myself upon a follower of the Goddess of Love and Beauty. They must remain pure and untouched, or their connection with Ana will be forever ruined. Odd, considering Ana is the Goddess of love, beauty, wine, and sexual pleasure. But I digress. Once the life was gone from the girl, Ana herself came down from the heavens in a wave of red roses. She stood over me. Her beauty was so divine and so frightening. I could not explain. Ana is normally a just Goddess, but after what I did to one of her priestesses, she had a fiery gaze that could make Obelisk the Tormentor's grin look lovable. I got on my knees and begged her for forgiveness. She took a rose from her mantle and blew on it. The petals flew all around me. I felt a wind lift me from the ground. The petals spun faster and faster. Ana looked at me and said: Your lust has taken you down the path of darkness. You spoil the ultimate gift of love for sport, for anger, for pleasure. And now your treachery has not only defiled one of my followers, but it has killed her."

The beast swallowed. He looked at his empty plate and snapped a chicken bone with his finger. "And then, she sent more rose petals towards my friends. She pointed at them and shouted: _Ye who spoil my gifts for the sake of their pride are swine._ And she turned them into wild pigs. I can remember their squeals. They took off into the forest and I never saw them again. As for me, I was to get the worst of it. In an instant, I was turned into…into… a monster."

"Not even the word I would use for a man like you," said Yugi. "That would insult the cards."

The beast twiddled his thumbs. He knew Yugi was right. He sighed. "Yes, yes, you're right. Until I learned how to truly love, I will forever remain a beast for all eternity. I could not ask any of the maids. They all ran at the sight of me when I stepped through the doors. All the servants did. They abandoned the castle and never came back. I could not find anyone from the village either. They were wiped out by the Red Plague of 989. The traders stopped coming. No one came to listen to my music anymore. I was alone."

"So how long were you in this form?" Yugi asked.

"Too long," the beast replied. He sighed and sniffed. "Far too long. Years went by. The first few months were difficult for me. Having to adjust to living as a monster were the worst days of my life. I went on a rampage and destroyed all the furniture in the west wing. It was so bad, the towers caught fire and holes were made on the wall. It makes me shiver just thinking about those first few months. It was…it was the hardest time of my life. Soon, I grew used to being alone. Every once in a while, some fool who head the tale of the Beast in the Castle would come by and test his balls, or lack thereof; for as soon as I roared from the highest tower, they would run into the forest in such a fright. One day, a curious little man approached my home. He wasn't like the other would-be adventurers. There was something about him that I enjoyed. I couldn't figure out what it was. Perhaps, it was that he was a musician, too. His wagon was filled with all sorts of musical instruments. I suppose it brought me back to the days when I was much nobler youth, playing my piano for the love of the art and not the girls. Anyway, I didn't show myself doing it, but I hosted him. I let the doors opened and he waltzed right in. I ordered the castle to make him food and serve him a drink. I even made the candles show him the way to his room where a bed and some of my best clothes were waiting for him. The next morning, he made his way out and thanked me, even though he could not see me. I felt warm and happy for the first time in many years, seeing as how I had performed a good deed. But then…"

Yugi tilted his head to the side. "Then?"

"As you see, I have a rose bush out there with Galaxy Roses. Those flowers are very, very rare. There was only once place you could find them, and that was High Queen Evangelia Pendragon's garden. Those flowers were given to her as a sign of friendship between her and her Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon. My great-great-great-grandmother fought alongside her in the Waltz of the Dragon Queens. And as a small request, she asked for a few of the roses and some seeds so she could grow them herself. And it was given to her. That rose bush has been in my family for generations and generations. My mother would sing songs as she trimmed them. I would sit there playing with my toys, or tried to. My mother had such a beautiful voice, Yugi. It was her voice that made me find my love for music. When she died, I felt like the better part of me died with her, for I turned into the fool that turned me into the monster you see standing before you. Those flowers mean a great deal to me, so to see the merchant just walk to them and take one was a treachery far greater than this transformation. Those were my mother's flowers. I was not going to allow him to just take them."

"So you scared him off?" said Yugi, leaning back in his chair.

"Oh, yes, I did," said the beast. "I fell into a rage and jumped down to confront him. When he saw me, he begged for his life. He said he only wanted a few flowers for his daughter. That's when it hit me. Perhaps, this was my chance to break this horrible curse. So I roared: 'Your daughter for your life, you thief!'"

"Why would you ask the poor man for his daughter?" Yugi asked.

The beast asked Yugi to stand. They both walked away from the table towards a wall on the east side of the room. There were portraits there of five girls.

"Because, I thought for a moment, just a small moment, that this girl was my hope for breaking the spell. This was fate. The way I felt about the man when he first stepped in and his love for music. It had to be fate. The man sobbed for a long time, but he agreed. He would lend me his daughter for a year. I let him go, and many weeks later, I saw him approach with a wagon. There was a big sack of things back there and his daughter. A pretty little thing. She had red hair, and I mean red hair, and a braid so long, it coiled around her lap. I had to help him pack his things, he packed so much."

"And the girl?" Yugi asked.

The beast pointed to the first portrait. Yugi looked at the girl. Her hair was indeed red. Her face was sprayed with freckles, her lips were a glossy pink, and her eyes the color of lime.

"Did you paint these?" Yugi asked.

"Yes," the beast replied. "Randy was her name. She was traumatized by the sight of me, the poor thing. But as soon as I filled her father's bag with gold, precious stones, and rare cards, both she and him calmed down. For the first month, Randy locked herself in her room and sobbed. I left her carts and carts of food and treats for her, but she never went to get them. The food stood outside her door for so long, it started to fester. I could not let the poor child go hungry. I had to show her I wasn't some horrible monster out to get her. So, I started to sing songs for her outside her door. On the first day, she stopped crying. The next few days, nothing. But then, she eventually asked me if I could sing her songs to help her sleep. I grant her that request. One day, she comes out of her room. She and I eat at the same table and took long walks and sang songs together. I grew fond of her. She liked me, too, but not in the way I wanted her to. She did not love me. We were just friends. So, the year ends. Her father returns ready to take her. I told him to spread the word to anyone willing to lend me their daughters for the year. Sure enough, months later, another merchant came with a pretty daughter."

He walked toward the next portrait. This one of a girl sitting on a stone bench with a bush covered in Galaxy Roses behind her. She had one in her fingertips. Her hair was long and colored chestnut with a touch of gold on the tips. She wore an elegant black gown and a necklace of diamonds twinkled around her neck. She stared into Yugi's eyes. A feint smile on her lips.

"Ah, this one," said the beast. "Her name was Nina."

"She was an Aurelian?" said Yugi, recognizing the name.

"Indeed," replied the beast. "On her mother's side of course. She was a poet and songwriter. Her father was a professor from the university and a librarian in the Termnnian Archives. Katina is where she was born. And I could tell. She was very bright and very adventurous. Oh, Goddesses, she had a love for books. In fact, aside from some extra clothing and a hairbrush, her trunks, bags, and sacks were filled with an entire library's worth of books! And you wouldn't believe me if I told you, Yugi, but Nina wasn't scared when she first saw me. After I paid her father, she and I went for a long walk at the foot of the mountains. We talked and talked until the sun went down. She comes from a noble house that once served as stewards to House Balor. But that was the last in-depth interaction I had with her. She spent most of her time in her room reading. I made things worse when I showed her my library because she sat there all day long. Read, read, and read. Reading all day long. She read as she supped. She read as she bathed. She read she walked. She read as she slept. Are you laughing?"

"No," Yugi replied, clamping his mouth shut to hold back a yawn.

"Well, then. I suppose I can continue. She had such a fascination for the tales of Norman the Conqueror. She said one day she wanted to lead an archeological expedition to find his lost relics. If there is a person out there you want to find with information on Narmondülus Elliartum, Nina was your girl. She even bore his sigil around her neck. Needless to say, the Yeyunists in her community were not too fond of that. Anyway, one night, I decided enough was enough. As she was sleeping, I brought the bookshelves to life, and they marched out of her room and locked themselves in the library which I had sealed shut with chains. Nina was furious. I challenged her to a Duel. If she wins, she keeps the books. If she loses, I burn them."

He looked at Yugi, who had a surprised look on his face. "Well, I didn't pay her father a substantial amount of gold just to watch her read all day, did? So, we played. Ha! Her skills were masterful."

Yugi smiled, putting his hands behind his head and leaning back. "She beat you?"

"And how," replied the beast. "She beat my symphonic warriors with her True King deck. I had never seen someone play like that before. She never every card in her deck and how to use them. I lost, but the Duel was great fun. During the wintertime, Nina became a little more engaged with me. In fact, we had a snowball fight in the fields not far from the lake. It did not end well. I threw a ball the size of a bowling ball at her face and knocked her out cold. She was sour with me, but not for a long time. She was good fun, and a fine warrior if you can believe that. We ran into a bit of trouble. Come spring, a huntsman and his gang of bandit knights stormed to the gates. It appears the lad was her admirer. And when he heard his love was in the hands of a beast, he went mad. He came for my head. But Nina took care of the situation. Her affinity for Norman the Conqueror shone true that night. She took a sword from my armory and she summoned two warriors to aid us. A Kanan the Swordmistress and Neo the Magic Swordsman. She and her two fighters stormed into the courtyard, and slew them all. Nina took the huntsman's head and tossed it into the lake. Imagine that. A scholar and a warrior. Sadly, our time together came to an end. She was not the one to break the spell. We only communicated via letters for some time until I learned she married a young prince from the Tropic Kingdoms by the name of Ser Lancelot de Bourbon the Knight of the Ocean. After that, I never heard from her again."

They walked to the next portrait, displaying a rather chubby girl with platinum locks and ribbons in her hair.

"Francesca Tarbon, is this one. She didn't stay with us for too long. Her father was in dire straits with The Big Five. Owed them a loan of fifty-thousand gold. So, he sent his girl down here for a year in exchange for some gold to pay off his debt. The girl was not very pleased with me, though. Even after a few months in my company, she screamed and ran at the sight of me. She allowed me to paint her portrait though. That was the last night I saw her alive. We got a dove bearing a message that her father had fallen behind in the loans. The Big Five sent their 'pet' to his hold. The beast burned it all to the ground. None survived. Francesca was so distraught that she hung herself in her room. Since I had no knowledge of her kin, I buried her under the tree where she would sit and have her tea and cakes in the afternoon, playing with the cups and cutlery who would sing and dance for her to cheer her up."

He waved a hand, brushing off the experience and then walked to a portrait of a girl lying naked on a bear-skin run in front of the fireplace. She had a seductive smile as she looked at the two men. Her eyes were focused and full of lust. Her curled reddish-orange hair flowed over the left side of her face and a ponytail swirled over her shoulder. Her chin resting on the palm of her hand.

"Oh…" said Yugi, his face going red.

"Ah," Grigoris said, clapping his hands. "Axel Clementine. A fiery one she was. Literally. She was a fire mage. She came her on her own accord. I kid you not, she flew in on a Crimson Sunbird. Those creatures are rare indeed. Judging by her more modern attire, I guessed she came from the city streets of Domino. She said she would stay with me for the year if I paid her a king's ransom in gold. Well, you know me. I was desperate to break the spell, and I won't lie, she wore a top that barely covered her belly and pants that hung so low I could see the rose tattoo on her pelvis. I wanted this one real bad, Yugi."

"I don't blame you," said Yugi. "She's hot. Ah? Ah?"

The beast laughed, slapping Yugi hard on the back. "Agreed. So, I let her in. Axel was a lover of music, but hers was awfully strange. I heard people screaming, and mumbling. Yo, yo, yo, diggity-dog, yo diggy-diggy-diggy dog. Are you laughing?"

"No," Yugi said, trying to keep a straight face.

"Well, she was a bit of a livewire and a true test to my change of character. She always talked about the things that made her amorous. What she loved doing at these places where there is loud music and heavy drinking. And what she liked putting in herself. She was…an explorer so to speak. I wanted to find out what it was like to have a relationship with someone as beautiful as me. She had no sense of shame, I'll tell you that. She liked to walk around the castle in undergarments that you, sir, could have mistaken for dental floss. And she'd be shirtless sometimes, too. She never blushed and she never hid if I ever came in. She just smiled at me. Yugi, I swear, I could feel the animal in me writhing in its cage. It had been far too long since I have had an amorous relationship with a girl, especially one as fine as Axel. She showed me her collection of handguns and rifles to explain to me that swords and bows are now a thing of the past. Some of them were so powerful they blew holes into thick trees. I knew better than to try anything with her. Bad enough I had to worry about her singeing me to death, but now I had to worry about her guns. She put them to good use on a group of bandits who came to loot my castle of its treasures. I donned my armor and she rode on top of me naked and shooting molten fireballs from her hands and drinking rum. We sure scared them off. But, as always, our time came and went. Even though she was a licentious little creature, Axel never saw me the way I did her. I fear she wasn't as bold as I hoped she would be."

Finally, they stopped at the final portrait.

"Oh!" cried Yugi. "That's her! That's Princes Antoinette! Don't tell me her father sent her down here, too."

"He did," replied the beast. He had run into some financial troubles, what with most of his subjects running about killing each other for their daughters. Seems like every girl in Termnnia wants a piece of Prince Daveed, eh? Or Yuri as they're calling him now. Which is it?"

"Whatever you prefer,"Yugi answered. "But tell me, Grigoris. Where is she? I need to see her at once. This is an urgent political matter. One that could decide the fate of the entire continent. You have to tell me where she is."

Grigoris sighed and slid a paw down his face. He scratched his ear. "Did they ever tell you about her special ability, Yugi?"

"I didn't know she had any."

"Antoinette is no ordinary girl, Yugi. She can polymorph, meaning she can change into a certain form. Yes, yes, I know many here can do such a thing. But, tell me, how many people do you know who can polymorph into a dragon."

"What!? A dragon? Antoinette can turn into a dragon?"

"When she came here, Yugi, she was quick to show me her ability. She took me for a ride over the mountains. Goddesses, it had been years since I've seen the countryside, but to see it from the back of a dragon? I felt like my whole life was changing. Just like Nina, she was not afraid of me and was quick to be friends. She was so beautiful. So magnificent. My love for her was greater than all the other girls put together. I just had to marry her. I wanted her to be the one. Within the next few weeks, I asked her to marry me. I told her about the spell. About what I did. She agreed my punishment was just deserved, but I was too kind and a changed man. She agreed to marry me. But the curse was not broken the night of our marriage. I was so stupid, Yugi. Antoinette didn't marry me out of love. It was out of pity. The spell knew of this and cursed her as well. The poor girl lost control of herself, tore her wedding dress off and ran into the forest. Seconds later, the Eclipse Wyvern you no doubt have seen on the way here, flew over the mountains. The first few days, Yugi, I could still see the human in her. She cried. She cried for hours. She knew she was locked in her monstrous form. But then, everything that made her human started to slowly disappear. She began to grow more and more monstrous. She started hunting animals and living in the mountains. Yugi, I fear that every day she stays in that form, she becomes more and more dragon-like. And I fear it is my fault."

"No it isn't," Yugi assured him. "Something tells me that this has nothing to do with the curse Ana bestowed upon you. It's unlike her to punish those who don't deserve it. Maybe she did marry you out of pity, but within that pity there is generosity. There is love because she thought you were worth saving. Ana rewards people who show that much compassion, not punish them. You know what I think, Grigoris? I think there is more to this curse. I have this sneaking suspicion that there is Shadow Magic at work here."

The beast turned his head. "Goddesses! You are sure?"

"Positive," said Yugi. "The stories you have told me. I find it odd that all these lovely young ladies formed such a bond with you and ended things so suddenly. Like your relationships with them were doomed from the start. They always ended in misfortune. And that priestess. I have a feeling that somewhere out there, there's a banshee. The banshee of that girl you defiled many years ago. I've dealt with them before when I hunted monsters with Prince Daveed's father a long time ago. She still feels animosity against you for what you did. The banshee of that girl is still out there cursing your life. Be it sympathy or not, Antoinette cared enough about you to love you. Even if that wasn't going to break the spell Ana put on you, it should not have cursed her, too. We've got to find that monster at once! Maybe then it will break Antoinette's spell."

"What are we waiting for?" said the beast. "Let's go!"

* * *

"Is she even here?" Yugi wondered, treading carefully through the Eotarma leaves that sprinkled the ground. The golden rays of the setting sun peered through the ruby red leaves above him, decorating the forest like glimmering tinsel.

It's been too long, far too long. Days had passed since he and Grigorios left the castle and searched for Ana, who was cursed to take the form of an Eclipse Wyvern. You'd think spotting a dragon would have been an easy task, but not this creature. Eclipse Wyvern was a creature that had stealth capabilities, and it was that fact alone that was making Yugi very frustrated. Of all the dragons for the princess to turn into, it had to be one with stealth. Every now and then, he and Grigoris would see a streak of black and red soar over them, find the half-eaten carcass of an elk or the bones of dire wolves, even a roar or two coming from the mountains, but by the time they raised their heads up, they saw a flash of red and then silence.

"She's probably lost her mind right about now," said Yugi. "It's been many days now. I fear Princess Antoinette is gone."

"There is still hope," Yami insisted. "There is always hope."

"Hope, huh?" Yugi said, ducking under a branch. The red, gold, and orange leaves brushed against his hair. "I hope we can find these two beasts we're looking for. We don't even know if there is a banshee out there."

"Something has a foul grip over these lands," Yami answered. "I felt great sorrow the moment we came here. Sorrow, anger, and evil. No, there is a banshee out there cursing these lands."

"Maybe we'll have a better chance in finding it now that it's Eotarma," said Yugi, referring to the Elvish name for the month of October. It translated to, Month of the Spirits. It was often said that the dead rise and walk the land during this month. Travelers and merchants often reported strange lights coming from the forests or the ruins of ancient castles as they walked the roads. The graveyards would get covered in fog and moans and groans would often be heard coming from them.

It brought a glimmer of hope for Yugi. Perhaps this cursed month would have some effect on the banshee, maybe even the Eclipse Wyvern. He had to find them now. He spent way too much time here in this forsaken forest. He wanted to get on his horse and leave, but Grigoris and Antoinette needed his help. Then again, so did a great deal many others. What of Prince Michael? Had he and Jeayoung already gathered forces and sailed to Akuuda to aid Marcel in fighting back Naralia? What of his friends in the Storm Coasts? Had Serenity gone on her quest to find that 'special item' for Yuri? And Avi? Did she sail safely to Termnnia? Was she even here yet. Most importantly, what news of Yuri?

"Stay focused!" said Yami, feeling Yugi's impatience. "I know there are a lot of people counting on us, but this is a task we must complete, Yugi. Antoinette is an important piece on the board right now."

"The Queen, eh?" Yugi asked, peering from the corner of his eye back at Yami. He walked another few paces before he stopped and turned to look at him. Yami stood tall and strong before him, even though he was so translucent, Yugi could see the forest and the mountains right through him like a window. "Another pawn in your game," he said impatiently. "We don't even know if Yuri is going to approve of her. For Horakhty's sake, Spirit, we don't even know if he'll approve of his new life here." He hopped over a fallen tree. His boots crunched the leaves when he landed. He grunted and stood back up. "All the places we could have hidden him. Grandopolis, the flying fortresses of Dun Harth, Duelist Kingdom; anywhere! No, we had to put him in another world. Eighteen years, Yuri has grown up not knowing he's to be High King. Not knowing the kingdoms he's supposed to rule even exists. We shouldn't have to be doing this. He should be on the throne by now."

Yami sighed. Yugi pushed a branch out of his way and stomped toward an open field. "It doesn't work that way," said Yami. "How many times must I tell you? There was no other choice. We couldn't keep him here in Termnnia. It wasn't safe. There are people here who would sell Yuri out for a gold Star Chip. And there is no hiding from Denethon and the Sisterhood. And I could not sit idly by and watch as those corrupted lords from all those Houses squabbled to see who could keep him. House Dragonheart. House Alteria. House Goldenpenny. Do you think either of them were good choices to be Yuri's family? I would have hated to see how they would taint Yuri. They didn't want to care for the boy out of the kindness of their hearts. They just wanted the Diamond Throne. Yuri is pure of heart, Yugi."

"Not anymore," Yugi retorted. "Or have you forgotten what Bakura turned him into?"

"He's changed," Yami countered. "Slifer saw to that. He blasted the evil out of his heart. Blasted Bakura out of him."

Yugi stomped his foot on the ground. "You said it was going to be safe! So how did Bakura find him then? How did Bakura get so close to Yuri that he could taint his heart and mind? It just proves that your plans are not as foolproof as you think they are, Spirit. I want to trust you. I really do, but nothing we do seems to be working. Why can't we bring Yuri him now?"

"Now you've forgotten the decree set up by Antilles?" Yami spat, getting annoyed with Yugi's impatience and doubt. And Ignorance.

He knew politics bored Yugi, but not to the point where he would be oblivious to everything that's going on. He balled his fists, doing everything he could to keep from shouting at his host.

"Yuri cannot come home until he is declared the champion of Kaiba's tournament next summer," he said, to which Yugi rolled his eyes. Yami continued anyway. "The Senate wants to see if he is a capable Duelist. Like it or not, but the requirements of being High King is being a champion or a Master Duelist. Yuri has to hold his own in a Duel, or someone could use the Dueling Pact to challenge him out of the crown. If that happens, all our work would have been for naught. All these years of planning would be wasted. All the people who died to keep him secret and safe. Their sacrifice would have been for nothing. As for how Bakura was able to get to him, I don't know. But it's clearly obvious he has his own agenda with Yuri, and it does not involve killing him. He would have killed Yuri by now if that was his intent. Something tells me Bakura wants him alive."

"For what purpose?" Yugi asked.

"I don't know," Yami answered.

"Then how do we stop him!?" Yugi cried out. His voice echoing across the forest.

Yami's eyes widened. He let out a soft gasp and took a step backward. He looked at Yugi, standing upright to make himself seem taller. His fists were balled up, chest up, and head held high. His eyes flashing with impatience. Even the birds stopped singing to give the two of them a moment; as if they, too, were waiting for Yami to give his response.

Yami smiled at the boy. "We will find a way, Yugi. Remember, Yuri is the Terretar. The God Caller. He will..."

"LOOK OUT!" Grigorios shouted, jumping out of the trees and tackling Yugi to the ground.

Yugi yelled in surprise as he flew through the air with the nearly eight-hundred pound beast on top of him. They landed on the ground with a thud. Yugi's face twisted in agony and he groaned, feeling the weight of the monster press down on him and flattening his lungs. Through the mass of dark brown fur, Yugi saw the white and red wings of the Eclipse Wyvern soar over him. Then the tail until it slithered out of few. The calmness of the morning was broken by its loud screech. At long last, the monster had found them. Princess Antoinette had arrived at last. But it had been too long. Yugi knew now that the princess was more dragon than human now. The way she attacked them so quickly and so violently. It was primal. It was beastly. She was hunting now, and she was not picky about who or what would serve well for breakfast. What hurt Yugi the most was that she was so far gone that cared not to differentiate friend from foe. Antoinette was gone, he thought sadly, only this wyvern remained.

He heard Yami's voice burning in his brain. "Get up! Get up!" Yugi felt a powerful force overtake his legs and his arms. Yami wanted to take control. "It's not too late!" He heard him say. Yugi knew better than to argue with him at a time like this. And most of all, he wanted to relieve himself of the weight of the monster on top of him. So without question, Yugi allowed Yami to take control of his body. Yami felt himself come alive as his form took over Yugi's flesh and bone. He grew taller and stronger. And he felt like a great weight was crushing him. He came into the world moaning and groaning.

"Grigorios, get off!" Yami shouted.

The beast did, and he picked up his bronze spear. "Come, Yugi! She goes this way! I smell a foulness in the air. A scent I haven't picked up since..." He dashed into the forest, roaring and smashing small trees into the ground.

Yami picked himself up from the ground, drew his sword, and ran after Grigorios. He saw Antoinette flying above the trees, snarling and barking at the challenge Grigorios issued from below. The wyvern gave out a hellish shriek and circled back towards them. Grigorios lifted his spear and shut one eye as he took aim at the monster approaching them. When Antoinette got close enough he threw the spear up, made a quick jump, spun, and kicked it with all his might, launching the missile as fast as a bullet. It pierced her left wing. Antoinette gave a shriek. She tilted from left to right; her tail whipping violently. It struck Grigorios in the chest as she flew over him. He felt his bones rattle from the impact. He fell to the ground with a thud and rolled to a stop.

"Are you all right!" Yami cried out to him. Grigoris responded with a thumbs up; a short one, for his arm collapsed to ground a second later. He grunted as he lay in the grass to recover from the blow he took. Yami looked at Antoinette. She tried to keep flight, but she crashed into the trees. "Princess!" he shouted. He dashed towards the trees to see to her, but the wyvern stirred; her wings still flapping, still having the strength to keep her in flight. Using what little he knew of his Millennium Puzzle, Yami channeled its powers. A glowing Wdjat burned on his forehead as a golden aura formed around the Millennium Item. He hoped his touch would release her from her curse. She raised her head up, hearing Yami's footsteps. She charged a glowing blue energy breath. Yami stopped, wondering what move to make next, for in the next few seconds his ashes would be flying through the air.

Just before Antoinette released her attack, Grigoris jumped from behind him and tackled her neck. He held her down with all his might. He roared and snarled, pressing his weight down against her neck and locking his powerful arms around her jaws to keep her from unleashing her breath attack or snapping at them with her teeth. Her tail still whipped around; one hit from that and it would break many bones in Yami's body. He approached carefully. "DO IT NOW!" shouted Grigoris. He was strong but he felt he could not contain the dragon's strength any longer. Yami quickened his pace, then darted into a sprint. Suddenly, he stopped. The air grew horrible cold. He could see his breath in the air. Frost began to coat the grass and the leaves in a shimmering blanket of white. His hands were burned from the cold. He felt himself shivering. Even the trees began to show their discomfort for the oncoming evil that was manifesting itself in the darkness. They moaned and quaked. The leaves fell from them like rain until they were stripped bare, dead as winter.

A being, radiating a ghoulish green glow, slowly hovered to the clearing. She was clad in a white robe that was falling off, showing off her rotten corpse and even the white of her bones. Though her face was partially decayed, there was still some beauty left in it. White-green eyes stared at Yami, burning into his soul. He could feel her sorrow slithering inside her. Her pain. Her thirst for revenge against the injustice that was done upon her. He saw tears glittering down her cheeks. Her face twisted in eternal sorrow. She let out a cry which sounded more like a song of great sorrow. It filled Yami's soul with sadness than fear. Thanks to Grigoris, he knew why she was like this. Doomed to walk the earth for eternity as a malevolent being bringing misfortune upon all she met. It was not what she wanted. She just wanted to pick flowers for the temple. She wanted to go back to her friends and enjoy the merry feasts at the grand halls of the High Priestess. She wanted to grow old and die in peace. She had dreams and aspirations of her own which would never be fulfilled due to the evil Grigoris and his friends inflicted upon her that night.

"I am sorry," Grigoris said, looking at her. "I am sorry for everything. I was a monster for what I did to you that night. Please, find it in your heart to forgive me. You will never find peace until you do. You will never cross into the great halls of Ana if you remain in this form forever. Please, don't fight us. Please!"

The banshee did not care for his apology. She let out an ear-piercing shriek. The birds took off into the air by the thousands. Yami yelled and fell to his knees, covering his ears with his hands. Blood dripped from his nose. His eyes twitched and he ground his teeth while enduring the pain her cry was causing. Grigoris roared and rolled on the ground covering his ears. He could take the screeching no more and ripped them off instead. He could take it no more. Antoinette wailed and twitched on the ground until she passed out.

The banshee stopped screeching and hovered to where Grigoris lay. She held out her bony hands and lifted him up into the air with telekinesis. Grigoris lost control of his body. He grunted and sobbed. "What's the matter?" The banshee said in a sickly, high-pitched voice. "Do you not want to fuck me anymore?" Her jaws widened until they touched her chest. A long, slimy tongue wriggled out of her mouth. "Do you not wish to make love to me, beast?"

"STOP!" Yami shouted. He threw his enchanted blade at her. She heard the sword singing through the air and turned. Direct hit! The sword pierced her chest. The magic steel burned her. Green flames burst from the wound, searing her from the inside. She screeched and tumbled backward. Grigoris fell to the ground, weakened. The death touch of a banshee drained one of life, and he had been near her for too long. Yami drew another sword out and hurried towards him. The banshee rose back up and knocked Yami back with a powerful force push, sending him flying into the grass.

The banshee cackled and pulled the sword out of her chest. The flames dispersed. She looked at the sword and threw it on the ground. The power of being amongst the undead. It unlike anything she ever felt before. She felt invincible, especially if magical blades proved nothing against her. She returned to torturing Grigoris again, lifting him high and sticking her wriggling tongue into his mouth, sucking all the life force from his body. His fur turned gray. His horns started to whither. He was dying.

"NO!" Yami shouted.

WHACK! The banshee was tossed aside by the swing of a powerful tail. Antoinette rose up from the ground, snarling. She pulled the spear out of her injured wing with her teeth and snarled.

"Traitor!" the banshee shrieked. "I give you the form of a dragon and this is how you repay me!?"

"That was not what she wanted!" shouted Yami. "You turned her gift into a curse. She loses herself because of your need for revenge."

"Listen to him, priestess," groaned Grigoris. "She had nothing to do with this. It's me you want. Not her."

"I will drain you both and become a great sorceress! These mountains and all the dark things living in them will bow to my power!"

Yami held out his hand. He summoned Dark Magician to come to his aid. He flew towards her, stopped just a few inches from her face, and spun his staff. He pointed his weapon at her and blasted her with his Dark Magic Attack. She screeched and fell to her knees, steam billowing off her body. It started to dawn on her that she wasn't as powerful as she thought she was if Yami could summon powerful creatures into battle like this. Perhaps if she swallowed his life essence, she would gain his power, too. She dug deep into her will and released a blast of green energy that knocked Dark Magician back. Yami stood up, held out his hand, and summoned Dark Magician Girl, who came flying out of a pink glyph. She spun and pointed her staff at that banshee, burning her with her own dark magic spell. Yami took a special Spell Card from his pocket.

Knight's Title.

He held it up and activated it, turning his Dark Magician into the Dark Magician Knight. His purple robes turned into knightly armor with a long black/red cape, and his staff formed into a magical sword. Dark Magician Girl touched the sword and gave it enough power for it to start glowing. Magical runes shined down the length of the blade. Dark Magician Knight raised up his blade. Glyphs spun around it. He ran towards the banshee and struck her in the chest with the sword.

"Go now! Be at peace!" Yami said. "I release you from your curse!"

And just like that, the banshee gave out one final cry. But, she did not seem at all saddened. Her face twisted into a smile. She had been saved by someone with enough power to counter the curse of the goddesses themselves. An Eyar. The Angels of Horakhty. And the most gracious of them all. So powerful was Yami's sense of forgiveness and friendship, that even creatures such as that he would find the time to repent. And she did as these were her final moments as a cursed creature. Slowly, the flesh in her body began to mend itself. She became more and more beautiful. Her hair, once white as death, had a golden glow. Her eyes took the color of oceanic blue, and her lips took the color of glossy peach.

Dark Magician Knight took his sword out of her chest and sheathed it on his back. The priestess smiled at them both. She gave a nod as a ray of light shined down on her. She raised her arms and was lifted into the heavens. She dispersed, turning to glimmering lights that sailed farther and farther into the sky until it was gone from sight. The wind blew, telling the world that another soul had found her peace. She was gone.

But Grigoris was unchanged. He lay there on the ground, dying. Yami hurried to him. He attempted to heal him, but Grigoris grabbed his wrist with a vice-like grip. "No," he breathed. "Leave me. I have paid for my sins. She is at peace now. You have given her release. And now, my death will grant her justice. And look. Look there."

Yami turned and saw Antoinette lying on the ground, no longer as a dragon. A blanket of red and white, matching the pattern of her form as an Eclipse Wyvern as draped over her body. Her long, chestnut-colored hair waved gracefully in the wind. She was sleeping as though she were warm in her bed. Yami went for her, but he was locked in Grigoris' grip. "And spoil her beautiful dream," he chuckled. "Leave her. Take her back to my castle. No doubt with the spell broken, my servants won't be as lively as they once were."

"Grigoris," said Yami.

"Say no more, Master Yugi. I have paid for my mistakes." His tusks vanished. His ears, though ripped, began growing rounder. "There are now fewer monsters in this world. I have...I...I..." He started losing his claws. His snout became a round nose. His teeth were growing duller and duller. Fur molted away revealing patches of caramel-colored skin. "Wha...what's this...what's happening?" Yami stepped back and unclasped his cape, tossing it over the shoulders of the naked, handsome, well-built, man in front of him.

Grigoris examined his hands. He had five fingers now. He held his fingers over the area where his snout had once been. He felt nothing but air. He slapped his hands on his face. He gasped. His touch informed him of a strong chin, a slender neck, a round nose, cheeks, and lips. He looked down and saw slender legs with feet and five toes. No more did he have paws or a long tail.

He slid his hands down his head. He no longer felt the round dome of his beast skull. Just the smooth circumference of a human head. And he no longer felt his horns.

He laughed. "I...I don't understand. Yugi! How did...? But why? Why didn't I...how is this possible?"

"Stand up, my friend," said Yami. "Up, up."

"How is this possible?" He said, touching his face with his hands.

"Ana has blessed you with a second chance," said Yami. "Your curse is broken. You have shown great courage and were willing to give your life for this young woman here," he held his hand toward Antoinette sleeping peacefully. "Every fairy tale has to have a happy ending, you know."


	33. Forbidden Love

**Yami and Yugi**

* * *

Antoinette rolled to her right side in bed. She smacked her mouth and nuzzled her pillow, giving off a soft coo. Yami watched her from an armchair by the fireplace while he fixed his deck. He felt a great sense of urgency to wake her but thought better of it. The poor girl had been through so much already. Even with his phenomenal powers, it was a miracle that she had returned to human form without incident. Anna, as she was called for short, had been inflicted with a powerful curse from the Shadow Realm. And every second she was in her dragon form, she lost more and more of her humanity. She still suffered from it. Every now and then during the night, Yami heard her growling in her sleep and even chewing her pillow as if she was tearing out chunks of meat from a fresh kill. Yami then activated his Millennium Puzzle and touched her on the forehead, finally calming her. But he did not know what good his powers were doing her.

She showed no signs of primal nature for the past few hours, so he felt he was doing her some good. Rays of sunlight were pouring in through the trees in front of the two windows on the fourth wall of her room. The leaves and tips of the branches tapped against the glass. Birds chirped from their perches, but with a happier tune. It was as if all the animals in the forest knew the curse of the banshee was lifted. Yami noticed that the air in the castle was warmer and cozier. Anna gave a yawn and curled up in her velvet red blanket. She seemed to be healed of her animalistic nature. Seeing this, Yami began to nod off and fall asleep. He and Yugi had been awake for hours watching her and healing her. As for Grigoris, he was hard at work summoning the lords of the nearest lands to gather in his hall for a meeting. A meeting to discuss the war going on in the south with Prince Hector and Antilles' decree to keep the Gates closed due to the threat of Rare Hunters jumping through to look for Yuri.

And King Forrest in the north was another grave concern. He knew of his campaign to conquer Akuuda, but Prince Michael and two other princes were already making landfall there to aid Marcel and the Walston Royal Family in securing their lands from their religious invaders. But he feared for Avi. Yami reached into one of the pouches fastened around his left thigh, opened it, and took out a scroll with a message that filled his heart with rage.

* * *

_**Wanted: Dead or Alive** _

_**** _

_**By order of his Royal Majesty, King Forrest III of House Ungard, Ruler of the North, heir to the dynasty of the great bear, and Champion of the Church** _

_**A bounty of 100,000,000 in gold, wide lands with a castle and title of Marquis will be given to the noble hero who captures Avellana Lofnmagni Ethelfleda also known as Avi or The Summoner of Dragons.** _

_**This evil witch has been chosen by the heretics of the south to be used as a weapon against both the king and the Church of Yeyu. If rumors about her are true, she has the power to call upon True Dragons, foul beasts whom our noble order purged from our world in the name of His Holiness during the second age. This is something we cannot hold to chance. If the stories about this girl are true, she will cause great destruction to both the kingdom and the followers of the almighty Yeyu. Even if these tales of her summoning are pure speculation, she must be captured at once and brought to Naralia to face justice for her crimes of witchcraft and conspiracy against a King of Termnnia.** _

_**The Magnificent King Forrest calls upon all warriors to take arms and find this demon at once.** _

* * *

"Demon," muttered Yami."Has he not seen what his people have done here?"

He heard a moan from the bed. Anna held her arm up in a stretch. She opened her eyes. What Yami saw made him worry. Normally, Anna's eyes would have been brilliant green. But they turned odd. One eye was dull white and the other red like the shade on her Eclipse Wyvern form. She yawned and blinked, then rubbed her eyes with her knuckles. Again she blinked until her eyes adjusted. "Yugi?" she whispered. "Is that you? Oh, bless me, it is you!" she cried out in joy. She felt her face. She stuck a finger in her mouth and ran it down her teeth. They weren't sharp anymore. She looked at her hands and arms. No more did she have claws or wings. "Yugi! Oh, Yugi! I'm not a dragon anymore!" She held out her hand. "Look!"

"I am glad you are all right," said Yami, leaning back in his chair. "I must admit..." He yawned. "You had me worried for a second there, love."

"Where am I?" she asked, raising her shoulders up and down. She looked over her shoulder and saw she had no wings anymore. "Can I still turn into it?" she asked.

Yami laughed. Her question stunned him. Even after being in that form for so long, it was quite surprising to hear she was curious about using her gift. She got out of the covers, but she crawled like a beast. She needed to adjust to being human again. She wagged her bottom from side to side, thinking she still had a tail. When she saw she didn't she looked back at Yami, bit her lip, and blushed. "Sorry," she said.

"Quite alright," Yami replied, picking up his deck and putting it back into the case attached to his belt. "You've been through a lot. And being stuck in your Eclipse Wyvern form almost destroyed your mind. Had I come any later, well, I fear you'd be a complete dragon under the mastery of a banshee right about now." He explained everything to her. Grigoris' story. The Banshee's curse, and his need for bringing her home for the sake of marrying Yuri.

"Be his wife? Me? I couldn't be," she said, placing her hand gingerly on her chest. She looked out the window. Anna smiled when she saw two bluebirds singing together outside. "Master, I...I don't know. This is all so very...so...so sudden. I understand my family's history as stewards to the High Kings: our duties, but to be the Queen of Termnnia."

"You must," said Yami. "This is a probability I told you to prepare for since you were very young. Now that it's come to pass, you must accept this arrangement. Believe me, Yuri is an honorable young man. And he still has much to learn during his time here. You can teach him. Do this not for love; for that is a process that will take many years, but for the continent. For duty. These Princess Wars have done nothing but scar alliances, damage militaries, and give land to King Forrest who is using this division to push further south. You have to end these pointless wars for Yuri's hand in marriage. You must do this to strengthen us."

"I will do it," Anna said with a nod. "For Termnnia."

Grigoris stepped inside, dressed in his best. When he saw the girl lying in bed, he stopped at once at the door. His eyes widened. She was awake now and seeing him no longer as a beast. "Anna," he said. "You're awake." Anna was confused. She backed away and concealed herself in the blankets. She looked at Yami, who smiled back and gave a reassuring nod as if telling her to trust the boy. "Anna," Grigoris pressed on moving towards her. He grabbed her hands and placed his on top of them. "It's me."

Anna continued to make faces. She sensed an aura of familiarity coming from him. The way he spoke and walked, but she could not figure out who this handsome, young man was. Not until she recognized the attire he wore. It was much like the one he wore when he was the beast whom she met months ago. She cried out in great joy and held out her arms so he could lean down and embrace her in a warm hug. She felt his face and gazed into his eyes. "It is you," she said. "Grigoris? You're free of the spell, too?"

"As is the castle and all the lands around it," said he, pecking her cheek. "I will start anew from this day on."

"It is a miracle!" Anna sobbed. "You're finally free."

"A miracle indeed, my darling," said Grigoris. "It was Yugi. He was the miracle. I can't thank you enough for what you've done, Yu-Gi-Oh. I am forever in your debt. Whatever you wish of me, I shall grant it."

"If you still have bannermen loyal to this House, see to them at once," Yami said. "I hate to be the bearer of ill tidings on such a glorious moment such as this, but I fear me must come to terms with reality. War is coming to us from the north and now to the south where a rebellious prince is quickly making a name for himself. We must stop him at once, and I'm going to need your knights, champions, soldiers, anything you can muster to help us gather forces in Southern Emboldor in the Coastal Kingdoms."

"It doesn't surprise me houses from those regions would side with this rebel," said Anna. "My father has had many dealings with them before when it came to trade and even demanded me as payment for their services. But I would never think they would stoop so low and go against the Terretar. The High King." She started to bare her teeth and growl savagely.

"Hold it, hold it," Yami urged her, holding up his hand. "Calm down, young one. You still have beastly instincts inside you. The last thing we need is for you to become upset and unleash your anger upon us."

"He is right," Grigoris said, petting the back of Anna's head. "You must learn to control yourself. I have hired a cook from a nearby town. He is making us breakfast. Why don't you go take a warm bath, have a change of clothes, and then meet us downstairs? We will talk more there."

Anna nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, you're right. I will. Thank you. Sorry."

Grigoris kissed her forehead. "You have nothing to apologize for. We all have some changes we need adjusting to. Master Yugi, I've sent the invitations to our meeting already via doves. The lords will be here soon."

"Excellent," said Yami. "I will see that they arrive. In the meantime, you take care of Antoinette." He got out of his chair, bowed, and left Anna's room. Yugi appeared beside him.

"I'm glad things are looking better here," he said. "That was some battle last night."

"Indeed," Yami replied. "All I hope for now is that there are still bannermen loyal to this House."

"If they learn that you're here and have broken the curse, I'm sure they will come," Yugi assured him happily. "Not to mention Anna's father will be in your debt for this as well. He has some of the strongest armies on this side of the continent. We'll give that rebel prince what for. I promise!"

"If only it were that simple," Yami said, forcing a smile. "But I will share your optimism, Yugi. I do hope everyone else is doing well in these trying times."

* * *

Yugi held on tightly to his Millennium Puzzle while he stared out the window from the master chamber of the highest tower in the castle. He was pleased to see many barons and other lords have read the invitation to this gathering. He looked to the sky and noticed a golden carriage being pulled by six winged-horses in gold armor studded with multi-colored gems.

"Ah, Prince Anastasio has arrived," Yami said, appearing beside him. "Or Stas as his friends call him. I have high hopes for that boy."

"He's been my friend for many years," said Yugi. "As well as one of your brightest students. He seemed really confident in his reply to your letter. Him winning the civil war during the summer has boosted his spirits."

"Indeed," Yami replied, slapping his hand on Yugi's shoulder. The carriage landed in the courtyard. The coachman came out and opened the door before kneeling. Yami nodded with a confident grin and said: "He told me after defeating his brother, he felt like he would live to be a hundred. He's a perfect addition to Alliance. With his Dueling Skills and cunning in politics, he's sure to be a thorn in the side of King Forrest and the Dragonheart Party."

Stas finally came out of the coach with two beautiful High-Elf girls in both arms, both of them in dresses of green and red that revealed a lot of their décolletages. The light of the morning sun made their jewelry glisten and the gemstones on Stas' armored robes twinkle with each step he made. He stopped and zipped up one of the girl's dresses, indicating they had a very good time on the way to the meeting.

"He sure hasn't changed," Yugi said with a look of disdain on his face. "Always quite the womanizer isn't he?"

"So he is," said Yami. "But have no worry for him. After his behavior during his school trip to the Citrus Islands, I told him to watch himself. He walked around with a harem of seventeen young ladies and an elf waitress from the bar. The media ate up his behavior like wildfire. Still, he managed to defeat a league of elite Duelists while he was drunk and making love so that says a lot about his skills."

"Don't remind me," said Yugi. "Come on, everyone is waiting for us."

Yugi's puzzle started to glow and then swayed over his chest. "Yu-Gi-Oh!" he shouted. After a bright flash, Yami took his place. He smiled and went downstairs to the dining room where Grigoris had the table prepared for the lords. The legion of cooks he hired started rolling out the food from roasted peacock and a grilled dolphin to the tail of a rock wyvern.

"Master!" Antoinette called out from behind Yami.

He turned to look at her. He was about to wish her a good morning, but her beauty muted him. "Anna. You look amazing," he said. "Your dress is exquisite. Is it new?"

"Do you like it?" Anna said, doing a spin to show it off in its entirety. Her flaxen hair, now flowing with elegant curls, gracefully waved through the air and filled Yami's nose with the sweet smell of pomegranate from the islands of Herculion in the south. "Grigoris gave it to me. He said it belonged to one of the girls who stayed here. It fits me well - look!"

"I see, I see," Yami assured her. "So, how do you feel? It seems you're growing used to being human again."

"It's coming back to me," Anna replied sadly. "But there are times I still think I have a tail. And I chased a mouse earlier trying to burn it with my fire breath, which I do not have anymore."

"You can still use your gift, right?" Yami asked in concern.

Anna looked at the floor and twidled her fingers. "I can, but I'd rather not do that right now. I still want to regain my human nature before I turn into that thing again."

"It will come back to you," said Yami. "Come, we have much to discuss. Your wedding with Yuri will be one of many topics we'll be speaking of today. Get comfortable my dear, I have a feeling we're going to be in there for a very long time."

"So long as we can iron out the details and make my marriage with Yuri work, I don't mind. After being cursed in my dragonic form for so long, I think it best I had some human interaction for once."

"That's a good girl," said Yami. "No matter how dire the situation, I can always count on your bright spirit to overcome all obstacles. That is why you're going to be queen."

Anna made a wry face and gave a shudder like she was standing out in the cold. "I'm still not used to that."

"It's a big responsibility and a big sacrifice for you - I know. But it is one you must make so that there can be peace in the kingdoms. If we are to work together against Forrest and possibly the Dragonhearts, we must end this meaningless civil war the girls across the continent have waged against one another. Once that is taken care of, we'll deal with whatever plot Antilles and his family are concocting in their keep."

"No need to remind me," Anna replied, looking back up at him and giving a heavy sigh. "So, shall we?"

Yami nodded and held out his arm. Anna did curtsey before she took it and was walked into the dining hall to join in the discussion for Termnnia's future. A herald by the fireplace slapped both hands on his sides before clearing his throat. "Presenting: The King of Games - Yugi Muto. Lord of the Storm Coasts. And Her Majesty - the beautiful - Princess Antoinette Anna-Marie Trossan of the Kingdom of Bauna."

Anna stopped and bowed as the lords stood up and applauded. Yami smirked and stopped to let her continue to show off for them. When she was done blowing kisses, she and Yami took their place at the head of the table. Sitting on the chairs on either side of the throne Yami sat on was Stas and Grigoris, the host of the party and meeting. He was already feasting. A band from Monde was sitting on the balcony on the floor above started to play lively music so the lords could eat.

"Master Yugi," Stas said, holding out his hand. "It's so good to see you again. Well, the other you anyway."

Yami leaned forward as he shook the Prince's hand. "You must not speak of that so loudly."

Stas grinned apologetically and bobbed his head. "Of course, my apologies, Master. And who is this beauty I see with you?"

Anna blushed and looked away. Yami cleared his throat. Stas was playing the lovestruck fool again, no doubt. After all, the herald did just announce her name a minute ago. He answered anyway.

"She's Princess Antoinette Trossan of Bauna. Daughter of King Reynolds and the bride I've chosen for Yuri." He said that with the utmost authority. As if discouraging Stas from flirting with her. Anna noticed this and looked at Yami with a sad and remorseful expression.

"Ah," Stas said, reaching for his glass goblet. "I see I've met the future Queen of Termnnia. This is truly an honor. And I congratulate you, Master. You've chosen a beautiful bride for Yuri."

"Thank you," said Anna. "So you're the famous Master of the Precious Dragons. May I ask why they call you that, Your Grace?"

"Well, it has to do with the monsters I use in my deck," Stas replied. He drank his wine and set down the goblet. "My dragons, of course. Have you heard of the Crystal Beasts and the Gem-Knights archetypes?"

"I have," Anna replied quickly. "I run a Gem-Knight deck myself."

"No kidding?" Stas said cheerfully. "Well, my dragons are of a similar fashion, with their motif being around precious gems. Master Pegasus handed them to me as a gift when I was born. He went to visit my father and mother since they are loyal investors in his company. He was carrying the cards with him since he just picked them up after they were printed. When I was brought out to the crib, they started glowing. It was no mere coincidence. My cards, printed when I was birthed, and reacting that way? He decided I was destined to have them - and destined I was. These cards have made me champion in my kingdom." His smile faded and he let out a sorrowful sigh. "Sadly, they were also the cause of the civil war that forced me to end my brother's life last summer."

"What happened between you and your brother was neither your cards' fault or yours," Grigoris said, trying to cheer him up. "Sometimes, greed is a monster no one can beat. After all, he was the oldest and strongest and since your parents named those dragons the official heirloom of the kingdom. And the jealousy he felt when Master Yugi chose you over him did him no good either. Master, I hope you don't see yourself the blame for that?"

"I do not," said Yami. "Raul was the oldest and first in line to the throne, but I saw darkness in his heart. He was not fit to be a knight of the table nor a friend to Yuri. I gave the boy a chance to prove himself multiple times, and he always failed. I knew he was going down a dark path, but by the time he announced to split into his own little kingdom and go to war with you, there was nothing more I could do for him."

"He needed to be taught his lesson one way or the other," said Stas. He looked at each one of the lords one by one and counted the empty seats. "Hmm, the Marquis of Aeron has not arrived."

"He'll be here," Yami said, though he had his doubts.

The food was neatly placed on the table by the servants. Someone placed soup in front of Anna to compliment the meal. She lowered her head to smell it. She smiled. It was a rich and welcoming scent. She licked her lips and lowered her head even further so she could help herself to the soup...With her tongue as though she were a common dog. When she realized she was making a mistake, she opened her eyes and looked up. Stas, Grigoris, and Yami were staring at her - eyes agape in shock. Stas, however, found it quite amusing and did his best not to laugh at the scene. Anna lifted herself back up and placed her hands between her legs, hunching her shoulders and blushing in embarrassment.

A large ham, coated with honey and adorned with pineapple slices was placed before Anna. Yami saw a look of beastly hunger in Anna's face and feared her dragonic instincts were kicking up again. He placed his hand on hers and set it down gently. He took her knife and fork and began to cut the ham himself. He served her mashed potatoes and a salad. Meanwhile, a servant served her a glass of milk and then sprinkled cocoa powder. He stirred it until it turned a delicious shade of brown and then tossed two ice cubes into it.

Yami set the plate down in front of her. Anna licked her chops and - to Yami's dismay - she buried her face into the meal, making horrible ripping sounds and wet growling as though she was a wolf. Again, she realized she was making a very HUGE mistake. This time, all the lords at the table were looking at her.

Stas looked at Grigoris. "What kind of kinky stuff do you do in this castle?" he asked. He leaned forward so he could whisper to Grigoris. "And can I take part in it?"

Yami cleared his throat all the while raising and lowering his hand as a gesture to get Stas to stop. He tapped his knife against the back of his glass and thanked the lords of the land for coming so quickly. He let them dine first and then allowed for an afternoon's worth of merry conversation. Finally, he could get down to business.

"King Forrest has gotten bolder with his attacks," Yami said. "Elleria loses more and more ground every day."

"I wish we could spare the troops," said the Baron of Green River, who lived not far from Elleria's borders. "But we need to prepare our troops for Emboldor and stand up to the rebel prince, who I've heard is Yuri's cousin."

Yami nodded. "Yes. Hector Delgado. The last male heir of the Fossil Throne of Feldia. He is not of King Salazaar's lineage, but the Delgados are desperate for an heir, especially after all twelve of Salazaar's children wound up being princesses. I don't know who it was who gave him power down in Emboldor, but my money is on Antilles. He's the one behind this."

"That is a lie!" spat the Count of Coal Moat, a land in Dragonrock where Antilles ruled. He wore a red powdered wig and blazing red and gold clothes with the Dragonheart insignia emblazoned on the gold shoulder plates beautifully placed over the sleeves of his coat. "Antilles has always been our trusted friend and ally. Do you not see that Master Yugi is warmongering?"

"You step out of line," said Stas. "And you have your lips so pressed on your king's ass that I can't tell if what you say is true. How much gold did he pay you to sway the minds of the assembly we've made here. And last I checked, you weren't invited to this meeting. Who told you of this?"

"Why, your good friend the Count de Monet did. He informed me as soon as the dove reached your kingdom, Your Grace. And as for you, Master Yugi, on what ground do you base your acquisition against King Antilles Dragonheart?"

"He is right," said the Duke of Red Willow. "As much as I'd like to hang Antilles, what proof do you have that he's behind all this?"

"The war," Yami answered. "This meaningless war." He looked down at his map and tapped his finger at Naralia. King Forrest to the North doing all in his power to keep the kingdoms occupied with his false claim to the throne. I have just received word that the Summoner I was looking for has made landfall in Termnnia and she just found her second dragon." He held up the wanted poster he found on the way to Grigoris' castle. "And in no time at all, Forrest knew she was here. His spies are everywhere, meaning nowhere is safe for her. He will pay half his vault to anyone who can bring him her head. Avi is a person he will not tolerate alive. The one dragon Avi has found can destroy the invading forces in our lands alone. Now she has two. Imagine what she can do with more. Forrest will not wait to find out. He will move his forces down here with even more ferocity. And Yuri will turn eighteen in two days."

The lords and barons murmured with each other.

"Forrest knows this, too," Yami continued. "He fears this even. And Kaiba's tournament will take place soon and we will see if Yuri's ready to prove to the Senate that he's a capable Duelist worthy of the throne."

"I have read the reports of your scout," said Captain McMillan of the Emboldorian Secret Services. "He has gained victories with that card. That Black Tyranno. I think he has what he needs to win that tournament."

"Yes," Yami agreed. "But, Kaiba will not make this easy for him. Shortly before Antilles and wooed the Senate into closing the Gates, he gave Phobos Corp permission to print hundreds of new cards from our world to theirs. The competition will be tougher now, but I have faith in Yuri, as do all of us. Forrest fears his skills, too. It's all coming together. Avi and Yuri. The two figures Forrest fears are now on the board. He will burn Termnnia to the ground before he sees a king sit on the Diamond Throne before him. And that brings me to Hector to the south in Emboldor. I find it odd that as soon as our forces can hold Forrest back, this young boy shows up and starts a rebellion to claim the Diamond Throne and the God Cards for himself."

"I find it odd myself," said Stas. "And look here." He leaned forward and pointed at the totems that represented the Houses that sided with him and joined his rebellion. "House Tytos. House Merryfield. House Reddawn. Aren't these lords who are in the pockets of King Antilles?"

"He's right," said Anna. "And this House right here, the one with the flaming lion symbol. "That's House Lionheart, one of the Senators in Rassay. And a loyal member of the Dragonheart Party."

"How peculiar," Stas said with a chuckle. "What say you to that, Count?" The count said nothing but kept a confident smirk on his lips to make Stas lose his cool.

"We can sort out who's behind this later," said Yami. "After we have defeated our enemies to the north and south. King Forrest in Naralia. And Prince Hector in Emboldor. Both of them rebels against Yuri's claim to power. And we have Antilles in the heart of Termnnia doing all he can to keep Yuri from coming."

"Of course he is," said the Count. "He sways the Senate to make these decisions law so that you and your band can leave Yuri out of your affairs, and ultimately keep him safe. Because of your interference, Yuri grew up as a delinquent. Do you deny this?"

Yami slammed his fist on the table. The silverware bounced from the impact. He hated it when people reminded him of Yuri's days as an extortionist and a bully. "I have no idea what caused Yuri to turn that way," he lied, knowing Bakura had a great influence in his behavior, "but rest assured, I had no part in it. None of my friends did. I wonder what else Antilles said to you, Count. Yuri's location was supposed to be kept a secret. I suppose not even Kaiba's gold could keep Antilles' mouth shut."

"Antilles had to speak up against your rash decision," said the Count. "What if something were to happen to the boy? Earth is not as secluded as you think it is, Master Yugi. Many cultures and technology we have here were generously donated to us by our friends from that world. Have you forgotten this?"

Yami clenched his fists and growled. "No."

"Well. There you have it. Your secrecy could have cost Yuri his life. Our enemy is smart. They know how to find those they seek. And they will tear every dimension apart to find the prince. Thankfully, Antilles could not be bought and told us all of Yuri's location. Gentlemen, do you not agree that us knowing of Yuri's domain was beneficial to us and to him?"

"At this point, I don't know what to think," said another lord. "But while Yuri's safety is of great concern, it's not the matter of importance. That is not why we have been summoned here today. We need to come up with a way to sway the Senate's decision of closing the Gates and ultimately protect them from Hector. Last I heard, he destroyed three of the five main Gates in Emboldor. One of them was the Gate of Gaia River, which is in the middle of a fortress guarded by a thousand men. And Prince Hector's troops annihilated them."

"You have no need to worry, My Lord," said the Count. "The honorable King Forrest has troops at the last two Gates. Garrisons of ten thousand men and the esteemed Dragon Riders of the Rock, led by none other than my son, of course. Hector would not dare mess with such a force."

"Yes," said a skinny lord with messy brown hair. "How fortuitous that the leader of your party has the Gates sealed up. I'm starting to see he really did have a hand in this. Avi is in great danger so long as she is in Emboldor, and we cannot do a thing to help her so long as our hands are tied up North with Forrest."

"I have guardians protecting her," said Yami. "A party of some of the finest warriors on the continent, including the legendary Ser Gerhalos. She will be safe in their hands, leaving us open to deal with Hector and Forrest."

"I will help," said Grigoris. "I still have bannermen. I will gather as many as I can and march to Emboldor. We'll take on Hector and his men."

"I can lend at least five-hundred-thousand men to aid Antilles' troops in the event something goes sour," said Stas.

"Are you allowed to do that?" asked the Count. "Last I checked, only kings were allowed to have any say with the army."

"I am no ordinary prince," said Stas, ever so calmly. "I am a member of the great Alliance that will come to fruition when Yuri returns. I am a loyal knight of the Royal Termnnian Table. My father surrendered control of the army to me in exchange for Yuri's protection with the God Cards. And speak ill of me again, and I'll cut off the family jewels. Gentlemen, gather your forces. We go to war. Let us decide who goes to which front and do so in a timely manner, please." He looked at Yami and winked. "Master, I will make my leave once the meeting is over."

"I understand," said Yami.

"And with your permission, I would like to bring Princess Anna with me, if that's not trouble."

Yami grimaced at the thought. "Whatever for?" he asked.

"I can help her regain her human qualities. You are a busy man and have many things to do. The last thing you need right now is to potty train a girl who still thinks she's a dragon."

Yami sighed. He didn't want to leave Anna in Stas' hands, but he knew he was right. He had no time to cure her of her disabilities. "Very well," he said reluctantly. "But remember, she has been chosen to be Yuri's bride. I don't want any funny business, Stas."

Stas smiled. "Master. You can count on me." He crossed his fingers behind his back.

* * *

**Evelyn**

* * *

"Your tea and cakes, My Lady," Josephine said, setting down Evelyn's snack on a round table beside Evelyn's bath.

"Thank you, Josephine," Evelyn said, reaching for one of the tiny cubed vanilla cakes covered in pink frosting and decorated with sparkling sugar flowers; all of them laying neatly on a silver platter. She made no eye contact with Josephine, leaving the lady-in-waiting to feel that her gratitude was not from the heart.

Josephine looked at the princess. She had her earbuds on, connected to her cell phone, that strange device Alexis gave her. Josephine shook her head as she poured Evelyn her tea. Being a traditionalist, she was not very fond of Eredian technology slipping into the borders of her kingdom.

But to be in the hands of her princess was just such a damning prospect. She wanted nothing more than to rip the earbuds from Evelyn's ears, pick up the phone, and throw them into the sea (Unknown to her, the phone was waterproof). She opened the lid to the glass sugar cube container. "Two lumps, Princess? Or just one?"

Evelyn slowly put the cake in her mouth and chewed. Her rose-red lips curved into a smile, and she moaned, satisfied with the taste. "Two, please," Evelyn replied, shaking her shoulders to the beat of the music playing on her phone.

In one hand, she held onto a new device which was sent to her by Zane Truesdale, the Steward of Domino City. It was a large tablet where she could Duel her companions online. She was having a Duel as she lay in the tub.

"This is so cool," Evelyn said, biting into another cake. Josephine frowned. _Cool_? What kind of language was that for a princess? Just as she feared, Evelyn was learning the lingo of the Southern kids. Evelyn laughed. "All right, Cyber Paladin-eighty-seven-two-zero. Let's see what you got."

The Duel commenced. CyberPaldadin8720 let Evelyn start first.

"All right, then," said Evelyn.

She tapped on the image of the deck on her screen. A card automatically swiped off of it and flew to her starting hand.

"I summon Buster Whelp of the Destruction Swordsman. Set two cards face-down, and that will do it for me." She waited for her opponent to make his move. He summoned a Lonefire Blossom and activated its effect, to which Evelyn activated her trap card, Prologue of the Destruction Swordsman. And just like that, her two best and favorite monsters were on the field. "Buster Blader, the Dragon Destroyer Swordsman, and Buster Dragon! Suck on that, you scrub!"

"Is there a way to turn that noise down?" Josephine vituperated at the loudness of the music coming from the earbuds. "I'm surprised you can hear me from with tomfoolery blasting in your ears."

"I'm used to it," Evelyn said. "Don't be mad, will you, Josephine? It's been a long day, and I want to enjoy my bath."

"I know you're upset with the disappearance of your brother, Princess; but must you use this...this...wretched device from the south?"

Evelyn slowly rolled her head to right to look at Josephine with disapproval. "It was a birthday gift from Alexis. She's my best friend. I can't just deny her gift. Besides, Mother and Father have not made a fuss about it. Even the Ebony Guards have asked me to have a go with my phone. You're the only one who disapproves of it."

Josephine grunted at her words and slammed both her knuckles on her thick hips. "You...you...you...disobedient creature! I knew I should have pressured your father against letting you go South to Domino with Alexis last summer. Their technology has poisoned your mind! No doubt you and her entered those loud dens of depravity that let out the same noise as your phone."

Evelyn laughed, the water splashed all around her. "They're called bars, Josephine. And yes, Alexis and I visited many during my holiday last summer. They're a lot of fun. You should go to one; I'm sure you'll enjoy it." She laughed. "What a sight that would be. To see you as a party animal."

Josephine was less than amused.

"I?" Josephine remarked, shocked and insulted. "Inconceivable! I would never. No doubt in my mind that Dancer came with you!"

"He did," Evelyn replied in an uncaring tone whilst eating another cake.

"What did he do to you? I want the truth!"

"Nothing!" Evelyn replied sharply, knowing full well where Josephine was getting at. "Nothing took place during my holiday, I promise you."

"I find that hard to believe. Goddesses forgive me, but I took a look at that contraption and saw a gallery of portraits that worried me."

Evelyn's jaw fell wide open. "You went through my stuff?"

"I did, and I saw many disturbing portraits in there."

"They're called photographs," said Evelyn. "It's how the Eredians make art. It captures moments faster than any painter and-"

"I do not care! I saw the way you dressed in those...those..."

"Photographs," Evelyn corrected her again.

"Yes, those! I took a look at them on that device of yours, and I felt disgusted by your behavior. I saw your attire. You didn't look like a princess. You looked like a common whore! I saw you surrounded by miscreants at those _places_ ," She said the word so poisonously as if she were muttering an unspeakable curse. "Those fools with only one thing on their minds. Dancer was one of them. You know what beasts like him want with a girl like you!"

"Nothing happened!" Evelyn started to shout.

"I do not believe you! Not now, especially with the way I saw the two of you kissing in the gardens. He deflowered you didn't he?"

"You go too far!" Evelyn shouted.

"Didn't he!" Josephine retorted just as loudly.

Evelyn's cheeks blushed into an angry pink. She narrowed her eyes and, tossed her tablet at her feet. She crossed her arms over her chest, pouting. Josephine felt pity for scorning her, but there was no way she could describe the sleepless nights and constant stomachaches she got from the worry during Evelyn's summer trip to the south.

More than anything, she wanted proof of sinful activates and depravity to show the king, and perhaps keep her from ever returning to the towering skyscrapers of Eredas again. Maybe even tossing Dancer in the dungeons and barring Alexis from ever coming to Elleria again. She felt so inclined to find proof, that she would even go against her traditions, and perhaps ruin her bond with Evelyn, by taking a peek into her phone.

It took her the entire night, but she eventually learned how to use all the applications and settings of the device while Evelyn was asleep.

What Josephine saw broke her heart. She saw a lot of drinking and provocative dancing in the gallery. She was posing with boys with strange haircuts and ear piercings, which was a horrid shock considering only women wore earrings here in Elleria.

She looked at the hundreds of photographs Evelyn took, but there was no evidence of any provocative affair with the boys she befriended in the city. However, that didn't help ease her mind, it made it worse. Josephine now felt so bold as to even look at the accounts of all the boys Evelyn befriended on the App called _Duelist Network_.

Like a treasure hunter seeking lost gold, Josephine looked and looked to see where they were when Evelyn and Alexis took those photos. And when she saw they had accommodations in the same hotel with Evelyn, more questions came. She felt more determined to know what happened that night.

_Was Evelyn deflowered on her trip to Domino? What did she do? What did they make her do?_

Those questions engulfed her brain like a mad wildfire. It made her sick with worry, and the worry eventually made her find the courage-or foolishness- to confront Evelyn about what she saw, which was a risk to her own life. Going through the princess's private affairs was a crime, but one she would risk keeping Evelyn _pure_.

"Evelyn," she said calmly. She placed both hands on Evelyn's face and lifted it up so she could look her in the eyes. "I am only trying to protect you."

She gently rubbed Evelyn's cheek.

"I have taken care of you since you were a small child. You mean a great deal to me. It's not that I don't want you to enjoy the fruits of life. I just want what's best for you. Your father, your mother, and I won't be around forever, you know. I just want to make sure you're taken care of. Please, marry Prince Daveed. Mixing with characters like Dancer and Alexis will only lead to great heartache and despair. And bastards, which can soil your bloodline. I do not want that for you. Look what it's done to us. You started befriending more and more of those Southern youths, and you began to lose your bond with me."

Evelyn looked out the window, gazing at the three moons hovering over the Emerald Mountains.

"You no longer speak to me like we used to," Josephine continued. "You toss me aside in favor of being with your new friends. Now you go to that school come summer. What will happen to us? What will happen to our friendship?"

"You worry too much," Evelyn said, turning her head to release her face form Josephine's hands. "You worry far too much. You're a second mother to me Josephine; no one will ever take your place. But, Tellara's grace, I'm grown up! I've got my own life now. I appreciate all we've done when I was younger, Josephine, but those days are over."

Josephine's calmness was put out like a candle in the wind.

"So because you've matured you feel the need to delve into a life of disobedience and debauchery! Oh, Shame on you! Shame on you! Shame on you! Child, give me that device at once. Stop mingling with Princess Alexis and toss Dancer out of your life. This is not what I want for you."

Evelyn was getting upset. "Josephine, my private affairs are none of your business! What I did on my trip is none of your concern. I would appreciate it if you stopped bothering me with this nonsense. You may be a dear friend of mine, but remember that you're my lady-in-waiting. That's where it ends. That's where it stays. And if I ever learn you went through my things again, I'll order the Ebony Guard to toss you in the dungeons!"

Tears of hurt filled Josephine's eyes. "If you were my daughter, I would poison your tea!"

"Josephine, if I was your daughter, I'd drink it," Evelyn replied.

"Well, I never!" Josephine said, almost in a shock. She turned and marched out the door. "Ana forbid you should have daughters! For I will not deal with them, you drunken, licentious, lying, little ingrate!" she cursed at Evelyn before slamming it shut. "Don't you ever ask anything of me again!" she roared, as he words turned into a sorrowful sob.

Evelyn rolled her eyes. "There will be light in the Shadow Realm before I ever ask anything of you," Evelyn said, defiantly shaking her head left to right, and moving her shoulders in an uncaring dance. She went to the menu and searched for another opponent to play against. Before she could accept a match, the door creaked open.

"ETHAN!" she shouted.

"Princess," Ethan said, strolling into the bathing chamber. He seemed properly dressed in fine velvet of light blue with gold threading. The Silver lion of his House was sewn onto his shirt with round emeralds and rubies. He leaned against a nearby column of brick and crossed his arms.

Evelyn put her tablet on the windowsill and dunked herself in the bubbles of her bath. "I did not give you permission to enter, Ethan. Get out right now!"

"How are you tonight?" he asked, uncaring of her anger and embarrassment.

"Get out!" she shouted. "Can't you see that I'm not dressed? Go away!"

Ethan shrugged. "Why would that matter? Remember when we were kids? Josephine took you, me, Dancer, Talion, Ezra, and Kevin to the Darius Falls to swim. We stripped down to nothing and played without a care."

"Things are different now!" shouted Evelyn. "I'm grown up! I don't...I don't look like I did when we were kids."

Ethan chuckled. "You look so adorable when your cheeks flush pink."

Evelyn narrowed her eyes. "I said get out! Guard! Guard!"

Ethan closed his eyes and shook his head. "You'd have one of your best friends tossed away in the dungeon?"

"I would!" said Evelyn. "And if you're not out of here by the time the Ebony Guard gets here, you won't even be an acquaintance to me. Now leave! Oh, Tellara almighty, what do you want?"

"Well, I thought that maybe...if you weren't doing anything tomorrow night, we could-"

"You are out of your mind!" Evelyn said, holding up her hand to stop him from saying another word. "Guard! Guard! Oh, where in Zorc's name are they? Guard! Damn you, you bastards!"

Ethan tsked. "That's no language for a princess. Must I wash your mouth off with soap?"

Evelyn did not appreciate his presence any longer. She balled her fists and shouted. "GET OUT!"

There was a powerful knock on the door. "Princess! Princess!" It was Ser Kevin. "Princess, what's going on in there?"

Ethan got off the column and frantically looked for a way out. He looked at Evelyn, his lips trembling in worry.

She felt pity for him. "Nothing, Ser Kevin. I was just playing an exciting Duel on my tablet and got too excited. I'm not dressed, Ser Kevin, please do not enter."

"I'm sorry to have bothered you, My Lady. Josephine will be up shortly with your clothes, and then it's off to bed."

"Understood, Ser Kevin, thank you." She looked at Ethan and narrowed her eyes. "If you are not out of here by the time they leave, I will call them back, and this time, I will not protect you. Now get out!"

Ethan gritted his teeth. "I love you, you know. If things don't work out with the arrangements with Yuri I could-"

"Get. Out." Evelyn said through her teeth. "Now!"

Not wanting to argue with her, Ethan bowed and left the bathing chamber. Evelyn saw the moonlight illuminating the tears flowing down his cheeks. Evelyn slammed her head against the edge of the tub. "Everyone has gone completely insane!" she breathed. "Well, at least that's over."

Something tapped against the window beside her bed. "What now?" she grumbled.

Again, something tapped against the window. Something very shiny. Evelyn investigated the objects, and realized they were diamonds! More and more flew from the grounds below until a ring followed. There was a note wrapped around it. Evelyn smiled and opened the window. She picked up the ring with a base of gold and a crystal crafted into a flower glowing bright blue and pink. She unwrapped the tiny note.

_**Down Here!** _

Evelyn leaned out the window. She looked over the walls and down into the dark gardens with patches of silver light from the moons. She heard a harp coming from the rose bushes below.

"Evelyn!" said a familiar voice. "Down here, my love!"

"Dancer!" Evelyn called out. "Dancer, where are you?"

"Can't see me? Well, let me risk a little more light, as the ** _Grey Wizard_ **once said."

Dancer turned on a jeweled lantern which revealed him for Evelyn to see. He was dressed in an extravagant bard's outfit colored black with gold threading, and a belt of gold with gemstones over his shoulder and hips.

"Dancer!" Evelyn cried out waving. "Oh, darling, what are you doing down there? Come in, come in."

"I can't," he replied, picking up his harp. "I fear with your brother fighting the good fight, Ethan has been named your official watcher and protector by your mother, and the Lady Josephine. ("But of course they did," Evelyn grumbled with a roll of her eyes) Let's just say he set some rules about me coming in to see you in the night."

"Damn him," Evelyn said, resting her arms against the windowsill. "I care for him a lot, but sometimes, he just flat out annoys me."

"Ethan is still young," Dancer replied. "He'll grow into a proper knight one day, you'll see."

"Not as proper as you, my love," Evelyn swooned. "You're in luck, for I am naked." She leaned further out the window until her breasts came into view. She bit her lip and rubbed her hands up and down her damp mounds to tantalize him, hoping he would brave Ethan's orders and come up. They still had unfinished business to take care of. 

Dancer laughed loudly, a little too loudly. "Naked or clothed, it matters not to me. Just seeing you and looking into your eyes makes me the luckiest man in the world."

Evelyn rolled her eyes and shook her head as she slowly krept back in and rested her arms on the windowsill. _That was pathetic_ , she thought as she rested her chin on her arms. "Nice try. But I admit, you have a way with words, Ser Dancer."

"That is why I am a bard, Evelyn. Now, I have a song to play for you as you sleep. Would like to hear it?"

Evelyn clapped. "Play for me, Ser Dancer, play for me."

"Very well," he said. "This one is one of my own compositions."

He started strumming the harp. "To Evelyn Alteria. My ebony beauty."

_There she is, my dream!_

_There she is so high above!_

_All the things I've dreamt about I see in her!_

_There she is, my dream!_

_There she is so high above!_

_Like a cunning spell, her_ _wondrous eyes have taken me!_

_All the treasures in the whole world,_

_All the jewels in hand!_

_They pale against her wondrous smile,_

_And her spirit like the sun!_

_There she is, my dream!_

_There she is so high above!_

_All the things I've dreamt about, I see in her!_

_There she is, my dream!_

_There she is so high above!_

_Like a dragon's flame_ _her love has consumed me!_

_All the treasures in the whole world_

_Every, rarest card!_

_All of them trinkets compared to her eyes,_

_Shining brightly like the void!_

_There she is, my dream!_

_There she is so high above!_

_Everything I've dreamt about, I see in her!_

_There she is, my dream!_

_There she is so high above!_

_Like the elven-rivers her voice, it rings!_

_All the treasures in the whole world,_

_All the golden blades!_

_Worthless against to her radiant spirit,_

_And her smile bright and warm!_

_There she is, my dream!_

_There she is so high above!_

_Everything I've dreamt about, I see in her!_

_There she is, my dream!_

_There she is so high above!_

_Like the mighty Norman, she has conquered me!_

_There she is, my dream!_

_There she is so high above!_

_Everything I've dreamt about, I see in her!_

_There she is, my dream!_

_There she is so high above!_

_My dream! My dream!_

_My O' so lovely dream._

"Intruder!" shouted a guard, standing on one of the ramparts. "Intruder in the gardens!"

"Uh oh!" Dancer said when he heard the clinking and clanking of the Ebony Guards armor approaching his position. "I gotta go!" he said, picking up his things. "Sweet dreams, Evelyn!"

"Dancer, wait!" Evelyn called. She reached for her table and picked up her black garter. "A token for your song," she said and tossed it at him. Dancer caught it. He brought it to his lips and kissed it. The knights were getting closer. Dancer bowed quickly and dashed into the bushes and out of sight as the black knights neared his spot with their halberds in hand.

"Intruder!" one of them shouted. "In the gardens!"

"Check the hedge maze!"

"This way!"

Evelyn searched and searched, but Dancer was nowhere to be seen. Josephine knocked on the door. "Okay, you. It's bedtime. I expect that thing off, or I will confiscate it from you."

"Just a minute," Evelyn called. She sighed. "Sorry Prince Yuri, but I've already found my knight in shining armor."

She sighed dreamily, but he dillydally would be brought to a halt.

She saw a rider, his horse galloping quickly down the alleyways towards her castle. She gasped when the moonlight revealed a flag displaying the crowned Grizzly Bear of House Ungard roaring on a field of royal red. He was a messenger by the look of his studded leather armor. He bore a message from the Fat King, and deep down, Evelyn knew he would not be blessing them with good news.


	34. Terrors of the Deep

**Crystal**

* * *

The cab parked in front of a hundred-yard water fountain with jets shooting water more than a hundred feet high. Crystal used her phone to pay the cab driver's fare electronically and stepped out into the humidity of the day. A long burst of air blew out from her lips, and she fanned herself with her sunhat before placing it on her head. Her sunglasses shielded her eyes from the bright rays of the sun, beaming down on the world relentlessly. She looked at her phone to check the weather. It was going to be sunny today -which pleased her, for she hated thunderstorms- but the temperature was at a stifling 100 degrees. She felt beads of sweat forming on her forehead and the heat cooking her flesh. Her summer dress stuck to her skin, wrinkling it awfully from the moisture.

"Great," Crystal muttered examining herself. She looked up at the skyscraper towering over the bay.

The Montgomery Towers it was called. The second tallest building on Aquarius. There would be no business found there, unless entrepreneurs decided to use it for discussing their matters. But the towers were more for leisure than of labor. A large mall with an underwater floor made up the lower three levels of the building, while above there were lounges, restaurants, clubs, and newly installed Dueling Arenas. It was here that all the youths of the island would choose to meet during weekends or after school to relax after a long and dull day of lessons. As Crystal walked across the lavish gardens of palm trees, flamboyant foliage, and colorful flowers with ponds full of fish, she passed youngsters taking photos of themselves to brag to their mainland friends or their followers on social media. Some chose to brave the heat, and sit underneath yellow umbrellas in the patios around the pavilion near the waters of the bay, dotted with yachts and sailboats, and the faint silhouette of freighter ships far off in the distance coming to do trade in the harbor.

Many greeted Crystal as she walked by. She said not a word but replied with a smile and gentle wave of her hand. She walked through the doors, automatically sliding open as they detected her presence. She smiled and sighed with relief when a blast of cold air greeted her. She felt the hairs on her arms straighten as comfort washed over her. Crystal opened her purse to find her handkerchief. She rubbed it against her neck, chest, and forehead, then tucked it back into her purse before she trailed into the atrium of the mall.

She could smell the enticing perfume of sweet meat, Japanese cuisine, Peruvian chicken, Greek seafood, Texas barbecue, and so much more. The smell made her mouth water and her belly start to ache, despite she had herself a bag of fries on her way to the towers. Perhaps she would help herself to a slice of pizza after her meeting, or a Mediterranean kabob. She checked her golden Rolex watch for the time. A mischievous grin formed on her glossy lips when she saw that she was quite early for her meeting. Maybe she could sneak down and help herself to some food. She decided to sneak downstairs to the food court for a quick meal. Her white strappy high-heeled sandals clopped loudly against the marble floor. R&B music played on the intercoms on the ceilings, but the music was drowned out by the towering waterfalls that thundered into pools around the atrium.

Crystal made a long descent on the escalators to the underwater level. Cameras flashed as tourists, businessmen, and the youths of the island took pictures of the exotic marine wildlife swimming about in the aquariums that spanned the length of the entire level. Giant whale sharks were the main attraction of the aquariums, and they drew quite the crowd whenever they swam by. Crystal stopped under a glass tunnel to take out her phone and take a picture of one that was swimming above them. Children pointed and jeered with glee as the large fishes calmly and slowly swam about.

Crystal didn't dawdle for too long. She snapped one last photo of the whale sharks and proceeded to the food court to order herself a quick lunch. She only took a few bites of her meal before two men approached her. Crystal ignored them and stuffed a forkful of grilled chicken into her mouth. One of the men cleared his throat to get her attention. Crystal was annoyed at first, but now she was getting worried.

"Can I help you?" she asked, finally looking up at them.

They were dressed in black suits and ties. They looked like someone's private security guards. What they wanted with her, she did not know. But she guessed by the sternness of their voices that nothing good was going to come of her ignoring them. The first man walked behind her chair and pulled her away from the table. He swiped her fork from her hand.

Crystal rolled her eyes and raised her arms. "Can I at least finish the food?" she said impatiently, as the second man, pulled the plate away from her.

"That is not an option, young lady. Get up."

Without warning, the men pulled her out of her seat and herded her to the nearest elevator that took them to the top floors. She said nothing the whole way. Her arms were crossed over her chest, her eyes narrowed, and her cheeks blushing red in impatience. She was growing rather tired of everyone on this island treating her like their personal property. First, it was Brett, then Leon, and now...

The doors slid open to reveal the VIP lounge, reserved for only the most elite residents of the island. Crystal gasped feeling one of the men push her forward. She almost lost her footing. Crystal turned to look at him. "You cut that out!" she shouted, drawing a scene.

"Cool it, Crystal, cool it," a flamboyant young man called out to her, walking down the lounge to personally greet her. His hair was light brown, silky, and shoulder-length. He had a pointed nose, thin eyebrows, and dark green eyes. Alan Ronald Cummings IV. He donned a pinstripe suit and a black tie. Without warning, he grabbed her by the face, leaning her to the left to kiss her cheek. He then swung her head to the right to kiss the other. He let her go, turned, and walked forward, wagging a finger to command her to follow him.

A timid gasp escaped Crystal as she felt the guard shove her forward. "Go," he said.

Crystal furiously turned to look at him. Her hair swung furiously around her like a golden halo. "Touch me again and not only will I spray you with mace, but I'll make sure you never work on this island again. I MEAN IT!"

"Temper, temper," said Alan. "Roman, wait out here, please. No, not there. There, by the elevator. You should know better than to put your hands on a lady. Especially if that lady is the Queen of Dragons."

Roman bowed and walked to the seats by the elevator. Crystal, meanwhile, flicked him off as he left them. She quickly turned and went after Alan. Two Black Hawks flew by the tower. Their engines caused the lounge to shudder and the glass to tremble dangerously.

"I can come up here myself, you know!" she said, seething with rage. "I'm not your toy!"

"Lower your voice, darling. We don't want to make a scene. Or should I call Brett to keep you in line?"

Crystal swallowed nervously. "That won't be necessary," she replied.

"Good girl," Alan said, slapping her derriere. "Come, come. I've got an office all to ourselves this way. We need to discuss my election."

"Getting nervous?" Crystal asked.

"Hardly," Alan replied with a snigger. He opened the door to the office, letting Crystal inside first. "I'm ahead in the polls, Crystal. There's nothing more you can do for me. Your pretty face by my side has practically won me the damn thing. Of course, I heard your fans in Los Angeles Rojas aren't too pleased with you siding with someone with a political view like mine, right?"

"Did you give me much of a choice?" Crystal asked, sitting at the head of the long conference table. "I know I'm putting myself at the mercy of Brett's belt for asking this, but how much did he pay you to run for mayor of this city?"

"More than you earn at your concerts," Alan said, heading straight for the bar to pour himself a glass of champagne. "But you understand why, don't you?"

"You want to get rid of the stowaways," Crystal responded through her teeth.

Alan chuckled. He held the two glass flutes in hand, giving one to Crystal, which she swiped away as quick as a thought, and drank the beverage with one gulp.

"That's one way to put it," Alan said, walking towards the window with a grand view of the central island. "This city needs cleaning up. Crime has risen because of those...parasites, tarnishing the edge of Nefeli Island."

Crystal was shocked to hear him call them that. "They're people, Alan."

"No, Crystal, they're parasites. Yes, I suppose they're on the bottom of the food chain and need help. They're starving; no human being should live like that. Make no mistake, Crystal. I do believe that all men should be treated equally. The Declaration of Independence clearly states that all men are created equal. And equal we are. But that does not mean criminals can just float here with a sappy sob story, build a shack, and declare themselves citizens. Yes, baby, we are all equal, but law is law. And I take care of law and order in Aquarius. I will not allow our citizens to be mugged and murdered by scum who do not belong here. Do you understand? Those people have to go. They don't belong here. Not only do they mar the beauty of our fair city with their shack town, but they harm our citizens. Do you know how many armed robberies there were?"

"I do but-"

"And did you hear about those two girls who were beaten and raped by members of that gang Los Locos del Mar? That took place in Harvard County in the north of Alejandra Island. That's pretty close to the center, Crystal. That worries not only me but many of the citizens living here. Despite the heavy presence of RAPTOR forces patrolling the place, the stowaways are feeling more and more emboldened to spread chaos deeper into the city. Many homeowners have stocked up on weapons and have banded together to form militias to take them down. If nothing is done, Aquarius is going to turn into a war zone. What times." He sighed. "What foul times. Who would have thought years ago that we'd be having a problem like this in our fair home?"

He tapped the window feverishly then took a sip of his champagne. "Foul times," he repeated. "All sorts of filth has sprung up. Before it was just those petty pirates attacking our trade ships. But now its gang members roaming the streets and claiming them as territory of their own. Locals creating armed fighting forces. Children being snatched from playgrounds. And diseases that shouldn't even be here. It makes my hair stand on end. What about that friend of yours? Yuri?"

Crystal grimaced. She looked down at her lap and twiddled her fingers nervously.

"Do you remember what happened to him?" Alan said coldly. "Of course you do. Jacob tells me you cried for days when he was kidnapped by stowaways and held for ransom. I read the reports when I was working for RAPTOR. The things they did to him. The things they made him do. He was just a baby boy. God almighty, Crystal, I wanted to be sick. How can you support a group of people who are capable of doing those kinds of things to your friend?"

"I think I know where you're getting at," said Crystal. "You want to use Yuri as a poster boy for your campaign."

Alan smiled. "Catch on quick, don't you? That's what I love about you, Crystal. You're not as stupid as many claim you to be."

Crystal clamped her lips shut with her teeth to keep herself from responding to that demeaning statement of his. She took a deep breath before she spoke. "Yuri. I'm afraid I don't see him as often."

Alan turned to look at her. "Cut the crap, Crystal. I want to meet him."

Crystal shook her head. "I...I...don't know if he may have the time to."

"He had enough time to go to the beach with you the other day."

"You know about that?" Crystal asked, feeling rather embarrassed.

Alan laughed. "HA! Crystal, the whole island knows about it. The press just ate up your little date. Word on the street was that you were having a bit of a romance with Brett. But Yuri? Ho, ho, ho, Crystal, you sure do know how to excite the public, don't you? Everyone has started to form teams on social media. Team Brett versus Team Yuri. Half your fans want you to go out with Brett, the United States Champion, and half of them want to see you with the Prince of Aquarius. I don't blame you if you went after Yuri, though. He's quite a catch."

"It's not like that."

"Oh, come on. We saw how you were hugging him and holding him on your date. But whom you go out with is not my concern. I may be in the lead, but I'm not taking any chances. We all thought Hilary had the lead against Trump in that election many years ago, and look how that turned out. Yuri's testimony is just what I need to bag this entire election."

Crystal scratched her head. "You want to use Yuri's horrifying experience as a political tool? Never! I won't allow it!"

"That's not up to you to decide," said Alan. He sat down on the chair next to Crystal. "Your only purpose in this campaign is to sing songs and look pretty. You fail to do that, and we'll have to...play some games with you again." He slid his hand up and down her leg, pushing the hem of her dress up to expose her calf. "You want to play again, Crystal?"

Crystal shivered. "No," she responded in a timid whisper. She scooted away from him. "But why don't you go ask him yourself?" she asked, tugging her dress back down.

"Because Yuri is a difficult guy to come across, so I heard. He doesn't like to see the light of day. Anyways, I expect him at the party on Friday. I need not only his testimony to gain the people's favor, but also his Black Tyranno."

"Whatever for?" Crystal asked. "You think a Duel Monster card will draw in votes?"

Alan laughed. "How stupid do you think I am, Crystal? Of course, the card isn't going to bring votes." He rubbed his chin. "Actually, he will, from a certain point of view. The folks of this island are in love with that beast. They want to see it. I want Yuri to play it to draw them in with a Duel that will be aired for all on the island to see. When they see that monster, the votes will come in."

"How?" Crystal asked.

"We're all Duel Monsters lovers on this island, Crystal. That Black Tyranno is going to bring in views. When the people tune in to watch the match, those views will turn into votes. After the match, I want Yuri to stand there on the podium -with me, of course- and tell the people of his experience that night. No doubt Yuri's story is going to pull on people's heartstrings and make them see the truth about those stowaways. This Duel is just what I need to seal the deal on my victory. And I have just the right opponent for him."

* * *

**Evelyn**

* * *

She dashed down the halls of the palace going as fast as she could while being cautious not to trip on her giant black dress trailing nine feet behind her and glistening with thousands of crystals and golden thread resembling gold dust. The fabric rustled and flapped with each step she made and hissed as it brushed against the floor. Her high heels clopped agitatedly on the floor. Her exposed neck and shoulders were chilled from the breeze brushing against her as she ran towards the king's meeting chambers to see the 'gift' sent forth by King Forrest.

All through the night, they had kept her from seeing the package. It must have been a grim one if her father ordered the Ebony Guard to form a tight phalanx around the doors to his chambers with Ser Kevin acting as the head of the formation. But nothing would stop her from getting through. No doubt in her mind, this gift from the Fat King had something to do with her brother. She needed to know, and she needed to know now. She grinned, biting her lip as she forced them from forming a grin at the humor she found, realizing that now she knew how Josephine felt about her voyage to Domino City.

"Evelyn!" Ethan called, standing before the black fountain in the central plaza of the East Wing.

"Not, now, Ethan!" Evelyn shouted, rushing past him.

"Evelyn, wait," the boy begged.

His plea worked, for she stopped and gave a very stern turn to look at him. She had a scowl on her face that told him to be quick about it. The diamonds of her platinum tiara and necklace flashed against the sunlight coming through the painted glass windows making her sparkle. The sight of her made Ethan's cheeks blush bright red like her lips. She noticed him gawking. Evelyn narrowed her eyes and said: "You've got ten seconds!"

"Of course," Ethan said, snapping out of his hypnosis. "I just wanted to apologize for my...absurd behavior last night. I really am. It was completely unprofessional of me. Please take this as a token of my sincerest apologies." He handed her a blue rose, violet around the tips and bright red near the center.

"Oh, Ethan, it's lovely," Evelyn said, gently taking the rose from him. She sniffed the flower. It was very sweet, like the scent of a pink lemon. "I know I've been rather harsh with you these past few days, and I apologize. It's just that with everything that's happened with my brother and the oncoming forces of King Forrest I-"

"Say no more, Princess," Ethan said with a smile. He lightly tapped her cheek. "I know it's just the times, don't worry about me. Besides, I can handle being alone really well. I had to deal with it when you and the others went south to Domino without me last summer."

Evelyn blushed, hunching her shoulders as she clasped her hands together and looked down. "I didn't mean to leave you behind, Ethan. I was so dumb to do that to one of my best friends. Believe me, I'm going to more than make it up to you when we attend class at Duelist Academy."

Ethan smiled. "You look so adorable when you blush," he said flirtatiously, but unfortunately for him, Evelyn was resistant to his charms -or lack thereof- and just nodded her head awkwardly. Ethan cleared his throat. "Anyways," he continued, "you do not need to repay me back for anything. That fact that you're just giving me the chance to prove myself in the School of Kings is all the reward I need."

"What did I ever do deserve a friend like you?" Evelyn said, hugging Ethan. Seconds into the embrace, she wished she hadn't, for Ethan was taking it rather too fondly. He held her tightly. His hands slowly brushed up and down the back of the dress which left her back exposed. He was relishing the touch of her soft and delicate skin. He traced his finger down the line of her back until it went closer and closer to her tailbone and dug under the hem of her dress.

Feeling that he was getting a little too touchy, Evelyn backed away. She thanked him for the flower and stormed down the hall before he could say another word. She threw the flower out the window and shivered at the violation that sent shivers down her frame. Once she made it to the doors of the royal council chamber she saw Alexis walking back and forth in front of the phalanx of Ebony Knights outside the door. She wore a gown that looked like water made into silk, and her tiara of sapphire, sterling silver and diamonds flashed like a beacon atop her head. Ezra was leaning against one of the marble pillars with a grain of wheat in her mouth.

"Evelyn!" Alexis cried. "What news?"

"You tell me," Evelyn said, hugging her. "The package arrived last night. Nobody would tell me a thing. Oh, Goddesses, it's Talion. It must be about Talion."

"It could be anything," Ezra said, joining the hug, for she too was scared, and her last statement was more of comfort. "I'm sure everything is going to be all right."

"Evelyn!" Ser Dancer called, rushing out of the garden entrance.

"Dancer," Evelyn said softly, letting go of their hug and running into his embrace instead. They kissed.

"Well, what is it?" he asked. "What is the message the Naralian rider sent you last night?"

Evelyn placed her cheek against his chest, nuzzling the soft velvet of his black doublet. "I don't know," she said, feeling her emotions get the best of her now that she was in Dancer's embrace. She heaved. "They're telling me it's about Talion. They say he's dead. Some whisper that he's captured. Darling, I'm so scared."

"Now, now, Evelyn, it's going to be all right," Alexis said, rubbing her back.

Dancer kissed the top of Evelyn's head and held her tightly. Evelyn then looked at Ser Kevin, standing outside the door with his halberd in hand. She let go of Dancer and hurried towards him. "What is it?" she asked. "You must know something. What did they discover in the package?"

"Evelyn, I've been told not to tell you anything," he said. His eyes and nose were red with sorrow.

"Oh, Kevin, please tell me what happened? What did the rider send us?"

"I know not," he replied. "But it must have been something awful. The Queen Mother was up all night on the beach outside the castle wailing into the sea until her voice went hoarse. Madame Josephine is tending to her at the moment."

Evelyn swallowed heavily. "Did Josephine ask for me?"

Ser Kevin shook his head. "No, Princess, she did not. Do you require her aid? Would you like me to find her?"

Evelyn waved her hand. "No, that won't be necessary," she replied. "Please, let me through, Ser Kevin."

The Ebony Knights slammed their feet together and held up their halberds. "I am sorry, Princess, but by order of your father, I cannot allow you through."

Evelyn's mouth trembled. "I am your Princess!" she demanded. "I am through being told what to do, Ser Kevin! First I have tolerated that from my father. My mother, Josephine, and now you? Let me through at once, by order of the Princess!"

"Your order is denied by order of the Crown," said Ser Kevin. "I'm afraid that I've been ordered to lock you in the dungeon for the night if you insist on coming in?"

Ezra stroked her chin. "Just one night, huh?" She held open her hands. An aura of frost enveloped them. Ice and snow swirled over hands like a fierce blizzard. "I think we can handle that."

"Indeed," Dancer said, drawing his jeweled sword. "Step aside gentlemen. The Princess wishes to speak to the king. You're going to let her through whether you like it or not."

Ser Kevin lowered his halberd. The rest of the Ebony Knights followed suit, forming a defensive wall to keep Evelyn and her friends from going through. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Dancer. The King despises you enough as it is."

"Do you really want to fight us, Ser Kevin?" Alexis asked, holding out her arm. Three purple arcane circles hovered over the limb. A lavender beam shot out of her hand, forming a gate from which a feminine figure strutted out sensually. Etoile Cyber finally materialized into the world and stood by Alexis' side proudly. She placed her hands on her hips, swinging them back and forth.

"Ah, beautiful," said Dancer. "Simply beautiful. Well done, Alexis."

"You can Summon!" cried Ezra. "Alexis, color me impressed."

Alexis chuckled. "Of course I can. I worked my ass off in the mountains and hunted three powerful monsters to get this ability. Now let's see what this baby can do."

Ser Kevin grunted furiously, holding onto the grip of his halberd ever so tightly. "Cast away your spells, Ezra. Princess Alexis, please return you Eidolon from whence it came. I have strict orders from the king not to let anyone pass! Don't make me have to fight you!"

"We can take you!" Ethan said, running down the halls, clumsily trying to take out his shortsword. He finally drew it once he caught up with his friends.

"You will do no such thing!" Dancer commanded. "Ethan put your sword away and get back!" Dancer shouted.

"Princess Evelyn needs my help!" Ethan begged. "Step aside, Ser Kevin, or you'll have us to contend with!"

"You will do no such thing, Ethan!" Ezra commanded. "Get away from here. This is going to be dangerous!"

But Ethan would not tolerate this. "Damn it, I'm not going to be left behind this time! You always leave me behind! I want to help!"

Evelyn looked at Ethan. "You can help me by not interfering, Ethan. You are too young to fight, now step back this instant. By order of the Princess, do as your told."

Before Ethan could speak, he was blasted by a beam of absolute zero from Ezra's hands. The knights gasped, watching in horror as poor Ethan was encased in a crystal of ice. Ezra smiled. The maids screamed and ran away to flee from the upcoming violence. The air around her was so cold, her breath could be seen. "That takes care of that problem," she said. "How's about we heat things up?" She balled her right hand into a fist, easing the cold winds radiating around it. She opened it, and a ball of fire took its place.

"I thought he was their friend!" said one of the knights.

"I did, too," growled Ser Kevin. "This is your last warning, guys. Step back or there will be violence. Win or lose this battle, it will not save you from a week in the dungeons."

"That's a vacation compared to what I had to go through for my training," said Alexis. "We're willing to accept the consequences of our actions. Fight or no fight, we're getting locked up. Just say we coaxed you really well, and you won't get hurt."

"I will not disobey my king!" shouted Ser Kevin. "Lay down your arms and your spells, or I swear on my oath that I will smash your heads in. Evelyn, please. Don't make me do this."

"I won't have to if you let me through," said Evelyn.

"So be it," said Kevin. He slid down the visor of his helmet. All right, men. By order of the king, arrest them!"

The fight was never in the favor of the Ebony Knights. In a mere five minutes, their formation was destroyed, and Evelyn burst through the doors rushing for the black box in front of her father on the table.

"Evelyn!" shouted Helmsley. "What is the meaning of this!"

Evelyn would not listen. She pushed by the members of the Ellerian parliament and went for the box. "Don't!" shouted the king. Evelyn pushed him aside out of desperation, knocking him against his chair where he lost his balance and fell.

"Help the king!" shouted one of the parliament members.

Evelyn opened the box and froze. She quickly closed it. The foul stench of the contents inside the box lingered in the air. Evelyn turned green. She heaved, feeling her stomach churn. Her legs went wobbly and the world around her started to spin. She hobbled towards one of the open windows and vomited her breakfast into the ocean. When all the bile was gone, she let out a horrified sob. She somehow felt that Talion was dead. He just had to be. She lost the will to keep on going. She climbed up the window and stood still as she began to ponder whether or not she should jump to her doom.

"EVELYN!" shouted Helmsley. "Stop this now!"

Evelyn looked back at her father. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

"I know how this looks," he said. "But this does not mean your brother is dead. Get down from there at once."

She said nothing, replying only with sobs and hiccups. She shook her head no. She did not want to part of this world any longer if her brother was indeed being carved to pieces by King Forrest. She couldn't bear to be here without him. Even with the love of her friends and her heart in Dancer's hands, a world without her brother was just not a place she wanted to be in. She looked down at the waves, turning a shade of purple in light the setting sun. The salty breezed whipped against her face and howled in her ear as if urging her to jump.

"Evelyn, don't do this!" shouted Dancer. He went towards her, holding out his hand. "Come down. Please, darling, come down. Don't do this. Don't make me live in this cruel and miserable world without you. There is no world without you, but the horrid darkness of the Shadow Realm itself. Your passing would mean death for me. If Evelyn falls, then someone right here, right now cut off my head with a golden sword and smile upon the stroke that murders me! Evelyn, please. Take my hand. Take my hand and come down."

Slowly, Evelyn turned and let Dancer take her. He pulled her down where she landed in his arms. But before she could let another tear fall from her eyes, Ser Kevin and the guards stormed into the chamber and surrounded them. "You're under arrest!" shouted Ser Kevin.

"Father!" cried Evelyn. The Ebony Knights pulled Dancer and Evelyn apart and shackled them.

"Take them to the dungeons," King Helmsley commanded. He slapped Evelyn so hard, her tiara fell off her head. She tasted blood in her mouth. Her shoulders shivered and her lips trembled.

"Don't you ever disobey me again," the king growled. "I am your father. Your king! Your God! And you will treat me with the respect that I deserve. Take them away! Flog them all. Five strikes should teach them."

Ser Kevin swallowed. "Yes, Your Grace."

He and his men led Dancer and Evelyn out of the chamber and back to the halls where the rest of the others were gathered. Then they were herded deep into the lower level of the castle to await their punishment.

* * *

**Yuri**

* * *

Ren held the door open as Yuri walked out of Daniel's Drug Store with armfuls of brown burlap bags full of food. It was a bit of a struggle, but he could manage. Or...so he thought. It wasn't long before Yuri started to complain that his arms were hurting. Ren inhaled deeply and took a bag from Yuri.

"And to think you once fought in Vladimir's gym once upon a time," said Ren. "Seriously. All those years training to be a fighter just out the window."

"Years?" Yuri said, looking at him distastefully. "I was only in the cage for a few months before I entered that tournament and got my arm fucked up."

Ren snorted softly, following Yuri down the sidewalk underneath the White Harbor Bridge. "Feels like a lot longer to me."

"Well, what can I say? You're almost never around. Crystal has a far busier life than you and I see her more often. Just what in the world do you do that makes you disappear every now and then. Slowly but surely, Nick has become more a best friend than you."

"That's not my fault," Ren answered, feeling hurt when he realized there was truth in what Yuri was saying. "I told you not to get involved with Brett that night. But you just had to act all macho and try to take him on. Had it not been for your actions, we would have gone to the same school together."

"School? You think different schools has anything to do with how often your absent from our lives? Crystal has concerts, shoots commercials, poses for magazines, and is a champion Duelist. She does far more than you and I see her every now and then. But you? It's like you only care to show up when you remember."

Ren sighed. "Yeah, I guess I have been a little up and about for some time. Sorry about that, buddy. It's just that...I've failed a few of my classes in my first semester of school. My old man isn't too happy with me, you know. I can't take full control of the family business unless I pass school with flying colors. I've had to study for my exams last summer. I really need to pass."

"I understand, Ren, but does studying for exams mean you have to drop off the face of the earth? To just disappear and cut off all contact with us for so long? My SAT's were no easy thing to study for, but I still made time to hang out with my friends and score pretty high at the same time. I spent almost four long years without my best friend. If you ask me, I think you're making excuses not be around us. Something else is going on that you don't want me to know about, isn't there?"

Ren shook his head. "No, it's not that. Truthfully, I've made some new friends in college and started hanging out with them a little more than I did you and Crystal. I hate to admit it, but it has interfered in my relationship with you two. I guess I have been a little self-centered. I'm sorry."

Yuri had a feeling that 'new friends' were not the real reason why Ren was never around. But he did not want to argue and just took his word for it. "No harm done," he said. "Just don't you forget who your real friends are, Ren. Making new friends is nice and all, but it's no excuse to commit the sin of forgetting your old ones. Especially when you mean a lot to them. Otherwise, you're no true friend. Hell, you're no friend at all. Just a liar with no heart who's all talk. A locust moving from one person to the other for the sake of looking cool on social media."

"Ouch! Rub salt in the old ego why don't ya?" Ren chuckled.

"You know what they say, man. Truth hurts. Forgetting us for the sake of 'new friends' makes you an asshole. Sorry if I'm being strict."

Ren laughed. "Naw, man. I deserve it. I guess I've been so preoccupied with making myself look cook on My Life that I started to forget about who my REAL friends were. I'm sorry, pal."

"I hate My Life," Yuri grumbled.

"If I were in your shoes, Yuri, I'd hate my life, too."

"Ha...ha...ha..." Yuri mocked him. "Very funny."

"You know, I heard you and your pals had some trouble with Patty online."

Yuri scoffed. "We still are but I don't want to talk about it. To be frank, I'm done trying to figure her out, Ren. I'm done trying to connect with her. I'm done trying to protect her. If she wants to become some social media whore behind our backs, what the hell do I care? Let her drink, let her snort, let her fuck for all I know; I'm done."

"Yuri, I'm very disappointed in you," Ren said, his face creasing into a scowl. "That girl is one of your best friends. I know Patty did wrong in shutting you guys out the way she did but..."

"A stab in the back is what it was!" Yuri shouted.

"Shh! Geez, will you calm down, Yuri? I didn't think you felt so strongly about this. Have you given any thought about why she did this? You guys mean a lot to her. She loves you. I'm sure she did what she did to keep your friendship intact. You guys mean so much to her that she doesn't want to see you do the things she does."

"It shows she has a complete lack of trust in us, Ren!" said Yuri, growing red in the face. "Simply put, if there is no trust, we have NO friendship!"

Ren shook his head. "See? See? That's why she doesn't want you to see what she's doing on My Life, Yuri. You once said you didn't care what she does in her private time. But I guarantee if you saw half the things she does, you'd pull the cord on this beautiful friendship you two have. Patty told me you two have known each other since kindergarten. Is that true?"

"So what if it is?"

"Friendships like that are rare, man. Patty cares about you guys so much that she'd hide all the bad things so as not to disappoint you."

"If she 'cares' about us that way, then why does she do half the crap she does in the first place?"

Ren shrugged. "Some girls can't help it, dude. And, come on, let's face it. Patty's beautiful. Who am I kidding? She's hot. A girl like her; when she has looks like that, she'll flaunt it to get the attention. Believe me. I know. I know girls a lot better than you do, Yuri. And you gotta think, man. Despite all the shit she does at night, Patty is still your friend. She still wants to be your friend."

"It doesn't make me feel any better, Ren."

"You're too sensitive, man. Crystal's done a lot to garner some rowdy attention, but you don't seem to care, do you?"

"Crystal doesn't hide things from me, Ren. Crystal and I have trust. And like I told you, if we have no trust, we have no friendship."

Ren sighed. He gave up. "I'm sorry you feel that way, Yuri. Deal with Patty how you see fit, but if you end your friendship just because Patty has a provocative life outside your own, then you're an idiot. Or...you have feelings for her."

Yuri clicked his tongue. "Now That's the last thing on my mind, Ren!"

"Look at you getting all defensive," Ren chuckled. "I see you. I see you. You like her, don't you?"

"Shut up, Ren."

"You don't like that thought of all those boys getting on your crush, right?"

"I said shut the..."

"Change! Spare change!" An old man said, shoving a plastic coffee cup full of pennies and dimes. "Spare change. Spare change. Spare a coin for an old war veteran."

"Who are you?" Yuri cried out foolishly.

The man was dirty from head to toe. His jeans were ripped and stained with all manner of filth. His shoes were torn and worn. His big toe poking out of the front of the right one. He wore a tattered leather jacket with a hood and a black beanie over his head. He wore torn gloves made of ripped cloth.

"Spare change," the man croaked.

Ren grabbed Yuri by the shoulder and pulled him away from the man. "Don't worry, Yuri. His name is Norman Delgado. He's one of the squatters who live under the bridge."

"Spare change," Norman grumbled, shaking his cup. The coins inside jingled as they flipped around.

"We don't want any trouble, Norman. Leave us alone."

"Yuri..." Norman groaned. "Yuri...spare change?"

"Forget about him," Ren said, pulling Yuri away. "Get a job, you bum. It's not that hard!"

"Spare change, almighty Terratar!" Norman called out as the boys walked.

Yuri was struck with a brief paralysis upon hearing that name. Was he insane? Did that man just say one of the words that were sung in that song of power that haunted him every night in his dreams? He yanked himself free of Ren's grip.

"Yuri! No!" Ren cried.

"What did you say?" Yuri gasped, stopping in front of the man, still waving his cup and down for some change.

"Yuri, forget it!" Ren shouted. "He's stoned out of his mind, look at him!"

Norman looked around as though he were in a trance. Behind him three women were huddled around a fire burning in a barrel, trying to keep warm from the cold oceanic evening air. He looked at Yuri and slowly smiled.

"That eye," he said, looking at Yuri's green glowing eye. "That eye. Hail Yuri! The almighty Terratar. Hail Yuri, the savior! Hail Yuri, the King of Kings!"

"Hail," said one of the women, softly.

"Hail," said the second.

"Hail," said the third.

"What are you talking about?" Yuri asked. "What is it about my eye that you know? What do you know about that word? Terratar? What does it mean?"

"Hail Yuri," Norman continued to chant. "The Savior of our people. Hail Yuri, the Caller of the Gods."

"Hail."

"Hail."

"Hail."

"Yuri, get away from him!" shouted Ren.

"What are you trying to tell me?" Yuri asked. "King of Kings? Caller of the Gods? Savior? I'm no savior, sir. What do you think I am? Do you know something about my dreams?"

The second woman by the fire answered. "More than you know, Yuri, O' King of Kings,"

Norman bared a yellow grin. "The time is nigh, Prince of the Fallen House," he said. "The hour of your return is upon us. In time, you will learn all. You will learn that you mean a great deal to an army of millions who have you in their hearts."

"That's enough!" shouted Ren. "Say another word, and I will call the police! Come on, Yuri! This man is insane! Just yesterday I saw him mumbling to an old man that he was Cthulhu come back to us. He's a fortune teller. A looney! Don't listen to him!"

Yuri knew that time was wasting, but something in his heart told him that this beggar was no mere beggar. Perhaps he would visit him another time. Why else would he know of the name Terratar, the name from his dreams? The name that those powerful voices kept shouting into his brain every night. Yuri reached into his pocket and tossed a few crumpled bills and some quarters into Norman's cup.

"Hail Yuri," Norman said one last time.

Yuri tipped his cap at the man, then followed Ren back to his estate.

* * *

"Hey, Patty, pass the marshmallows, baby!" Sam said with a mouthful of goo from the toasted one he just ate. His lips were crusted in white, and his shirt was stained with chocolate that dripped from the s'more he ate before. His fingers were sticky and dirty as well, and he had the audacity to ask: "And can I see those new cards in your deck? I heard your Diabolos is lit!"

Patty looked at the boy in disgust. The orange glow of the fire seemed to accent the rage blushing in her face. She reached for a bag next to her camping stool and tossed it at the boy.

"First off, don't call me 'baby'. Secondly, you're not touching my cards with those hands."

A loud clap of a wave smashing against the beach of Yuri's estate was the final exclamation point to her order. She petted Max a little more feverishly as he lay sleeping on her lap. The hearts on her gold and silver bracelet jingled.

Carter gave a heavy sigh while he was talking to someone on the phone. "Okay. Sorry, you feel that way." He hung up. "Sorry, guys, but it looks like Nick is a no-show tonight."

"Figures," Yuri said drearily. He tossed a few more sticks into the fire. A flurry of embers flew over the flames and into the night. "He hasn't been the same since our Duel at school."

"Not even with me here?" Crystal asked, wrapping a white wool blanket over her shoulders to shield her from the chilly ocean breeze. Ren was asleep on a hammock behind her, snoring loudly. "He must be really upset about that loss to Brett."

"He'll get over it," Patty replied, impaling a marshmallow onto a stick. She held it over the fire. She heard Sam chuckle from his seat. Patty looked up to see what he was laughing about. Much to her chagrin, he was swooning over her again.

"The flames of the fire are hot, but Patty is no doubt hotter!" He touched his hip. "Sssss!" he hissed as though touching a hot surface.

"Nice try, bud," Patty said, letting the flames engulf the marshmallow. She blew on it and ate it without a thought.

She didn't even wince at how hot it was, which seemed to scare Yuri and the others awfully. Tyson scooted his chair away from her while Yuri stared as though he had just seen a ghost. That marshmallow was hot enough to cause some bad burns, but Patty ate it as though it was cool to the touch. Even little Sam was at a loss for words.

He looked away from her and stared out into the ocean to look at the orange moon hovering over the water turning a shade of bluish-red in the setting sun, whose waning light turned the sky a beautiful shade of red and the clouds pink like large tufts of cotton candy. The beauty if the world around him calmed him down from the spectacle Patty made. Tyson shook his head and searched for another R&B track to play on his phone.

"Ahem," he said, pretending to clear his throat. "So, who here has gotten invites to the fancy pants tournament next summer?"

"The only one I know who got their invitation was Yuri," said Tyson. "A big golden envelope and everything. Maybe that's why Nick decided not to come."

"Everything I'm doing seems to piss him off," Yuri grumbled. "I'm glad he decided to take the game a little more seriously in getting himself a new deck, but challenging Brett Martinetti to a Duel wasn't my fault."

"Nobody is saying that it was, Yuri," Patty said, searching for another marshmallow. "It's just that he's been put in last for all his life. The fact you're getting all his attention is not helping. To say nothing of the fact that word has gotten around about you and me going to the dance tomorrow."

"What?" Sam cried out. "Who said you could take my girl out, Yuri?"

Yuri ignored him. "People know about that?" he asked.

"The whole city knows about it," said Patty.

"Really?" Yuri groaned, slamming his head on the back of his chair. "Word sure does spread fast around here, doesn't it."

Crystal laughed, slapping Yuri's knee playfully. "Well, well, Patty. I've got to tip my hat off to you. It's not every day someone can get Yuri out of the house to a school event like the homecoming dance. You are the luckiest girl on the island right now. The Heir of the Montgomery Estate as your date? Even I'm a little jealous. Do you have any idea how many girls wish they were you right now?"

"You don't need to remind me," Patty replied, impaling another marshmallow. "Seven girls ran up to me with ransoms from rare cards, money, even their hot boyfriends in exchange for having Yuri as a date for the homecoming dance. Some have even tried to Duel me for him."

"Why?" Yuri cried out into the night. "I'm not some prize to be won!"

Carter, applying blush to his face, let out a hearty laugh at Yuri's reaction to all this. He reached into a bucket of fried chicken to pull out a leg to eat. He bit savagely into it. "Yuri, Yuri, Yuri, my little baby. You have a status that most guys could only dream of having. You've been blessed to be born into the house of a multi-trillionaire and have all the girls on the island swoon over you as though you were Prince Charming himself. Yet you treat it like a curse."

"He's hopeless," Ren said from the hammock. "I've done everything I could to make him enjoy the nightlife every weekend. But, no, he just wants to sit in his room and shuffle his deck all day. And write his dreams down in that little diary of his."

"What?" Yuri shouted, almost jumping out of his seat. He turned to look at Ren. "You went through my stuff?"

"Terratar! Terratar!" said Ren. "Yuri, you're horribly stressed. That's why you keep having those funky nightmares. You need to go out more, man. Like you used to in your MMA days. You need to head to the clubs. Grab a drink. Meet a girl; dance with her; take her home. You're missing out on all the fun. You're eighteen years old in a couple of weeks. You're rich. You're a rising star in the world of Duel Monsters. Chicks want you - no - NEED you. Like Carter said, this is the life very few can ever hope to have, and you aren't enjoying it."

"I AM enjoying it!" Yuri protested. "I don't have to get drunk or fuck girls to enjoy the fruits of life."

"But getting drunk and fucking girls are the fruits of life, Yuri," Ren chuckled.

"OMG!" Crystal shouted in acronyms. "You're a pig! Don't listen to him, Yuri. Live your life the way you want to. And what's all this Terratar business?"

"Ask Yuri," Ren replied with a yawn. "Apparently it's a song he hears in his dreams."

"Oh, not this dream stuff again," whined Sam. "Let's do something fun."

"We're teenagers," said Patty, blowing the flames off the roasted marshmallow. "Talking about our problems is fun. Go ahead, Yuri. What is this song you keep dreaming about?"

"You wouldn't understand," Yuri answered, kicking a stick into the fire pit. "Not to mention the whole thing is rather spooky."

"Spooky?" said Crystal. "Come on, Yuri. We're around the campfire. This is the perfect time to tell ghost stories." She wriggled her fingers. "Ooooo," she howled like a ghoul.

"How about a Duel instead?" Sam requested, shivering in his chair.

"I think that's a great idea," Carter said, jumping out of the stool. "Yuri, you and me! What do you say? Or are you scared I'll beat you like I did last time?"

Crystal and Patty howled. Crystal gave a loud clap and said: "Oh, Yuri! It. Is. On!"

"All right, all right," Yuri said, standing up. "If you insist. I'll be right back."

Yuri walked back into the mansion. He returned shortly later with two brand new Duel Disks in hand. His friends got out of their chair and cheered, raising their arms in the air when they saw them. Tyson barked like a big dog as he paraded back and forth in front of the fire. Ren, opened one eye to see what the commotion was about. He felt content when he saw the Duel Disks in Yuri's arms, and quickly got off the hammock to inspect them.

They were chromed and lit up with blue neon giving them a futuristic look as though they were something from a science-fiction movie. He gave on to Carter and then put his on.

"Where did you get these, Yuri?" Crystal asked, examining Yuri's machine. "These look really cool. Their design far and away exceeds the one I have."

"Well, they're not mine, really," Yuri replied. "They's supposed to be put on display at the Phobos Corp Tower and then will be sent as gifts to the Prince of Saudi Arabia. My dad says we can use them so long as we're careful. But just so you know, Carter, I had a different deck when we last played. You only beat me because I didn't have the cards I have now."

"Yeah, well, I, too, have made a few additions to my deck, baby. I really took advantage of the new Invasion of Chaos pack that came out. I'm going to beat you again, Yuri." He ran for his tent to excavate his deck, then ran down to the surf, taking off his shoes and socks so he could stand in the water. "You're not going to get an easy win over me, Yuri. I assure you. Your Black Tyranno is tough, but let's see if he can stand up to my sea monsters."

**LP 2000**

"I'll go first," said Yuri. "Draw! I Special Summon, Gilasaurus! And next, I summon Uraby in attack mode! I lay one card face-down. I end my turn."

"My turn. I draw! I activate Moray of Greed. I shuffle two WATER monsters to my deck and draw three cards. Then Graceful Charity. I draw three cards and discard two."

"Snoresville!" Sam shouted from his chair while helping himself to a bag of chips to snack on while he watched the Duel.

"Ignore him," said Patty. "Go ahead, Carter. Continue on with your turn."

"Oh, right," Carter said. "Uh, let's see. What new cards will Graceful Charity grant me?" He drew. "Nice. I play Salvage, which lets me add two WATER monsters from my Graveyard to my hand. Now, the real fun begins. I summon Jellyfish in attack mode!" ( **ATK/1200 DEF/1500** )

Carter slapped the card onto the Duel Disk. Behind him, underneath the waves, an eerie, green light shined brightly. And then the stillness of the night was pierced by an eerie battle cry that sounded like a whale giving out a high-pitched call.

Crystal was so spooked by the sound that she ran back up the beach towards the hammock where Ren rested. She jumped. Ren held out his hands in protest, but it was too late. She fell on top of him. The hammock could not support the extra weight. It snapped, and they both fell on the sand with a thud. Yuri and the others laughed at the comedic scene. Tyson let out high-pitched shrieks as he fell on the ground laughing at the sight of Crystal's legs up in the air and Ren's moving up and down as he was tangled by the hammock. Sam ran towards them and jumped on top of Crystal.

"I'll save you, Ren!" he cried, and then he started tickling Crystal.

Poor Crystal howled with uncontrollable laughter. "Stop!" she cried. "Stop! Then Ren joined in and made it worse by joining in on tickling her. "Oh, stop! Oh, stop!" She pleaded. "Stop! Stop! I'm gonna pee!"

"Got ya!" Sam said, slapping her on the butt over and over again.

Though Yuri could still hear the haunting cry of the Jellyfish, there was no doubt in his mind that Sam was not coming in Ren's defense. He saw his little hands go to places where they shouldn't go. Luckily, Patty arrived in the nick of time and pulled him away. The Jellyfish's cries got louder and a little more irate, as though it was shouting: Hey! I've been summoned over here!

"I don't like the sound of that," Ren said, helping Crystal up. He patted sand off her dress before cleaning his own clothes.

"Me neither," Crystal agreed. "That's so spooky."

"That's just a taste of things to come," Carter said coldly. "I activate Monster Reborn to bring back one of the monsters in my Graveyard. The all-powerful, Spike Seadra!" ( **ATK/1600 DEF/1300** )

Far off into the water, something pierced the surface. A row of black spikes protruding from a dark blue surface skimmed over the waves and stopped next to the light where the Jellyfish swam. The creature reared its body over the waves, letting out a high-pitched cry. Its burning red eyes glared down at Yuri. Carter turned to look at the monster he summoned. He jumped up and down with joy at the sight of the sea beast that came from the dark depths of the sea at his command.

"Oh, Lord Almighty!" cried Crystal. "That's a little too real for me. Phobos Corp really stepped it up with their holographic technology."

"No kidding," Patty agreed, bracing Max tightly in her arms. "Look at that thing! It's so real. It's...it's alive almost." The poor puppy whimpered in fright at the sight of the giant monster, hissing and snarling in the waves. Patty patted Max on the head and kissed him. "It's okay, baby. Don't be scared." She put the puppy in her sweater and zipped it all the way up, sealing him inside so he couldn't see the Spiked Seadra anymore. She sniffed the air. Her face crinkled in disgust, picking up the scent of fish laying out in the hot sun on a pier. "Oh, God! What is that smell?"

Ren laughed. "Would you believe the Duel Disk is so advanced that it can also produce the monsters odor?"

"Da-yum!" Tyson said, fanning the air in front of his nose. "Come on, man, that reeks!"

"Is that really necessary?" Patty asked. "Seems a little too excessive, don't you think?"

Carter took one last look at his Spiked Seadra and looked at Yuri. "Now, Yuri. I think I'll attack your Gilasaurus with my Jellyfish!"

Yuri raised an eyebrow. "Why? Gilasaurus is still stronger than your Jellyfish. You can't defeat him."

"I can add, Yuri," said Carter. "I know your monster is stronger than my Jellyfish. I wouldn't attack it if we were playing on a regular field. But this isn't a regular field now, is it?" He stretched out his arms dramatically.

"Okay," said Crystal. "Your monsters are in the water. Big deal. It's not like they're going to get a bonus from that. There is no rule."

"There is now," said Carter, tapping his forehead. "There's a new tournament going to be held here in November, and it's going to implement some new rules to make the game a little more interesting. And I'm going to take advantage of one of those rules. The Field Power Bonus. This new rule gives monsters a thirty percent increase in their power if the terrain they stand on is favorable."

"I get it!" Patty said with a gasp. "Since Carter's monsters are sea monsters, they get the Field Power Bonus. Now his Jellyfish is way stronger than Yuri's Gilasaurus."

**Jellyfish (ATK 1560)**

**Spiked Seadra (ATK 2080)**

"Well played, Carter," Ren complimented. "Just where did you learn these new rules?"

"I know someone who works as an intern for Phobos Corp. I promise the Field Power Bonus is the only new rule he taught me."

"Ooo," Patty hooted. "That special someone wouldn't by any chance be Brandon, would it?"

"Uh..." Carter said, going red.

Yuri rolled his eyes. "Only the best for his 'Little Boy'," he said. "Why doesn't it surprise me that the Field Power Bonus would be the one rule you were quick to adapt to, Carter?"

"I can see why he would," Sam said, punching his hand. "That Field Power Bonus can be deadly if someone knows how to use it. And it looks like Carter has used them well, cuz none of Yuri's dumb dinosaurs stand a chance against those powerful sea monsters. Aw man, I can't wait to use it myself for that big tournament he was talking about."

"ATTACK!" Carter commanded his Spiked Seadra.

At once, his monster started charging his spikes. They sparked with powerful bolts of electricity and glowing bright blue. Spiked Seadra's eyes rolled to the back of its head as it released a stream of lightning that flew up to the sky, then slithered towards Yuri's Uraby. The blast felt so real, so violent, that Yuri felt the need to knock himself backward to avoid it. The numbers on the Life Point meter descended from 2000 to 1420.

"Now, Jellyfish will attack your Gilasaurus!" Carter yelled, continuing with his Battle Phase. The Jellyfish rose out of the water. It, too, summoned volts of electricity from the tips of each of its tentacles. Jellyfish zapped Yuri's Gilasaurus. Yuri's Life Points plummeted to 1160. "You're going to have to play smarter than that, Yuri. Even with your new cards, you still can't even last my first turn without suffering heavy damage to your Life Points. The game changes all the time, and every good Duelist knows you must prepare for any situation."

Sam laughed in his chair, his mouth full of marshmallows. "Hate to break it to ya, Yuri. But Carter's got a point. Even with your Black Tyranno card, you won't be top dog for long. New cards are starting to come with the new packs that make your Black Tyranno not look so tough anymore."

"Go, Yuri!" Crystal cheered. "You've beaten tougher opponents than this."

"Come on, Yuri!" Patty cried, joining in on the cheer. "I don't want to go to the homecoming dance with a loser."

Yuri turned to look at her. "Yeah, that helps." He waved when he spotted Natalya coming down the dunes to join them. "Hey!" he shouted cheerfully. "Where have you been?"

"Sorry," Natalya said, slipping off her backpack. She ran to join them by the water to watch the Duel. "Father made me stay a little longer and I had to shower and get my stuff. Oh, wow! What do we have here? Crystal Anderson? THE Crystal Anderson. I'm a big fan!"

"Nice to meet you," Crystal said, shaking her hand. "Yuri's told me all about you. Glad I can finally get to see you. Going Ivy League, huh? I wish I could. But, as you know, I've got a music and Duel Monsters career to manage."

"Not to mention a bad romance," said Natalya. "I heard about what Mr. Martinetti did at the Dueling Grounds. I'm so sorry."

Patty gave a loud 'humph' and stuck her nose in the air. "Mister is too sophisticated for a scum bag like him. Just call the loser by his name. We all do. Anyways, let's not hold this Duel up any longer. Come on, Yuri. It's your turn."

"Oh, I forgot! I draw! Nothing. I activate Pot of Greed and draw two cards." Yuri frowned when he saw what he got. He had nothing that could match the strength of Carter's Spiked Seadra, but he could defend himself for a little longer until he drew the big monsters. "I set Anthrosaurus in defense mode and set this card face-down. That's it."

"You bet that's it!" sneered Carter. Yuri's innards felt like that got twisted in a knot. If there was one thing he hated about Carter, it was his obnoxious attitude when he was winning.

"Just go!" Yuri said, accidentally letting his frustration out.

"I draw! I activate Polymerization, fusing together Mystic Lamp and Hyosube together to create the all-powerful Roaring Ocean Snake!"

Yuri could not see the monster, just the green fins of its back as it slithered through the surface of the water behind Spiked Seadra. Still, he knew the creature stood strong with an ATK of 2100. With the Field Power Bonus, it meant that the Roaring Ocean Snake was now at 2730, more than enough power to stand a chance against his Black Tyranno.

Carter proceeded to conduct the Normal Summon if his turn. He summoned what was once considered the most feared monster of all the Sea Serpents. The King of the Ocean, the monster was dubbed. Kairyu-Shin. Yuri had seen the monster be used in tournaments recently. He saw the monster's fins slither across the waves, followed by a sky-blue hump. With an ATK of 1800, Kairyu-Shin was no doubt a formidable monster. Yuri gritted his teeth, again remembering that damn Field Power Bonus. Now that meant Kairyu-Shin was standing close to the top of the charts with a whopping 2340 attack points.

Yuri heard Sam laughing behind him. "Oh yeah!" he shouted. "Yuri sure has got this, doesn't he, girls? Look at all those sea monsters Carter has called out. One of them is twice as strong as Yuri's Black Tyranno. Let's face it, Patty. You are going to the dance with a loser. I can take his place if you want."

Patty paid no heed to him. "Come on, Yuri! You can beat him!"

Suddenly, Kairyu-Shin, Spiked Seadra, and Roaring Ocean Snake rose out of the waves. They growled; they roared; they hissed. Roaring Ocean Snake released steam from its nostrils. Their ATK Point displays projected beside them.

**2080**

**2730**

**2340**

Patty gulped when she saw them standing together. The horrid howl of Jellyfish piercing through the calm and beautiful waves made their appearance even more intimidating. "I think," she said. Her reaction caused Sam to fall out of his chair and rolling in the sand laughing.

"I'm impressed, Carter," said Natalya. "For a guy who just started playing, you've sure built yourself a nice deck."

"Why, thank you, Natalya," Carter said, adjusting his glasses. "Now, who will have the honor of taking out Yuri's next monster? Of course! Why not the King of the Ocean himself? Kairyu-Shin, attack his Anthrosaurus."

Kairyu-Shin roared in response. He summoned a massive tidal wave that struck Anthrosaurus and washed it away. Carter then activated a Spell Card called The Inexperienced Spy, which allowed him to see a card in Yuri's hand. He chose one, and Yuri revealed it to be his Earthquake spell.

"Figures," Carter said with a devious chuckle "You always rely on your Earthquake to help Black Tyranno gain you a quick victory. "But he won't be doing any such thing once I activate this card. Sea Lord's Amulet. This Spell Card prevents all WATER monsters from being destroyed or affected by your card effects. Summon Black Tyranno if you want, Yuri but I'll wipe you out before you even get the chance."

Unfortunately for Carter, he boasted way too soon, for Yuri did summon his Black Tyranno. Yuri then equipped Black Tyranno with a new card. Axe of Despair, which raised Black Tyranno's attack by 1000.

The fiendish-looking axe fell down from the sky and landed on Black Tyranno's back. He roared when it felt the fell power of the axe surge through his body. His eyes were glowing bright red. He shooked his head violently and attacked Jellyfish by stomping on it, dealing 2040 damage to him and ending the game with just one powerful attack. Carter's serpents vanished. Black Tyranno roared into the twilight sky and vanished.

"Raarrrr!" Sam mocked him, sticking up his little arms.

Crystal jumped out of her seat and clapped. "That's my Yuri! Always finds a way to change the tide. Uh...no offense Carter."

Carter laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, serves me right for counting my chickens so quickly. Good game, Yuri."

"Don't worry about it, Carter," Yuri said, happily. "Now, I don't know about you, but I'm feeling quite hungry right now. Tyson, are you going to cook up those burgers we bought, or what?"

Wasting no time, Tyson ran for the grill to start cooking. As Yuri walked back to their stool, he took off his Duel Disk and gave it to Ren, who wanted a turn against Carter. He felt a soft hand place itself on his shoulder. He looked to see who it was. Crystal was beaming at him.

"That was amazing," she said. "A little overkill, but still cool nonetheless. I see you're opening more packs and making use of that Gold Series box I gave you."

"I appreciate that," said Yuri. "Say, you wouldn't by any chance gave me some money did you?"

Crystal shook her head. "Why?" she asked.

"Oh," Yuri replied. "It's...well...Nah. It's nothing. Come on. Let's cook some of those burgers before Ren and Carter have their Duel."

Crystal's smile grew even wider. "Best idea I heard all night."


	35. The Club of Shadows

**Joey**

* * *

Fireworks burst delightfully in the night sky, lighting up the mountains, the trees, and the glassy black waters of the Singing Sea below the cliffs where the town of Mutoport was nestled. Lively music from the bands playing on stages on the edge of the cliffs filled the night. This night, the folk were celebrating their independence from a horrible, hungry giant from the mountains that once forced the people to offer their livestock and children to him as a tribute to keep him from smashing the town with his bommy-knocker. He would take his offerings to the mountains and eat them until one day Yugi and his friends slew him and brought his hoard of gold and silver to the people, making the town obscenely rich.

Yu-Jo Day, they would call this merry holiday. Naturally, since Joey and the others were the heroes, they ate all they wanted to eat for free. He was filling his glass tankard with pumpkin ale from the faucet of a barrel. He heard whistling and laughing along with the jingle of coins coming from not too far away. He looked up and saw Serenity dancing atop a table in a wench's outfit. She lifted the hem of her dress to her thighs to tease her audience with a bit of skin. Her hair was decorated with little white ribbons. A few men sitting down around the table were playing instruments to keep her dancing. Flutes, drums, even spoons.

The jingle Joey heard was the sound of coins being tossed her way as a reward for her show. From where Joey stood, he could see coins stacked in piles, short and tall. Silver coins, copper pennies, gold coins, even a few gold Star Chips and a diamond and a chipped garnet. Some even tossed ultra-rare cards for her to keep on dancing. Mai was by the table clapping her hands to cheer Serenity on.

"Dibs!" Joey called, running for the table. "Dibs! Dibs! Dibs!"

He checked the cards to see what was offered for Serenity. Gaia the Fierce Knight. Noble Knight Artorigas. Celtic Guardian. Summoned Skull, and a Kanan the Swordmistress.

"Hey, keep it up, Serenity," said Joey. "And your dress, too, for da love of da conqueror."

Serenity laughed and gave a twirl. "Aww, but, Joey, if I show more, I make more."

"Yer doin' no such thang!" Joey scolded her. "If I catch ya showing off more dan ya should, I'm draggin' ya back to da castle and it's off to bed."

'Booo!' howled the crowd.

"Any of y'all so much as pulls a hair off 'a my sista, I'm choppin' yer hands off," Joey threatened before walked towards a table by a fence overlooking the dark seas below the cliffs.

Duke, Tristan, and Ser Damien were helping themselves to some bread, cheese, and grapes by the light of a lantern. Meanwhile, Téa was telling stories to some children. She told the tale of how she and her companions fought off the evil giant from the mountain overlooking the town. The children gasped and jumped whenever she described their encounters with the ghosts and zombies living in the bogs at the foot of his mountain.

"I aint scared of giants," said Tristan. "That big lummox was no match for us."

Duke scoffed, twirling a lock of hair around his finger. "When last I checked, you hid under the giant's table while Serenity blasted him with magic."

"At least I was there," Tristan retorted. "I had the balls to go up that mountain."

"Someone had to stay behind and guard the townsfolk against all those Wood Remains," Duke reminded him. "I sure impressed a lot of girls for that feat of bravery. I tell ya, I got laid that night."

"You weren't scared?" Joey asked. "I fought off Wood Remains before, and man, was it a headache. It took Yugi and me hours to finally fight them off."

"Nah," Duke chuckled. "There's only one creature in this whole world that I'm afraid of. That's Mai Valentine when she's pissed off."

The three knights laughed. Joey slammed his hand against the table multiple times. "Hey, what about you Ser Damien?"

"Huh?" Ser Damien asked, turning his gaze away from the sea where his Luster Dragon was circling over the water hunting pilot whales to eat. "What I'm scared of?"

"Earth to Ser Damien!" called Tristan. "Come on. Get your head out of the clouds and join us. We're swapping our best monster stories. Now it's your turn. What was the scariest monster you ever fought."

Ser Damien brushed his golden blond locks off his face. "Well, there is one thing in this world that scares me."

"Yeah? Let me have a guess," said Joey.

"You can have three," Ser Damien said, holding up three fingers.

"All right," said Joey, putting on his thinking cap. "How about...a dragon!"

"I ride a dragon, Ser Joey," Ser Damien replied with a drop of his head. He jerked his thumb towards his Luster Dragon.

"Yeah, I forgot about that. Uh...how about...Nyeh. I give up."

"Really? You still have two guesses to go. Very well. The one thing in the world that fear more than anything is a witch."

Tristan laughed. "A witch? Right. I was expecting a scary monster or something."

Ser Damien smiled. "Have you ever seen a witch before, Ser Tristan? They are almost impossible to find. They live in huts or cabins deep in the bogs, swamps, and dark forests of the world Or they live in caves. Some can be ugly, hideous hags with ill-begotten faces so repulsive you'll puke just looking at them. Others can have the appearance of beautiful raven-haired maidens. I've heard tales that they ride their broomsticks in the night, naked to lure you to your doom with their beauty. Those who are amorous enough to follow them are never seen again. But ugly or beautiful, it doesn't matter. They have been known to practice a horrible art fouler than all the dark powers of Anubis."

"Yeah?" Joey asked, feeling intrigued.

"Yes," Ser Damien replied. "They sneak into your rooms and steal your cocks while you sleep."

"NYEAH!" Joey, Tristan, and Duke cringed.

"And that's not the worst part," chuckled Ser Damien. "They bring it back to their lairs and make it come alive so that they can keep it as their own personal pet. They feed it with oats to nourish it."

"Oh, Goddesses have mercy!" shouted Duke. He felt the need to lock his windows and door of his room.

"Lock up very tightly, boys," Ser Damien said, laughing cruelly. "It's almost October. The month where the witches fly looking for victims or new prospects for pets."

"No big deal," said Tristan. "One swipe of my sword and they're history."

Ser Damien laughed. "As arrogant as ever. Yeah, they're not much in a fight if you catch them but that's nearly impossible. They are one with the darkness. You'll never see them coming until it's too late."

A few boys heard Ser Damien's story. They screamed and ran away, screaming back to their houses. Téa looked back at Ser Damien; her eyes were narrowed and her lips pouted in irritation.

"Nice, Ser Damien, do you mind keeping it down when talking about such things?"

Three men came riding out of the dark road leading out of the forest on custom Duel Runners. The three riders slid to a stop and removed their helmet, revealing a trio of Eldoris; one with a squared chin and short brown hair; the second a skinny chap with electric yellow hair; and the last was a boy with goggles over his orange hair with red zig-zagged patterns.

The man with the squared chin pointed towards Joey. "Are you Ser Joey the Black Dragon Knight?" he shouted.

Yeah," Joey responded. "What's it to ya?"

The young boy spoke. "We're here seeking Yugi Muto and claim the bounty placed on him by Prince Hector of House Delgado."

Téa frowned. "Now what's that twerp up to?" she groaned, rubbing circles around her temples with her fingertips.

"Dueling bounty hunters," said Ser Damien. "I've heard of these crackpots. If there's a Duelist out there someone doesn't like, they send for these mercenary dogs to go after them. Obviously, there's no Duelist out there with a bigger bounty than Yugi Muto."

"Three hundred billion in gold," said Téa with a wink. "If Yugi is defeated, I hope its somebody we know."

"These two have come for Yugi anyway," said the man with the square chin. "I've traveled all the way from the town of Korbanshire searching for the best Duelists in Termnnia. Recently, I've been sent by Lord Weevil of House Underwood to defeat you. My sources have led me here to this quaint little abode. I've come this way to Duel you and claim your Red-Eyes Black Dragon. The rare one that was given to you by Prince Marcel of Akuuda. Weevil has offered quite the bounty to whoever completes this task."

Joey laughed and stood out of his chair, holding up his wrist, which was already mounted by his Battle City Duel Disk. "I'll Duel ya, but Yugi, I'm afraid, will be no pleasure. See, he's in Akuuda right now to speak with the prince who gave me this Red-Eyes card."

"Lame!" said the boy. "Very well, there's a hefty bounty for your defeat, too!"

Joey laughed obnoxiously. "Don't expect to be taking my dragon. Be sure to tell that Weevil jerk his days are numbered. Who are you, might I ask?"

"How foolish of me," said the man. "I am Ser Gustavon of House Burrows." He showed off the Stag Beetle sigil on the banner hanging from his bike. "We are vassals to House Underwood. And Lord Weevil is not pleased with the horrible defeat you bestowed upon him three years ago in the Battle City Tournament. May I be so bold as to start first?"

"Go ahead," said Joey, turning on his Duel Disk. "Not that it matters."

The prospect of a Duel brought many of the children back. They sat on the grass atop a hill overlooking the playing field. They munched on sausages, cheese slices, apples, and other treats to watch the game.

The game started. Like any vassal of House Underwood, Ser Gustavon played well with an insect deck. Using his Cocoon of Ultra Evolution combo, he was able to summon a Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth to the field without the need of evolving a Larvae Moth in the Cocoon of Evolution for three turns.

"No biggie," Joey said, sliding his finger across this nostrils. "I Link Summon Darkness Metal, the Dragon of Dark Steel!

****

**Darkness Metal, the Dragon of Darksteel**

**ATK/2800**

**LINK-4**

"Link Summoning!" cried Ser Gustavon.

"Damn right," said Joey. "Now I Overlay my two Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragons to Xyz Summon, Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon!"

"I think not!" said Ser Gustavon. "I reveal my Trap Card! Solemn Warning. By paying fifteen-hundred of my Life Points, I can negate the summoning of your monster and destroy it."

"Is that all ya got?" Joey sneered. "I summon The Black Stone of Legend! Now watch as it hatches up my Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

Slowly, the Black Stone of Legend began to crack. It exploded with a bright flash. From the light emerged the Red-Eyes Black Dragon that was gifted to Joey by Marcel.

_Yer Highness, thanks a million!_

"Now I activate my Darksteel Dragon's effect, and Special Summon a Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon from my Graveyard in Defense Mode. But dere's more!" Joey wagged his finger. "You thought you could get rid of my Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon? Well, he aint goin' anywhere. I Overlay my Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon to Xyz Summon, Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon! Then I'll remove an Xyz Material from him to use his effect, allowing me to Special Summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

"Your Red-Eyes Black Dragons are impressive, but my Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth is still stronger than all of them!"

"Not for long," Joey chuckled. " Now I activate, Skull Dice. Your monster's attack will lower your monster's attack dependin' on the roll of the die."

A mischievous black fairy appeared over the field, holding onto a blood red dice. He cackled and tossed the dice. It rolled across the ground. Everyone held the breath. Joey and the others prayed it didn't land on a one. If it did, the moth wouldn't lose that many points."

"And we got ourselves as five!" Joey cheered.

Ser Gustav was not worried. "No matter! My moth is still stronger at three-thousand attack points!"

"I aint done yet! Here comes Graceful Dice. This card will increase my monster's attack points depending on what I roll. Come on, baby! Daddy needs a three or higher!"

The little fairy rolled its blue dice. The dice clipped and clopped on the ground. The results came.

"YES!" Joey said, pumping his fist. "A six! More than I could ask for! Now my Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon's attack increases to thirty-four hundred points! Now I've got more than enough power to wipe out your Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth, and your Life Points!"

The three dragons flew into the night sky. The blue neon trim on Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon's body stood out in the blackness. The dragons combined their attack and pummeled Ser Gustavon's Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth and his Life Points."

Ser Damien clapped his hands. "Well played, Ser Joey. You've got to thank Prince Marcel for that display."

"You bet I do," Joey said, as his next opponent got ready. Joey looked at the alternate art Red-Eyes Black Dragon. "Hey, hold on. There's some guy making advances on my sista!"

* * *

**Yuri**

* * *

Arm-in-arm, Yuri and Patty walked out of the Nexus nightclub. Their feet were aching and their ears rang, beaten by the loud music that assaulted them for hours. Yuri was glad to be out of there at last. Patty was just tranced by the music and didn't want to let him go the whole night. It was soothing for Yuri to hear the crashing waves and the crickets chirping in the gardens. He walked slowly so as to keep himself hidden, for he was a little excited from the times Patty bumped herself against him and bounced her bottom to the music.

 _She looks amazing_ , Yuri thought as they walked into the gardens around Montgomery Towers. She seemed to know it, too, for she walked with confident strides as she clung to his arm. Her shoulderless punch-colored dress barely reached her thighs making poor Yuri feel a tad overwhelmed and nervous. Her glossy black stilettos clopped loudly with each step. She wore black leg-length socks with little black bows on the back to compliment them. Her trademark bow was still clinging in her hair despite her aggressive dancing, which turned many heads while they were at the club.

His heart was pumping so hard he felt his ribcage trembling. He felt his face getting hot and he was glad it was dark, for his face was bright red. But Patty was glowing. With all the abuse going on her life, Yuri was glad he was able to give her a good time, even though she acted a tad wild. He never thought he would act that way with a girl before. Not in a long time, not he; even with the great fortune awaiting him. He felt relieved until he looked up and saw Phobos Tower looming over him. The green and blue neon and the emerald green surface of the twin skyscrapers. It looked like a castle, and the city of Aquarius would be his kingdom.

"Don't ever make me go in a place like that again," Yuri moaned, tilting his head from left to right and moving his jaw around hoping he could regain his hearing again. "God, I told you how many times I hate going to clubs." He wriggled his toes, still raw from being stepped on when they danced in the bloated crowd of strangers, and right in front of the DJ's booth of all places.

"Pfft, you'll get used to it," Patty said, drunk with her own adrenaline; for, despite their fame and Yuri's power, they were still much too young to savor the fancy drinks at the bar. "I have to be twenty-one just to sit on a stool!" Patty laughed, remembering the bartender who told her and Yuri to get off since they were still way too young to sit there. "I'm eighteen-friggin'-years-old, dude." She cried out into the night as if she wanted everyone to hear her rant. "I mean, come on! I'm old enough to download porn, fight in the military, and screw any guy I want (Yuri cringed and rolled his eyes. He hoped she wasn't serious.), but I can't sit on a damn stool? What is that?"

Yuri bellowed silently in his throat and stopped to look back at Phobos Tower. He nodded his head repeatedly to make it look like he was listening to Patty's bellyaching about the rules of consent and so on and so forth. "Uh-huh...Mmm...yup...I don't know...exactly." He said monotonously.

It didn't take Patty long to realize she was boring Yuri with her rhetoric. She leaned towards his cheek and kissed it. "What are you thinking about?" Patty asked, leaning on him, and wrapping her arms around Yuri's shoulders and burying her face in his neck.

"Nothing," Yuri replied immediately.

"Well, want to know what I'm thinking about?" she asked, swaying her butt from side-to-side.

Yuri looked into her eyes, sparkling with lust and impatience. He kissed her forehead and chuckled. "Knowing you, it's probably something filthy."

Patty burst out laughing. She, too, looked at the towers standing proudly at the center of the island for all to see. She formed an ear-to-ear grin, entertaining the thought of probably living up there with Yuri after high school. But she abandoned it quickly, knowing the thought of inheriting that office way up there was bothering him. Patty looked up at the towers and grinned. "You're going to do fine, baby. I mean, it's not like anybody's asking you to be king of the world or anything."

Yuri swallowed. "Sure feels like it," he said, remembering Yami, the man from his dreams, calling him _Your Highness_.

"You wanna get some ice cream on the way back to my place?" Patty asked.

"At eleven o'clock?" Yuri asked. "And how can you keep eating? You had an entire plate of chicken tenders in there."

Patty laughed and held Yuri's arm even tighter. "Come on, babe. The ice cream is going to taste even better on me."

Yuri yelped and backed away. He almost fell into the pool behind him. Patty grabbed him by the tie and held him there. She pulled him towards her and wasted no time in burying her mouth into Yuri's. When she finally let go, Yuri gave them a little space. "Patty, think about this, okay? Let's take our time. This isn't exactly something I want to start jumping into."

Patty was not too pleased to hear that. She let go of Yuri's arm and stepped back. "What?" she asked. "Is it that bitch, Crystal, who's on your mind?"

Yuri took another few steps back. He knew that look in Patty's eye. He braced himself in case she was about to slug him hard with her fist. She was shaking and breathing as though she ran a mile.

"Will you calm down?" he cried. "That isn't fair! Besides, what hopes does a guy like me have with someone like Crystal? And remember, she's under contract to Brett's family. They hate me, remember? It's not..."

"A guy like you?!" Patty cried out. "You're the Prince of Aquarius, you fucking dumbass! You can get any girl you want if you made the effort!"

"Well, I don't want any other girl. I want you. I love you."

His loving words caused Patty to simmer down a little. Patty wanted to smile, but she fought back the urge so it came out as more of a smirk from the corner of her mouth. She folded her arms and turned away, walking toward one of the fountains nearby. She stopped and gazed at the colorful fish swimming in the lit up water. Yuri was still rooted to the spot. When Patty realized that he wasn't anywhere near her she scoffed. "Come over here, you lousy Duelist. Or do you need an invitation?"

Yuri straightened his tie and fixed his blazer before making his way towards her. He stopped next to her, expecting her to curse him out, or even punch him in the arm the way she used to back in the fourth grade when she acted like a tomboy. Instead, she leaned on his shoulder. "So do I," she said. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have acted that way. I just haven't been the same since Lance left me."

"Tell me about it," Yuri agreed. "You just weren't the same after he left. I mean, you were always a livewire, but this? The hypersexuality, your blatant disregard of other people and the rules, hell, even the law. You got arrested six times last year and..." Patty gripped Yuri's hand quickly as if telling him to stop talking. Yuri understood and pursed his lips. But he could not refrain from speaking. Patty had gone through many changes, and he was not happy about it. "I'm shaking? What side of who's bed did you wake up on, Pats? What's gotten into you?"

Patty wished it was the wind she heard as a gust blew past them. It caressed her exposed skin, dotting it with goose prickles. The hairs on the back of her neck stood as the chill slowly turned into fright. She squeezed Yuri's hand even tighter, realizing that the sound she heard was Zera the Mant's cackling. She fumbled with her purse, pushing the opening tighter and tighter against her hip, hoping she could muffle the sound, but to no avail. He was in her mind and only she could hear him. She could hear him taunting her like a pesky mosquito buzzing around her ear. And she could feel him filling her with a lust for Yuri.

"You okay?" Yuri asked, observing her awkward behavior. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Patty whispered. Zera laughed at her one last time. She sighed as a sense of normality filled her body once again.

"Yuri? Patty?"

They both turned to see Crystal running towards them, still dressed in the uniform of the private school she attended on Gondolin Island. From the heavy bags under her eyes, the small stains of coffee on her blouse, and the state of her hair, Yuri guessed that she was having another late night study session in the library. She straightened her flannel skirt and fidgeted with the tie hanging loosely around her neck as she jogged towards them. Her supplies rattled perilously against one another inside her backpack.

"What happened to you?" Patty asked.

"Trigonometry test on Tuesday," Crystal said, loosening her tie. "Woo!" she hooted.

"Tuesday?" Patty said, slipping her arm around Yuri's waist. "Come on, baby, you've got the whole weekend to have some fun."

"Not for me," said Crystal. "My manager demands I get good grades in school. He wants to represent a smart girl who still puts her studies over her career. Otherwise, I don't go on tour and make money."

"Really?" Patty said, swaying her hips from side to side as if showing off romance with Yuri. It seemed to be working, for Crystal had a look of disdain on her face. "And who, pray tell, is this manager? If you don't mind me asking," Patty said, resting her cheek on Yuri's shoulder. Crystal looked even sadder, thereby making Patty happier. _That's right, bitch, he's mine_.

"Adolfo Martinetti," Crystal replied, leaving both Yuri and Patty at a loss for words.

All of a sudden, Patty didn't feel so confident and powerful anymore. Yuri had known the family had a firm grip over Crystal for years, but it still left him stunned every time she reminded him of it. But Patty, however, thought it was all gossip - rumors to make Crystal look powerful in her music career. Brett was a Martinetti, but he didn't have Patty's respect. She thought of him as just a punk playing gangster looking tough with his family name and playing boss with the money earned by his uncle. But now, hearing the actual facts from Crystal herself, she was quite speechless. "Oh," was all she managed to say.

Crystal pursed her lips, realizing she said too much. "So, uh, you two are looking very sharp. This a date, Yuri? Love the dress, Patty."

Patty looked down at her low-cut dress, smiling joyfully at the fact that the world-famous Crystal Anderson complimented her attire. "Thank you," she said. "And yes, this is a date. I thought I'd show Yuri a little fun at the Nexus."

"Wow," Crystal said, placing her fists on her hips. "You don't play around, Patty. There's some hot action in that place. Take it easy on our little prince; he's not exactly a bad boy."

Patty laughed then planted a big kiss on Yuri's cheek. "He will be when I'm done with him," she said, making Yuri go green.

"So where are you two headed?" Crystal asked, pulling the collar of her blouse off her neck. "Woo, did it get in here?"

"Oh, nowhere in particular," Yuri replied, feeling awkward. "Do you want to get a soda or something by the pier, Crystal."

Crystal felt a little emotional to hear him say that. Even with someone like Patty clinging to his arm, he still made her happiness a priority. "I wouldn't want to intrude."

"It's okay," Patty said, insisting that she join them. "Come on, there's a lot we should talk about."

Crystal shrugged. "Like what?"

Patty also shrugged. "Oh, I don't know, let's just catch up or something. We haven't seen each other since Brett beat the crap out of Nick in that Duel."

"Poor guy," Crystal responded with a cringe, remembering Brett's Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon slaying Nick's Red-Eyes Black Dragon. "How is he? I've noticed he hasn't updated anything on his LIFE account or on Duel Network. Not to mention you and the gang have been having a lot of hangouts without him."

"He's been in hiding since the loss," said Patty. "We see him at school every now and then, but he likes to keep himself isolated. I really thought he had Brett beat when he summoned that Red-Eyes." She suppressed a chuckle. "Imagine that. The legendary Red-Eyes Black Dragon under our noses the whole time. In the deck of an amateur Duelist like Nick of all places."

"I would also imagine it's hard for him to fathom that you and I are dating," Yuri added. "He had a crush on you since we were young."

Patty scoffed. "Oh, cut me a break!" she said raising her voice. "Going out with a guy like him is the last thing I want. He's smelly, he's full of himself. Oh yeah, and besides his Red-Eyes Black Dragon, his Duel Monsters career is a giant flop."

The lights began to flicker around them. They suddenly heard a sniggering coming from the top of the fountain. The three friends gazed at the statue of the angel. Standing atop her head was a figure dressed in black hooded robes with gold chains.

Patty burst out laughing when she saw his attire. "Are you kidding me!" she cried out. "What the hell are you supposed to be?"

"Trust me girly, this ain't no laughing matter," the hooded man said. "Are you three blokes Duelists?"

"You're on Aquarius, dude," said Crystal. "Almost everybody who lives here is a Duelist. I take it you want to play? If you do, you can drop the mysterious hood act and just ask."

The hooded man laughed. "You three have no idea of the situation you're in, do you? But yes, a Duel is something we seek. Meet us over there by that black building." He hopped off the statue and landed in front of Yuri and his friends. The hooded man dashed for Yuri and swiped his music box pendant with ease.

"Hey!" Yuri shouted. "Thief!"

The hooded man held up Yuri's pendant and waved it around to taunt him before sprinting toward the black building where he wanted to play. Yuri, Patty, and Crystal dashed after him. The building had a tall curved entryway with no doors. It led into a pavilion with a tall black fountain. The curved ceiling was dotted with round lamps providing them with good light. They saw the hooded man joined by another, but he was stouter and taller.

"See," said the short one. "I told ya he would come after his pendant."

"Give it back!" Yuri shouted.

"Oh, you'll get it back," sniggered the tall one. "Provided you and the girl with the Diabolos card can beat us in a Duel."

"I take it I'm sitting this one out," said Crystal. "Yuri, Patty, good luck." Crystal dashed for the fountain. She took off her backpack and sat down on the edge of the fountain to watch the Duel.

The two men removed their hoods. The short one was a bald lad about nineteen years of age. The stout one, though taller, was younger by a year. He had dark skin and a flaming pink Mohawk and nose piercings. He reached into a black duffle bag by his ankle. He took out two black Duel Disks and tossed them at Yuri and Patty. They caught them with ease and put them on without thinking.

"What do you want from us if we lose?" Patty asked, adjusting hers from digging into her skin.

"Simple," laughed the short one. "We want your rarest cards. Yuri's Black Tyranno and your Diabolos, King of the Abyss, Miss Patty."

"Really?" said Patty. "You two are going through an awful lot of trouble for these two cards. As rare as they are, do you think they're worth being charged for theft? We would have happily played you without the need of taking Yuri's pendant.

"It wouldn't be as fun," said the short one. "Besides, we're going to need that box to help Yuri discover more about himself."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yuri wondered. "What do you mean more about myself? Are you saying I'm something I'm not? What's going on here? Does the name Yami or Bakura ring the bell?"

"There he goes again with his imaginary friends," Patty groaned, slapping her sides with her hands. "Forget the riddles, Yuri. These jerks are obviously here to psyche you out or something. Or, perhaps they're just cosplay nerds who watched too many TCG cartoons. Either way, they want a Duel, they'll get a Duel. Let's make this quick, you're interrupting my date!"

"By all means," laughed the short one. "But let's introduce ourselves first. I'm Talfen!"

"And I'm Zander," the stout one introduced himself with a bow. "Now, how's about we let the lady start first. Then it goes to me, then to Yuri and back to Talfen."

"So long as we can play, I don't care who goes first," Patty yelled, drawing her six cards. "Let's Duel!"

**LP 2000**

Crystal braced herself in her seat. These two characters looked like over-the-top players who did seem to get their choice of attire from a cheesy Saturday morning cartoon, but she couldn't help but feel there was something more to them. Much more. _Be careful, guys.  
_

"I summon Ryu-Kishin Powered in attack mode!" Patty placed her card on the Duel Disk and summoned a cybernetic gargoyle with razor-sharp claws that could be used as awesome weapons.

**ATK/1600 DEF/1200**

****

"Next, I place a card face-down, and end my turn," Patty said, sticking the card into the slot. "You're up. Huh?" She noticed a timer counting down on her wrist. "What the hell is this?"

Zander chuckled mischievously, holding up a finger as he explained. "You fell right for our trap, Yuri and Patty. These Duel Disks have high-powered explosives wired into their systems. You two have exactly twenty-five minutes to defeat us before those Duel Disks explode and blow you to bits."

"What!" Yuri shouted.

"Are you serious!" Patty cried. "Why would you do something like that? You didn't bring us all the way out here to Duel! You wanted to kill us!"

"That's the plan," said Zander. "If you're unlucky enough to lose against us. And you will lose this Duel, make no mistake of that."

"Help!" shouted Patty. "Help! Somebody help!"

"Help!" Yuri and Crystal shouted.

The three of them were silenced when Zander took out a pistol and held it sideways like a thug. "There will be none of that," he said. "You fellas play nice and try to win the game, or I pop a cap in your asses right where you stand? So what's it gonna be?"

"Okay, okay, okay," Patty said, holding up her arms. "Okay. We'll play. But know that I'm even more determined to kick your asses. It's your turn."

"Good girl," said Zander. He pointed the gun at Crystal. She gasped, picking up her backpack to shield herself. "As for you Crystal, no funny business, or I'm blasting your pretty head off. You feel me?"

"I won't make any moves," Crystal assured him.

"Aight," Zander said, putting the gun away. "My turn. Draw! Hmm. I set a card face-down and end my turn. Your move, Yuri! Let's see what ya got, _Prince_!" Zander and Talfen laughed.

"Prince?" said Yuri. "What do you know?"

"You're the Prince of Aquarius, Yuri!" shouted Patty. "Everybody knows that. Now stop playing twenty questions and get on with the game. I don't want my sweet ass blowing up, so do me a favor and just play."

"Is he just the Prince of this floating ego-fest?" sneered Talfen. "Or is he something more?"

"Shut up!" shouted Patty. "Yuri, hurry up and make your move."

Yuri drew. "I summon Black Stego in attack mode!" Yuri slapped the card down. The Duel Disk whirred and projected the monster. Though he was called 'Black' Stego, it's body was a rich forest green color with an olive underbelly. Red plates went down its back, and the meter-long spikes on his tail could prove to be a lethal weapon.

****

**ATK/1200 DEF/2000**

"It's your turn," said Yuri. He shivered, looking at his wrist. Panic overtook him when he saw the timer going down. If it hit 0, both he and Patty would be killed. And who knew what these two men would do to Crystal if she was left alone. He could not afford to lose. He just couldn't. "Go!" he said, urging Talfen to go faster. He was stalling for time on purpose.

"With pleasure," Talfen said drawing his card. He examined his hand. He had good options, but he took his sweet time picking a card to play just so he could waste time.

"You coward!" shouted Crystal. "Where is your honor? Go!"

"If you say so," he said mockingly. "I summon Leopard Girl in attack mode!" He summoned a raunchy-looking Duel Monster, which was a tall, slender woman with feline features on her head such as pointed ears and whiskers. She wore a revealing one-piece suit of black latex and had long metal claws. She roared making the sound of a fierce big cat.

 

****

**ATK/1950 DEF/1700**

"Oooo," hooted Patty. "She looks hot. Wanna trade for her?"

Talfen laughed. "Sorry, babe, but this one ain't for trades. I'm not finished yet, though. I place a card face-down, and use the Spell Card, Double Summon, and bring forth Nekogal Number Two!" He summoned another scantily-clad cat woman with useless pixie-like wings. At the end of her long, purple tail was a sharp blade, which she could use with the greatest of ease to slice her foes in half. "Meow! Meow!" she said, licking the back of her hand.

 

****

**ATK/1900 DEF/2000**

"Someone's deck is rather kinky," said Patty. "Draw! I set another card face-down. That ends my turn."

"My turn!" Zander called for all to hear. "I summon Magical Ghost ( **ATK/1300 DEF/1400** ) in attack mode. Then, I use the spell, Block Attack, forcing your Ryu-Kishin Powered into defense mode. And I'll attack and destroy him with my ghost!"

Zander's ghoulish creature was a green-skinned ghost with a long, shadowy tail. It wore a red shirt and a purple, pointed witch's hat that gave her magical powers. She laughed, conjuring up a purple shadow ball attack that blasted Ryu-Kishin Powered to pieces.

"Damn!" Patty cried out, shielding her face from the blast with her forearm. "My monster!"

Zander burst out laughing, loving the shock his combo left on Patty. "Did you like that, Patty? Cuz there's going to be so much more. Your move, Yuri."

"I draw!" Yuri called out. "I summon Uraby in attack mode!" He summoned the dinosaur, who became one of the many icons of his deck. Uraby snapped its jaws and slashed the air with his claws. With an attack of 1500, he was ready for a good fight. "I equip my Uraby with the Spell Card, Malevolent Nuzzler, increasing his attack points by seven-hundred, for a grand total of..."

"I don't think so, Yuri!" Talfen shouted. "I reveal my face-down card, Magic Jammer. At the cost of one card in my hand, I am able to negate your spell and destroy it. Your Uraby won't be receiving any power-ups this turn. It was all for naught." He laughed.

"Nice moves, Talfen!" Zander said, winking and giving a thumbs-up for his partner.

"Don't mention it. Now it's my turn. Leopard Girl, attack his Uraby now!"

Leopard girl howled and leaped towards Uraby with a powerful leap. "Don't worry, Yuri, I've got you covered!" Patty shouted. "I activate my Quick-Play Spell, Rush Recklessly. This card will boost Uraby's strength by seven-hundred points, making him more than a match for your Leopard Girl."

Uraby made a powerful bound as well, zooming towards Leopard Girl. He raised his sharp claws. They started to glow neon green and grew another ten inches. He slashed Leopard Girl mid-flight, slashing her across the belly. She screeched and exploded into a thousand pieces. Talfen grunted, shielding his eyes and face from the blast with his forearm. His Life Points dropped to 1750. He cursed under his breath. "Shut up!" he shouted at Zander, who was laughing at him. "I end my turn!" he growled.

Patty slapped her rump, taunting Talfen for his amateur move. Talfen growled, he found the gesture appealing, but at the same time, his blood boiled. Patty stuck her tongue out at him to tease him once more, then she drew. "I summon Swordstalker in attack mode!" she shouted, summoning her demonic warrior; a fiend created from the vengeful souls of those lost in battle, joining together to form one powerful creature with a sword forged from the flesh and bone of fallen warriors. He had no lips so his teeth were bared in a sinful grin. He growled ferociously, brandishing his weapon.

 

**Swordstalker**

**ATK/2000 DEF/1600**

Still feeling the need to taunt Talfen, Patty ordered her Swordstalker to attack his Nekogal #2. He swooped towards her with a powerful bound, releasing a gust of wind that caused Patty's hair and the hem of her dress to flap. Swordstalker roared and slashed Nekogal #2 across the belly. "EEE-YAAAA!" she screeched in agony before shattering into a thousand pieces and dealing 100 points of damage to Talfen's Life Points. Zander placed his hands over his large belly and laughed at Talfen's humiliation. It was odd that both Patty and Yuri still had clear minds despite they had bombs strapped to their arms, but nevertheless, seeing the look on his partner's face as both his monsters and his Life Points were slowly being decimated was horribly amusing to him.

"Shut up!" shouted Talfen. "I'd like to see you do better, fat ass!"

Zander stopped laughing. He was annoyed, but he still kept an amused grin on his lips. "You wanna see me do better? Fine, I'm done playin' around. You assured me you could handle them both, but it looks like the lady has you on the ropes. I keep you leading us in this match, and Master Marik is gonna kill us both. Yuri, you haven't lost any points, so I'm gonna take a good chunk of them from you this turn. I summon the one, the only; Karate Man!"

The card he played had an ultimate rare finish with gold letters and a shimmering background with a rising image. The warrior Zander summoned looked like a stereotypical 80's African American action star complete with an afro hairstyle. A red headband was wrapped around his forehead and waved dramatically in the wind. He was built like a god and wore a gold uwa-ji and black trousers. "Ooooooo," he howled making exaggerated movements with his hands and bending his knees to form battle-ready stances.

****

**Katate Man**

**ATK/1000 DEF/1000**

"What the hell?" said Yuri. "That's actually kind of cool. That's a pretty unique monster you got there."

"Weak, too," Patty added. "Yuri's Uraby has an attack of fifteen hundred and your Karate Man has only a grand."

Crystal rolled her eyes and wagged her finger. "Patty, you're starting to sound like Nick. I think these guys know better than to summon weak monsters for nothing. You need too-"

-Before she could finish, Zander ordered his Karate Man to attack. He activated his special ability; once per turn, Karate Man's original attack could be doubled. A golden aura enveloped Karate Man and various Japanese symbols formed all around him. He raised his fist and slammed it right on Uraby's chest. A shockwave burst from underneath Uraby, and then he flew across the atrium before smacking into a column.

"Woah!" shouted Yuri, looking over his shoulder. He saw Uraby fall from the column and land on a heap on the floor. His Life Points dropped to 1500. "What happened? Your Karate Man is weaker than my Uraby. There's no way he could have won that battle."

"Special ability, kid," Zander boasted as he held up his card to show it off. "Once per turn, I can double Karate Man's attack. So that means, even if Patty would attack me with her Swordstalker, I can raise his points, too. It would be a draw, but at least her monster won't be around."

"Nice work, Zander," Talfen said giving his partner a thumbs-up. "I never would have thought of that."

Zander scoffed and put the card back on the Duel Disk. "Ha! Of course, you wouldn't."

Talfen bared his teeth and growled in displeasure. It was Yuri's turn, and he conjured something a little different. "Draw," Yuri said. "I summon Big-Tusked Mammoth!" He placed the card on the Duel Disk. The holograms and the technology inside whirred, working even harder to conjure the large creature he played. Finally, it rendered. A colossal mammoth with royal purple fur and bronze-colored tusks more than ten-feet long raised his trunk in the air and gave a fierce battle cry.

****

**Big-Tusked Mammoth**

**ATK/2000 DEF/1000**

"Wow, Yuri!" Patty cried out in with glee. "Nice monster you got there. He new?" She suddenly coughed, for the Duel Disk produced the mammoth's odor in a display of unnecessary realism. It was an exotic, musky smell with a touch of pine to it. She waved her hand in front of her face to sway the stench away. "Wow," she coughed.

"That he is," said Yuri. "And I'll attack Zander's Magical Ghost with it. Big-Tusked Mammoth, go!"

Big-Tusked Mammoth roared, waving its head from side to side. He reared on his hind legs and charged towards Magical Ghosts. He stopped before her and swatted the ghost with his tusks. Zander was hit with a blast of ectoplasm and a fierce gust. His crossed his arms over his face to shield it from the fierce wind and debris. His Life Points fell to 1300. "Lucky hit," he growled. "But I assure you, Yuri, you're not going to be so fortunate next time."

"For your sake, I hope so," said Yuri. "You're going to pay for what you've done to us. It's your move, Talfen."

"Ha! It's about time. Okay, so my kitties weren't as tough as I thought they were, but wait till you see this. I use the spell card, Polymerization, fusing together Zambrya the Dark and Maryokutai to create the all-powerful, one and only, Last Warrior from Another Planet."

A purple vortex ripped open behind Talfen. He stood there confidently and laughing like a maniac; for he was confident that his creation was going to be a thorn in Yuri and Patty's sides for the rest of the Duel. A giant extraterrestrial with dull-gold flesh stomped out of the portal. He had plates of armor over his shoulders, with the left entwined with blue tubes and the hand encased by an adamantium claw. A plasma cannon was mounted on his right shoulder. It whirred from left to right, scanning Patty's Swordstalker and Yuri's Big-Tusked Mammoth.

****

**Last Warrior From Another Planet**

**ATK/2350 DEF/2300**

The Last Warrior from Another Planet's laser cannon targeted Karate Man. It fired a burst of hot, blue-colored plasma, reducing Karate Man to nothing but a pile of smoldering goo.

"What the hell!" shouted Zander. "Your monster destroyed mine, not there's!"

"Don't worry, Zander," laughed Talfen. "With the big guy out, we won't need any other monsters. See, my warrior comes equipped with a Special Ability. When he's Special Summoned, he destroys all monsters we control, as you no doubt have seen. But, there's a bonus to that. Now that he's out on the field, Neither players can't Normal Summon, Flip Summon, or Special Summon any more monsters."

"What!" Crystal shouted. "That's so unfair!"

Zander, though upset at the loss of his monster, congratulated his partner on the monster. "Hey, not bad," he said. "You've gotten better."

A rush of excitement drowned Talfen in confidence. At once, he attacked, but he could not; for Yuri's mammoth prevented monsters from attacking the turn they are summoned. This earned Talfen ridicule from Zander.

Patty drew. She got a strong monster, Beast of Talwar, who had enough points to take down the warrior, but due to his effect, Patty could not summon anything. She was trapped. She switched Swordstalker to defense mode and ended her turn.

"This is just too good," laughed Talfen. "There's nothing you guys can do to stop us." He looked at Patty and jeered. "Hey, Patty, if you give me that Diabolos card and agree to come with me, I might consider taking that bomb off your wrist."

"Screw you!" shouted Patty. "I'd rather get blown up than soil my purity with a dweeb like yourself."

Zander hooted and clapped his hands. "Oh! You got burned!" There was nothing he could do, so he ended his turn.

Yuri drew. Nothing. He switched his mammoth to defense mode. Talfen went next and played the Spell Card, Stop Defense, choosing Patty's Swordstalker for taunting him earlier. Last Warrior From Another Planet raised up his arm. His plasma cannon whirred and fired. Swordstalker grunted before he exploded into a thousand pieces, the blast that followed suit dealt 350 points of damage to Patty's Life Points, draining her to 1650. She could no longer keep herself on her own two feet and was knocked on her back.

"You okay!" Yuri shouted. He ran towards her to help her up. She held out her palm, telling him to stop.

"Yeah," Patty said, rubbing her tailbone. "I'm perfectly fine." She stood up and drew her card. "Aw, damn. Talk about rotten luck," she said when she drew Diabolos, King of the Abyss. If only I drew him earlier. I set a card face-down and end my turn. Yuri, we've got to figure out a way to take that monster out. If we can't summon monsters, they'll stall long enough for these things to blow and I don't want my ass all over the walls."

"There's nothing you can do," said Zander. "And to make sure you don't try anything, I'm going to equip Last Warrior from Another Planet with the power of the Axe of Despair. This mighty weapon will increase his attack power by one-thousand, raising it to thirty-three-fifty!"

Crystal had her hands clasped to her mouth. Her friends were in trouble and there was nothing she could do about it. She could only watch as Yuri's turn came. Even from where she sat, she could see the brilliant holographic 3D foil of Yuri's Black Tyranno. He ended his turn. Talfen was next, this time he used a Spell Card called Card Exchange. He walked to Zander and traded one of his cards for a Spell Zander had in his hand. Another Stop Defense card, which he used immediately. Big-Tusked Mammoth switched back to attack mode and then the Last Warrior from Another Planet blasted him with his plasma cannon. The impact knocked Yuri on his back. He rolled to a stop. Talfen's attack was devastating to say the least, dealing 1350 damage to Yuri and reducing his Life Points to a mere 150.

"YURI!" Crystal cried out. "NO!"

"Oh, no, Yuri!" Patty shouted, running towards him. She went to her knees to help him. "Baby, are you okay? What the hell was that? Holograms aren't supposed to do that."

"I have no idea," said Yuri. "I have a feeling these things we're dealing with aren't ordinary holograms." He kissed her. "Hey, it's your turn. Make your move now; we're running out of time. When this is over, can you massage my back when we head back to your place?"

Patty laughed. "You son of a bitch, I'm gonna make it a full body." She helped Yuri back to his feet then patted his buttocks. She kissed him one last time, and quickly got back to her position and drew. "No more power-ups from you. I use the spell, Card Destruction. Now we discard our hands and draw the same amount we had before. With new cards, it'll be a whole new game." Patty put her cards in the discard pile.

She placed her fingers on the top of her deck and took a deep breath. She hoped her next few cards would not prove her wrong - especially now that Zander and Talfen were laughing at her. The Last Warrior from Another Planet sure made them confident - and why not? She and Yuri were in a bad way, Yuri most of all since he was in his last few Life Points. "I draw!" she said. She smiled. "I play the Spell Card, Heavy Storm, now your alien freak will lose his power bonuses and abilities. Next, I place a card face-down. Yuri, did you get anything good."

"I did," Yuri replied sadly. "But thanks to that warrior, I can't play any of them. It's your move, Zander."

"I'm just going skip my turn and bring it to you, kid. Our warrior has everything under control and there's nothing you can do about it. Play your last card, Yuri. There's not a thing you can do to stop us."

Yuri placed his fingers on the top card. When he did, he felt a warmth run through him, relieving him of all the fear and helplessness he felt throughout the Duel. An image suddenly flashed in his eyes. Yami. He was smiling at him. "The Heart of the Cards," Yuri whispered. He drew. When he saw the card, he almost burst into tears. "These guys are no ordinary Duelists," he whispered. "This...this force. Are you really a dream? Am I really your...your king? Where are you?"

"Are you going to play or what?" shouted Talfen, eager to finish the job.

"You sure you want me to do that?" Yuri asked. "I play the Spell Card, Raigeki!"

"NO!" Zander and Talfen shouted at once. Black clouds swirled over the field. Strong bolts of lightning flashed and struck the ground around them, creating smoldering, charred, craters on the once brilliant marble floor. Finally, a powerful one struck the Last Warrior from Another Planet. He let out a powerful screech as his body spasmed from the massive volts of electricity. Finally, an explosion from within his body put him out of his misery.

Then, Yuri played another spell, The Shallow Grave, allowing each player to Special Summon a monster from their graveyard Face-Down in defense position. That allowed Yuri to bring back his Sword Arm of Dragon he discarded. Naturally, Talfen decided to bring back his warrior and Zander brought back Karate Man. But they would not be enjoying their monsters, for Yuri summoned the King of the Deck.

Black Tyranno appeared, roaring in a blind fury, angered that his master's foes had tormented him for so long. Crystal jumped out of her seat and hopped up and down with joy. Patty also jumped with joy and cheered. With nothing but defense position monsters on their field, Black Tyranno could activate his effect and attack one of them directly. He could not allow Last Warrior from Another Planet to stall them any longer.

Black Tyranno stormed towards Talfen and stomped him, reducing the rest of his Life Points to 0. With him gone, it was Patty's turn to inflict damage upon them. She flipped her monster face up. It was none other than Zera the Mant. Zander lost his balance and fell, wondering what in the world caused the tides of battle to turn against them so quickly. Patty activated her face-down card, Fairy Meteor Crush, allowing Zera to have the piercing ability. With one swipe of his massive claws, the Duel was won.

Zander and Talfen were on the ground knocked out from the fierce attacks, but they were quickly forgotten. The Duel Disks on Patty and Yuri's wrists opened, but the bombs were still counting down. There were fifteen seconds left.

"OH SHIT!" Yuri shouted. He took his deck out of the Duel Disk. Patty did the same, and Yuri grabbed it. He ran for overlook in front of the building and tossed both Duel Disks into the sea. He ran away as fast as he could. He felt his bones rattle and was doused with water when the two Duel Disks blew up behind him. He heard screams in the distance as frightened guests of the towers began to scatter in all directions for safety, wondering what in the world just happened. Sirens wailed in the distance and security alarms buzzed from the intercoms outside the buildings.

Patty and Crystal hurried towards him and helped him up. They dusted him down then hugged him. Crystal started to break down in his chest while Patty tried to laugh as she held back her emotions. "Dude," she said, hiccuping and laughing at the same time. "Dude," she breathed, trying to control herself. "Yuri...Baby...That was badass!" She broke down, laughing and crying at the same time. "I was so scared." She kissed his neck over and over again. "You're amazing."

"I was so worried about you two," Crystal sobbed. "Yuri, you've turned into an incredible Duelist. You were amazing and brave."

"Indeed he has," Zander said. At least, they thought it was Zander. The three friends turned to look at him and saw he was in a sickly way. His eyes were rolled to the back of his head. He was glowing with a strange, golden aura. And there was a symbol on his forehead. One that filled Crystal's heart with dread. It was a symbol she saw when Yuri was at his worst. A symbol that turned Yuri into a bloodthirsty, extortionist thug. The Wdjat. "Congratulations on winning your match, My Prince," said the voice controlling Zander.

"What the hell is going on?" Patty said, cowering behind Yuri and Crystal. "Just get away from us! We won."

"So you have," said the voice. "But rest assured, these two Rare Hunters were my weakest. Expect more to appear during the tournament coming up, little prince. With that being said, remember my name. Marik!"

"Marik?" said Crystal. "What do your Rare Hunters want with my friend, Marik?"

Marik laughed. "They will push Yuri to the limits of his strength. Rest assured, no one is safe. You all have very special cards that I wish to acquire, but can only be won in a duel. As we speak, my Rare Hunters are arriving in droves into your city. All of them tasked with defeating you, Yuri. And should you fail to defeat them, expect to lose more than your precious Black Tyranno. Those you hold dear will suffer the most. Lose just once, I promise you, not only will your dreams never come to fruition, but you will never take your place as the Lord of Termnnia."

"What are you talking about?" shouted Yuri. "How do you know about my dreams, Marik? Who are you? Where's Yami? Where's Bakura? What do you want with me."

The glow died out, and Zander's lifeless body fell into a heap on the ground. He was gone, as was the being who controlled him.

* * *

**Talion**

* * *

King Forrest smiled hungrily as a man robed in black, wearing a black masquerade mask poured wine into his goblet. He sat on a red velvet couch naked as the day he was born with only his jeweled chain of office around his neck as his choice of clothing. He sipped the wine, his worm-colored lips formed a sickening smile as he held onto a leash attached to a collar that was fastened around Prince Talion's neck. Talion, naked from the waist up, was tied to two wooden posts. Below him, five girls dressed in small, glittery loincloths and masquerade masks crawled around and purred like cats. The licked the back of their hands and rubbed their bodies along his legs and purred as though they were cats.

Talion breathed heavily, wondering what plane of the Shadow Realm he had been condemned to. He was in some sort of dark chamber, probably hundreds of feet underground. It was made of brick and the air was cold. Talion saw women wearing nothing but their masks walk around the chamber serving drinks, food, or themselves to hungry-looking men. Some were in the corner in a massive orgy. These men, Talion thought. They looked like gentlemen of the highest society. They were dressed in their best, all the while wearing masks to cover their faces. There were monks draped in black muttering a dark and ancient hymn as a priest draped in blood-red robes stood on an altar where four elf girls were laid on their bellies on black slabs of cold stone. Their bodies were marked in ominous runes. The priest in red was rambling on about who-knew-what.

He held out his arms as twelve naked men wearing masks walked up the altar and circled around the slabs, eyeing the girls hungrily as they stroked themselves. At the red priest's command, they began to make love to the elf girls. As they did, the priest in red splashed wine on them and muttered dark prayers. He chewed on grapes, devoured a slice of a peach, and then he joined in, grabbing the elf girl he desired, sticking his fingers into her while she was pleasuring her man with her mouth.

It must have been a dark and secret society of the Church. Much to Talion's dismay, he realized that he was still alive. His body was covered in scars, welts, and burns. Some of his toes and fingers were missing or broken. The amputated fingers, no doubt, were going to be sent to his sister for her birthday, which was only a few days away.

"I can't imagine what must be going through your mind," King Forrest said, grabbing a serving girl and sitting her on his lap. He slapped her rump playfully and kissed her back. He poured wine down her shoulder and started licking it. "What must it feel like for a eunuch like yourself to never feel the desire for a woman's flesh again? Do you feel anything? Or can you imagine that you're feeling it, eh? An 'itch' if you will?" He looked at Talion. "So, tell me, boy? As those girls play around you like that, do you feel anything? I know you like them. Their tender breasts, their round asses, their pink lips all moistened for you. I know I've got a hard-on for that."

The Fat King showed no shame in showing Talion what he meant. Talion looked away. "You will all suffer for this," he muttered.

The girls heard his threat and laughed at him, as did King Forrest. "Suffer?" laughed King Forrest. "At your hand? And tell me, boy, just what are you going to do? Are you going to conjure up some Duel Monster to destroy us and save you? By all means, do so." Nothing happened. "I'm waiting," said Forrest. Still, nothing happened. "There you see. You're all talk. You are in the heart of _my_ kingdom, boy. You are miles away from your friends. And your dearest sister, who will soon be joining us here in the Shadow Club. Like it? It's a society I created of my own design."

"Not at all surprises me," Talion groaned. Just talking took a lot of effort. "Only a man like you would be callous enough to create something so disgusting. Why build something like this anyway? What is the purpose? Why have you brought me here?"

"To treat you, my dear boy," said Forrest.

A woman rolled a cart his way at Forrest's command. The cart was full of plates full of freshly cooked food. Forrest gave the serving girl a slap to her butt, commanding her to go before he stood up. He walked to the cart. "Let's see what we have here," he said. "Ah, wonderful. We got king crab. Swordfish. Potato salad. Dates. Grapes. Honey-coated hen. Come, boy, it's all you can eat. I have arranged this all for you."

"What are you getting at?" Talion asked, trying to be tough, but he could not deny his hunger. After almost two weeks of cold and bitter gruel, the food in front of him was a welcoming sight.

"It's all for you, Talion," said King Forrest. "Please, stop this foolishness. Tell your father to surrender the kingdom, and your sister; and the food will be all yours."

Talion tried to laugh. "You think I will tell my father to surrender the kingdom for a bit of food?"

"Of course not," said Forrest. "Order your father to surrender the kingdom, and I promise you that I'll order you out of the dungeons at once. I will move you to a room of great comfort. A hearth to keep you warm. Warm, silk sheets. Room service at your command. I will treat you as my guest. And you are. What do you say, hmm? Let us put all this behind us and come together in bringing our homelands together. Not to mention, all the women you could want. Or men, if that is your desire."

"What would be the point?" Talion coughed. He jerked his head toward his hand. "Look. You've ruined me. I can no longer raise a sword. No longer lead troops into battle. I can no longer Duel."

"My dear boy, you don't need fingers to Duel. We here at the Shadow Club have devised a new way to enjoy the game of Duel Monsters, without the need of that foul magic the Church so highly condemns."

"How?" Talion asked. "How can you Duel and please the Covenant at the same time?"

"I'm very glad you asked," Forrest said. He turned and clapped his hands at the men in dark robes. "Assemble!" he cried out happily. "It's time for games."

Two men in white robes stood at opposite ends of a deep pit full of sand. They carried golden staves. Forrest looked at Talion. "You see, we have developed a way to summon monsters without the need for cards, Mana Crystals, and Duel Disks. My mages were hard at work conjuring up ways to summon monsters using powerful magic. Of course, we don't tell the Hierarch that." Forrest chuckled.

"Let us battle!" said one of the white-robed men, holding up his staff. "By the power of Yeyu, I command that the holy energies of the earth come to me and bring forth these beasts to do battle!"

The monks in black began to chant. " _Magic powers, heed my cry! Release the monsters trapped inside! Magic powers, heed my cry! Release the monster's trapped inside! Magic powers, heed my cry! Release the monsters trapped inside!_ "

Talion gasped when an orb of light rose out of a golden cauldron. It hovered over the sandpit and turned into a Duel Monster known as Grappler. It looked like a ghost standing in the pit, for its body was glowing and see-through.

The second man in white raised his staff and ordered the summoning of a Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress #1. Talion stared in awe as a white orb slithered out of the cauldron and turned into the dragon, hovering over the pit. Despite the beast snarling and flapping its massive wings, the serving girls still strutted around serving their drinks and food. The man commanded his Winged Dragon to attack and destroy Grappler!

Winged Dragon Guardian of the Fortress #1 launched a massive fireball at the lizard creature, creating a terrific explosion that rocked the foundation of the chambers.

"Impressive beast!" said the defeated conjurer. "But watch as I summon something stronger! Come forth, La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp!"

The monks chanted and La Jinn appeared. "Hmm! Hmm! Hmm!" He chuckled.

The other man laughed. "Your La Jinn is strong, but did you think I would not come prepared!?" He summoned a Fairy Dragon to the field. "I will combine my two dragons into a more powerful beast."

"Make two be one! Make two be one! Make to be one! Make two be one!" the monks chanted.

Winged Dragon Guardian of the Fortress #1 and Fairy Dragon combined into Kaiser Dragon!"

"Why are you doing this?" Talion asked while hissing in pain. He waited for the blast from the Kaiser Dragon's attack to subside before speaking. "Why do you do the things you do? You're a man of the Covenant, but yet you sin against them."

Forrest sighed. Wrapping his hand tighter around Talion's leash. "I love this world, Talion. I've been everywhere. I've seen everything Termnnia has to offer. As a boy, I remember romping through the meadows outside the city pretending I was Norman the Conqueror, Gilford the Lightning, or a Black Luster Soldier of the Spire of the Kings. I love the mountains, Talion. The forests - so green and beautiful. The lakes so calm and so clear; reflecting the skies and their surroundings like a giant mirror of great beauty." Forrest tapped his finger against the cart. "And as you can guess, I love women, too. But most of all. I love Duel Monsters! Ever since I was a little lad, I dreamed to play like the legendary Duelists of old."

"So why do you side with the Covenant?" Talion breathed. "They want to take it all away from you."

Forrest sighed again. He looked at Talion with tears of hurt twinkling in his glazed eyes. "I told you before, Talion. I love this world, you understand that? And if I have to side with radical religious zealots to save it, then so be it. I'm not sure if you've heard, Talion, but Orcs are gathering in number in the Black Continent. Many stragglers from the past war have been seen sailing out to sea chanting Anubis' name triumphantly. Something tells me Yuri isn't the hero we think he is."

Talion coughed. "Orcs? Gathering in numbers? Forrest, don't you think we should be uniting Termnnia? Not dividing it with this pointless civil war?"

"I have tried everything to rally support, young Talion. None would listen to me. They said I was a fool. That the Song from the Divines was going to protect us from them. How could he do that if he was still just baby living in another world!? I did not want to wait that long, nor was I just going to sit around and let some boy who has no experience in Termnnian politics take the Diamond Throne. God Cards or not, he will not last very long on the throne."

"And you believe you can, Forrest?"

"I know I can. That civil war in Balodrum may have driven a huge influx of refugees into our beloved homeland, but I viewed it as a blessing in disguise."

"You let them take over the whole country?" said Talion. "So they could help you become High King."

"I had to, Talion. Know this. I hate every second I spend in this cursed religion. They don't let me drink. They don't let me eat. They don't let me fuck! Worse of all, they don't let me Duel because Duel Monsters is played with foul magic that the Covenant condemns. I can take it no more, boy. Despite their backward religion, the Covenant has access to advanced technology which they stole from Eredas thousands and thousands of years ago. They trade with the markets of other dimensions and have access to powerful weapons. Weapons that could help me take control of the kingdoms with ease. And I have done just that. Once I take control of the Diamond Throne and become High King, I promise you, boy, that the Covenant and all its practices will be restricted; if not banned."

"The Diamond Throne is for Yuri," said Talion. "The God Cards chose, Yuri."

"It is people's faith in Yuri that will doom us to the Orcs," said Forrest. "The boy will be the downfall of the entire continent; mark my words. Fighting amongst princesses looking for his hand in marriage has started. Somewhere in the southwest, Yuri's cousin, Prince Hector, has started a rebellion to turn all of Emboldor against him. And now, Master Yu-Gi-Oh calls upon a dragon summoning girl to come down here and wreak her vengeance on us. Another child that Yugi uses as a tool for war against me."

"Forrest, you can't win this!" Talion pleaded. "You are going against forces that are beyond the Covenant, politics, even Master Yugi himself. Please. Stop this. The Covenant is doing Termnnia no good. Somehow, someway, they will find a way to turn against you. Don't wait until it's too late. Join Master Yugi and his friends. Have your son join the great alliance he constructs. Together, we can push back the Covenant and the Orcs. This world can be saved, and you can still enjoy it."

A tear rolled down Forrest's cheek. "You're right," he said. He shook his head. "I was such a fool. But, I'm sorry to say that it's far too late for that."

"It's never too late!" said Talion. "You can be a changed man!"

"I've done a lot of bad things, boy. And look at what I've done to you. There is no reversing the damage I have done. I'm sorry." He waddled back to his couch. "I'm sorry you had to go through this." He started to sob. He snorted sorrowfully. "I'm sorry for everything!"

Two men in black armored robes came out from behind Talion. One of them yanked a black sack over his head. Talion's cries were muffled by the thick fabric. He squirmed around, trying to figure out a way to get Forrest to hear him. But his pleas were replaced by screams as the men sliced off his hands from their bindings. Talion fell to the ground, writhing and screaming in agony.

"Prepare him for the journey home," Forrest commanded. "We march upon Elleria next week."


	36. The Mysterious Phantom Thief

**Yuri**

* * *

Even though they had the perpetrators in custody, the RAPTOR security officers believed neither Yuri nor his friends. He tried to explain to them what Zander and Talfen had done, but the two boys could not speak for they were brain dead. To make matters worse, Yuri and Patty both testified that they came out of the Nexus nightclub. For this, the officers believed the youngsters were either drunk or high as most kids were who hung out there. That drove Yuri mad, Patty, as well, but the officers did not listen to her especially - not with her record as a delinquent and her multiple run-ins with the law.

Yuri and Patty both had to give urine tests to prove they were neither drunk or buzzing with drugs. Even though they came clean, the officers came up with more ways to denounce what the kids were telling them. To be called crazy was not going to look good on the tabloids tomorrow. Bad publicity, in general, was not good for the family name, but that was the last thing on his mind. The two Rare Hunters and their master, Marik, knew too much about his dreams. Just like Yami before them, the three of them called him 'Prince' and 'King'.

Yuri did not know what the man named Marik did to them, but whatever spell he had conjured turn them into nothing more than empty shells. Yuri smacked his head a dozen times as he sat on the rooftop of the school with his friends while having lunch.

"Spell," he said, doing his best to bring logic into the situation. "There has to be a reason behind all this."

"That's what they want you to believe," Patty said, mixing her pasta around so it could be doused in the tasty meat sauce. She tapped the heel of her thigh-high boot against the ground. Yuri hated the sound it made, and he placed his hand on her knee to make her stop. Patty sighed and dug her fork into one of the meatballs and stuck it in her mouth. She spoke with her mouth full. "I pissed into two cups just to prove I wasn't wasted. I came clean and they still didn't believe me."

"Well, what are you gonna do?" Carter said, sitting with his back against the chain-link fence as he ate the fried rice his mother made him. "The people of the city want to live quiet lives. After all, only the world's one percent live here. If they get wind of terrorist attacks or, in your case, strange, black-hooded Duelists with voodoo magic, they're going to want to avoid the place. That would ruin both the island's reputation and revenue."

"It makes me so mad," said Tyson. "They care more for the dough than their own people. We got psychos running around out there, and nobody wants to do anything about it."

"It politics," said Natalya, helping herself to a bowl of chicken salad. "They always care for the money first. It's been that way since...I don't know, for hundreds of years. But, maybe it's best to let RAPTOR deal with this issue covertly like they always do. We've already got a bad rep with the Stowaways and the occasional pirate raids. And the Martinetti family's occasional slip-ups. The last thing this city needs is terrorists who play card games."

Patty broke out laughing. "It sounds funny when you put it that way, Nattie."

"Well, they strapped bombs to your wrists," Natalya said with a shrug. She felt her thigh high socks getting uncomfortably loose in her leg. She set her salad down and pulled them both up.

"You should get that checked at the office," Patty suggested, for she noticed Natalya adjusting her socks all day. "Is it the right size? The quality of these uniforms suck."

"I can agree to that," said Natalya. "But I don't think it's the quality. Uncle Sergei wrote down the wrong size in the form, that's all."

"Not me, babe," Patty said with a light laugh. "I've had to get three different skirts this semester because they always ripped. And my ties always wore down. It got so annoying. That's why I started making a few...additions to my uniform."

"You're not the only one," said Carter. "I had to make a few modifications myself."

"You'd think they could afford us some decent attire," Natalya said before she ate a piece of honey-glazed chicken. "As I was saying, it makes sense those Rare Hunters targeted you and Yuri. You two are Aquarius' main power couple behind Crystal and Brett, but this is Yuri we're talking about. The Prince. Of course, they'd use him as an example. Something tells me these freaks, these Rare Hunters, want to put Yuri's life in jeopardy so they can get a large sum of cash from Jacob's coffers. What else would they need?"

"Well, they started calling him 'King," Patty said. She rested her cheek on Yuri's shoulder. "I don't know what they want, or what they mean by that, but they better leave him alone. I don't want to go through that again. Ever."

Yuri agreed with a sigh, and kissed the top of her head and rubbed her shoulder.

"We're gonna have to," said Tyson. He wiped salt from his chin with his tie. "In the meantime, I suggest we all keep an eye on Yuri."

"I agree," said Carter. "Anyways, how's Nick? I haven't seen him in ages. Is he doing any better?"

"I saw him at the diner last night," said Patty. "I would have waited on him, but it was a full house. It looks like he ran into some money or something. I saw him opening a booster box. A booster box!"

"Those cost a lot more than Consuela makes in a day," said Yuri. "I wonder how he got that. Did you at least talk to him?"

"I tried," said Patty. "But as I said, it was a full house. And the girls and I were having trouble with that group of bozos from Eden Island."

"Now what happened?" Carter asked.

"Lots of butts were slapped," Patty answered with a stern look creasing her face. "Let's just leave it at that. Luckily, Sergei banned them from the shop for life. But once the situation died down, Nick picked up his cards and left. I didn't get to talk with him, but if he's opening cards and buying food from the diner, then it looks like he's doing alright. What about you, Yuri? You haven't tried to keep in contact with him?"

"He won't answer the phone," Yuri replied, putting his trash into the brown bag where he carried his lunch. "I spoke to Consuelo, and she says they had some trouble. She wouldn't tell me what though, but it must have been really bad to make her cry randomly the way she did."

"Now I'm getting worried," said Natalya. A surprise breeze from the ocean caused her hair to wave over her face. She cursed and brushed it off. "Something's going on with Nick and his family."

"Maybe we shouldn't but in," Carter suggested, trying to finish his yogurt before the bell rang. "I mean, he doesn't want to speak to us and he worked double hard to transfer to different classes than us so he won't sit alongside us anymore."

"Don't remind me," said Patty. "What a jerk. I thought we were friends. We're supposed to trust one another. Why doesn't he trust us anymore?"

Well..." Tyson said with a roll of his eyes. Patty sighed, bracing herself for Tyson's list of reasons. "You were his crush and now you're dating his best friend. Said best friend blew him off during a tag team match last month, and he lost a Duel in front of his idol - who, may I also add, was a best friend to his best friend for many, many years. And said best friend kept her a secret from him." He looked at Yuri, who was looking sadly at the ground. Tyson was glad he was getting through to Yuri's behavior and continued: "Nick's a guy with a lot of pride. All that stuff can do a number on it. Let's face it, you guys, you haven't been the best of friends towards him. Especially not after everything he did for you. Yuri, you'd be dead if it wasn't for him. And Patty...well...hmm, I dunno. What about the laughs he gave you? I mean, sure, he reeks, is arrogant, and is a bit obnoxious, but he would never allow you to walk around without a smile on your face. And no matter how bad your dad beat you, he always found a way to humor you the whole day."

"I suppose so," Patty said, wrapping up her trash. "Maybe we should go talk to him. It's been weeks, that alone tells us how bad we are to him. Let's go talk to him after school and invite him to lunch or something. Maybe then we'll learn what's eating him."

The bell rang, signaling that lunch was over. The school day had ended, but unfortunately for the group, there was no sign of Nick anywhere. Natalya suggested going to the Dueling Grounds. She had a hunch that Nick would be there. They all agreed to look for him there since they planned to go anyway to test the new cards they got from the new Invasion of Chaos set that had released.

Once there, Tyson and Carter hurried to counter to sign their group up for one of the arenas, leaving Yuri to pay for the two hours they were going to be playing. They had to share it with another group, but they didn't mind. There was food, an arcade, bowling, and billiards, and dozens of large screens broadcasting the games taking place throughout the Dueling Grounds to watch and keep them busy as they waited their turn. They were given an arena on the second floor of the grounds. It was buzzing with activity, players were sitting on most of the stands of the arena trading cards or doing homework as they waited for their turn to play with the holograms. They weren't Duel Disks and it was a little pricey to play, but for the students of St. Augustus Senior High School, it was worth it.

To the surprise of Yuri and the others, they saw Nick heading for one of the platforms in the arena. The blue one. On the other side taking his position in the red one was a boy from the elementary school who left during lunchtime with his friends to sneak into the arena and play. According to the replay on the screen behind him, he had just beaten an opponent in no time at all with his deck of beasts.

Yuri and his friends hurried to some seats nearby so they could sit down and watch the game. Nick saw them, but he paid no attention to them. He acted like he didn't care that they came in. Yuri had the urge to talk to him, but something told him to just give Nick his space. It looked like he wanted to be alone and away from Yuri, Patty and the others. It wasn't like him to ignore his friends, and that left Yuri feeling a sense of guilt for treating him the way he did when they had their tag team match not too long ago.

The Life Point counters displayed 2000 LP above the players. The holograms whirred and started to glow, ready to render the monsters the two players were going to call upon.

"I heard all about you," the boy laughed. "They say you're an embarrassment to Yuri. You played so badly that Yuri let you go during a tag team match and defeated his two opponents alone."

"Not to mention he was stupid enough to take on Brett Martinetti," laughed another boy sitting behind Nick's opponent. In a cruel twist of fate, the boy was his little brother, Sam. He bit into his hot dog savagely, leaving behind huge globs of mustard all over his chin and the sides of his mouth. His friends laughed at him even more. Sam suddenly saw Patty and winked at her. Patty cringed when she saw him. She pulled the skirt of her uniform down as far as she could and looked the other direction, then called on Natalya to sit beside her to avoid being seen.

The boy, whose name was Mickey, started the match first. "How do ya like this!" he shouted. "I summon Stone Dragon in attack position!" He conjured his monster and the machines around the arena hummed and flickered as they brought the monster to life. It stood tall over the arena, hissing, and making growls that sounded like rocks grinding against one another. Stone Dragon had a serpentine body with flesh as hard as the earth's crust. The holographic stats displayed on the right side of the monsters, showing Nick and all of the spectators that his attack points stood strong at 2000 ATK.

"Well, he's screwed," Patty said, rearing her head up in boredom. "Someone wake me when it's over."

"I thought we wanted to help him out," Yuri said in distress, for she said it loud enough for Nick to hear. "Come on, where's your support."

"I want to help him out," Patty groaned. "But everyone knows that as soon as a monster with two-thousand or more points gets summoned, Nick can't do squat. As far as I'm concerned, he's going to go defensive like he always does."

Nick drew. "I place a card face down and activate the Spell Card, Graceful Charity. This lets me draw three cards and then forces me to discard two. Now I summon Freed the Brave Wanderer in attack mode!"

Nick summoned the warrior to the field. He wore brilliant bluish-white armor decorated in gold ornamentation and a cape of gold silk fastened around his gorget. His long, blonde hair waved in the wind. The stats window displayed 1700 ATK points and 1200 DEF points.

"Not bad," said Tyson. "I wonder if he'll perform a combo to make him stronger."

Patty scoffed. "This is Nick we're talking about. He doesn't believe in spells or traps."

Nick held out his hand. "Now, I activate my monster's effect. I banish my two LIGHT monsters, Dark Witch and Gyakuteno Megami from the Graveyard. Doing so allows my Freed the Brave Wanderer to destroy a monster with a higher attack than his."

Freed raised his magic sword in the air. Magical glyphs formed around the blade causing it to grow twenty-feet-long. He swung the sword, sending out a beam of energy shaped like a sharp, curved blade that sliced through the dragon, cutting it in half as though his rocky flesh was wet paper. Patty suddenly found it best to keep her mouth shut. Nick? Using monster effects? And most important of all, not caring for attack points? This she had to see.

"You think that scares me?" shouted Mickey. "Just wait. You won't be doing that again. I promise you. See how ya like this. I summon Flame Champion!" The boy smashed his card on the drive recognizer and summoned a beautiful female knight with a flaming shield and an attack of 1900; more than enough to beat Nick's wanderer. He attacked! Flame Champion held up her flaming shield and charged with all her might towards Freed, ready to smash his skull with her shield.

"I activate my trap!" Nick countered. "Reinforcements, which will increase Freed's attack by five-hundred points."

Mickey gasped, feeling upset that he had been outsmarted. He could only watch as Freed held up his sword and jumped to the right, dodging Flame Champion's attack. His attack increased to 2200. He sliced her across the back. Flame Champion screamed and shattered into pieces. Mickey stood dumbfounded at the loss of the round. He ended his turn.

"Did what I saw happen...happen?" Patty stuttered. "Are you guys sure that guy in the arena is Nick?"

Natalya whistled. "Those new cards he got are doing wonders for his deck. I think you underestimated him, Pats."

**Nick - 2000 LP**

**Mickey - 1700 LP**

"Draw!" said Nick. "I place another card face-down and end my turn.

"My turn!" said Mickey. "Draw! I summon Garvas in attack mode!" He summoned a human that had lion-like features from coarse fur to a tufted tail and a mane of red hair. Black feathered wings protruded from his back. The attack of the monster was 2000. He was about to increase Garvas' attack by 700 with a Malevolent Nuzzler card, but Nick activated the Trap Card, Magic Jammer. At the price of a card in his hand, Nick could cancel out the effect and destroy it. He may have lost the power up, but Mickey kept a mischievous grin, giving his already unpleasant face an ugly look. He would still win the round with Garvas' base attack.

Feeling confident that Nick had nothing to counter him, Mickey attacked. Garvas took flight, soaring higher and higher until he could touch the ceiling. He flew down feet first. He held out his leg and stomped Freed into the ground with a powerful kick. There was a loud explosion that shook the arena. The spectators screamed in fright, while others cheered, enjoying the violence taking place in the arena. They were both tied at 1700 Life Points.

"Beat that if you can!" shouted Mickey. "Your Freed put up a good fight, but I'm sure he's all that's left. Your brother told me everything. You're a loser."

"You're an idiot if you think he's all I got left," said Nick. "I draw. I play the Spell Card, Monster Reborn to bring back..."

Mickey laughed, not letting Nick finish. "Sure, summon Freed back. He's still weak against my Garvas!"

"Who said I was summoning Freed?" sneered Nick. "I bring back the monster I discarded to use my Magic Jammer. I summon Tenmataitei!"

The field in front of Nick exploded with a vortex of glittery lights. From the center of the vortex emerged a knight protected in armor of brilliant white and decorated with gold trim and ornamentation. Behind him flapped a cape of royal red also trimmed in gold. He rode on top a white, winged stallion with streaks of black on the neck and face. The winged stallion was armored in protective plating that matched that of his rider. The wings were of pure white feathers with a touch of gold on the tips.

****

**Tenmataitei**

**ATK/2400 DEF/1000**

"Nick..." Patty whispered. The crowd gasped and snapped pictures of the knight atop the winged steed. There were even a few classmates who started cheering for him.

"Look at that," said Carter. "Nick really powered up his deck with all the best cards from the new sets."

"But where did he get the money for it?" said Tyson. "I mean the cost of just one of things is more than I make in a week's allowance. Nick comes from Los Angeles Rojas, there's no way he can afford all of that."

Just when they thought Nick couldn't surprise them any further, he summoned another powerful monster, for Tenmataitei was a Special Summon. He conjured Freed the Matchless General, a much older and wiser version of his Freed the Brave Wanderer.

**Freed the Matchless General**

**ATK/2300 DEF/1700**

And then, Nick played a spell called The Shallow Grave, allowing them to summon monsters to their side of the field in face-down defense position. Feeling frightened and intimidated by Nick's two warriors, Mickey did not think to bring back his Stone Dragon who had a defense of 2300. Instead, he brought back his Flame Champion, which Nick was counting on. He equipped Tenmataitei with Big Bang Shot, giving the warrior a 400 point boost and the ability to inflict damage even if the monster was in defense mode. Tenmataitei kicked his steed into a sprint. It galloped through the air and stopped at a good distance in front of the face-down Flame Champion.

He raised his sword and stuck it into the glowing rectangle on the ground that displayed where the face-down monster was. An ear-piercing scream came from it. Flame Champion rose up and shattered. The attack dealt 1500 points of damage to Mickey's Life Points reducing him down to a mere 200 Life Points, which was enough for Nick to finish the job with Freed who dealt another 300 damage with his battle against Garvas.

Mickey wailed in defeat and put his head down in his arms, feeling foolish for both losing and underestimating Nick. Sam was also very quiet, finding it hard to fathom what in the world just happened. Yes, a Duel was won, but it was who won that left him confused. Nick never wins.

The platform lowered and brought Nick back to the ground where he picked up his deck, stuffing it into the pocket of his school trousers before he attempted to head home.

"Nick!" Yuri called. "Nick, wait up!"

Nick came to a stern halt and turned. "What the hell do you want?" he asked.

Yuri stopped dead in his tracks. "Huh?" said Yuri. Nick never talked to him that way before.

Patty stepped in shortly after. "Hey, what's with the attitude? We just wanted to congratulate you, that was all."

"Yeah, Nick," said Tyson. "Those were some sweet moves. Where did you..."

Nick narrowed his eyes and told him to shut up. "Forget you, guys. You weren't around when I had nothing. Now that I've developed my skills and have made a little something of myself, you want to be my friend? You're all hypocrites."

"Hold on a sec..." Tyson began.

"Save it!" said Nick. "You guys treated me like crap ever since I first I bought my first pack. All you did was laugh at me and dump on my dreams. Yeah, I earned a little money. I bought myself cards and made a kick-ass deck, and I did it without your help, Yuri. You never even so much as gave me a Gokibore, but you scour the globe looking for the rarest and most powerful cards for Patty. I probably mean very little to you don't I?"

"That's not true," said Yuri. "I..."

"My ass it's not true. If you really were my friend, why didn't you tell me your best friend was Crystal Anderson? Why did you hide her from me? What? Am I not good enough to know her?"

"No, Nick," stuttered Yuri. "Wait a second. You've got it all wrong."

"The only thing I got wrong was becoming your friend. Friends don't hide things from each other. Friends don't lie. Friends don't ridicule each other and that's all you did. Well, I don't need you anymore. I can go to the big leagues myself. Humph!" He turned and walked away, leaving his friends behind him standing both dumbfounded and heartbroken.

* * *

**Mai**

* * *

Serenity tapped her ring finger against her tablet while watching Mai just float in the water of the rocky pool built onto the cliffs of Yugi's castle. Serenity gave a time 'ahem' in hopes of getting Mai's attention but she had no such luck. Mai was focused on the sounds around her. The waves crashing against the shore below, the gentle waterfalls that poured into the pool, and the birds singing in the tropical gardens made her lost in a world of her own sang-froid. The rosy light of dawn seemed to lock the gates behind her. Now there was definitely not getting to her, so Serenity leaned back in her chair and took a long gulp of orange juice.

"How's our boy doing?" Mai asked, her eyes still closed. Her golden hair flowing around her head in the water like a halo.

Serenity looked at the finances on her tablet. Then she looked down at Mai, wondering if she'd still be here in the real world to even listen to her response. "So far all Yuri has spent were a few hundred of those...dool-ers?"

Mai laughed. "Dollars, hun."

"Right. Dollars," said Serenity. "All he bought were a few booster boxes and some new clothes."

Mai paused for a second. "Hmm. Interesting. I figured one of those rich boys would be buying expensive cars; purchasing golden Duel Disks; buying nice suits; lavish homes; and showing them off on the internet. You mean to tell me we gave Yuri more than ten million in funds and all he bought were some cheap clothes and some cards? I love this guy."

"He's no snob," said Serenity. "Looks like the Montgomerys raised him very well."

"Yeah, but, we didn't leave him with the Montgomerys, did we? Last I checked, we left him in an orphanage."

"A really stupid move," grumbled Serenity. "I don't know who or what got Yuri out of that horrible place, but I commend them for it."

Mai opened her eyes and looked at Serenity. "You don't think the Montgomerys adopted our little prince from the bottom of their hearts, do you?"

Serenity shook her head. "Not at the least bit," she answered, drinking more juice. "Someone we know is behind this. I just feel it in my gut."

They heard a commotion coming from the down the path leading to the pools. Mai bolted upright when she recognized the agitated voice of Téa.

"I told you already, you can't come in here! It's bad enough you just barge into our castle like this, but to just waltz around as you please is uncalled for! Hey! I'm talking to you."

Serenity turned off her tablet and slipped it back into her leather knapsack. Mai got out of the pool in time to see her unwelcome guests arrive. Unsurprising to her, they were wearing the black dragon with the flaming heart. Messengers of House Dragonheart. There were three of them. One was a soldier in chainmail and iron plating with a crimson red surcoat. The second, a little boy, only nine years of age. He bore a Duel Disk on his wrist. The man in the center of the group smiled, admiring the sight of Mai in her swimsuit.

"Can I help you?" Mai asked sternly. Serenity came from behind and wrapped a towel around her. "Thank you, honey," Mai thanked her.

"Are you in charge here?" the man in the center asked very pompously, sticking his nose up in the air and forming his chapped lips into a gut-wrenching smug that burned Mai's inside as though someone put a torch into her gut. Whatever it was this man was after, she felt he was going to get it, and she was not going to like it.

"I am," she answered. "Yugi left me in charge of the castle. What in Horakhty's name do you want?"

The man's smile widened. He seemed to twist his chest to the right so the rubies on his Dragonheart sigil could burn in the dawn's light. He took a few steps forward. "Tell me where is Yugi? He has been summoned to attend a session of Congress in Rasaay post-haste. We're here to collect him. It is of the utmost importance."

"Well, he's not here!" Téa yelled. "He's gathering the princes for Yuri's alliance."

"That is another reason as to why I am here, My Princess. There has been an unfortunate turn of events that will affect Yuri's claim to the throne."

Mai gave a quick shake of her head, eyes blinking rapidly. "Excuse me?" she said.

"Yes," the messenger replied. "Emboldorian Rangers guarding the Gates were attacked by forces belonging to a young boy named Prince Hector. He is the last male heir of House Delgado; and Yuri's cousin. It seems the boy has reason to believe that he is the new heir to the Diamond Throne. There is a woman traveling beside him. She dressed in all black and wearing a golden necklace that allows her to see all that will be. She has claimed that the boy will soon be bequiffed with monsters said to rival the God Cards."

"That's impossible!" cried Serenity. "Nothing is more powerful than the God Cards."

The man chuckled as he looked at her. "Such a beautiful, but naive little thing," he said. "My dear girl, there is much about our world that you cannot fully understand."

"That's putting it mildly," laughed the soldier, acting as an escort for the messenger. "What can she hope to understand? She's a Wheeler." His two companions laughed at his joke.

Serenity wanted to speak but she was so full of anger that she couldn't find the words to say anything.

The messenger stopped laughing. "So you see, my dear, Hector and his forces have been...destroying Gates they have conquered. We are afraid that until further notice, there will be no more Gate travel and Master Yugi's alliance must be called off. He is to stop his meetings with the princes at once. Do you know where he is?"

"We don't," said Téa.

"A response that does not surprise me. Listen to me clearly, girl. Rare Hunters have been spotted entering the Gates by the Emboldorian Rangers. However, they cannot pursue them because once they vanish, the rebel forces under the command of Prince Hector arrives to wipe them out and destroy the Gates. He has rallied support from many Houses over the past few weeks and has built an army large enough to overcome the might of the rangers. The Senate has come to the conclusion that the Emboldorian Rangers are of no use in the protection of the portals. Therefore, they have decided that the esteemed forces of House Dragonheart and its allies will be safeguarding the gates until further notice."

"What!?" Téa shouted. "That...that can't be!"

"Oh, but it is, My Lady. Prince Hector will be no match for the forces of the King of Dragonrock. That being said, until we are sure of the dear Prince's protection, there will be no alliance."

"You bastards!" Phoenix shouted, running down the steps in a white nightgown. She shivered, for her exposed skin was being bombarded by the sea air, but her anger and frustration kept her warm like a blazing fire. "I know what you're trying to do here! You're trying to keep the Senate in your palms by doing this?"

The messenger rolled his eyes and scoffed at her testimony. "A bold accusation, my lovely little flower, but where is the proof?"

"I don't need proof!" Phoenix shouted, stomping her foot on the ground. "It's right before me. Yugi is looking for the sons of great kings to join the alliance. He does not look for lesser lords. Kings! All of whom show great support for him and for Yuri. The princes he seeks are the sons of the most powerful men in Termnnia. And with every ounce of support he gets, it means House Dragonheart loses its grip on the Senate! Antilles knows that for every new ally Master Yu-Gi-Oh gains, it's one thumbs-up closer to bringing Yuri home and putting him on the Diamond Throne. We all know Antilles does not want to see anyone but a Dragonheart on the throne."

"I agree with Phoenix," said Téa. "You aren't keeping the Gates closed to keep Yuri safe. You're keeping them closed to keep him from coming back, while Antilles searches for another from his bloodline to become High King!"

"Ha!" laughed the messenger. "So much unfair speculation here. But it matters not what poisonous honey oozes from your beautiful lips, ladies. High Chancellor Pegasus has given Antilles the order already. The Gates are going to be closed and guarded until this situation with Hector is resolved."

"What about King Forrest?" Phoenix demanded, balling up her fists. "He's doing far more damage up north. His culture destroys ours. His people kill our people. However, the Senate does nothing against him. It seems to me that for you and the rest of those with their lips planted on House Dragonheart's ass, Prince Yuri is the enemy."

"She's right," Mai said calmly. "You guys treat Yuri like he's Termnnia's greatest threat, and hide it with false claims of looking out for his well-being. Your policies have never been for the best interests of Yuri or for Termnnia. It was for the benefit of House Dragonheart and yourselves."

"Nevertheless," said the messenger. "The Senate has ordered the gates closed and Master Yu-Gi-Oh must be found so that this alliance can be stopped. Now, where is he? I much desire to speak with him."

"He's not here," said Serenity. "Like you said, he's out looking for the Princes."

"And he must stop at once, or he will be charged with treason for going against the will of the High Chancellor, who is the de facto ruler of the continent until a High King is named. Those are Pegasus' words, my dear ladies."

"We know!" snapped Téa.

"Then act like it," sneered the messenger. "I'll ask again. Where is Master Yu-Gi-Oh?"

"We don't know," said Serenity. "He left us while in Rasaay and went to find allies. He did not want us to participate."

"Lies," said the soldier. "If there's anyone in Termnnia who knows the whereabouts of that boy, it's this lot."

"Oh, indeed," the messenger agreed. "Very well. If you do not wish to tell me where Master Yu-Gi-Oh's current location is, then I will have to place you all under arrest for treason to the Diamond Throne and endangering the life of Prince Yuri. King Antilles has ordered me to round you up if you become resistant."

"You can't do this!" shouted Phoenix.

"And you won't!" Téa yelled. "Antilles can't tell us what to do!"

"That's where you're wrong, young lady. Regardless of what you and your companions did at the Battle of Rasaay and the Seige of Karad-Antha, you are still lowly serfs serving under kings. And Antilles Dragonheart is a king. You will do as we say. It's law. Even Yugi's accomplishment and admiration cannot defend you from the law. Now tell us where he is and cease all your activities involving the prince. He is under the care of House Dragonheart now."

"Never!" declared loudly Téa.

"You have no choice in the matter," the messenger said, trying to hold back his laughter. "But we will use force if you do not comply. Do not test me, kids. We have a hundred men outside the gates at the ready to storm the castle on my command. Unless you want to leave this castle in pieces or in one piece, I suggest you keep on moving."

"I challenge you to a Duel!" Téa shouted.

"This is not a matter of Duel Monsters," said the messenger.

"No? Then why do you bring a Duelist with you?" Téa brushed some hair off her face. "You speak about laws, so I think you should know all about this once. Since I am a Termnnian royal, I can play using the oath of the Dueling Pact. If I win, you leave us alone. If I lose, then you take us all, no questions asked."

"Téa, you serious?" Mai said, flabbergasted by the challenge.

Téa barred her pearly teeth. She growled like an angry dog and a tinge of peach flushed over her cheekbones. "What choice do we have? I'm not going to let Antilles push us around! I won't allow it! If you want to close the Gates, fine! Yuri's supporters are strong. We will overcome your blockade. But to arrest us for speaking the truth? You cross the line."

"Very well," said the messenger, stepping back and allowing his Duelist to take the lead.

The boy approached cackling. All throughout their squabble, he yawned and was bored with talk of laws and policies. But now that Duel Monsters was on the table, he had grown excited. In fact, his head was already bloated with fantasies of how rich and famous he would be defeating Princess Téa of House Gardner. He activated his Duel Disk shaped like a shield emblazoned with the dragon of the House whom he served. "I am Andre," said the boy.

"I don't care!" Téa yelled. She transformed her egg-shaped diamond ring into a Duel Disk made entirely of diamond with a marble white surface and a glowing crystal shining above it.

"DUEL!" they both shouted.

The boy started dull by placing a card face-down and summoning a monster in defense mode.

Téa played a ritual spell called Advanced Ritual Art. She sent Normal monsters from her deck to the Graveyard equal to the level of the ritual monster she chose to play. "Herald of Ultimateness!" she cried, placing the card on the Duel Disk and summoning the autonomous fairy creature with colorful wings and multi-colored lights shining out of its body.

The boy activated a card that would have negated the Herald's summoning, but unfortunately for him, Herald of Ultimateness allowed Téa to discard a Fairy-Type monster to negate the card's activation and destroyed it. She left the monster in the defense mode and ended her turn. She dominated most of the Duel with the Herald for the first few turns. But unfortunately for her, Andre was a little smarter than she thought. He activated a Field Spell known as Dragonic Diagram and summoned his favorite monster.

The messenger clapped his hands when the beautiful monster appeared on the field and slew the Herald of Ultimateness after his power was boosted by a Spell Card that Andre used. People had to play defensively for a while, watching helplessly as her fairies were slaughtered by the divine-looking beast. Having been reduced to the last few thousand Life Points, she placed her fingers on her deck, praying that the Goddess of Victory gave her the strength to overcome this beast. She drew.

"I play Card of Sanctity, allowing us to draw until we have six cards. Then, I place Guiding Ariadne in the Pendulum Zone! And place two cards face down!"

Andre laughed. "Your little fairy is in the Pendulum Zone, meaning it's treated as a Spell. You're wide open for an attack. But don't think your face-down cards will defend you from me or the might of House Dragonheart. I can banish a Spell or Trap Card from my Graveyard and destroy one of yours!"

"No you won't!" Téa yelled. "From my hand, I use the power of my Herald of Orange Light!" From behind Téa, an orange crystal rose out of the ground and hovered over her. The crystal was then encased by magnetic white armor with red-orange trim and from the armor grew orange wings. "I can discard this card from my hand when your monsters' effects activate. I can negate the effect and destroy the monster. Herald of Orange Light, rid the field of Master Peace, the True Dracoslayer King!"

An orange beam shot out of the crystal and struck Master Peace in the chest. The True Dracoslayer King grunted from the impact and the fiery pain. The beam pierced through his brilliant white armor and out the back. He exploded, shrouding Andre's side of the field in a cloud of black smoke.

Téa smiled and flung her hair over her shoulder. "I use the effect of my fairy, EVA. When it's sent to the Graveyard from my hand, I can banish a LIGHT monster and add a level two or lower LIGHT Fairy from my deck to my hand. That ends my turn."

Andre drew his next card. "I activate my Dragonic Diagram!" he shouted. "I discard a spell and add a card from my deck. I then play the spell known as Disciples of the True Dracophoenix which allows me to..."

"I don't think so!" Téa countered. "From my hand, I activate the effect of my Herald of Green Light! I send this and one Fairy monster from my hand to negate the effect and destroy it."

"You're starting to annoy me!" Andre yelled, stomping his foot on the ground.

Mai burst out laughing. "Well, no need to get your jimmies in a tissy, kiddo. Téa's about to finish you off for good. Téa, show 'em what I mean, hon."

Téa nodded and gave a thumbs up. "When I negate one of your effects, I can Special Summon Sacred Arch-Airknight Parsath from my Graveyard, at the cost of banishing two of Fairy monsters."

A divine circle illuminated in the clouds above Téa. A beam of light shone down on her, glittering like a thousand stars. A choir of a thousand angels sang a song of peace, announcing the coming of one of the greatest warriors from the realm of light.

"Now it's my turn," Téa said confidently as one of the strongest monsters in her deck graced the field with its angelic presence. With each flap of its wings, a rain of glittering lights sprinkled down on the fields. Serenity clasped her hands together and beamed at Téa's monster. She didn't know that Téa had something so powerful and so beautiful in her deck.

Téa activated Pot of Desires, which banished ten cards from the top of her deck face-down as the price to pay for drawing three cards. She then used a Spell called The Sanctum of Parsath, and when she did, Sacred Arch-Airknight Parsath's light shined as bright as the sun. It increased Parsath's ATK by 300 points, raising it to 3100. She attacked Andre directly. Sacred Arch-Airknight Parsath raised his heavenly sword until it started glowing bright blue. He slashed it across the air, sending a wave of light towards Andre. He babbled, holding up his arms, bracing for impact. The light struck him hard and sent him flying back a dozen feet. He skidded to a stop and his Life Points dropped to 0.

"Yes!" Serenity cried. "She won! She won!"

Mai wrinkled her nose and slapped Téa playfully on the derriere. "Nice job, hon. Never doubted you for a second." She looked at the messenger and the rest of the Dragonheart soldiers. "As for you morons. Get out of Yugi's castle!"

"This cannot be!" cried the messenger. He grabbed Andre by the scruff of his neck. "You have failed me for the first and last time, boy! Away with you!"

As Andre dashed out of the gardens, a squad of Dragonheart soldiers marched up the steps, weapons brandished and shields raised in case Mai and the others were going to be resistant.

"What is this?" shouted Phoenix. "Téa won the Duel. We had an agreement under the Dueling Pact!"

The messenger sniggered. He twirled some hair on his mustache. "The Church of Yeyu is going to pay well for you, mage. I'd wager fifty-thousand gold crowns once they slap their anti-magic cuffs on you and disable your magical abilities. King Forrest is paying a rather high price for beautiful girls to serve in his castle. Do us all a favor and surrender. We do not wish to harm you and ruin the value."

"You're selling mages to the Church!?" Serenity cried out in shock. "How could you? That's so cruel! Do you know what the Inquisition does to mages?"

"It's not my problem," said the messenger. "All I care about is the gold I get for ridding our homeland of those magic-wielding vermin. Your kind is nothing but trouble."

Phoenix hunched her shoulders and balled her fists. They were engulfed in bright orange flames with a blue core. Her hair started glowing as well and resembled a forest fire glowing behind her.

"You've pissed her off," said Téa. "If you know what's good for you, you'll honor your oath to the Dueling Pact. I don't think even Antilles wants to be troubled with the fact that his subordinates are not following the law."

"What Dueling Pact?" sneered the messenger. "There was no Dueling Pact. Now, for the last time, surrender yourselves or there will be violence. It doesn't matter. Whether you lot rot in jail or have your heads mounted to pikes, Master Yu-Gi-Oh will return and cease all his activities across the continent."

But before his soldiers could take another step, a loud screech came from the sky above. The soldiers panicked and backed away when they saw the flying creature soaring towards them like a flaming comet. It was a beautiful firebird known as Mavelus. The feathers on its body were a rich shade of vermillion. The feathers on the wings and tail were a brilliant gold that flashed in the sun. The feathers making the crest on its head resembled flames. Its beak and legs were colored royal purple, and its eyes a brilliant green.

Mavelus released a jet of flames from its mouth and created a wall of fire that separated the Dragonheart soldiers from Mai and her friends. Téa and Mai stepped back, for the heat was blistering. Trish came running out of the castle, dressed in a red silk robe. Her hair was tied into a long ponytail for when she slept. "What the hell is going on down there?" she shouted noticing the flames and the soldiers below. She saw Phoenix standing in a battle-ready position. She was here in the castle being breifed on her mission to escort the Summoner of Dragons on her pilgrimage, along with two more brave warriors.

One foolish soldier dared cross over the flames; his armor shielding him from them. He lowered his lance and yelled, aiming to pierce her through the gut.

But Phoenix was too quick for him. She elegantly twirled out of the way as though she was doing ballet. Her flaming hair whipped behind her. The air around her rippled in the heat. She opened one of her palms and charged a fireball. She spun and launched it at the foolish soldier. He was engulfed in a fire hotter than a dragon's flaming breath. His troubles, if he had any, were over in two seconds flat. His armor, cape, chainmail, hauberk, spear, everything was gone. He was reduced to a pile of ash on the ground.

"GET THEM!" the messenger shouted. "KILL THEM IN THE NAME OF YOUR KING!"

The soldiers charged past the flames. Some made it, others began to flail their arms in the air and danced around as the phoenix fire wrapped itself around them. They screeched and jumped off the cliffs into the sea.

Phoenix was about to be outnumbered and Mai, Téa, and Serenity were being surrounded by a clever pincer formation. Trish sprung into action at once. She jumped from the balcony overlooking the gardens and landed gracefully on a patch of grass. She released a jet of flames from her hands, torching ten men at once and reducing them to cinders.

Mavelus returned and ignited the men surrounding Mai and the others. The three women jumped out of the ring of fire, landing safely on the ground. The morning air was perfumed with the scent of burning metal and charred flesh. Ashes from the fallen foes fell around them like a rain of gray snow. The messenger waved his arm, signaling for more reinforcements to come take them down. He really did have a hundred men ready for an attack. But loud roars stopped their march dead in its tracks.

Luster Dragon and Tartarus appeared from the below the cliffs. Ser Damien and Constantine were cheering happily from the backs of their beasts, raising their swords and flashing them in the sun to intimidate the soldiers below. The dragons landed in the gardens, shaking the foundation of the castle. Finally, the soldiers knew that they were out of their league with two pyromancers who were masters of their craft, and now the two dragons staring them down. They dropped their weapons and shields and held up their hands shouting: "Parley! Parley!"

Phoenix and Trish relinquished their flames. They looked at each other, laughed delightfully, and high-fived. "Not bad," said Trish. "You're almost as good as me."

Phoenix raised an eyebrow. "Almost?" She held out her arm to let her Mavelus perch itself on it. Phoenix clicked her tongue affectionately and pet the firebird's chest. "Good boy," she said.

"Where did you get that?" Trish asked. She tickled Mavelus under the chin. "It's beautiful."

"Master Yugi gave him to me as a companion for my quest."

"Must have cost him a fortune," said Trish. "Firebirds like this are hard to find."

"I can personally vouch for that," Téa said, dusting the dirt off her gown. "Half of the payment for that bird came from my personal coffers."

Mai helped Serenity up and dusted ash off her clothes and hair. She looked at Phoenix and Trish, nodding at them both with approval. "You two ladies are amazing! Very impressive. I can see why Yugi choose you both to aid the Summoner of Dragons on her journey."

"The Summoner of Dragons!" gasped the messenger. "So, it's true? You do know where she is."

Mai looked at him and wrinkled her nose. "Don't you dare go near her," she threatened him. "Say one more word about the Summoner, and I'll order my girls to send you back to Antilles in ashes. Do I make myself clear?"

The messenger did not want to cause any more trouble. His pride in himself and in the House whom he served caused more than thirty of his men to be killed. "Yes," he stammered. "Yes, My Lady."

"Now get out," said Serenity. "Antilles will not get away with this!"

Without another word, the messenger and the rest of his men rushed out of the castle grounds and toward the hills back to Dragonrock. Joey walked out towards the balcony railing and yawned. He rubbed his eye. "What's all the ruckus?" he asked. He sniffed the air. "Is something burning?"

Mai laughed. "Joey. Well good morning, sleepyhead. How's about you make us some coffee? Oh, and have Duke prepare some of those mint pancakes for breakfast."

Serenity's eyes widened when she felt her tablet vibrate and make a sweet jingling noise. The app was giving her an update on Yuri's finances. She opened the app and looked around to see what he could have purchased. "Whoa!" she said. "Yuri got a new car!"

* * *

**Yuri**

* * *

Yuri felt so awkward trying to keep up with Patty as she danced to the catchy beat of the classic 90's tracks that were blasting on the speakers in the gymnasium. Yuri looked at the some of the teachers who were forming a circle next to the basketball court and pulled off nostalgic moves much to the joy of some of the students.

"You're a little slow," Patty said, doing a spin. The dress she wore caught some attention. It was all black and ruffled and exposed a lot of décolletages. Two black roses were tucked into her hair and she wore arm-length gloves with filigree embroidery.

"Do you always dress like it's Halloween, Patty?" a girl asked.

"Damn right I do," Patty said, giving a shake of her hips before flipping her the bird to send her off.

The girl scoffed and rolled her eyes. Her dance partner held onto her to keep her from attacking Patty. "Yuri, I expected a lot more from you," the girl said before walking off to dance elsewhere. "Do yourself a favor and find someone better, will you?"

Yuri shrugged and watched as she walked off. "So..." he said, feeling a tad uncomfortable, with both the dance and Patty's choice of attire. "Any word from Nick?"

"Not a word," Patty said with another graceful turn. "Let him be, Yuri. He needs to cool off from that loss."

"He should but he's missed school for the past couple of days."

"So let him have his temper tantrum," said Patty. "If you ask me, he shouldn't have been showing off the way he did. Challenging Brett Martinetti to a Duel was just the dumbest thing I've ever seen him do. But to do so in front of Crystal Anderson was just cringe-worthy. I doubt he'll ever show himself again after what happened."

"We should do our best to support him," said Yuri. "The guy has talked about going suicidal sometimes. Not to mention I was really rough with him on Monday when he lost his place in our tag match. Speaking of Crystal, don't you think it was time we headed off?"

"Well..." Patty thought. "One more song, how about that?"

So they danced to their last song. By nine o'clock, Yuri walked Patty to the parking lot towards his new exotic sports car. When she saw it, she clasped her hands together and went around it in circles examining the vehicle and trying to catch her reflection on the glossy black surface. She started jumping for joy. "Oh, my God! It's gorgeous!" she cried. "When did you get it?"

"This morning before school," Yuri answered. He took a Concept Key out of his pocket and turned on the car's engines with a touch of the screen. The engine purred loudly causing Patty to jump up and squeal.

"What are we waiting for?" she cried out in delight. "Let's go!"

Yuri texted Crystal, telling her that he was on the way. She responded quickly with a happy face emoji. Yuri drove to the pier by Montgomery Towers where yachts of all shapes and sizes were docked together and turned into nightclubs. Colorful lights flashed in the night. Lasers crisscrossed in the darkness and loud music pulsed through the bodies of the youngsters coming to support the mayoral campaign for Alan. Once Yuri got to the parking lot, he spotted Crystal waiting for him dressed in a white clubbing dress. Her hair was twisted into a bun and swirled bangs danged on both sides of her face. His car's LED headlights caused all her jewelry to twinkle.

Yuri parked, then he and Patty got out of the car. Crystal ran towards them at once. She got to Patty first and hugged her. "It's so good to see you," she said. She examined Patty's gothic gown and did her best to keep her smile. "Wow. You look...great. And, Yuri, you look quite dapper. Nice set of wheels by the way. When did you get it?"

"This morning," Yuri said, slamming his door shut. "Is this going to be a quick meeting, Crystal? You know I don't like to linger in places like this."

"Oh, don't be such a wuss," Patty said, looking at Yuri. "Have some fun for once."

"And by fun, you mean behaving like you do late at night?" Yuri said rather sternly.

"Have a little adventure, Yuri," Crystal said, circling the car. "Besides, this is a matter of great importance. Alan is in his yacht right now. He's waiting for you. Have you two lovebirds had any dinner tonight?"

Patty shrugged in response. "Yuri bought me a bag of fries on the way, but I could still eat."

Crystal led them to a Golden Palmer Johnson superyacht. Two men stood outside the entrance armed with compact rifles. They noticed Crystal coming and let them through. Once inside Yuri shook hands with a large number of guests, took selfies with people who didn't know, and showed off his Black Tyranno more than a dozen times. Surprisingly, unlike the other yachts in the docks playing loud techno and hip-hop, Alan's yacht was calm and played soothing instrumental jazz music, although the other songs blasting in the night could still be heard thumping through the walls.

"Yuri," Alan said walking down the stairs, holding a glass of champagne. "Ah, and you've brought a guest I see." He examined Patty on the way down. She really stood out, standing there in her black gown, but he admired her face and the skin that the gown exposed. "You're a lovely young thing," he said, taking her hand. He kissed it. "And your name is?"

"Pamela McKnight. But my friends call me Patty."

Alan raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Patty? Lovely name. Come, follow me upstairs. We'll have dinner ready for you."

They followed him to a dining room that offered panoramic views of the central island and the other yachts down below. They sat together around a table with a white cloth and a candle lit in the center. Alan had waiters come in immediately with menus. Patty undid her napkin and placed it on her lap.

"You surprise me, Patty," Alan said, doing the same. "I did not think a girl like you was so sophisticated."

"Only when she wants to be," said Crystal. "Behind that lady-like etiquette is a real party animal."

Alan and Patty laughed. Yuri could only chuckle. Not that he would know what Patty's nightlife was like. She blocked him from seeing her profile online.

"Well, we'll see more of that tonight, won't we, Yuri?" Alan said, slapping Yuri's shoulder.

"I guess," Yuri responded, massaging the spot where he was struck.

"Are you ready to order?" the waiter asked.

"Ladies first," said Alan, opening his menu. "Patty. See anything you like?"

Patty took a moment to look up and down the menu. She wrinkled her nose. "I'll take the maple-basted chicken with the brown rice and cranberries."

"Anything to drink?" The waiter asked.

"I'll have an apple martini, please."

"Okay. And you, Miss Anderson?"

"I'll have a bone-in ribeye and a glass of champagne."

"Okay. Gentlemen?"

"Yuri, why don't you go ahead?" said Alan.

"Okay. I'll have what Patty's having, but make my drink a lime soda."

"Oh, come on, Yuri," said Alan. "At least have a scotch for dinner."

Yuri looked at him with a concerned look. This was exactly what he had feared. He never did like the taste of alcoholic drinks, and, least of all, he hated being pressured into drinking them. "I'm seventeen," he replied. "And I'm driving."

"Very well," Alan said. "I was certain there was no legal strict drinking age here if we're drinking in private. Come on. Just one."

Yuri tapped the table with his finger. "And a scotch," he said.

"Say it like in the movies!" said Patty. "Come on, Yuri."

"Oh man," he groaned. "A scotch on the rocks."

Everyone laughed and clapped. "Hey, that's good!" Alan said chuckling. "Very good."

Until their food arrived, they had merry conversations about past victories and new cards that were rumored to be coming out by November. Once their dinner was served, Alan moved on to why he brought Yuri here to this party tonight.

"You want me to speak up against the stowaways?" Yuri asked. "Why would I do that? Is this some ruse to get me to promote your campaign for mayor and get more votes for you?"

"Of course," said Alan. "Look, I hope you don't think ill of me for doing this."

"How can anyone not?" Crystal snapped. "You're threatening to throw people off the island."

"People who shouldn't even be here," said Patty. Alan raised his glass towards her and nodded. "I've seen first hand what these guys can do, Crystal. My dad is a commander for RAPTOR. These guys smuggle nasty things in their side of town and distribute them all around with their gangs who run about mugging the REAL citizens of this city. Not to mention they tarnish our image. A long time ago, I used to be able to walk through Madison Park at night. It was beautiful. Now, you see bums passed out on the sidewalks and benches. Piles of crap in the gardens and floating around the ponds. Trash on the streets. Our last mayor did nothing because he claims that these people need help. When he said need help I didn't think he meant using our parks and city as their own personal bathroom and trash can."

"Exactly," said Alan.

Crystal shook her head. "I understand there's a bit of gang epidemic going on and they're not exactly the cleanest of people, but maybe we can help them."

Alan set his drink down. "When the Romans opened the gates, they let the greatest empire in all the known world collapse. The 'Eternal City' just crumbled in a matter of moments. Why? Because foreigners ransacked the city."

Crystal took one last sip of her champagne and set it down. "Yes, Alan, but the Romans didn't open the gates to the barbarian horde. King Alaric's men did that themselves when they were let into the city in the guise of slaves. And honestly, Rome was in a bad state before the Visigothic invasion even began."

"You get my point," Alan scoffed as he rolled his eyes upward. "It doesn't matter who's opening the gates, we're letting in a group of people who have no respect for our culture or our way of life. Despite all the programs the council has provided for the youths, they don't take advantage of them. I see a lot of stowaway kids leaving school and going to the malls to cause mischief or join gangs. They don't want to learn. They don't want to adapt. They say they're here to start a better life but instead, they choose to live the way they lived in the countries they came from."

Crystal gave a wave of her hand. "Well, unlike the Romans, we are flourishing. They weren't. We're not about to let a few stowaways change that."

Alan signaled the waiter for another drink. "Crystal, that's the thing. A lot of great nations and empires flourished. But a single grain of rice can tip the scales and send things plummeting the wrong way. All it takes is one bad idea to bring ruin to a great nation."

Crystal nodded. "Regardless, Nobody gives them a chance to do anything!"

"Bullshit," said Yuri. "As Alan said, my dad and the city council have provided job fairs, educational benefits, blah, blah, blah. He has literally given each and every one of them an opportunity for citizenship if they can earn it. That's something far more gracious than any other government in the world can offer. Most will simply kick you out, like our neighbor to the west of the ocean. There is a handful who have taken advantage of this and have provided great things for Aquarius. However, a majority of them have chosen to live a life of mediocrity. They form gangs who have caused trouble lately. Patty's right. It's almost unsafe to walk the streets at night in some areas. Areas were little kids were allowed to play and walk without a reason to worry."

"And were you any different, Yuri?" Crystal said sternly. "Mr. Bigshot with his gang of rich boys running around Los Angeles Rojas racketeering the life and soul out of the poor people."

"Yuri is a changed man, Crystal." Alan placed his hand on Yuri's shoulder. "While his actions as a kid were a little...cruel. I cannot blame him for taking that path. Especially not after what happened to him when those savages kidnapped him."

Yuri's face dropped. He put his fork and knife down and stared out the window. Crystal looked at Alan with a confused glare, wondering why he would choose to bring up such a horrible memory at a time like this.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Patty asked, throwing her handkerchief over her plate.

Yuri shook his head. "No."

"Can I speak to you in private, Yuri?" Alan said, getting up from his chair.

"No, I'm coming, too!" Crystal demanded.

Alan held his hand up to stop her. "That won't be necessary. This is guy talk."

"No, I don't think so!" Crystal shouted.

"Crystal!" Yuri cried out. "It's okay. If he wants to talk. We'll talk. I need some air."

Crystal grimaced at the sudden rise in Yuri's voice. He never yelled at her before. She swallowed nervously and set her handkerchief on her plate of untouched food before she walked to Yuri. "Whatever he tells you," she whispered in his ear "Don't use your experience to give him any political gain."

"What?" said Yuri.

"He wants to use your kidnapping as a tool to get him more votes. You're going to have a Duel in a few moments. Just play, win, and keep your mouth shut when he asks for a speech. Got it?" She kissed his cheek to hopefully seal the deal and walk away. She turned to look at Patty. "Coming, Patty?" she asked.

"Yeah, I need to hit the ladies' and freshen up," she responded looking at her purse. "When's this Duel I keep hearing about going to happen?"

"Right after we have our talk," Alan said, putting an arm over Yuri's shoulder. "You ladies have some fun. There's no lack of entertainment tonight. There are parties in every boat and an exhibition of new weapons for RAPTOR in the hangar over there. I think there are some Duels going on in the bay over there if you're interested. Enjoy yourselves. Don't party too hard out there." He laughed and led Yuri outside.

* * *

**Brett**

* * *

"You sure Yuri is going to use that Black Tyranno tonight?" asked Mr. Crenshaw, an advisor to Alan's campaign. They had dinner in a restaurant that specialized in Cajun food called The Red Barge. They sat in a private lounge on a balcony overlooking the party down below.

"Am I sure? He's gonna have to," Brett laughed, drowning his cajun fries in ketchup. "His opponent is good. One of the best. A rising star in the States. The way this guy plays, Yuri's going to have no choice but to play his beast and summon that monster. But even then, he's gonna have a hard time. My money's on his opponent."

"I thought we wanted Yuri to win."

"Yuri's purpose is to just Duel. Winning or losing doesn't matter. Alan promised his voters and potentials the Black Tyranno, so he's going to give them the Black Tyranno."

"What's the point? He's just a trading card. Why do you think potential voters are going to be drawn into the booths and vote for Alan because they see him playing a trading card in a Duel?"

"You're new to Aquarius, aren't you?" Brett laughed, picking up a grilled cheese finger sandwich. He bit into it and spoke as he chewed. "The people here live and breathe Duel Monsters. It's our cash cow. It's our love, our passion. All it takes is one little Duel for the people of this island to love you or hate you. Now, Yuri.."

He stopped to swallow his food, then he took a long gulp of beer.

"Yuri may be the son and heir to Aquarius and to the company his father runs, but he was a nobody. He didn't want to be seen. Want to have friends. I thought he finally manned up after he fought in underground cage matches for a few years, but his last fight broke his arm. He never showed his face again. Throughout his years in high school, nobody even knew he existed. Hell, his sister, Kathy, had more followers on social media. Two million to his lousy one hundred and fifty. Now, after he got that rare and powerful Black Tyranno, everyone loves him. He beat my protege, Randall Lawson. Then he went on to beat one of the Sensational Dragon Sisters. The kid's got potential in him and the crowd wants to see it blossom. Not to mention see more of that Black Tyranno. He Dueled a few days ago against some hotshot from Florida. When Black Tyranno showed up, the topic trending was the monster. Girls take selfies with the beast behind them. People photograph it like crazy for their blog and video channels. That card isn't just a rare card, it's one-of-a-kind."

"If you say so." Mr. Crenshaw sucked the meat out of another crawdad. "And we have your word that he'll testify against those leeches living on Mobius Island?"

"I'm more than sure he will, Mr. Crenshaw. I hate the guy, but it wasn't right what they did to him when he was a kid. You know, Yuri wasn't always that good-hearted angel we see today."

"He wasn't?"

"Nope." Brett ate another sandwich. "Like I told you, during his freshman year, Yuri was spotted very often at clubs in the harbors of Nefeli Island. And these were nasty places. Drugs, sex, cage matches. The last place you'd expect to find the Prince of Aquarius. However, he was messed up even way before that. After his incident with those kidnappers, Yuri developed a mean streak. Like he wanted no one to fuck with him anymore. He got together the kids of the neighborhood, hired some muscle, and formed a gang. They always marched to Los Angeles Rojas to extort the trash living there. Yuri made their lives hell from when he was thirteen till sixteen when he was eventually caught by police after one of his goons, a friend of his named Tyson, beat this man so bad he cracked his skull, broke his jaw, and caused severe brain damage. The Montgomerys were heartbroken, man. It was the worst thing that could ever befall such a noble family like them. Nevertheless, Yuri is the only one with the means to take over the business. His brother, Buzz, is playing in elite soccer clubs, and his sister, Kathy, is flying high in the Aquarius Air Force. And little Andrew is far too young to do anything right now. Yuri is Jacob's only means to have a successful lineage in Phobos Corp. I guess learning that he has a big responsibility in the future set him straight. He was also supposed to marry Crystal in some arrangement."

"I heard he and Miss Anderson were very close."

"They still are. Those two have been friends since kindergarten. However, that marriage has been scrapped for reasons I can't explain. Perhaps Yuri ruined his image when he started fighting in underground fight clubs. Crystal was always a rather delicate girl."

"Or perhaps you had something to do with the scrubbing of their marriage?" Mr. Crenshaw asked with a smile. "I do see you and her together quite often."

Brett smiled back. "I'm a better man than Yuri. I know how to take advantage of my fame and my wealth. Yuri doesn't. He acts like he doesn't belong to the richest family in the world. He insists on living like a hermit when he has the resources to live like a king. That's why Crystal is with me now and not him. Anyways, even though he's been reevaluated, he still harbors hate for the stowaways."

"You believe so?" Mr. Crenshaw asked. "You really believe that-"

He was interrupted when Brett's beautiful ebony-haired secretary arrived with a phone in hand. "Mr. Martinetti," she said, tapping his shoulder.

"I was talking!" Mr. Crenshaw snapped at the woman.

She turned and glared at him from behind her black-rimmed glasses. "Can you stop?" she asked defiantly. Mr. Crenshaw smiled, admiring her crisp white blouse and tight black skirt. The secretary rolled her eyes. "Mr. Martinetti this is an important phone call. They're looking for you."

"Uh uh," Brett said, finishing his finger sandwich. "Brett Martinetti is not available on that number. He's never available on that number. Never, ever, ever, ever. I told you never to accept calls on that number. I told you that a dozen times you dumb broad." He swiped the phone from her hand and shooed her away. "Get out of my sight." He ordered her. She scoffed and walked away.

"Why do we even have her?" Mr. Crenshaw asked as she walked away. "She's so worthless."

Brett grinned, admiring the secretary's legs and rump as she stormed out of the lounge. "She serves no purpose. But she offers a nice view."

The secretary flipped him her middle finger and was gone from sight. Brett tapped the phone on his neck and sighed before he answered. "Hello?" he said monotonously. When he heard the voice on the other end, he bolted upright. "Hey, you. Where you at? The party's getting good." He paused to let his caller speak. "Uh-uh." He took a gulp of beer. "Yeah. I just spoke to her. He had dinner with Alan a few moments ago. They're about to head outside and mingle. You are just in time. Uh-uh. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. All right, see you then, buddy. Thanks a million for coming down here. Yeah. Of course, no problem. Hell yeah, you're gonna get paid. I didn't expect a man with skills as sharp as yours to do this for free."

He stood up and stretched. "Well. He's here."

* * *

**Yuri**

* * *

Yuri, Alan, Crystal, and Patty stood in front of the fountain at the front of the Montgomery Towers and waited for the opponent to arrive. They did not have to wait too long for him to arrive, for a throng of people crowded the sidewalks along the driveway once they spotted a rather odd-looking vehicle zoom towards the towers. A Lamborghini Egoista. It looked like a prop from a science-fiction movie. Cameras flashed as they followed the car's every movement. It came to a stop in front of Yuri and his friends. The canopy door opened revealing that the car was a single-seater, however, there were two passengers inside. The driver of the car was a gorgeous caramel-skinned beauty with long, curly raven-black hair. She sported an ebony cocktail dress with a plunging neckline to show off the bulge of her baby-oiled breasts.

Sitting on her lap was a boy who was no more than thirteen. He was dressed sharply in a suit that probably cost more than Yuri's education. He had long, wavy hair, a pointed nose, and skin that smelled of cocoa butter. A golden Rolex shined on his left wrist, while the right was burdened to carry his custom Duel Disk of gold, platinum, and silver with diamonds inlaid into it.

It then dawned on Yuri that this boy was his opponent for tonight. Behind a velvet rope, a mob of girls pushed and shoved, holding out phones, notepads, and pieces of paper with hopes of getting the boy's autograph. He took out his gold iPhone and held it high to take a photo of himself and his adoring fans. Miguel Colonel del Toro. But, his friends call him Miguelito for short. Yuri could see that the boy's only achievement in life was winning the lottery with life. His father is Don Diego del Toro. A billionaire who owns his own network. No doubt in Yuri's mind that daddy gave his little boy everything he wanted. He saw him sing at a few concerts on TV before. His voice was not that great but it was clearly obvious that Don Diego shoved a stack or two at the way of the producers to green light his career. Not long after buying his own villa on Nefeli Island, he developed a love for Duel Monsters.

Again, thanks to daddy, Miguelito was able to acquire rare and powerful cards to make him a rising star back in the States. He was hailed as a prodigy, defeating an undefeated champion back in his home state of Texas to earn himself the title.

"Hey, little buddy!" Alan said, walking towards the boy, slapping him a high-five. "Glad you could make it. Nice set of wheels by the way."

"Thanks," Miguelito said, letting go of his hand. "It's called an Egoista. It's the only one of its kind in the world. Lamborghini gifted it to themselves as a fiftieth-anniversary present. I had to make them an offer they couldn't refuse in order to cruise around in it tonight."

"Who is she?" Yuri asked. "Your date?"

Miguelito laughed in response. "Naw, man. I wish. Unfortunately, I still gotta wait five more years until I can date a woman like her. Until then, she's my driver and secretary." He winked. "She's also a masseuse." He purred and lowered his sunglasses, looking back at the woman. "You go ahead and park it, dollface. I'll meet you shortly."

The woman blew him a kiss, closed the canopy, and drove off into the night. Miguelito removed his sunglasses and clicked flirtatiously at Patty and Crystal. "Well, well, well. The beauty just never ends around here. Here stands before me a dashing, beautiful angel in white. And here, a sultry succubus in black. I know who you are Miss Queen of Dragons. I'm a big fan. But you, the girl with the pink streaks. I've seen you somewhere before, but I just can't put my finger on it. What's your name, doll?"

Patty giggled and rolled her eyes. "Patty," she answered.

"Oh yeah!" Miguelito said, snapping his fingers. "You're the girl with the Fiends, right?"

"Guilty as charged," Patty replied, allowing him to take her hand and kiss it.

"Yeah, I saw you take on that cabron, Randall Lawson. I hate that jerk, man. He talks a big game, but he never delivers. You sure showed him."

Patty laughed. "You saw that?"

"That's my fault," said Crystal, raising her hand bashfully. "Remember? I was in the stadium during your Duel. The way you used your Fiends and kept your cool against Randall's arrogance was just awe-inspiring. I had to take my phone out and show everyone that Yuri isn't the only rising star in Aquarius."

"Damn right!" said Miguelito, pumping his fist. "You were so awesome with your Fiends, Patty. I mean the way you summoned them. The way they obeyed you and loved you. Dios Mio! It was like they were alive or something, yo! And your Dark Ruler Ha Des was so beast! I don't know how you got it. He's so hard to find. Oh! Oh! That black dragon of yours! Diabolos, King of the Abyss. What the hell is up with that card? Is he up for trades? I can give you anything you want. Or pay whatever you want."

Patty burst out laughing. "Sorry, baby, I'm sure you can. But Diabolos isn't for sale. He's a one-of-a-kind card."

"Where did you get it?" Crystal asked. "I know a thing or two about dragons, and that card doesn't exist in the card database. I've looked."

Patty sighed and looked at her. "According to my friend, Yuri, he doesn't know. I got a lot of cards from him that day because it was my eighteenth birthday. Dark Ruler Ha Des was one of them. However, he claimed that he doesn't have a clue how Diabolos got in there." She shrugged. "Just like his Black Tyranno, Diabolos came out of nowhere. I guess our city is famous for cards that come out of thin air."

Miguelito turned to look at Yuri. "Ah, so you're Yuri Montgomery. The Prince of Aquarius. I never thought you'd ever see the light of day, amigo. Where've you been all these years?"

"Dreaming," Yuri replied.

Miguelito let out a friendly laugh. "Well, you gotta leave that behind, Yuri. You're a rising star around here. I know a champ when I see one."

"You really think so?" Yuri asked, shocked that this arrogant boy was kind enough to give him a compliment.

"Of course, I do. Yuri, you and me, we're a rare breed of Duelist. You came out of the ashes like a phoenix and showed the world what you're made of when your Black Tyranno came to the scene. Speaking of which, I hope he's ready to face me. It's time to Duel!"

Crystal handed Yuri a spare Duel Disk. He followed Miguelito to a grotto in the tropical gardens at the back of the towers where guests swam about in caves and rocky tunnels. Yuri and Miguelito took their positions at the opposite sides of a river where party-goers lounged around. They swam back to give room for the holograms that were about to emerge and do battle.

"Duel!" They both shouted.

**LP 2000**

I'll go first," said Miguelito. "I summon Ancient Sorcerer in attack mode!"

**ATK/1000 DEF/1300**

****

"Okay," said Yuri. "My turn. Draw! I summon Trakadon in attack mode!" He placed the card on the Duel Disk. The machine whirred and projected a vicious raptor with brilliant blue scales and green stripes. It hovered over the water.

**ATK/1300 DEF/800**

The swimmers cheered, knowing full well that a battle was about to take place. Girls clung to their lover's arms in anxiety. Others held up their drinks and fists and chanted: "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

"Time to give them what they want," said Yuri. "Trakadon, attack his Ancient Sorcerer!"

Trakadon lowered its head. The green stripes on its body started glowing, as did his brilliant neon lime eyes. A magical whirr hummed inside the dinosaur's body. Three rows of Green/blue glyphs aligned from largest to smallest formed in front of its face and spun slowly. Trakadon opened its mouth and fired a brilliant blue laser with a green core. The laser shot through Ancient Sorcerer's chest. He coughed and grunted in defeat before he shattered to pieces and exploded, blasting Miguelito with 300 points of damage.

The swimmers cheered. A crowd rushed toward the balcony to watch the Duel. Alan, meanwhile, waved for the camera crews to get into good positions to film the game promoting his campaign.

Miguelito laughed, drawing his next card. "I knew you couldn't resist attacking my weak monster, Yuri. I thought you'd be better than that."

"You mean you set me up?"

"Damn right I did, Yuri. Now you're going to pay. I summon The Bewitching Phantom Thief in attack mode!"

He placed the card on the Duel Disk and conjured a tall shadowy gentleman, wrapped in a black cloak. His black top hat concealed all but a sinister smile.

****

**ATK/700 DEF/700**

Patty scratched her head. "Uh. He's kidding, right? The Bewitching Phantom Thief. He's one of the weakest, most worthless cards in the game."

Brett laughed, waking up from behind the two girls and squeezing their buttocks. They both squealed and backed away from him. If it weren't for the two security guards on either side of him, and the fact that he was the nephew of the city's most dangerous man, Patty would have punched him into oblivion. Instead, she backed away and kept her cool.

"You have a lot to learn about Yuri's opponent, Pats," he said, taking their spot on the railing overlooking the grotto. He leaned forward. "Miguelito is top dog back in The States. He's secured himself a spot in the Duel Monsters Championship next year. If there's one thing you should never do, and that's underestimating him."

Down below, Miguelito chuckled at Yuri's confused look. "I know what you're thinking, Yuri. Why would he summon a monster weaker than mine? Sure, my gentleman doesn't look like much now, but, when I combined this Spell Card with him, he'll be a force to be reckoned with."

"A combo attack!" Yuri gasped.

"That's right. Negative Energy Generator will multiply the attack points of my thief by three!"

**ATK/2100**

The crowd cheered and clapped and whistled at the impressive combo. Miguelito ordered his Phantom Thief to attack. The Phantom took out his cane, jumped back until he was many feet in the air, and pointed his cane at Trakadon. The cane conjured a dark ball of shadow energy and launched it at Trakadon. The ball hit the dinosaur with a loud smack. Trakadon spun faster and faster and faster until it dematerialized. Yuri's Life Points plummeted.

"Not so weak now, is he, Yuri?" Miguelito boasted.

Brett laughed and clapped his hands. He turned to see the shocked expressions on both girl's faces. "See? What did I tell you? Never underestimate your opponent."

Crystal gulped. "My God. He knows every aspect of the game. I didn't…"

"Of course, you didn't, you simpleton," sneered Brett. "See the devastating power of his combo attack?"

"Come on, Yuri!" cheered Patty.

Yuri drew. "I summon Sword Arm of Dragon in defense mode," Yuri said sadly, tossing away one of his best monsters. Unfortunately, he had nothing in his hand that could help him against that monster.

"Attack!" Miguelito shouted.

Again, The Bewitching Phantom Thief rose into the air and conjured the ball of energy, firing it at Sword Arm of Dragon. The dinosaur spun faster and faster and faster until he vanished.

Yuri went defensive again and again and again until the crowd started booing him and crying out of the Black Tyranno.

"Do you expect to go defensive until you're all out of cards!?" shouted Miguelito. "They told me you were growing to be one of the best. But it seems to me you were fighting weak opponents. You disappoint me, Yuri!"

The crowd chanted and clapped.

Yuri drew. "It's not Black Tyranno, but he'll do. I set a card face-down and summon Black Dragon Jungle King!"

He summoned his great black beast. It towered over the palm trees. The tail swung over the swimmers. The illusion was so realistic, that many of them ducked or dove underwater to avoid being struck.

**ATK/2100 DEF/1800**

"Now, I'll boost his power with Invigoration, which will increase his attack by three hundred, making him more than powerful enough to take down your Phantom Thief!"

**ATK/2400**

Black Dragon Jungle King took a deep breath, his chest bloating to a large size and his cheeks puffed. He released a jet of purple flames at the monster that kept his master down most of the Duel. The Bewitching Phantom Thief yelled in terrible agony. Purple flames enveloped him and licked the air. He shattered.

Crystal clapped. "Nice! Yuri's almost there! Come on, baby. Come on."

Miguelito drew. "Nice try, Yuri, but not good enough. I summon Cyber-Tech Alligator, with a devastating attack power of twenty-five hundred!"

The cyborg reptilian creature brandished its sharp claws and slashed Black Dragon Jungle King across the chest. It roared and exploded. The blast struck Yuri with 100 points of damage.

"But don't think I'm done, yet," Miguelito sniggered. "I play the Ritual Spell, War-Lion Ritual. Now I sacrifice these two monsters in my hand to Ritual Summon the mighty Super-War Lion!"

The mighty beast appeared after a dazzling display of flames and an ancient chant that came from nowhere, conjuring the monster to do battle. Super War-Lion had tough brown skin with patches of dark brown fur and a long red mane. He slashed his claws on the concrete to sharpen them, then brandished his awesome weapons at Yuri. The sharpened claws glistened.

Miguelito cackled. "And next, I'll lay this card face-down. Make your move."

"This is it," Patty whispered. "If Yuri doesn't summon his Black Tyranno, he's sunk."

Yuri placed his fingers on the deck. He doubted he could draw the monster. His deck was still full and the odds of drawing it were too low.

_Are you going to give up already?_

"What?" Yuri whispered.

_Come on, Yuri. Where's your faith. You're a lot better than that._

"It can't be! That...that voice? Yugi?"

Time seemed to stand still. The world around him grew cold and dark. The swimmers were gone. The buildings were gone. All that remained of the real world was the Black Tyranno who seemed to snort agitatedly. He sniffed the air and shook his head.

"Where are we?" Yuri cried, looking all around him. "How did you get here?"

"He's here because he believes in you," Yugi said, coming out of the darkness.

Yuri scoffed at the sight of him. "You? You're so...tiny."

Yugi sighed, slapping his forehead. "Come on! I have to get that from my friends. Now I have to get that from you?"

Yuri shook his head. "I meant no offense. It's just that...you were bigger last time I saw you. And your voice was so...powerful. What happened? Do your balls just drop within the next five seconds and then shrink? What's going on here?"

"I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that," Yugi said, walking by Yuri.

"Who are you?" Yuri asked. "What's happening? Where did you take me?"

"To a place where I can talk to you and hopefully clear some things up," Yugi responded, looking at Yuri's Black Tyranno. The dinosaur snapped his jaws and gave a powerful nod of his head. Yugi nodded back. "You know, you two belong together."

"Was it you who gave him to me?"

Yugi turned to look at Yuri. "No. He came to you. My friends only aided him on his journey to you."

"I'm sure they did," Yuri scoffed.

Yugi shook his head. His jagged bangs bounced with each movement. "You don't believe any of this, do you?"

"This isn't real. You're not real. It was probably that scotch Alan gave me earlier. I'm just nervous about the Duel and a little drunk. In a few moments, you're going away. And I'm never going to see you again."

Yugi seemed a little disappointed by that. "I'm sorry you feel that way, Yuri. I know it must be strange talking to someone like me. If I lived most of my life in this boring world, I would denounce anything fantastic myself. There is something special about you, Yuri. Something that you can't comprehend. My goal right now is to help you. And help you, I will. You don't belong here. This was never your home."

"Get out!" said Yuri. "Get out of my head and leave me the fuck alone, Yugi!"

"This isn't going to be the last time you see me, Yuri. I fear you're going to be seeing us far more often than you'd like. The new summer approaches. Your eighteenth year approaches. When these points in time come upon you, your time in this world is over."

"Are you going to kill me?"

"No. We're going to bring you home. And we'll keep seeing you until you understand that your destiny has no place in this world. It's far too great for it."

"I said, leave me alone!"

"Very well, Yuri. I won't argue with you. But do you mind if I give you a few words of advice before I depart?"

"Make it quick."

"The Black Tyranno was looking for you, Yuri. You two have a bond. Believe in him, and he'll show up when you need him. Such is the power of the Heart of the Cards."

"The Heart of the Cards?" Yuri repeated.

But Yugi was gone. Suddenly, he found himself back at the grotto. He heard the voices of the swimmers and onlookers shouting for Yuri to hurry up with his draw. He placed his fingers back on the top of his deck.

Yuri swiped the card from the top of the deck. He placed it down on the Duel Disk and summoned the guest of honor. Black Tyranno. It took a moment for the monster to finally be rendered in holographic form. When it did, Black Tyranno greeted the night with a loud and proud roar. Everyone cheered and held up their arms, thrilled to finally be seeing the ace monster in Yuri's deck. His armored flesh glistened in the light of the torches, lamps, and paper lanterns hanging over the grotto. He swiped his tail from left to right, his body quaking with the lust to do battle. He was pure nature. Pure evolution. Pure beast, living on instinct. He was both beautiful and frightening to behold.

Brett's arrogant smiled faded. As soon as that beast came onto the field, all the trash talk and boasting about Miguelito felt like they were shoved back down to his throat. He was embarrassed, furious, and most of all, frightened. Yuri boosted his dinosaur's power with the spell, Raise Body Heat, which increased the ATK and DEF of Dinosaur-Type monsters by 300 points ( **ATK 2900** ). Brett watched in horror and awe as Black Tyranno stormed toward Cyber-Tech Alligator.

"Oh no you don't!" shouted Miguelito. "You've activated my Trap Card, Shadow Spell! This will force paralyze your Black Tyranno and reduce his attack points by seven hundred!"

Dark, shadow chains slithered out of bushes, the water, the tops of trees, out of the caves. Everywhere. They wrapped themselves around Black Tyranno, preventing him from moving. He snarled and grunted, writhing in his bindings hoping to get free. Their fell magic began to work its foul deed, draining his ATK down to 2200. Now he was weaker than Cyber-Tech Alligator.

The guests stood up. Some placed their hands on their heads. "Cyber-Tech Alligator! Counter-Attack!" Miguelito commanded his monster.

The crowd yelled and screamed. Patty covered her mouth with her hands and Crystal shielded her eyes from the view, by burying her face in Patty's shoulder. Brett stood up straight, a cocky grin reforming on his lips.

"I activate my counter trap!" shouted Yuri. "Seven Tools of the Bandit!"

Patty and Crystal screamed and jumped up and down. Yuri's Trap Card may have cost him 1000 of his Life Points, but it freed Black Tyranno from the Shadow Spell. The chains rusted and turned to dust. Black Tyranno was freed just seconds before Cyber-Tech Alligator's claws could slice him in half. Black Tyranno quickly dodged the attack and spun, swatting Cyber-Tech Alligator with his tail. Cyber-Tech Alligator screeched and smacked hard on the ground. He rolled to a stop by a palm tree.

The crowd jumped again and started celebrating and hollering. Some danced around and bumped chests with one another. And just as quickly as it came, Brett's grin vanished.

He babbled, watching as Black Tyranno smashed Cyber-Tech Alligator to the ground with his foot. Then he lowered his head and used his diamond-hard teeth to rip through the tough metal of his foe's chest. Then, he proceeded to rip out his heart, which doubled as a processing core.

Brett looked at Miguelito, hoping he had something that could fight back against with another card. But the boy did nothing. He looked to the ground sadly. Even he knew it was over.

Miguelito drew. His face creased with disappointment at the card he drew. He looked at the few cards in his hand. Nothing. If he switched Super War-Lion to defense mode, it would not save him. If he kept it in attack mode, he would lose Life Points.

"You win, Yuri," Miguelito said, placing his hand over his deck. "There's nothing more I can do. You sure do know how to get yourself out of tight situations. You're really good."

Yuri smiled. "You're not so bad yourself, Miguelito."

They deactivated their Duel Disks. The holograms disappeared. Miguelito clapped his hands and then raised his arms. "Come on everybody! Let's make some noise for Yuri!"

Yuri's ears almost popped from the loud cheers that were let out just for him. Even as the sole heir of Phobos Corp, never in his life did he expect to gain such admiration. He had been alone and angry throughout most of his life.

But now, people knew who he was. People admired him. Cheered for him. Believed in him.

Suddenly, Patty game running down the cove straight toward him. She pounced on him and buried her mouth into his. The sight of this caused more cheers to light up the night.

Alan came by moments later with a giant check of $500,000. Patty clapped as she jumped up and down at the sight of Yuri holding the check. Miguelito, despite being the loser of the contest, still walked to Yuri and gave him a congratulatory fist bump.

Crystal wanted to go down and join him, but she stopped when she felt Brett's vice-like grip seize her arm.

"Don't even think about it, babe. We're going home."

Crystal saw that horrible look in his eyes. She knew she was in for a rough night. Not wanting to anger him further, she said nothing and surrendered to his will. He yanked her out of the grotto and back to his car.

Meanwhile, back down in the grotto, Alan raised the microphone to his mouth. A spotlight from the fifth floor of the Montgomery Towers shined down on him, Yuri, and Patty.

"A big congratulations to our main man, Yuri Montgomery. How do you feel, Yuri?"

"Well, uh, I feel pretty good right now. In fact, I think Miguelito and I are both winners here. He put up a good fight."

"Spoken like a true winner! And, uh, is this pretty young lady our future Queen of Aquarius?" Alan asked while looking at Patty.

"Well, I can get used to her company," Yuri said, smiling at Patty. They kissed.

"Once again, congratulations to you, Yuri. Now, I believe you have a few words to say about one of my policies about the stowaway problem in the city, correct?"

Yuri gulped. This was the moment he had been dreading the whole night. This was his chance to finally get rid of the stowaways forever. Finally, they would pay for what they did to him all those years ago. But he remembered Nick and Consuelo. What would happen to them if he were to speak ill against them and their people? If Alan were to win this mayoral campaign and succeed with getting rid of them, he would never see them again. What kind of person would he be if he kicked out the very person who saved his life all those years ago? For all the gang activity going on and the nastiness of some, many in Los Angeles Rojas were working together to make their community a bright one.

Crystal was right. All they needed was a chance. And so, Yuri spoke but it was not to speak ill of the stowaways. He urged everyone to understand that Aquarius could be a place for everyone if they all worked together. The stowaways needed jobs, food, and education for their children so as not to let them fall to gang violence. He told them of his story when the gang of stowaways kidnapped him and abused him as they held him for ransom but then went on to say how Nick, a stowaway himself, saved his life and became his best friend.

Moved by his speech when it ended, everyone clapped and cheered. Alan leaned toward Yuri's ear. "You sure about this, Yuri? A few hours ago you were ready to give these people the boot."

"Aquarius can be a city for all," said Yuri. "Crystal said so herself. We need to give them a chance. Look at the way they live, Alan. They're in shacks overshadowed by our ivory towers. They starve as they watch us eat. Wouldn't that make you angry?"

"I suppose you're right, kiddo. You know something, you're right. All men are created equal. And they should be treated equally. So I will do everything in my power to make sure the stowaways get the proper treatment they deserve."

"That could also mean more votes for you," said Yuri. "When they're finally accepted as citizens of the city, that is."

Alan laughed and slapped Yuri's back. "You're absolutely right. I think I should hire you as my campaign manager."

Yuri chuckled. "No thanks. I'm not one for politics. Duel Monsters is my life now."


	37. Journey to the Deep

**Joey**

* * *

**Castle Muto**

**The Storm Coasts, Emboldor.**

* * *

"She's in Termnnian soil now," he said rolling up the scroll. "Her fate is now in the hands o' doze kids. Pegasus' sons sure did a great job scouting Termnnia fer da ruins, eh?"

Serenity gave a weak nod as a response, shoving a spoon of cornflakes into her mouth as she examined maps and scrolls littering the table where she sat. The wind howled on the window beside her. Above, a lantern waved back and forth providing light alongside the many candles and the warm blaze of the hearth nearby. Though it was early in the morning, the world outside was still dark as night. Down below, they heard music and laughter as Mai invited the villagers to take shelter inside the castle as the mighty storm outside was growing to be very powerful. Tornados could be seen ravaging the hills miles away from the castle and four of them were raging in the seas.

Joey sniffed the air and licked his lips. "I know dat sweet smell," he said. "Mai's making another batch of her sweet, delicious, corn cakes. Wanna head down and get some?"

Serenity gave another weak nod in response to his question. She ate more cornflakes. She crunched loudly, milk dripping down her chin. She and held up an ancient scroll detailing the lands around the Storm Coasts. She scratched her head and grunted. "I'm never going to figure this out."

"Figure what out?" Joey asked, turning to look at her. "What's wit all doze maps and scrolls. Ya been starin' at dem since Phoenix and the others left the castle."

Serenity tossed the map at the table in defeat. She irritably scooped up another spoonful of cornflakes and jammed it into her mouth. "I'm looking for something, Joey."

Joey rolled his eyes, pestered by the obviousness of that statement. He walked toward the table and picked up one of the maps. His eyes darted left and right as he studied the texts which were written in the language of the Neleneen. The Golden Elves. Joey threw the map back into the pile. "O' course yer not gonna find anything with deeze old relics. Serenity, deeze are maps made during the First Era. Look at dis. That's Arcraxia. Those lands were swallowed by the seas thousands and thousands of years ago."

"I know that," Serenity responded, rubbing her temples to calm herself. "But according to Grandpa Muto, we're standing near the border of Arcraxia. Meaning that the clue to this special item I'm looking for is somewhere out there." She pointed towards the Thundering Sea.

Joey let out a loud laugh that caused the candles on the table to flicker. "Ya gotta be kiddin' me, sis. Dere's no way yer gonna find anything in dat! To explore the Thundering Seas means certain death. Only a fool would do it."

Serenity chuckled. "Then it looks like I'm a fool. Ancient artifacts left behind by the Neleneen always wash up against the shores of this place. And, it's been proven that the ancient city of Fa-Labelda is just right over there. Yugi feels that way, too. Why else would you think he let us stay here in this castle?"

"No!" Joey yelled. "You are not gonna go into doze waters, sis. Look at dat. Doze waves are gonna crush yer boat. Smack 'em right into the rocks. I've seen it happen. Not only dat, doze twisters out there will blow you into the next world. And dere are sea monsters swimming down there. Sailors avoid these waters like they were gateways to the Shadow Realm. Which dey could be fer all I know."

Serenity sighed. "I figured you'd say that. Come on, Joey, this is really important."

Joey crossed his arms. "Yeah? And just what's so important that you need to risk yer own life to find it."

Serenity fumbled through piles of papers, maps, scrolls, and old letters until she finally found a sketch of the item she desired to find. When Joey saw it, his hands quivered. It was a pendant of exquisite design. Celtran craftsmanship without a doubt judging by the sheer beauty of the item. Joey's eyes flashed.

"Serenity? Ya can't be serious. Da Pendant of da Kings? That item died with Norman the Conqueror. Archeologists, mages, treasure hunters, even Da Seven Golden Kings searched for it. No one has been able to find it. What makes ya think you can?"

Serenity smiled confidently. "I'll find it because there is someone out there who is destined to have it."

"Yuri?" Joey asked. "What makes ya think Yuri can have Da Pendant of da Kings?"

"I feel it in my heart," Serenity said, picking up her bowl and drinking the last of the milk. It dripped down her chin and down her neck towards her chest. She groaned. Joey picked up a handkerchief laying on the back of a chair and tossed it at her. She cleaned herself and got up to put the bowl in the sink. "Our business here in the Storm Coasts is not done, yet," she said.

"Well, yer not gonna have me fer support," said Joey. "I can't help ya on dis quest. I'm needed over in the Coastlands of da west. We got ourselves a young rebel stirring up trouble down dere. And we gotta do somethin' about Antilles' closing of the Gates."

Serenity's calm demeanor faded. Her face turned bright pink. "That bastard. I'm more than sure he wants to keep Yuri off the throne."

"A lot of people believe dat," Joey said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "But with a majority of the Senate on his side, there's not much we can do."

Serenity glared at the map on the table. She squeezed both the table's corners and let out a heavy breath to exhale all the frustrations making her chest feel heavy. "Yes, there is," she said coldly, looking at the sketching of the Pendant of the Kings. "You just wait and see."

* * *

**Yuri**

* * *

**Central Island, Aquarius**

**Phobos Corp Dueling Grounds**

* * *

For the past couple of games, an arrogant Duelist had been dominating the competition. He had his own groupies watching his matches from behind his Duel Pod. One of them was obnoxiously playing a song from his iPhone which was amplified on his speakers.

 _ **Hotel California**_ performed by the Gypsy Kings.

It was probably his theme song. It fit him, for he was a fair-faced young man with Latino blood running in his veins. His deck box was made of black metal and decorated with jewels. He had long black hair tied into a ponytail. His skin was sun-kissed and his eyes were green like the emeralds around his neck clearly seen thanks to the open collar of his black shirt. The sleeves on his cards were gold with elegant designs.

His name was Arturo del Rio. El Halcón, meaning The Falcon, for he ran a Winged-Beast deck as Natalya did.

His poor opponent babbled in fear for his poor Wingweaver, a beautiful six-winged angel with an attack power of 2750. But, her power was useless, for she was confined in a trap card called Shadow Spell. It lowered her attack by 700 points. She was now at 2050, making her easy pickings for the arrogant Duelist's Punished Eagle.

He held up a Polymerization card and looked at Yuri and his friends. He had gold rings with large gems on each of his fingers. Yuri and his friends stared at him with a gaze as cold as a gargoyle's. The Duelist looked at Patty and then gave his card rapid licks with his tongue. Patty's eyes widened with rage.

The Duelist played Polymerization and gave Patty a wink fusing together his Blue-Winged Crown and Niwatori to create Punished Eagle. A giant bird almost as large as a small plane with sleek blue feathers, red eyes, and a beak of gold. There were red glowing runes on his head. His talons, razor-sharp.

**Punished Eagle**

**ATK/2100 DEF/1800  
**

****

He commanded the bird to attack. Punished Eagle took off to the top of the arena and made a dive that destroyed Wingweaver. The attack brought the other Duelist's Life Points to 0.

Arturo's friends stood up and clapped for another victory. He danced around to the beat of the song. He then tossed a rose from his black leather jacket to Patty who caught it.

"Does he always carry one of those?" Yuri asked, finding it odd that he just had a rose in his buttoned shirt. Patty examined the rose with a raised eyebrow and a confused look on her face. She was not pleased with the gift Arturo tossed her. She looked down at him. Some girls from school were on the east side of the arena, clapping for the Duelist, who came here on holiday from his tropical homeland. Which one, Yuri did not know. Nor did he care. He looked away, turning his gaze toward the jumbotron hanging above the arena displaying the highlights of the Duel. Of course, that only added fuel to Arturo's ego.

Arturo walked to the group. He moved confidently and smoothly with gallant steps, giving off the impression that he was dancing towards them. Naturally, his eyes were set on Patty, who sat on the bleachers two rows above where Yuri, Nick, and Carter were sitting. She wore a white mini dress and her hair was styled to flow down past her shoulder like a river of pink and gold. The satin silk ribbon on her headband glimmered from the right side of her head. She wrinkled her nose, immediately suspecting that this Duelist was looking to stir up trouble with her friends.

"So, who's next?" he asked, slipping his hands into his pocket. He had a thick Cuban accent. But Yuri, being Spanish himself thanks to his mother, could tell the accent was forced. "I can't help but notice you lot being here all day. Anyone up for a match?" He looked up at Patty. He admired the butterfly hanging from the choker around her neck. Her electric green eyes were almost glowing in the fluorescent light of the arena. Most of all, he admired her long legs, smooth and soft as the petals of the rose he tossed her. Patty had a feeling he was looking between her legs and crossed them as quick as thinking. "And you, _bonita?_ How about a Duel? You and me." He snapped his fingers. "Ah, now I remember. You're the girl with the fiends I heard so much about. Wanna go with me one-on-one? Let's see if your Diabolos dragon can stand up to my beautiful falcons. And then, when I defeat you, how about some lobster by the pier for dinner tonight?"

"Sorry, pal," said Carter, standing up and placing his hand on Yuri's shoulder. "But, you're out of luck. See this guy, right here? She's his girl. So you can forget about your dinner plans."

"Why do I find that hard to believe?" laughed Arturo. His group also laughed at Yuri. "Her...and him? You've got to be joking."

"Better believe it, buddy," Patty said from her spot. Patty ripped a petal from the rose with her teeth. She spat it out. "And, sorry, but I can't Duel right now. Didn't bring my deck today, hotshot. Though, I'm sure my boyfriend wouldn't mind taking you on."

"Thanks a lot," Yuri groaned, looking up at her.

At once, Arturo looked away from Patty and stared at Yuri. "Yuri did you say?" he said, stroking his chin. "Hmm, you're that pendejo with the Black Tyranno, no?"

"Andate pal carajo!" Yuri retorted as he sat straight up. The fighter he thought he left behind many years ago seemed to be returning. "Don't waste my time."

Nick backed away from Yuri and waved his hands. "Whoa, Yuri. I didn't know you had such a colorful knowledge of the Spanish language. Damn man."

"No, no, no, Yuri!" Arturo wagged his finger. He was clearly not phased by Yuri's insults. "You see, there is a rich Duelist out there paying big money to whoever takes you down in a Duel."

"How much we talkin'?" Patty asked, ripping off another petal.

Arturo sniggered and crossed his arms. "A million."

"Da-yum, Yuri," said Tyson. "I just might take you on for that."

Arturo then looked at the green glowing eye Yuri had. "Ah, it's true what they say about his eye. I must say, Yuri, it's a pretty thing to behold. How did you get it?"

"I don't know," said Yuri. He unzipped the smallest pocket of his backpack and took out his deck, now perfectly packaged in black sleeves. "We gonna play or what?"

Arturo nodded. "Indeed. Come on, let us Duel."

They took their positions. Arturo took the blue pod and Yuri took the red.

"Duel!" they both shouted.

**Arturo-2000 LP**

**Yuri-2000 LP**

"I shall let you start first," Arturo said, brushing a bang from his face.

"You sure about that?" Yuri sneered. "Uraby! Attack mode!"

His raptor snarled, coming onto the field.

"Impressive," said Arturo. "But he's not good enough for this. Go, Cyber Falcon!"

He summoned a robotic jet-powered hawk. The steel which made its body had a brilliant white finish and its talons were sharper than swords. It had bright red eyes like laser pointers.

**Cyber Falcon**

**ATK/1400 DEF/1200**

****

"He's bluffing," said Nick. "Yuri's Uraby can rip that robot-chicken to shreds with his powerful claws.

"You haven't learned a thing have you?" Layla Lovecraft commented as she came to the arena to join them. "You really think an opponent plays weaker monsters for nothing? You're not going to last long in future Duels with that attitude."

"What are you doing here?" Tyson asked.

"My old teammates are coming to visit," said Layla. "I've got to meet them at the airport in three hours. Thought I'd kill time coming to the new arena in town. Didn't think I'd find you guys here. Looks like I came just in time, seein' as how you're in a Duel. Yuri! Oh, I heard your sweet eighteen is in three weeks. Crystal's planning a big party for you."

"The biggest of the year," Patty added, tearing off another rose petal with her teeth.

"Don't remind me," Yuri groaned. "She's inviting half the island to it. I never even wanted a big party."

Layla clicked and gave a wink. "Come on, Yuri. It's not every day someone turns eighteen. It's the year of your independence. You gotta make it a night you'll never forget."

"Stop stalling!" Arturo shouted. "Make your move or forfeit the match! And you, cheerleader, back away, now!"

Layla wrinkled her nose and placed her knuckles on her hips. "Kick his ass, Yuri!"

"I think not, querida," said Arturo, angered that Layla's attention was drawn to Yuri instead of him. He looked at his hand and made a merry tune with his tongue. "It's still my turn. I play the Field Spell Card, Rising Air Current!" A powerful wind swirled around the field. The wind howled. Trash and other forms of debris swirled around in the air. "This card will boost the attack of all Wind monsters by five-hundred but their defense is lowered by four-hundred. Not that it matters, because their attack points are all I'm going to need. Behold!"

Cyber Falcon's attack rose to 1900. Nick swallowed his own words when he saw that boost in power. His face turned bright red. The Cyber Falcon soared toward Uraby and ripped him apart.

**Yuri-1600 LP**

**Arturo-2000 LP**

Arturo laughed and brushed his hands together as if cleaning dirt off them. "Your move, Yuri!"

Yuri drew his card. "I place two cards face down and summon Little D in defense mode."

"Little D?" laughed Arturo. "Remind you of anything?"

"Just go," said Yuri, ignoring his crude and insulting jest.

Arturo gave a nasty snigger. "With pleasure," he said. "For my next move, I summon Monstrous Bird in attack mode! Destroy his dinosaur with your mighty claws!"

An oversized bald eagle flew onto the field, giving out a cry for battle before it slashed Little D and destroyed him.

**Monstrous Bird**

**ATK/2000 DEF/1900**

****

"Nice card," said Patty.

"Glad you like it," said Arturo.

Patty clenched her teeth on another petal and ripped it off the rose. "So, you're one of the Dragon Sisters," she said to Layla. "I missed that Duel between you and Yuri last month. I heard he walloped you despite siking your best dragons on him."

"That he did," Layla said, leaning against the rail next to the cement steps. "And uh, you must be the fiend girl everyone's been buzzing about on social media. I saw a clip of your Duel with Randall Lawson. That Diabolos of yours is a real beast. Mind if you and I go one-on-one sometime. I'd like to see his power for myself."

Patty smiled and ripped another petal off the rose and spit it out. "Sure. I'd like that. Next time I bring my cards and you're around, I'll be ready."

"Sounds good to me," said Layla. "You're a hot one, Patty. Anyone ever tell you that?"

Patty rolled her eyes. "Only all the time. Why else would Yuri be dating me?" Nick cringed hearing those words, but nobody seemed to notice.

"Ah, so the Prince of Aquarius dating the Fiend Princess, I like that. You two are quite the match. Congratulations, Patty. You've got a future champion wrapped around your finger."

Patty smiled at that remark.

"What are you going to do, Yuri?" Arturo asked, confident his powered-up monsters would be enough to ensure a victory.

"I summon Anthrosaurus in defense mode. Then I activate the Spell Card, The Shallow Grave. This card will allow us to choose a monster from our Graveyards and play them in defense mode. Since you don't have any, you don't. Uraby, return!"

"Who cares," said Arturo. "More food for my birds. My turn. I play Pot of Greed. Now I draw two cards. Then I summon Wing Eagle!"

**Wing Eagle**

**ATK/1800 DEF/1500**

****

His birds screeched at Yuri. They were ready for an onslaught. Yuri grinned. "I activate my Trap Card, Zero Gravity!"

Arturo grunted. He fell for it. "What!" he cried.

"Oh-oh," said Layla. "This is goodbye, baby."

"What do you mean?" said Arturo.

"Your Rising Air Current lowers the defense of your monsters by four hundred points, remember?" said Tyson.

"So what?" said Arturo. "Even if one of my precious birds gets destroyed, I can still switch them back to attack next turn to finish Yuri off."

"Yawn," said Patty, she ripped off the last piece of the rose. "It's game over, pretty boy. If Yuri has what I think he has, there is going to be no next turn."

"It can't be!" said Arturo. "Black Tyranno? Already? No!"

Yuri chuckled and slapped his ace monster onto the field. The projectors whirred. Their lights glimmered. Black Tyranno was finally rendered. He reared up his head and let out a triumphant roar. Something about him made Arturo very uneasy. Just like Yuri, the right eye was glowing bright green. He felt something odd radiating from both him and the Black Tyranno. A bond. A powerful bond. Like the Black Tyranno in front of him was more than just a card. He was a piece of Yuri's soul. A piece of his heart. A very good friend. After the victories those two have pulled together, Arturo wasn't at all surprised that their bond would be so strong that even he could feel it.

"YEAH!" cheered Tyson. "The big, black, badass is here!"

"Now I activate my second face-down card," said Yuri. "Dust Tornado! This will destroy your Field Spell."

Arturo looked at his screen and back up at Yuri. "You could have done that a long time ago?"

"I wanted you to have your fun," sneered Yuri. "You're not as good as you think you are, bro."

"You mean you played me this whole time?" said Arturo. "You already had me beat? But that can't be! Nobody plays El Halcón. Nobody!"

"Yuri toying with his opponents?" said Layla, scratching her head. "That's something I haven't seen before. He sure has grown."

"That's my little guy," Patty said, tossing the stem away. "He used to be such a wuss when he played. But now, he Duels like a champ. Who am I kidding? With him defeating the likes of you and Randall. Layla, I just might be seeing a future champ in the making."

"What about me?" said Nick.

"What about you?" Patty said, watching Black Tyranno strike down Arturo's birds with his jaws and his tail. Then he stomped Arturo for 2600 points of damage, bringing him down to 0.

Patty ran to Yuri's both and buried her mouth into his as she gave Arturo the middle finger. He didn't care. He scoffed, fluffed his quaff hair and walked out of the arena. As everyone left, Yuri felt the area growing cold. He paused for a moment and looked around.

"Is everything okay, baby?" Patty asked, following the others out the door.

"Yeah...I uh...you go on ahead. I think I left something in the Dueling Pod."

Patty nodded. "Okay. I'll go warm up the car then."

Yuri searched his pocket for the concept key and tossed it at her. Patty caught it and blew him a kiss before walking out the door. She lifted her skirt to tease him. "Don't keep me waiting," she said seductively.

"Go on, you big joker, I'll be right there," Yuri chuckled. He waited for her to go before calling someone out. "I know you're there!" he called out. "Show yourself."

"Nice girl you got there," someone answered.

Yuri jumped, for he was not expecting anyone to answer. He turned around and saw a figure in red and black armored robes sitting on one of the seats in the arena. He had his arms stretched out and one leg crossed over the other. His face was concealed by a red-visored mask.

Yuri kept his chin up and said: "Nice costume, dork. Who the hell are you? A Rare Hunter?"

"No," the masked figure responded. "I'm not. Nor am I here to Duel you or anything. You're getting better at the game. My congratulations. Your Black Tyranno sure is something."

"You're not looking to take him, are you?"

"No. Whether he's in my hands or not doesn't matter. We've got bigger plans for you. I have a message from your old pal Bakura, though."

Yuri felt even colder when he heard that name. "Bakura? No...I thought..."

"What? That he was some figment of your imagination? No, kid. If you think all this talk about kings, Rare Hunters, and other worlds is bullshit, you have been even more brainwashed than I thought."

"What are you talking about?"

"Bakura did everything in his power to make you stronger. And when he did, he worked hard to make sure that darkness clouded your mind from the memories trying to claw their way back into your brain. I know you've been seeing some pretty fucked up things in your nightmares. You dream about worse things than Dueling some pointy-haired cartoon character. You dream of monsters slaughtering civilians. A city burning."

"How do you know?"

"I know because I know all about you Prince Daveed Delgado of House Wallcroft. I know you're not supposed to be here, but Bakura doesn't want any harm to come to you. It seems he's grown to care for you. Maybe even love you. Hmph. Didn't think he was capable of that."

"What does he want?"

"He wants you to remain here no matter what. Do that and no harm will come to you. Or your friends. You've got a nice life here, kid. You're the heir to a trillion dollars, you're gonna own this island, that company, and you've got a sweet girl with a big, juicy, ass and nice tits. Heh, heh, heh, heh."

Yuri balled his fists.

"Anyways, I'm jealous of you. As I said, you've got it made in this world. Don't throw this life away because Yami wants you to wear a crown for the sake of destiny. Promise to stay here and I swear I'll tell Marik and the Rare Hunters to leave you alone. However, listen to Yami any longer, and we will have no choice but to terminate you. You wouldn't want that, would you? If anything does happen to you, I promise I'll treat Patty well."

"YOU BASTARD!" Yuri ran up the stairs to beat him up. But when he got there, the masked figure was gone.

* * *

**Serenity**

* * *

As soon as she opened the doors to the docks, she was blasted by fierce winds coming from the sea. The palm trees in the gardens bent toward the east and their emerald green palms swished as they brushed against one another. The flowers in the hedges danced and the lanterns hanging from posts swayed back and forth. The sky was not a shade of dull gold, meaning the cloud layers above were thin enough for some sunlight. Despite this, the tornados in the waters far off in the distance still twirled at full power. Streaks of lightning flashed in the ashy-black background behind them.

Serenity, donning a set of leather gear with her sword strapped to her hip, looked at the docks below and saw the submarine Mai promised her had arrived. Mai was already down there talking to the captain; an Eldori woman in a racy Naval uniform. Long, angelic, curly, teal hair went down to her back with streaks of white on the back and lightning bolt-shaped bangs waving over her face. Her skin was pale and her eyes were as blue as the seas during the calm. She saw Serenity and pointed at her, letting Mai know she had arrived.

"Serenity!" Mai called over the wind and a loud clap of thunder. "Come on, baby, I'd like you to meet Captain Emerald de Bourbon. She's going to be our pilot."

"Is she up for the task?" Serenity said, walking down the last of the steps.

Captain Emerald chuckled to hide the fact her pride was just jabbed. She knew Serenity was doubting her skills as a naval captain. She studied the girl from head to toe, wondering how someone so frail, so timid, so cute, could have ever reached the ranks of elite warriors such as the Silver Paladins.

Serenity stopped about five feet from the raunchy-looking captain and placed her hands on her hips. The pouches around her waist and thighs bounced and clamored with each movement she made. Serenity tilted her head to the side, eyes squinted to show she was unimpressed with how unprofessional the woman looked. She looked more like a model going to shoot photos for a Naval calendar than a captain with enough experience to navigate the harsh waters of the Stormy Sea making her wonder if the woman had any modesty. "So," Serenity said, at last, staring in the woman's oceanic-blue eyes. "You're from the House of Bourbon, huh? The Uraby sigil on your jacket. He's in flames. Why?"

"I'm from a new branch of the House," said Emerald. "The Bourbons of Mt. Lagos. We found a living off the obsidian that is found on the mountain. But, I was a little adventurous and decided to join the Emboldorian Navy. I have fought in great battles including the recent War of the Golden Summer. I was also the one responsible for destroying much of Captain Red-Eyes fleet in The Battle of the Kaminari Isles."

Serenity raised an eyebrow, showing she was impressed. "The Kaminari Isles, huh? I heard about that. I can't imagine a ship battle during a violent lightning storm."

"Well, it's a piece of cake when you're driving a submersible," Emerald replied, her breast bouncing awkwardly in the confines of her cerulean corset as she placed her hands on her hips and shifted to the right.

"I've known Emerald for years," said Mai. "If there's anyone who can take us through those waters, it's her. Emerald has been known as The Storm Queen because she's famous for piloting her sub in the roughest of waters."

"And the waters of the Stormy Seas will be the ultimate test of my skills," Emerald added, plopping a mint into her mouth from a pouch strapped to her calf. "However, choppy waters should be the least of our worries. I heard a large assortment of the worst and most powerful sea serpents in all Termnnia live down there. But it's nothing my baby can't handle, so long as you girls are good shots on the turrets."

"We'll do our best," said Mai. "Serenity, what do you think?"

"I think she needs a little more modesty when it comes to clothes," she answered strictly. "But lucky for you, we're not going on to a fashion show. If your skills are as good as you claim they are, then you got the job. The payment for this venture is ten-thousand in gold. Another five-thousand if we make it back with my lunch intact, and another five-thousand for getting us back alive."

"Ah," Emerald said, stroking her chin. Twenty-thousand? All right, My Lady, you've got yourself a deal. When shall we begin?"

"Anytime is good," Téa said, rushing out of the castle in her leather armor. "I got word from the castle's Master of Weather that the currents are getting weaker and those twisters should be vanishing any moment now."

"How long?" Emerald asked.

"About an hour," Téa replied.

"An hour, huh?" said Emerald, putting a finger to her shiny, red, lips. "Mai, darling, it's been far too long. How about a Duel to keep us entertained until the weather dies down?"

Mai smirked and crossed her arms over her chest. "And here I thought you wanted a challenge."

"I'm more than up for it," Emerald replied, brushing away a lock hair off her face. "But I could use that extra five-thousand gold for keeping Serenity's lunch in her belly. And I've always wanted to Duel you ever since I've seen you dominate the Pro Leagues in Domino City." A gem on her brooch glowed and then a beam of light shot out of it and arched toward her wrist forming a brass Duel Disk crafted to look like a sexton.

Mai's smile broadened as her necklace also glowed with radiant light. In a flash, her Duel Disk appeared on her wrist. "Let's do this. It's been too long since I had a good Duel."

**LP 8000**

"I'll go first," Emerald said, drawing her card and adding to her five-card hand. "Now, let's see here. Ah, this will do. I set two cards face-down and set a monster in Defense Mode. Your turn, honey bunny."

"You were always such a flirt," Mai laughed. "Draw!" She examined her hand. "Oh, I am just too good. I summon Harpie Channeler in attack mode!"

****

**ATK/1400 DEF/1300**

**LV 4**

"Now, her effect activates! I discard a Harpie card from my hand and then..."

"Hold on!" shouted Emerald. "I activate my Trap Card, World Legacy Pawns! With this card, I can flip my face-down monster face-up. Say hello to Krawler Spine!" ( **ATK/300 DEF/2100 LV 2** ) The card flipped and revealed a mechanical orb with four sharp legs and a red glowing eye at the center of the orb. Its body was made of polished brass and strange appendages swayed in the stormy winds.

Mai chuckled. "Well, it didn't negate my monster's effect. So like I was saying, Harpie Channeler allows me to discard a Harpie card from my hand and Special Summon another Harpie from my deck in face-up defense position. Say hello to the lovely, Harpie Dancer!" ( **ATK/1200 DEF/1000 LV 4** )

Krawler Spine started whirring and stamping its legs. "Huh?" Mai gasped. "What's going on? What's it doing?"

"When it's flipped over," Emerald explained, "Krawler Spine allows me to destroy one monster on the field. Your dancer is a pretty thing. Too bad she won't be around for long. Fire!"

Krawler Spine shot a red laser from its eye. But Mai was too quick for it. "No, you're not!" she said. "From my hand, I activate the Trap Card, Harpie's Feather Storm! This card cancels out your monster's effect, so my Harpie Dancer is safe."

A cloud of feathers flew around Krawler Spine. It beeped and whirred as its laser died down.

"Wait a minute!" cried Emerald. "How can you activate a Trap Card from your hand?"

Mai burst out laughing. "If there is a Harpie on my side of the field, I can activate this card from my hand. So read it an weep, baby!"

Emerald regained her composure and stood up straight, grinning. "Well, what I deserve for underestimating you. But, I assure you, this won't happen again!"

"Humph," said Mai. "Well, I'll just activate my Harpie Dancer's effect which..."

"Don't think so," Emerald interrupted her. "I activate my Trap Card, World Legacy Mind Meld. This will change your Harpie's effect, forcing her to instead send my Krawler back to my hand."

"Why would you do that, I wonder," said Mai. "I set this Spell Card face down. Now, you're in for a world of hurt, Captain. Because I think it's time for an Xyz Summon!" In front of Mai's feet, The Overlay Network opened. Harpie Channeler and Harpie Dancer transformed into beams of light and were sucked in. Mai snapped her fingers and said: "I Overlay my two Harpies to become the all-powerful Tornado Dragon!"

A twister formed behind Mai, causing her clothes and hair to flap violently. The twister towered hundreds of feet into the sky and then grew arms, legs, a tail, and a head with red glowing eyes. Its wings were F-5s funnels, while the limbs were F-4s. The roar it made was like the sound of a hundred tornados bellowing at once.

**Tornado Dragon**

**ATK/2100 DEF/2000**

**Rank 4**

****

"Mai!" Téa screamed over the howling winds. "That's one big dragon you've got there!"

"Damn right, he is!" Mai shouted over the wind of her beast. "And I'll use his effect, by removing an Xyz Material from him, I can destroy a face-down card on the field. Like My Spell Card!" Tornado Dragon conjured more wind and destroyed the card, shattering it like glass. Mai let out another hearty laugh. "And since you're wide open, I will attack you directly!"

Tornado Dragon slammed its left arm down on Emerald. The fierce gales shredded her inside. The dragon decided that enough was enough and raised its arm up, leaving Emerald battered and gasping for air.

**Mai - 8000 LP**

**Emerald - 5900 LP**

"To end my turn," said Mai. "I will activate the effect of my Harpie Harpist. I'll add a monster with fifteen-hundred points to my hand. And now for my Spell Card. Hysteric Sign. When this card is destroyed, I'm allowed to add three Harpie cards from my deck to my hand. Your turn, hun."

"My turn," Emerald said, still shaken by the immense dragon's attack. "I draw. I got you now, Mai. I set a monster face-down and set this card."

Mai winked. "I hope that face-down isn't a surprise for me. I will remove and Xyz Material from my Tornado Dragon and blow it away!"

Mai took out the last card stacked under her Tornado Dragon, triggering the effect. Tornado Dragon released a gust of wind. Emerald then activated the effect of her World Legacy Pawns trap. With it, she flipped her face-down monster face-up. To Mai's chagrin, it was a Krawler Spine, and when it was flipped face-up, it could destroy a monster. The mechanical crab-like creature whirred and shot a laser at the dragon's heart. Tornado Dragon gave out a painful screech. The tornados that made its body dwindled until they became nothing more than a breeze that blew away toward the sea.

Serenity cried out in shock, amazed to see such a powerful creature get destroyed so quickly and so easily. Téa grunted as the wind died down, also speechless at the fact that Mai's dragon was gone.

"I end my turn," said Emerald.

"You'll pay for that, hun," Mai said with a smirk, as she pulled the top card off her deck. "I just got that Tornado Dragon the other day and I was just getting the hang of it. No matter, my Harpies are the real stars of this deck. And they're going to bring more hurt than that dragon you destroyed."

"You're bluffing," said Emerald. "I saw how Yugi trounced you at Duelist Kingdom and Marik did the same in Battle City. Except for your Harpie's Pet Dragon, you've got nothing else left in your deck to make me worry."

"Wanna bet?" Mai cried out, infuriated that her past losses had to have been brought up, especially the one to Marik which left her in depression for many, many years. "I summon Harpie Channeler in attack mode! Then I'll discard a Harpie from my hand to activate her effect which..."

"I'll activate my Trap Card," Emerald interrupted. "World Legacy Mind Meld. Now your Harpie's Effect changes, forcing my Krawler Spine to return to my hand."

"Your Krawler is back, but my Harpie's effect will continue on," Mai said, blowing her a kiss. "I've got myself another Harpies' Feather Storm in my hand nulling out your monster's effect."

Emerald narrowed her eyes and breathed out of her nose. The Duel was fun at first, knowing she would at least hold her own against the former champion. But Mai's new arsenal of rare and powerful Harpie cards was keeping her on the ropes. She was losing, and badly. She started to grow frustrated because no matter what she did, Mai seemed to have a counter for it.

Mai set a card face-down and attacked Emerald directly, dealing 1400 points of damage to her Life Points. Now. Emerald stood with a mere 4500 Life Points, and Mai still stood strong at a full 8000. This was not going out how she planned. Mai ended her turn. Emerald placed her fingers on the top of her deck, realizing that it was now or never with this next draw. She set a monster face-down and ended her turn.

"I summon Harpie Perfumer!" Mai said, summoning a beautiful new Harpie who graced the air with a sweet smell of flowers and fruits as she flapped her jade-colored wings ( **ATK/1400 DEF/1300 LV 4** ). Mai triggered her Perfumer's effect, which let her add an Elegant Egotist Spell from her deck to her hand. Wasting no time, she activated it, and Special Summoned her beloved Harpie Lady Sisters to the field ( **ATK/1950 DEF/2100 LV 6** ). Then - because she had a LV 5 or higher Harpie monster on the field - she Special Summoned Harpie Oracle ( **ATK/1300 DEF/1400 LV 4** ) and the Overlayed it with Harpie Pefumer to become the Xyz monster, Lightning Chidori, a monstrous bird made entirely out of lightning.

**Lightning Chidori**

**ATK/1900 DEF/1600**

**RANK 4**

****

"This is not good," Emerald said, realizing Mai had enough monsters to wipe her out.

"No, it's not!" Mai said, making a sassy pose as she stuck an arrogant finger in the air. "I remove an Xyz Material from my Chidori and send that face-down monster back to your hand."

Lightning Chidori flapped its flashing, electric wings and conjured up a funnel of lightning that sent the face-down card off the field and back to Emerald's hand. Mai attacked directly with Harpie Lady Sisters, and then activated her Trap Card, The Elegant Harpie Lady, which traded Harpie Lady Sisters for the Harpie Queen (ATK/1900), a Harpie Perfumer, and a Harpie Dancer. Mai forced all her monster to attack, knocking Emerald on her back. She grunted and skid a few feet as her Life Points went to 0.

Téa and Serenity clapped from the steps overlooking the docks.

"Way to go, Mai!" Téa cried out.

Mai blew her friends a kiss and her Duel Disk faded, turning back into the flower necklace. She looked at Emerald, trying to get back up on her feet. "Krawlers are good," Mai said to her. "They should have kept me on the ropes in that Duel. You sure you know how to use them, hun?"

"I can still learn," Emerald said, rubbing her back before standing back up. "I'll get you next time. You can count on it."

"Yeah, that's what they all say," said Mai. "Now, enough playing around. The currents should be calmer now, so let's take advantage of them while we still can. Emerald, it's time we cast off, don't you think."

"Aye, aye, Mai!" Emerald said with a salute. "Ladies, pack what you need, and make it fast. Even with my skills, we're going to be in for a bumpy ride."

* * *

**Crystal**

* * *

WHACK!

Layla spiked the volleyball as hard as she could to the side of her two former teammates of Brett's Dragon Sisters. She picked them up earlier from the airport and they decided to play at the beach and Duel at the pier later that night before going to the clubs and celebrate Layla's birthday.

Ashley Remington, a tough girl from a ranch in Texas, missed the ball and fell into the sand with a splat. Her straw hat falling off her head. "Yeowch!" she cried, keeping her chin up so her lips could avoid the sand. The miss earned Layla a point for her team, at least if she had one, for Crystal was sitting alone under the shade of a palm tree clad with a snowy-white bikini with a gold chain around her waist with a diamond at the end of the chain in the shape of a teardrop.

She licked her finger and turned the page of Duel Magazine with Yuri posing on the cover with his Black Tyranno. She smiled, marveling at the rollercoaster that was Yuri's life. Not too long ago, something seemed to have possessed Yuri to gain either the bravery - or stupidity - to fight in the mafia's underground fight clubs. Not for money, but for the sake of hurting people. What scared her was that he was good at it, especially for one so young. She remembered Brett dragging her to the basement of one of his uncle's clubs where an underground octagon stood at the center of an arena big enough to house a hundred people. She remembered the blood. So much blood. All those men hurting each other. And Brett was cheering as though he were watching a common baseball game.

She would never forget the sight of Yuri coming out of the darkness. His body looked as though it had been pumped with iron. She recalled seeing him at the gym a few times training with Sergei's son, but never to the point where he would look the way he did. He had scars on his body. His eyes, even the glowing green one, were as cold as stone in winter. She cried out to him, but he marched for the cage like a man possessed and beat his opponent senseless. Even Brett was scared of him. The look of horror on his face was one she would never forget.

As Yuri walked out, she tried calling out to him again, but he kept on walking. Suddenly, he stopped and looked back at her. That stare. Even though it was but a second, she would never forget that grim stare. It was as though the boy walking out of the cage was not Yuri. But a monster. Some called her crazy, but she knew she saw a mark burning on his forehead like molten gold. An eye. An Egyptian eye, like the Wdjat that the Pharaohs of the ancient days once proudly wore.

And then, all of a sudden, during the summer before his senior year, Yuri became what his name meant. Lilly flower; for he suddenly became timid and gentle just as he always was.

A steel drum band played on a wooden stage with suitcases open, eager for paying bystanders on the beach of the central island, home of Aquarius' once percent.

"Woo!" cheered Layla, jumping up and down with her hands in the air. "One more for me."

"Matchpoint," said Shayla Chang, but she was often called Shy because of her Gamertag, PinkDragon_Shy. She watched the game from her lounge chair. A lotus flower was tucked in her jet-black hair which was long enough to brush against the upper region of her buttocks. "Come on, Blue Team pick it up. You were talking a big game earlier. This is downright embarrassing."

"Aw, hell, she's walloping us all by lonesome," said Margery Page, picking up the silver volleyball. Her swimsuit designed with the flag of the United Kingdom where she was from.

"It's good to be together again, ladies," Ashley said, getting up from the ground and brushing sand off her thighs. "Crystal, come on, suga, don't just sit there all day. Kate and I came a long way just to see you."

"See her or that Black Tyranno her friend is packing?" Layla asked, adjusting her white midriff top which she wore over her pink and white bikini. Her hot-pink headphones around her neck.

"Both," said Margery. She removed her cap and wiped the sweat off her brow. "Is something bothering her? I have never seen my Crystal act so sad before."

"Crystal!" Ashley called. Crystal looked up. "Come on, baby, yer missin' all the fun."

"Sorry," Crystal said, getting up from her seat. She walked out of the shade of the palm tree and into the blazing sun. She could already feel sweat dripping out of every pore in her body and her skin was seared in the heat of the sun's light until a gentle breeze rushed in from the ocean and cooled her down. "It's good to see you guys again. It's been a while."

"You sure it's good to see us again?" Margery asked, puffing up her chest and showing her abs in the sun. "We've been here for hours and you haven't said a word. I know the only reason we're down here is because of Yuri's party, but I wouldn't have come if it weren't for you. I have no business with Phobo's heir. Is everything all right?"

Crystal looked down at her feet, admiring her baby blue toenails before she buried them in the sand. She locked her arms behind her back and cleared her throat. "Sorry, girls. A lot of cool things have been happening lately. My friend, Yuri, he's gotten really good lately. And ever since, a lot of weird things have been happening around here."

Shayla nodded. "Yeah, well, I don't know about these 'strange things' you're talking about, but I do know we might have a future champ on our hands." She put her hand on her hip and leaned to the left. "With a beast like his Black Tyranno how could he not? He better enjoy that advantage while he can, because, with the new rules in place, Black Tyranno is going to be harder to summon and keep out. There are a lot of cards out now that make him look like Little D. By the way, Yuri, is he single?"

"Not anymore," Ashley replied, squeezing Gatorade from her bottle into her mouth. She wiped her chin with her forearm. "I heard in the news that he's going out with some girl named Pamela. Or Patty. I heard she's really good."

Crystal gave a nod to confirm that. "She is. But what is all this talk about new rules? I hope it doesn't mean anything bad for Yuri."

"I know Yuri will find a way," said Shayla. She looked toward the horizon, admiring some of the guard towers far out into the sea. "Oh, who are they?"

They were suddenly approached by a group of young men. "Hi, there!" one of them said waving at them in a friendly manner. "You lovely ladies wouldn't by any chance be those sisters from the Tag Team tournament, would you?"

"We're all guilty as charged," Ashley said, bouncing the ball on her hand.

The boy smiled. "Darn pleased to meet you. I've got to say this is really exciting."

"And who are you?" Ashley asked.

"Hey! I know you," said Crystal with a bright smile on her face. "You're Logan Fischer, that pop singer. We had dinner with Brett at the Duel Monsters invitational tournament in Los Angeles a few years ago. How's it been?"

"Not bad," said Logan. "I was hoping your friend Yuri would be here, but it looks like he's not."

"He's at an associates meeting in the card shop," said Crystal.

Logan scratched his head. "The son of the world's only trillionaire and he's working as a sales associate at the card shop?"

Crystal shrugged. "His father is a strict man when it comes to money. If Yuri wants cash, he has to earn it. Let's just leave it at that, Logan."

Logan shrugged while some of his friends Ooohed and laughed at the terms Yuri had to live with. "Well, I'm not at all surprised. Jacob Montgomery is a serious man of business. He would be one to take money seriously."

"Is there anything else can we help you with?" asked Margery.

"We couldn't help but see you playing volleyball from our hotel room," said Logan's little brother, a seventeen-year-old named Randy. "Mind if we join you? It could make for some good headlines."

"I don't see why not," said Layla. "My partner (She looked at Crystal) feels like moping on this sunny day. And our girl, Shy, is not a fan of sports." Crystal rolled her eyes irritably.

"Archery is a sport," Shayla corrected her, tossing some hair off her shoulder, for it was tickling her neck awfully. "Not my fault you don't have the arm strength for it." Her comment caused the boys in front of her to snigger. Shy felt as though any moment a crude joke would escape them. She narrowed her eyes at them and wrinkled her nose while tapping her foot on the sand to show them she knew what they were thinking. Some backed away. Others laughed, but they said nothing and left her be. If she did have 'arm strength' as she claimed, no doubt she would knock them out with a well-placed punch. That they did not want to test. For a girl so slender and so fragile-looking, Shy was remarkably well built and strong.

"How about we have a round of Duel Monsters instead?" Logan asked, looking around at the girls. He felt his spirits rise when smiles formed on each of their beautiful faces. He felt like a conquering hero when he saw that he made them grin and show content with his idea. Crystal and her friends looked at each other and started nodding.

"Sounds even better," Layla replied with a cocky grin. "I say you're on, Logan. Count me in on some games. Volleyball was getting boring. I'm up for some monster versus monster action."

"I'm in!" said Crystal, running down towards them, her deck in hand after she dug it out of her purse.

"Shoot," said Ashley, realizing the slots were already filled. And she guessed that Crystal was going to be playing the first game, considering who she was and how almost everyone wanted to play her first. "Looks like we get next game."

"Aw, don't fret, baby girl," said a tall African American with gold short-cropped hair named Malcolm. He shook hands with them and introduced himself politely. He was very friendly; a big, white smile forever curved on his face. A chuckle or two came out of him every few seconds, for he was a youngster who was always pleased and found joy in every moment of the day. Ashely felt like she wanted to play him already, for she fell in love with his radiance and cheer which almost formed a gold, warm, aura around him. "Me and my homie here will take you both on," he said, his voice high-pitched despite being twenty. "I just got me a new Water deck and I intend to use it."

"Ya, let's git dis dool started, ladies!" said dark-skinned, energetic fellow from Jamaica. His name was Jamal. He showed off his platinum Duel Disk, engraved on the surface and studded with diamonds. He gave a little dance which the girls found funny. Their laughter felt like payment for him. He was also quite a cheerful fellow. The way he moved and talked just gave Crystal and her friends the urge to want to get to know him. "Iz gonna be a great match, ya?"

"Woo, sounds good to me," said Margery.

"I call next game then," said Shayla.

"No need," said the African American. "Let's make this a six-man tag match. My buddy, James, will join you."

"Me?" asked the blond young boy. "Okay, you got it. I spent fifty bucks on this deck and I'm going to use it."

"I really like you guys," said Shayla, reaching into her duffle bag and taking out an oriental styled Duel Disk. Logan got one of his friends to remove his backpack. Inside was his golden, jewel-encrusted, Duel Disk. His little brother had one as well.

"The Fisher Brothers versus two of the legendary Dragon Sisters," said Logan. "This is going straight to my blog." He took out his phone and held it high. He waved to it as he lifted it higher and higher so he could get Crystal and Layla into view. They waved hello and cheered. Randy came into view and hollered with excitement, for this was his first Duel.

The Duelists got in place and the matches began. As they were choosing how to set the turns, a man sitting by a table on a deck overlooking the beach chuckled greedily as he typed away at his laptop with one hand and held a cup of tea in the other. He was hooded and cloaked in black despite the heat. The umbrella above him shaded him from the sun but did little to quell the humidity. But the man was cold in nature. So cold, that he was not bothered by the heat one bit. He didn't even sweat, he just sat there, sipping his tea and chuckling.

"These Duelists have very rare cards indeed," said he. "Quite the collection. But, the question is, which one of their rare cards do I acquire first?"

Layla and Crystal's Duels went first, while their friends and their opponents figured out what order they should go in.

"You first," said Logan. "Then it will go to me. Then to Layla, then to my little bro. Nobody attacks until we've all had our first turn. If your partner loses all their Life Points, you lose too."

"Sound fair," said Crystal. "Draw. I summon Hyozanryu in defense mode! I place one card face down and end my turn." A dragon made of diamond rose out of the sand, giving off a mighty roar. The sun's light reflected off his body making Crystal glow with an angelic brilliance. Logan and Randy huddled together, squealing with both awe and lust. Randy put his fingers over his lips, giving off the impression that he was biting his nails. The dragon stood fifteen-feet tall with a wingspan of ten feet. It's diamond body gave of rainbow hues. The horns and claws were made of gold and it had an orange underbelly.

**Hyozanryu**

**ATK/2100 DEF/2800**

****

"Well," said Randy, taking a moment to admire the realism and beauty of the holographic dragon Crystal summoned. "I heard diamonds where a girl's best friend, but this is ridiculous. Look at that thing. And his defense points. How are we going to get past that thing?"

Crystal put a hand to her hip and smirked defiantly at Randy, for she felt sure that nothing would get past her beast. "Very simple," she said. "You won't. Logan, I believe that was the end of my turn. Your go."

"Okay, my turn," said Logan. He drew his first card from the top of his deck and added it to his hand. "Hmm, this'll do. I summon Steel Fan Fighter in attack mode!"

****

**Steel Fan Fighter**

**ATK/2200 DEF/1850**

"I never heard of that card before," Layla said examining the man in the blue oriental robes. He had fans of sharp steel etched with a dragon on them. He waved them gracefully.

Logan felt very proud of his monster. He put both knuckles to his hips like he was a superhero. "He's an exclusive promo card, one of many given out to Duelists who attended a special event and bought the Game Boy game, **_Dark Duel Stories_**."

"Game boy?" said Layla. She raised an eyebrow and chuckled. Even from where she was, she could see the card was very old. There were a few creases on the corner, caused during the days when Logan was a little careless with his cards. The once vanilla surface had turned a dull shade of chewing tobacco. But despite that, the card seemed to be in pretty good condition. "Shit," said Layla, "that card must be ancient."

"He is," Logan said, holding up the card. The hologram disappeared. He brought the card to his lips and kissed it before slapping it back to the Duel Disk, summoning him back. "He's really old, but he's never let me down before. I place this card face down and end my turn. Your go, Layla."

"If you insist," said Layla, drawing her first card. "I play two cards face down and summon Gravi-Crush Dragon in attack mode!"

She summoned a giant dragon with dark green flesh. Veins bulged on his thick, muscular arms and his fists were as large as wrecking balls.

**Gravi-Crush Dragon**

**ATK/2400 DEF/1200**

****

"Uh, bro!" called Randy, feeling his legs wobbling, giving way as his eyes beheld the massive creature Layla played. "That thing is huge, dude! We're not going to win this. I mean, it's only their first turns and they already summoned two, powerful dragons. I've got nothing in my hand that can stand up to them." Normally, someone wouldn't overreact when their opponent played strong monsters in a Duel. But for Randy, and a great deal many people, Dueling with holograms was a whole, new experience. The technology in the machine clasped around his wrist created images of monsters that were awfully realistic. They weren't clunky-looking with their bodies exploding with unclean polygons, or flat, colorful surfaces.

No, Randy could see the scales on the dragon's body. He could hear it breathing and snarling. It whipped its tail. The Duel Disk was so accurate, he could see curtains of sand being tossed around as he swung his tail. Hyozanryu as well. The detail in him as nothing short of frightening. His wings were so clear, he could see the ocean, the beach, and the swimmers behind him.

"Oh, shit, bro. You sure those aren't real?" Randy moaned. He wanted to quit. These Phobos Corp holograms were unlike anything he had ever seen or ever wanted to see again.

Logan slapped him gently in the air. "Stay calm, little bro, remember what I taught you. Stay with me now. If we both aren't in the game, we've already lost."

"Okay," said Randy. "Geeze, I'm so nervous."

"Aw, why's that?" asked Crystal. "First time playing with holograms?"

"That, and my first opponents are two beautiful bikini-clad girls."

Crystal, Layla, and Logan laughed at his remark. Randy beamed, feeling warm to the core knowing he made his older brother and his two gorgeous opponents laugh. His day could not get any better than this. Lively tropical music playing in the background. White sand beaches as far as the eye could see. An azure ocean in the distance mixing with the light blue sky with fluffy white clouds. The sun cast just the right amount of heat to be comfortable and the warmth mixed with the cool and gentle ocean breeze made him feel fresh inside. To top it all off he was having his first Duel against two of the legendary Sensational Dragon Sisters.

"My turn, right?" Randy asked.

"That's right," said Layla.

"Okay, uh..." He struggled. He had a good assortment of monsters and spells, but he didn't know how the devil to use them. His face went bright red, for he felt rather stupid standing there wondering what to do when both his opponents played their cards with certainty and fluidity. They knew what to play and how to play them.

"Deep breaths, deep breaths, honey," said Crystal.

Randy nodded back at her, and thank her for her cheerleading. "I summon, Gate Sword in defense mode!"

He summoned another Dark Duel Stories monster. A large sword with a red cape.

**Gate Sword**

**ATK/1800 DEF/1950  
**

****

"And I place two cards face down." He said, placing them in the slot nervously. "Is that good?"

"Good," said Crystal. "Very good."

Meanwhile, the six-man tag Duel began. Shayla was starting the game first. "I summon, Yamatano Dragon Scroll in defense mode!" she cried out, summoning an ancient scroll with the bronze handles in the shape of a dragon's head. They undid themselves and took the form of a serpentine-dragon. The red paper of the scroll - which made the body- undulated as it hovered in the air. The bronze handles made the head and tail of the dragon

**Yamatano Dragon Scroll**

**ATK/900 DEF/300  
**

****

"Your move, Malcolm," said Shayla.

Malcolm clapped and rubbed his hands together, drawing out his six cards. "Aight, sounds good to me. I'll call on my boy, Aqua Madoor, in defense mode to guard my Life Points. Your move, Remington!"

**Aqua Madoor**

**ATK/1200 DEF/2000  
**

****

"A defense of two-thousand?" said Ashley, drawing her card. "Not bad, it'll be a little hard to chip at your Life Points. I summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon Level 4."

The monster she summoned resembled a falcon made of glimmering silver steel. It spread its wings and gave out a metallic cry. It's burning, red, eyes flashed at his master's opponents as if warning them of a hidden power locked inside of him.

**Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV 4**

**ATK/1600 DEF/1000  
**

****

"Level? It must be one of those cards that rank up," said Jamal's partner, James. "Boys, we gotta take that thing out before she makes it evolve."

"Hey, Margery !" shouted Malcolm. "Let's put a shrimp on the barbie!"

Margery narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms over her busty chest. "Wrong country, idiot!"

"She's from the U.K, suga," said Ashley. She looked at Margery who was tapping her fingers over her biceps. The wind blew her reddish-brown hair in the wind and her necklace jingled.

"Ey, Malcolm," said Jamal, seeing how offended Margery was. He punched him in the arm as chastisement. He wanted to have fun with the Sisters, not have them furious with them. He hoped he could calm them down and apologized to Margery. Then he looked back at Malcolm. "'Ow can ya screw dat up, man?"

Malcolm looked at her and rubbed the back of his head. But he was no apologetic for his actions. "Oh, well then, Pip-pip! Talley-ho! Crumpets!"

"Useless wanker," said Margery.

Everyone laughed.

"I'm just kidding around, Margery," said Malcolm.

"Oh really?" Margery said, almost in a yell. "I couldn't tell. See, I'm not laughing." She pointed at her face.

"Don't mess with her, dude," said Shayla. "Aside from Dueling, Kate's a mixed martial artist. Keep pushing her buttons and this Duel is going to turn into a cage match."

"Uh...sorry."

"No more, joking," said James. "Let's take them out, fellas!"

"Give it yer best shot, suga!" Ashley said slapping her thighs to taunt him. "I place, two cards face down. It's yer turn, James."

"Okay, let's see what I can cook up. I place two cards face down and summon Hyo in defense mode."

He summoned a muscular man with blue flesh and long green hair wearing brown pants and a green sash wrapped around his waist.

**Hyo**

**ATK/800 DEF/1200**

****

"Your move, girl!"

"I draw," said Margery.

"Do you work out girl?" Malcolm asked, bearing a wide smile that revealed his white teeth. "You got some serious abs on ya. Not to mention you're thicc!"

"What the bloody hell does that mean?" Margery asked.

"It means you got a big butt," said Shayla.

Margery's face creased in disgust. "Uh, thanks...I guess."

"Can ya show it off fer us?" laughed Jamal.

Margery rolled her eyes. "Bugger off, mate. I'm not that kind of girl."

"Yer lots of fun girls," Jamal said with a big smile. "A little bit on deh uppity-side but you fun."

Margery smiled at his compliment. She just knew there was something she liked about this young man. "You're not so bad yourself gents," she said. "Of course, that doesn't mean much. We're still kicking your butts. Except for Layla over there, none of us have lost a Duel."

"Ya," said Jamal. "I heard my boi, Yuri, beat her good with his Black Tyranno. If anyone of you lovely ladies know where he be, please let me know. I wanna play him myself and win that prize money."

Shy looked up from her hand. "Prize money? What gives? Is someone paying to see Yuri lose?"

Jamal nodded. "Ya, and it must be someone wit big money. They're offering a bounty of one million dolla's to whoever beat Yuri in a Duel. I don't know about you, but I think whoever put that bounty on Yuri must be really desperate, ya? Still, I'm not one to complain. A million dolla's is a lotta money, and if he's paying, I'm playing."

"Who put that money up?" asked Ashley. "I don't think Crystal is going to enjoy the idea of someone putting up a bounty on her friend like that. Yuri means a lot to her if you haven't noticed."

"We don't know," said James. "All we know is, we want that money. We're here not only because Logan is invited to the big party, but because we want to challenge Yuri and win that money. Not to mention the fame that will come afterward if we do. That Black Tyranno isn't all that powerful now that all these new cards have come out, but the fame surrounding him is legendary. There is yet to be any Duelist who can take him out. I say I'll be the first."

"Don't get your hopes too high up, honey," said Margery. "Remember, Layla is a champion player, and she lost. So did Randall Lawson and that boy Miguelito who was supposed to be an unbeatable prodigy. A lot of players tougher than you have tried to slay that beast and failed. So do yourselves a favor and check both your decks and your egos. You may be tough Duelists where you come from, but this is Aquarius, the birthplace of Duel Monsters. Only the best players live here, and little by little, Yuri is climbing to stand among them."

"Ha!" laughed Jamal. "You just watch, baby. I'm gonna wipe the floor with little Yuri and send his dino back in the trash where it belongs. Also, anyone who can beat him will earn a slot in the Millennium Tournament coming this summer."

"Again, you're getting ahead of yourselves," said Margery. "We're tougher than Yuri is. If you can hold your own against us, then I'll believe you have some skill to take on Black Tyranno."

"Baby, all it takes is one strong monster, and Black Tyranno is gone!" boasted Malcolm. "There's no skill needed to take down that overgrown lizard. I preordered a lot of cards from the new set. Yuri's going to have a tough time keeping Black Tyranno out on the field with all the Traps and Spells I got. Oh, we'll beat you girls, though. Make no mistake of that."

"Maybe we can have dinner tonight," James added, hoping to lengthen his time with them.

"Eh, great idea," said Malcolm. "I know a great place where we can get lobster."

"Show us what you can do and we'll think about it," said Ashley. "I believe it's your turn, Kate."

"Yup, and I summon Armed Dragon Level 3 in attack mode. Then, I place three cards face down. Jamal, it's your turn."

"I end myturr by playin'deez treecarrs face down," said Jamal. "Shayla, baby gurr, iz back to you."

* * *

Back in the other Duel, it was Crystal's turn to play. "Draw," she said. "I summon Luster Dragon Number 2 in attack mode!"

Crystal summoned a dragon made of emerald to the field. It towered over the players and made Randy even more nervous.

"Stay calm, bro, what are your face down cards?"

"He'd better check on them fast," said Layla.

"He's right," said Crystal. "Luster Dragon, attack Steel Fan Fighter!"

Luster Dragon shot orange flames from his mouth.

"Activate trap card!" called Randy. "Covering Fire! Now, my Steel Fan Fighter's attack will increase by the attack of my Gate Sword, making Steel Fan Fighter more than a match for your Luster Dragon with a whopping 4000 attack points."

"Aw, no!" said Crystal.

Steel Fan Fighter waved the flames away with his fans. Then he threw them at Luster Dragon slashing him on the chest.

The dragon shattered and Crystal's Life Points were reduced by **1600** , reducing her to **2400**.

"Way to go, Randy!" cheered Logan. "You did it. You beat her dragon!"

"Wow, I did, didn't I?"

"He got you good, Crystal," said Layla.

"Yeah, no need to remind me twice." Crystal kissed her Luster Dragon # 2 card and put it in the Graveyard. "Your turn, Logan."

"Right, draw! Ha! I drew one of the pieces, Randy. Hopefully, you got yours ready."

"Not yet," said Randy.

"Well, until then, I will summon Sanga of the Thunder in attack mode!"

"Sanga of the Thunder?" said Layla. "This is not going to be pretty, Crystal." She watched the beast rise out of the sand as sparks of electricity surged all around him.

"I know, if they're going to summon what I think they're going to summon, then we need to rid the field of that thing and fast!"

It felt strange for the Duelists being surrounded by fierce monsters while steel drums filled the air with their rich and beautiful sound.

"Now, I will attack your Gravi-Crush Dragon, with my Sanga of the Thunder, Layla!"

"Nope, you won't," said Layla. "I activate the trap card, Shift. Now, I will direct your attack on Crystal's Hyozanryu instead.'

"Aw, no!" cried Logan. "His defense points are stronger than my Sanga's."

Hyozanryu enclosed himself in his wings. His diamond scales blocking the lightning attack that Sanga conjured up.

"Argh, now I lose Life Points."

He went down to **3800** Life Points.

"I end my turn," he said, feeling irritated.

"My turn," said Layla. "Draw! I summon Magna-Slash Dragon in attack mode!"

The wind blew fiercely on the sands. From the blue sky, a dragon with whitish-green scales and a white underbelly rocketed towards the battlefield. It had wings growing out of his forearms in the shape of blades.

**Magna-Slash Dragon**

**ATK/2400 DEF/1200  
**

****

"Next, I'll give him a boost with a little Dragon Treasure, increasing his attack to **2700**. Now he's tough enough to take out your Sanga of the Thunder."

"Layla, wait!" cried Crystal.

It was too late, Layla had already called her attack.

"I activate my Sanga's special ability, your monster's attack will be reduced to zero!"

Sanga countered the attack and conjured up a lightning strike that fried Magna-Slash Dragon. He then charged another attack and struck Layla, knocking her on her bottom.

Her Life Points dropped to **1400** Life Points.

"Shit, you okay, Layla?" cried Crystal.

Layla stood up and brushed the sand off herself. "Fine, just fine. But another attack like that and I'm done for. I switch Gravi-Crush Dragon into defense mode and use the trap card, Call of the Haunted to bring back Magna-Slash Dragon in defense mode. Then place this last card face down. Your move, Randy."

"We've got them now, bro," said Randy. "I can't believe my first victory is going to be against the Dragon Sisters."

"We still have points, kiddo," said Layla. "You haven't won anything yet."

"Not yet, but wait till you see this, Draw!" He looked at the card. "YES! I did it bro!"

"Nice job, Randy, summon it and cause some pain!"

"Yes, I summon Kazejin!"

The green-gold monster came out of the ground in a windy vortex. He was round with puffy cheeks, no eyes, a mouth gold lips, and two arms.

**Kazejin**

**ATK/2400 DEF/2200  
**

****

"I can't believe I'm going to do this," said Randy. "I will give Kazejin, the power of Fairy Meteor Crush which grants my monster the power of piercing damage. Now, Kazejin, attack and destroy her Gravi-Crush Dragon!"

Kazejin took a deep breath and blew a fierce gale at Layla's dragon.

"I activate the trap card, Enchanted Javelin," Layla announced. "This card may not stop your monster, but it will boost my Life Points by Kazejin's attack points."

Kazejin's attack increased Layla's Life Points to **3800** , but the attack was a loss of 1200 points reducing her to **2600**.

"My turn is over," said Randy. "Beat that!"

In the other Duel, it was Shayla's turn.

"I tribute my Dragon Scroll to summon Tiger Dragon!" she announced, calling her ace monster. Tiger Dragon was a creature with very feline features. It had the orange fur and black stripes of a tiger, green membranous wings, and white claws that shone brightly in the sun.

**Tiger Dragon**

**ATK/2400 DEF/1800**

****

"Now for his special ability," Shayla called out. "When summoned by tributing a dragon-type monster, I can destroy two face-down trap or spell cards. So, James, your face downs are toast!"

Tiger Dragon roared and shot orange flames at the face-down cards he had. Mirror Force and Draining Shield.

"Thank goodness fer that," said Ashley. "Those cards could'a caused sum serious damage."

"Yeah, well now one of them is going to take some serious, damage," said Margery. "When Shy has Tiger Dragon out, nothing can stop her."

"She's right," said Shayla. "Tiger Dragon, destroy Aqua Madoor!"

Tiger dragon heaved and shot another blast of orange flames. Aqua Madoor screeched and vanished.

"Your go, Jamal."

"Damn, you Dragon Sisters are something fierce," Malcolm said, drawing his card. "Maybe this was a bad idea."

"Nah man!" said Jamal. "We got your back."

"I sure as hell hope you do, Jamal. Because I activate the ritual Turtle Oath. Now I offer Great White and Fiend Kraken from my hand to ritual summon the mighty Crab Turtle!"

From a geyser of blue flames emerged a strange-looking creature.

The red legs and claws of a crab, the green shell of a turtle and two legs purple in color with red claws and green armor. It had only one big eye coming out of the shell.

**Crab Turtle**

**ATK/2550 DEF/2500  
**

****

"Boom, now your Tiger Dragon is going to be sliced and diced! So much for your ace monster, Shayla. Attack!"

"I think not," said Ashley. "My Negate Attack will see to that."

"Aw man," said Malcolm. "So close to wiping out your Tiger Dragon, Shayla. I end my turn."

"Now it's my go," said Ashley. She drew her card. "Aww, yeah, I discard these three monsters in my hand to special summon Montage Dragon!"

A three-headed dragon swooped onto the battlefield. The heads covered in white masks. The wings had feathers and its body was muscular. Its hands were oversized with thick claws. It was dark blue and white on the bottom.

**Montage Dragon**

**ATK/? DEf/0  
**

****

"What's with those points?" asked James. "It's unknown, but why?"

"Now, hold yer horses, kiddo. My Montage Dragon's special ability activates. His attack points are then equal to the combined levels of the monsters I discarded to the Graveyard to summon him times **300**. Check it out."

**Vice Dragon LV 5**

**Curse of Dragon LV 5**

**Dimension Dragon LV 5**

**Total=15 x 300 = 4500**

"DA FUCK!" cried Malcolm. "That's not fair!"

"Can't help it, babe, that's the way it is. But, I'll take it easy on you and hold off on his attack for next turn. This next attack should prove devastating. Horus the Black Flame Dragon, attack Hyo!"

Horus shot a small stream of black flames at Hyo.

"And now, that Horus has successfully performed an attack, he evolves into Horus the Black Flame Dragon Level 6!"

Horus was enveloped in black flames then grew into a larger form and had a long tail.

**Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV 6**

**ATK/2300 DEF/1600**

****

"But, he won't be level six for long, because I use my face down spell card, Level Up! Which will rank up my Horus the Black Flame Dragon Level Six to Horus the Black Flame Dragon Level 8!"

Horus now grew to colossal size and his armor grew darker.

**Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV 8**

**ATK/3000 DEF/1800  
**

****

"Aw, snap," said Malcolm. "Now Ashe's got her best card out on the field. James, you better make this next move count."

"Uh, I..." It was hard for James to concentrate. Three giant dragons snarled and growled at him. He drew. "Aha!" he shouted. "Raigeki! This will blast all your monsters into oblivion!"

Storm clouds circled over the dragons. The lightning was ready to strike them down. Jamal's partners cheered and congratulated him for a well-played game. But then, Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV 8 gave a mighty flap of his wings and blew them all away.

"What happened?" cried Malcolm.

"Well, shoot, suga," said Ashley. "Did I forget to mention Horus can negate the activation of all spell cards and destroy them? I didn't? Whoops. My bad."

"Looks like it's my go," said Margery. "Draw! Now that it's my standby phase, Armed Dragon Level 3 turns into Armed Dragon Level 5. But, I've got my own, Level Up in my hand, so now he turns into the mighty Armed Dragon Level 7. And the transformation does not end there, because now I tribute my Armed Dragon Level 7 to bring forth my ultimate beast. Make way for the king of my deck!"

She held out the card and kissed it twice before slapping it onto her Duel Disk.

"Armed Dragon Level 10!"

**Armed Dragon LV 10**

**ATK/3000 DEF/2000  
**

****

The new monster towered over the field. His armor of polished gray steel reflected the sunlight. The flesh under the armor was blood red.

"And for the final blow, Duel fans. By discarding a card from my hand, Armed Dragon Level 10 destroys all monster you guys have out on the field."

"OH NO!" cried Malcolm.

"These girls are unreal man!" shouted James.

"I'm out, man," said Jamal, shuffling his cards and running off.

"You can't quit!" shouted Malcolm, as a series of explosions wiped out all the monsters they had. "We're in the middle of a Duel!"

"Nope, we're at the end," said Ashley. "Remember, if one of you goes down, you all go down. Now, prepare as all our dragons wipe you boys out with one powerful attack!"

"Tiger Dragon!" shouted Shayla. "Montage Dragon! Horus the Black Flame Dragon Level 8!" shouted Ashley. "And Armed Dragon Level 10!" shouted Margery.

"ATTACK THEM DIRECTLY!" they shouted together.

KABOOM!

The Duel was won.

Margery and her friends screamed and jumped up and down with joy and hugged each other while Malcolm sat on the sand, contemplating what just happened. He did not even get a chance to summon his Fortress Whale, the ace of his deck.

The dragons roared one last time and vanished.

Margery then turned to check on Crystal and Layla. She grinned, for she saw Chaos Emperor Dragon take flight and bathe her opponents in flames. The Gate Guardian they summoned was evaporated and their Life Points hit 0.

"Good games, ladies," said Logan. "Damn, I thought we had you, Crystal."

"You had me on the ropes," said Crystal.

"But you beat us all the same," said Jamal. "I guess dinner's out of the question?"

Ashley laughed. "Naw, we're game for sum lobster. You guys are really good."

"But not good enough," sneered Brett, strolling onto the sand in his suit and tie and sunglasses. "You guys didn't think you could beat my girls so easily did you?"

"Well, we didn't..." began Logan.

"Get lost, you're not worthy to be around my Dragon Sisters."

"Whatever you say, dude," said Logan, backing off. "Come on guys."

"What the hell was that!?" shouted Shayla.

"We're not under contract with you anymore, Brett," said Ashley. "We're not your toys!"

"Excuse me?" said Brett, removing his sunglasses. "You forget who it was who supplied you with those dragons and made you famous in the first place. So show me a little more respect, ladies. And, by the terms of the contract, you're free to go, but those dragon decks return to me since they are my property."

"Weak!" said Ashley.

"So, until you fork over those decks, girls, I own you!"

"You're going to regret this one day, Brett," said Layla. "I hope Yuri kicks your ass in the tournament."

"In your dreams, Layla," said Brett. "That Black Tyranno is going to be mine. You'd best shower and get into some nicer swimwear, girls, you've got a photoshoot in an hour. As for you, Crystal, go into town tonight and pick something nice to wear. I want you looking your best."

* * *

**Serenity**

* * *

Alone and shivering in the bubble turret attached to the submarine, Serenity stared into the infinite blue of the Stormy Sea. The lightning was so bright she could see it flashing from the surface above. Fishes and even a few Sea Serpents swam by, but it seemed more like they were fleeing from something, for they dashed into caves, into canyons, and under rocks.

"Something's got the wildlife all spooked," said Mai from within her own turret hanging right beside Serenity's turret.

Her voice rang loudly in Serenity's ear. She cringed and turned down the volume with a knob on her headset. The constant pinging of the sonar was already driving her crazy. Not to mention these bubble turret she was riding in felt so fragile and weak compared to the thick hull of steel Emerald was riding in. It felt like a monster was going to swim out of the darkness and carry one off like a snack.

Emerald chuckled on the comms. "Yup. It's almost dark. This is the time when the really big fish come out to play. These poor things don't want to stick around after dark. Believe me."

"How much farther?" Téa asked, gripping the handle of the turret's guns tightly in her sweaty grip. "It's so spooky out there. look at all those ships down there in the floor. Some of them look ancient."

Mai leaned over the cockpit to look at the wreckages. "She's right," she said, and then gave a pause. "Look!" she said, pointing to a ship with a tattered sail bearing a rare emblem not seen in years. "That's the symbol of the Norman Kings. Even they came all the way out here looking for the Pendant of the Kings. And they all failed."

"Well, we won't!" Serenity said, full of determination. She puffed out her chest and squeezed the grips of her turret. It felt as if all the fear melted from her body. "Yuri needs us. Termnnia needs us."

"Can't we get someone more qualified to go on this quest?" Téa asked nervously.

"Come on, Princess," Emerald teased. "Where's your sense of adventure. We're about to go where nobody has gone before."

"I can see why," Téa replied with a shiver. She felt as though a large predator was going to show up at any minute. "Serenity, are you even sure the Pendant of the Kings is even in this ruin?"

"I never said that it was," Serenity corrected. "Only a very important clue said to be hidden in the archives of the tower where the elven kings once ruled. "Believe me, if anyone around here knows anything about Norman the Conqueror, it will be the ancient kings of Arcraxia."

"And do you even know what you're looking for, hun?" Mai asked.

"Tch, let me worry about that," Serenity responded with a roll of her eyes. "You three just focus on getting us there and back alive. This pendant is just what we need to secure Yuri's rule. No law Antilles will pass is going to be enough to stop him once he wears it."

"You'd better be right," said Téa. "I want to see Yuri's coronation here in Termnnia, not from the Gardens."

They were silent after that remark. Another hour went by and neither one of them said a word. Until Serenity spotted something lurking in the shadows a hundred yards away. And it was big. Emerald heard Serenity screaming on the coms and saw that the infrared was going off the fritz. She swallowed and prayed that her instruments were malfunctioning.

**BIOLOGIC.**

**Length: 91.44 Meters**

**Speed: 60 knots**

Emerald shivered. Almost 92 meters? That was a hundred yards. Whatever this thing is, it's as long as a Kaiba Corp stadium. The sonar started to ring even more frantically. Emerald shouted into the radio and told Serenity, Mai, and Téa to prepare for battle. There was no doubt in her mind that the creature swimming towards them was the reason why so many of the wildlife was hiding. "Oh, Goddesses!" Serenity shouted. Emerald flipped switches, pressed multiple lit-up buttons, and yanked the helm as far as it could and the engines hummed, pushing it faster into the depths. The grips started to shimmy and shake as the currents were working against her. A yellow light flashed above her cockpit. Emerald strapped herself in, then commanded the others to do the same.

"It's circling above us!" Mai cried. "I can barely see it through the current but I can see red orbs above. I think it's ghosting us. Emerald, what do we do?"

"Just sit still!" Emerald cried out. "It probably doesn't see us. Until that thing proves to be a threat, nobody opens fire. I'll get us through this washing machine and we won't even have to shoot a flechette. Just stay calm, girls. I'll get us through this."

"Do it fast because it's coming!" Téa shouted.

"Hang on, girls!" Mai cried.

Serenity's mouth fell wide open, and all the air in her lungs was sucked out when she saw the monstrosity looming towards them. Its body was a pale bluish-white. It had spider-like appendages, sharp claws, and an armored tail and fin resembling that of a large fish. Serenity recognized the monster at once. She had seen it played numerous time by a boy named Shark who played in the Pro Leagues at the Kaiba Dome.

**Number 37: Hope Woven Dragon Spider Shark**

****

"Can't this thing go any quicker!?" Téa shouted.

"Just shoot it!" Mai cried back, squeezing down the triggers of her turret. Explosive rounds flew towards the Spider Shark Dragon. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! They blew up in his face, but the monster was so powerful, the explosive rounds made him madder. He picked up speed and headed towards them. Emerald fought through the current and dove into a canyon. Hope Woven Dragon Spider Shark dug its claws through the rock, hoping to slice the sub to pieces, but the canyon was too narrow for him. He bellowed and continued to pursue them through the canyon as Serenity, Téa, and Mai fired their weapons at the beast.

Hope Woven Dragon Spider Shark bellowed again, shaking his large head. Téa screamed when the claws of the aquatic dragon slashed through the top of the canyon causing an avalanche of debris to fall dangerously close behind the sub. The blazing red orbs on his neck, head, and back pierced through the cloud of dust. He roared, jabbing his claws into the canyon. He was falling behind, making him even angrier and more determined to kill them. The fact that a submersible as flimsy as that, and made by the hands of man, was outrunning him took a jab into his pide as a mighty dragon. He roared and forced his body to work to the limits of its strength; his speed ever increasing. A curtain of bubbles whipped behind him. The water churned and spun and the powerful bolts of lightning flashed in the sky.

Emerald checked the GPS on the dashboard. The images showed the canyon was getting narrower and narrower. She would lose the Hope Woven Dragon Spide Shark, but who knew if her sub could squeeze through those narrow passages. What would happen to the girls and their bubble turrets? Would they survive being tossed and turned like this? The current outside of one end of the passage was swirling with the force of a hurricane conjured by the wingbeats of Slifer the Sky Dragon.

Fuck it!

If she entered the passages, they were dead. If she piloted the sub over the canyon, they were dead. But she would rather take her chances in the caves than tangle with the Hope Woven Dragon Spider Shark any longer.

Téa screamed. The dragons right claw almost missed them. The Number 37 was glowing red on the top of it. Emerald yanked the helm even harder. The engines wailed in agony and shot into the cave below. The entry was so narrow, the rocks scratched and damaged the acrylic bubbles of their turrets. The dragon roared and was gone from sight.

"Is everybody all right?" Emerald cried. "Is everybody okay?"

"For now," Serenity cried, gripping the safety bars. The current pushed them through the saves with such pressure and power that it felt like she was going mach speed in a traveling jet. She could hardly even see the rocks through the churning water, lit up by yellow crystals on the floor below.

"Come on, baby!" Emerald said through gritted teeth, as she tried keeping the sub in the middle. If she crashed into the rocks at this speed, they would be crushed. It was not going to end this way. Not after such a distinguishing career.

After eight grueling minutes, the sub was finally spat out through a hole on the side of a mountain. Emerald heard Mai vomiting in her turret.

"We're safe now, girls," Emerald assured them. "We're safe." She leaned back in her chair and breathed. "Serenity, I think you're right on the money, baby. There must be something of great importance in those ruins if they have a Number Monster guarding it."

"How do you know it was guarding the ruins?" Mai asked, wiping vomit from her the side of her mouth with her sleeve.

"When I was a little girl, my father once told me that before Arcraxia sank beneath the sea, the Naleneen made a pact with a king from another world The Xyz Dimension. I don't know what it was; nobody does, but it was made and they had a great and powerful beast guard the treasures and the knowledge of the ancient kings for all eternity. The Naleneen were also said to have been the ones in charge of making Norman the Conqueror disappear from all history, were they not?"

"That they were," said Serenity. "They know how to find what I'm looking for. I need that necklace to secure Yuri's right to the throne. If he wears that, nothing will challenge his rule. Nothing."

"Well, we're gonna have to wait for a bit before we enter that ruin," said Emerald. "Pull your turrets back inside and rest up, ladies. I've got a lot of repairs I need to make. The sub got chewed up back there."

"How long will that take?" Téa asked, removing her headset.

"All night, I suppose. The schematics show red in all places."

"Oh, do we really have to, Captain?" Serenity asked. "We need to find that as soon as possible. Please."

"I'm sorry, sweetie pie," Emerald said with a sigh. "We can't. Unless you want to swim to that temple, you've got no other choice. I got grub in the galley and some clothes for you to change into in the laundry, ladies. Get down here, eat, and get some rest. I'm going to hide us in some rocks in the meantime. We don't want that thing to find us again."

"I understand," said Serenity. She looked up at the surface and sighed. "Just a little while longer, Yuri. Just a little while longer."

* * *

Serenity jolted awake when she felt the submarine's engines shudder then start their loud humming. She looked out the porthole. The world outside her was moving. Emerald had started their journey toward the ruins. They must have been getting close; for down below she saw ruins. Old stone buildings lining up in what was once a bustling market town used by the Nalaneen before the sinking of their lands. It broke her heart to see a once prosperous nation be destroyed for the sins of mankind. She rose her head up but felt a hand press her back down to her pillow. She turned to see who it was.

Mai was smiling at her. "We still have twenty minutes before reaching the tower," she said, shushing her. "Go back to sleep and get a little more shut-eye, okay?" Serenity could not argue with that. She yawned and fell back asleep. Ten minutes for her felt like enough time for a little rest. But now that she was partially awake, she had trouble falling back asleep. The world outside, though sad, was a wondrous sight to see. And the fear of being chased by the Shark Spider Dragon was enough to send chills down her body. She shivered from both the chill of the sub and the fear. She covered herself as best she could with the small wool blanket. Every shadow outside the porthole seemed to be the horrid leviathan coming closer and closer towards her and the others.

Téa jumped down from her bunk and hurried to the galley for a quick meal of canned soup. The sub shuttered making Serenity feel tense. The lamps hanging from the ceiling shook back and forth from the impact. She watched from behind her covers as Mai and Téa cooked their meals and even laughed as they told jokes. Perhaps there wasn't anything to be afraid of. Five of her ten minutes had gone by and there was not even so much as a shark outside the window. Finally, Serenity calmed herself and realized there was nothing to be afraid of. She shut her eyes and fell a deep sleep.

"Serenity! Serenity!" Mai said, shaking her. Serenity responded with disgruntled, _mmmph_. "We're here," said Mai. "Gear up. We'll meet you outside."

"Outside?" Serenity asked.

"Yes, Emerald found a dock at the bottom of the tower. See, I told you she was the best. Although, that means we have quite a climb on our hands."

"We couldn't have just landed on the top of the tower and break through one of the windows or something?" Serenity wondered.

"Not unless you want to flood this ancient structure," said Mai.

"But we've got the tools to prevent that."

"Yeah, but that spider shark thing is still out there," Mai said, tossing Serenity's armor and weapons at her lap. "We'd leave ourselves exposed. And having to deal with that thing is not something we want to do right now. It's a Number Monster, and Goddesses only know how much power those things have." She holstered two pistols to her legs. "Now come on. I left you half my hotcakes and a fried egg on the table. See to it that you eat it. I don't want to trek this place with you on an empty stomach. You're on your monthly if I'm not mistaken, and you can be very cranky with those alone." She grabbed her sword from the cabinet and fastened the belt around her waist. "Do us a favor and don't make things hard on us." She stormed out of the sleeping quarters and dashed down the hall. "Coming down here was your idea," she called.

Serenity wiped her hand down her face and got out of bed. She changed, ate the food Mai left her and went out of the submarine to a subterranean dock. Giant stalagmites protruded from the water. Mai and Téa turned on flashlights mounted to the shoulders of their armor. Serenity did the same and looked around. The waters around the docks were black and glassy. Water dripped from the stalactites above and the wind howled from vents throughout the cave. Ahead of her, she saw stone steps leading to an exquisite doorway with two large lanterns still lit after hundreds of thousands of years.

"Hopefully we will be alright," said Téa. "This place may have been abandoned for thousands and thousands of years, but it's best to keep your guard up. Who knows what foul things have crept up from the deep and called this place their home."

"She's right," Mai said, unholstering one of her pistols. She kept her other hand firmly gripped on her sword, Rose, which was the nickname she gave to Yuri's mother when they studied together years ago. The blade was colored red with a hint of black in the center. Rose coiled and curled to form a swept hilt of the blade. And it had a nifty enchantment that let out rose petals with each swing. With just a thought, Mai activated the blade's fiery enchantment. "Stay behind me and Emerald, girls," she said, using the flames like a torch to light the darkness.

"Come on, ladies," Emerald said, leading the way. "It's a long way to the top and I want to be out of here before dark." The entered the citadel and had to travel up a dark stairway that seemed to go on and on forever. "So," Emerald said, hoping to ease the silence. "This Yuri you ladies have been taking care of. I've got to know. Is he a looker?"

Mai looked back at her as she still ran up the steps. The flames of her swords whooshed. "You serious, Emerald? You'd ask that of us?"

"Hey, he must be one good-looking kid if he has all the princesses of the continent fighting for him in these Princess Wars."

Téa chuckled. "I don't know about you guys, but I think he's already found himself a sweetheart. That girl Crystal. I saw her when I went to leave Yuri his gifts last year." She hooted gleefully. "She is a pretty little thing, let me tell you that."

"I've seen her, too," said Serenity. "She's lovely. However, she gave her that Chaos Emperor Dragon I bought him. It irks me that he would give it to her so willingly. Still, I've seen her use it occasionally. Even though it was meant for Yuri, I can't help but feel that she and that dragon have a sort of connection. You know, like Yugi and his Dark Magician. Or Yuri and the Black Tyranno. I told Yugi about it, and he just laughed. He said it doesn't surprise him that the dragon seems happier with Crystal. Their hearts became one. Yuri must feel it too if he gave such a powerful monster to Crystal just like that."

"He did it because he loves her," said Téa. "And it seems to me that Yuri was destined to be with Black Tyranno more than Chaos Emperor Dragon-Envoy of the End."

"She's right," said Mai. She stopped at the top of the stairs. She began checking the corners for trouble. All was silent, and she waved her sword in circles, signaling it was okay to move forward. "Crystal is a sexy girl, I'll give her that. But she's got nothing on Patty."

Serenity and Téa laughed in agreement.

Téa cleared her throat. "She's a wild one, isn't she. I saw her profile. She loves doing raunchy cosplays of cartoon characters for a little extra money. And she knows how to flaunt it."

Serenity was not too pleased to hear this. "You mean that wannabe punk-goth?" she said. "No way. She's such an easy girl. A little too easy."

"And she has Yuri wrapped around her finger," said Mai, dashing down the halls of the citadel. "I heard from our informant that they went out on a date the other night. She looked rather spiffy. I think Yuri's got it nice with Patty. I mean come on. She's rich, she's sexy, she's hot-headed, doesn't take shit very easily. Not to mention that Diabolos Dragon she's got makes her rather fierce."

"Where did she get that?" Serenity wondered. "You don't suppose Patty has a guardian angel watching her, do you?"

"Sure looks like it," said Mai. "Or, she's got herself a secret admirer out there looking to give Yuri a run for his money."

"I love Patty, but this thing she has with Yuri; it won't last long," Téa said with a confident snigger. "Patty is a little too wild. And she gets in trouble with the police. If you ask me, this thing she has with Yuri won't last long. Believe me."

Mai stopped. "Fifty Star Chips."

"It's a bet!" said Téa.

Serenity sighed and looked at Emerald. "There they go again," she said. "We have got to keep them separate."


	38. The Pendant of the Kings

**Serenity**

* * *

The bells of the clock tower in the central plaza rang noon in the bustling port city of White Harbor a cozy and profitable town at the southern border of Elleria. She would later ride north to celebrate the birthday of Princess Evelyn, one of Yugi's brightest students so she heard. Serenity traversed through the market place quickly dodging folk who were unkind enough to block the way having conversations with friends and kin.

She was dressed for the heat in a laced-up bodice and a long tan skirt with heavy boots. She had large pouches attached to her heavy belt to hold the ingredients for her healing potions to sell in the shop she recently opened. A choker with a little bell was fastened around her thin neck. Around her arm was a basket of freshly picked peaches from her garden to sell and make at least a few copper pennies for which to buy her things.

She stepped over a chicken, for there were many of them walking around the cobbled stone streets along with pigs, goats, and even cows who were being sold by farmers for the low price of 200 Silver Swords.

She was feeling glum today, for Yami had learned of her activities sneaking into the other world to see Yuri. He and Pegasus forbid her from going through anymore.

"You could have been followed!" Yami scorned her the day she was called into the throne room to meet with them both.

He was right. She was careless and selfish. In her need to see Yuri and watch over him, she failed to realize she could have been watched by the Enemy. After eighteen years, she was surprised assassins haven't made an attempt to get him. She grinned at that thought. Maybe she did a good job of being unnoticed.

She passed by noisy vendors honking out their wares from fish, jewels, spices, exotic pets, silks, everything. One pet caught her eye, a hatchling Gray Wing, a dragon-type Duel Monster but it sold for 100 gold Star Chips. Though friends with the King of Games who shared his wealth with his friends, even she could not afford to buy the little creature who could prove useful in keeping her shop safe. She bumped into someone while she was distracted by the hatchling.

"Watch it, Wheeler!" barked Seto Kaiba.

"Whoa, Serenity," said Kaiba's little brother, Mokuba. "Small world. Didn't think we'd see you here."

"Kaiba?" Serenity squeaked. "What are you doing this far out of Domino?"

Kaiba narrowed his eyes and looked away. If there was one thing he hated, it was being asked questions by total strangers, especially a Wheeler. However, he needed to set an example for Mokuba and answer her. "We're going to fly to Emboldor and meet the Summoner of Dragons."

"You wish to meet with Lady Avi?" Serenity asked. "You must really like her if you're going through all this trouble to go find her. Especially now that the Dueling season is heating up at your Duel Dome. I heard there's going to be stiff competition there."

"There will be," Kaiba said with a grin. "But it wouldn't surprise me at all if the Duelists attending the season don't impress me. As for Avi, my interest in her is purely professional. As the new Summoner of Dragons, she might have what I was looking for."

"And just what are you looking for, Kaiba?"

"That's none of your business, Wheeler!" said Mokuba.

"Still searching for your heir?" Serenity said with a rude grin and ignoring Mokuba's outburst.

Kaiba bared his teeth and grunted like an angry beast. "I see Yugi can't keep his mouth shut!"

"Talk about rude," Mokuba agreed. "Can't keep any secrets around here, can you?"

"Well, I won't take up more of your time," Serenity said, clearly seeing Kaiba was in no mood to talk. "Good day, Kaiba."

"Hold on," Kaiba said, just as Serenity was leaving. "I still haven't tried one of those famous peaches of yours."

"You sure you want fruit grown by a Wheeler?" Serenity said haughtily.

"Are you going to sell me one or not?"

"Hey, I'd like one," said Mokuba.

"One peach. Five coppers," said Serenity.

"I don't carry coppers," Kaiba chortled. "I can give you a gold Star Chip."

"I cannot break that," said Serenity.

"Just give me two peaches and we can call it an even trade."

Serenity smiled. "Okay, Kaiba. Deal."

She pulled off the blue handkerchief off the basket and tossed two of her fruits to Kaiba and Mokuba. Serenity handed them both brown napkins from one of the pouches on her belt. "They can be really messy," she said handing them the fruit.

"Hmm," said Kaiba, after biting into his. "It's good."

"These are very tasty, Serenity," said Mokuba. "Nice job. Welp, see you at the academy."

"Come on, Mokuba," said Seto. "It's many leagues to Domino, and I want to get home."

Serenity sniffed happily and then proceeded down the market to the apothecary near the waters. All the while she called out that she was selling peaches.

"Peaches!" she said. "Peaches for sale!"

"And how much to get a bite out of your little peach?" sneered a familiar voice. Serenity recognized who it was who insulted her. It was Torvan, the young squire who taunted her and her friends in the ruins of Karad Antha, the night Yuri was born and killed Anubis.

"You're King Antilles' squire are you not?" said Serenity.

"Not anymore," said Torvan. "I'm a knight now. Ser Torvan of the House Goodwill and the Knight of the Golden Sword." He pulled his blade out of his sheath, to show Serenity his golden ceremonial sword. The teal outline of the blade was almost glowing.

"Yeah, well, if you're not buying anything, My Lord, I'd best be on my way."

"Oh, you are not going anywhere," Torvan said running in front of her to block her way. "I've heard charming tales about you from the patrons of the House of Flowers. I came all the way here to see if those tales they tell of your services are true."

"Let me by," said Serenity. "I warn you, I'm armed." She patted her steel sword sheathed on her hip.

"You wouldn't strike down a knight would you, little lady? Besides, my sword is made of rare Ellenanyian Steel reinforced with metal from a meteorite. I could easily cut your blade in half."

"Please, I don't want any trouble," said Serenity.

"Then come with me to bed. My room's at the inn just down the street."

"Leave me!"

"Are you hard of hearing?" asked a young man with long curly red hair who was standing behind Serenity. He was clad in armor of gold and blue plate. A golden head of a Lynx with eyes of ruby was roaring on his breastplate.

"This is none of your concern, whoever you are," said Torvan.

"I am Ryon Augustus Balor. Crown prince of Katina and future Knight of the Royal Termnnian Table."

"Prince Ryon!" Serenity said, going on one knee to bow. "You have come at last."

"What...the prince!" said Torvan.

"Just because you are a knight it does not give you the right to harass the citizens of Termnnia, especially if they are women, you worm! Knights are not just warriors in fancy armor who can get whatever we want. They are gentlemen of the battlefield and defenders of the people of Termnnia. You bring such a disgrace to the title."

"If you were not the prince I would cut you down with my new sword!"

Ryon drew his sword. The steel then burst into blue flames. Torvan grimaced. He took a few steps back. He could feel the heat kissing his face. Clearly, Ryon was a master at the art of enchantment. Then it dawned on him that Ryon was from Katina, the Kingdom of Magicians. Goddesses only knew what other spells he had at his disposal.

"You wish to have a duel of swords?" Ryon sneered. "Come. Let us see what you've got."

I do not have the time to waste," said Torvan, clearly trying to be brave. "I have a dinner date with the Baroness of Shark Rock. I do not wish to ruin my armor defeating you."

"Well," Ryon said, extinguishing the flames with a thought, "until you grow some backbone to reinforce that mouth of yours, get the hell out of here."

"Humph," Torvan growled and then turned away.

"Thank you, My Lord," said Serenity. "Welcome to New Harbor."

"Thanks," said Ryon. "By the way, I have your maps."

He handed her three long rolls of parchment wrapped with red silk.

"Ah, thank you. These are just what I needed."

Ryon flung them back with his wrist just as Serenity was about the grab them.

"I had to gamble much to get these documents from the Katinian Archives," said Ryon. "So far, all you've told me was that the item you seek is calling you out in dreams. You are certain what you're looking for is there?"

"I am, Prince Ryon," Serenity said strongly. "I would not have caused you to go through all the trouble if I wasn't so sure. Besides, I know it was he who saved us during the Siege of Rassay. There is no doubt about it."

Ryon paused. He took a deep breath then handed Serenity the scrolls.

"Take care of our treasures."

Serenity took the scrolls.

"Do you have a group ready for the expedition then?" he asked.

"I do," said Serenity.

"Well, then, I make way for the Red Palace. My home away from home until the other princes of the alliance show up. If you need chips, here is a letter of credit, valuable at any bank in Termnnia. Put what you need."

"Thank you, My Lord," Serenity said bowing and she took the letter. "I assure you, when I find this item, Yuri's destiny will be more clear."

"Prince Balor!" Yami Yugi called, making his way around the crowd. "It's good to see you."

"Master, it's been a long time."

"Master?" said Serenity. "You mean you taught the Prince of Katina too, Yugi?"

"I did," said Yami. "Ryon was just a small boy when I saw him last. I heard you've become quite the duelist, my young friend."

"It's all thanks to you," Ryon said as he bowed.

"Serenity, if you'll excuse us," said Yami.

"Of course." Serenity bowed. She looked at Ryon and nodded her head. "Your Grace."

* * *

**Ryon**

* * *

"Welcome to your home away from home," said Yami.

"Ha!" laughed Ryon. "This will be my fourteenth one. I got another castle by the sea for my name day. The Red Palace should suit my needs."

"It has a study for you," said Yami. "I sent requests to the Masters of the Archives to send you your favorite books and tomes."

"Thank you, thank you," said Ryon. His face formed into a frown. "Look at that," he said pointing his walking cane at the ships.

"Why do you need that?"

"I got injured in the War of the Golden Summer," said Ryon. "My friend Anastasio, the hero of said battle, will be joining us. Anyways, those ships. They bear the mark of the Northern Bear. King Forrest sends us his swill."

"You don't approve of the goods he sends us."

"Not at all," said Ryon. "He and his cronies from The Church have made all other goods illegal while we have to unload their garbage. Garbage that the citizens of Nefeli Port must pay a new tax for."

"They are at war up north," said Yami. "The Termnnian Trading Company has its neck in a vice. Goods cannot make it in one piece."

"Yeah, because corsair thugs hired by The Church see to that."

"Now you're being delusional." Yami shot him an angry look.

As they entered the square of one of the towns many harbors, they saw a meager crowd of people standing around a girl with flaming red hair and freckles dotting her dirty, yet pretty face. She stood atop a wooden box as she shouted about the unfairness of the Church of Yeyu.

A red banner hung on two poles with yellow letters reading:  **Church Unfair!**

She was alone in this rally and the turnout was less than half of what she had hoped for. A red badge was pinned to her brown leather bodice.

She had fliers in one arm, an armful of them because no one in town wanted to take the fliers from her. The dull blue of the silk ribbon in her hair almost blended with the cloudy sky. The apron she wore around her long tan skirt was stained with dirt from when she milked the cows at her farm.

"Who is that?" Yami asked.

"The local milkmaid," Ryon answered, tapping his cane on the ground. "We'd best move out of here."

"Come friends!" shouted the girl. "We must unite and stand up to the Church and their followers! Are we going to just let them run down our homes, our businesses, our way of life!"

"She denounces a religion," said Yami. "She should not be allowed to do that."

"Oh, I see," snorted Ryon. "You're one of those free-speech-is-okay-so-long-as-it-supports-my views-and-not-yours type of person. Master I expected better."

"I am all for limiting The Church's power of us," said Yami. "But antagonizing them and forcing them to back to Balodrum or denying them the practice of their religion is against our ethics. Termnnia is a place of free practice and voice"

"And she is exercising her voice," said Ryon. "She uses it to remind the people of how unjust the Church is to our culture. She has every right to."

"Hush girl!" cried the butcher. "The morning prayer is over. They will come out soon and hear you!"

"Let them hear me!" said the milkmaid. "It's high time someone told them what for. Mr. Greenwyrm, surely you must be on my side!"

She pointed at the cobbler.

"How many times have I heard you at my father's table talking about the days before those migrants from Balodrum came and set up their Church in our city. The days where children could run free and play Duel Monsters. Mages could practice their arts in the Arcane Academy. But no more! The Templars take our cards! Those mercenary thugs from the Church Militant arrest the mages and the arcane academy was torn down and replaced by a chapel for the Red Priests! That academy was a town landmark that has been here since the days of the city's foundation! And we just let them take it down!"

Murmurs of agreement.

"Yet if we traveled to their homeland would they allow a duelist to build an arena?" the girl continued. "Would they allow a cleric from the Temples of the Goddesses to build their place of worship? No, they wouldn't! A duelist or a cleric would be arrested or killed for coming up with that notion in their lands. So why do we allow them to build their places of worship on ours? Why do we let them destroy our culture? Our history? Why has no one stopped them!"

"I know why," Ryon whispered to Yami. "Every time the Church is called out on something, their followers scream out prejudice."

"Argh," Yami grunted looking at Ryon.

"And it always works. Now the guard does nothing as the Followers of Yeyu attack my citizens and vandalizes my streets for fear of being called intolerant. There is not much I can do to stop them. Goddesses know I've tried. I lost support from many of my allies when I executed a man of The Faith."

"What was his crime?" Yami asked.

"He cut off a boy's hands because he was playing Duel Monsters by his lonesome. 'But, it is his way of thinking!' they said. 'You should have been more tolerable' they said. Pardon my tongue but, I fucking hate the Church, Yami. I want them out of Katina! We are a kingdom of magic. We thrive on the arcane arts. And these horrid people come here and settle then force us to stop practicing magic. They don't like it, they can leave!"

"The best thing we can do is stay tolerant," said Yami.

"You mean let them walk all over us? If we do, Master, there goes our way of life."

"We cannot strike them with violence!" said Yami. "It is not who we are."

"Well, it's high time we grew ourselves some backbone and show these fuckers what happens when Termnnia's voice is no longer contained. I do hope High King Yuri does something about this! The hunting of the True Dragons and the genocide of the Arva was just a taste of their cruelty, Master. If we stay silent and let them do as they please with us, I fear another Inquisition will be at hand. And we will not stop them this time."

The milkmaid continued her speech. "Friends, we must rally together and stand up to the Templars and those brutes from the Church Militant!"

"You wouldn't be talking about us, would you?" said a Red Priest with a crooked nose. He had two thugs from the Church Militant on either side of him.

The girl took a deep breath, puffed up her chest and stood her ground.

"I am!" she snapped. "And who might you be?"

"I am Glabius Untoliant: The Red Scepter of the town of Nefeli Port!"

"You wouldn't be Glabius the Intolerant! The man who would cut the hands off of children for playing Duel Monsters!"

"What your tongue girl!" snapped Glabius. He looked around the crowd and shouted: "My faith is being unfairly antagonized by prejudice!"

"Shame on you girl!" shouted a follower of the faith from his balcony.

"SHAME ON YOU!" the crowd chanted, quickly turning sides so as not to become villainized in the eyes of the Red Priests and get punished.

And with that statement, the poor milkmaid lost all her support.

"Punish her for this unfairness! Tar the cunt!"

"TAR HER! TAR HER! TAR HER!" the crowd chanted.

The milkmaid looked around. Mayhaps she thought she could make it to the sea and swim away. But the crowd was too thick.

To hell with it! She thought and she dashed for the water's edge. But it was a feeble attempt. She was grabbed and pulled towards the ship builder's shop where he kept the tar to keep the vessels from rotting.

Ryon ran to save her but Yami grabbed him by the arm.

"For the love of the Goddesses, master we have to stop this!"

Yami didn't say a thing and held onto him. Defeated, Ryon ceased his fight to get away.

"TAR HER! TAR HER!" the crowd continued to chant.

They ripped off her bodice and skirt, leaving her bare as the day she was born. They took her to a platform, fondling her on the way up the wooden stairs. Once on the platform, two monks held out her arms. The milkmaid screamed. The monks were so strong he felt as though her arms would be ripped from their sockets. The barbarism of the crowd intensified when they saw her standing there naked and helpless. Two men picked up a cauldron and then dumped the molten tar on her. She wailed in agony as the sticky black substance burned her fair skin. It went down her shoulders first before the shipbuilder poured it over her head.

Ryon grunted and looked away. The poor girl's wails of despair and pathetic whimpers eating away at his heart. He then looked at Yami, who was looking away from the cruelty of the crowd.

"Is this the kind of culture you wish to support!" Ryon shouted.

"They have been angered!" said Yami. "She should have known better than to…"

"IS THIS THE TYPE OF BARBARISM YOU WISH TO ENVELOPE OUR LAND WITH MASTER YU-GI-OH! A culture of death! Rape! Domination, and violence! Who silences those with brutal and illegal acts of savagery Yami! Is it?"

A tear rolled down Ryon's cheek.

"Is it something you support master?"

Yami remained silent. He watched the crowd feather the poor girl. They put her on a cart and paraded her into the town and out of their sight.

* * *

**Ribbon**

* * *

The sound of laughter and music had woken her from her sleep. She had been up again until the sun was beginning to peek over the Great White Mountains. Miho Nosaka was a girl of the Anime race. Fair-skinned and with silky lilac hair. To her friends, she was called Ribbon, because of the yellow ribbon she wore in her ponytail.

Ribbon's heavy eyelids forced themselves open, and her eyes had to adjust to the light of the mid-afternoon sun. Having realized the sky was bright blue and the sun was at its peak caused Ribbon to feel a sudden sense of guilt. She bit her bottom lip, turning her head to the clock on the wall next to her door. The bronzed hands read it was fifteen minutes past one. She groaned and slapped her forehead. Up late again writing her book and studying for her exam which would promote her from apprentice to mage.

She jumped out of bed, wrapping her blanket over her body before walking towards the window. She pulled back the silky-white curtains and saw that the town of Nefeli Port.

The town was decorated with red banners and flags. A circus had arrived too, to celebrate the name day of Tiberius Pendragon, the first Termnnian High King.

Acrobats practiced on the streets and jugglers tossing bowling pins by their colorful checkered tents. A flock of Gray Wing dragons flew overhead, from the mountains heading towards the bay to hunt for dolphins and humpback whale calves.

The hour wasn't that late, she thought. And she walked towards her desk littered with scrolls and notes depicting magical formulas, complicated equations, and, of course, her Duel Monsters cards.

They were scattered all over the place, some used as bookmarks in her spellbooks. She was looking forward to playing in the festival's Duel Monsters tournament, but she received a letter from Serenity the other day. Apparently, she needed some help on a quest to retrieve a relic from Elven ruins.

She was looking forward to the adventure but was a little upset that she would not play at the festival because the tournament always had a legendary card as the prize. Seto Kaiba and his little brother, Mokuba, participated last year, dominating the games (At least Kaiba did). He usually didn't attend small tournaments, but the prize card called Legendary Dragon of White, an offshoot of his Blue-Eyes White Dragon, so he signed up to play for it.

Ribbon smirked and picked up her cards. She shuffled them and placed them in her deck box before looking down at the spellbook. The chapter she was studying was teaching her to cast professional-level fire spells, such as enchanting her ally's weapons by engulfing them in flames to deal fire damage to their foes. Or creating a ward of flames so as to disintegrate incoming arrows, bolts or other missiles.

She held her hand over her desk and rubbed her thumb and index finger together until it sparked and formed a decent-sized flame in between them. She focused all her mana into her hand until the flame became large enough to be a torch. She looked at her jeweled dagger,  _Kaiser Claw, and_ thought she would love to see it enhanced with fire magic.

Ribbon's eyes diverted from the dagger and to the text of her book, so as to read the instructions on how to channel the spell onto the object she desired to enchant. She had done it once, in a counter-bandit raid.

She used the spell on one of Mai's twin blades. However, the second blade almost burned Mai's hand off. Mai had to douse her hand in an ointment for hours and had to be bandaged up.

She practiced hard until she felt she was able to enchant both. But, unfortunately, during a battle with an ogre lurking in the hills, she set Serenity's hair on fire when she accidentally channeled the second fire spell on her enchanted coronet.

Mai joked that the coronet now had the ability to make Serenity a hot-head. Poor Serenity had to bathe with a special growth formula for weeks to get her hair back.

"I'll get better this time!" she said to herself. "Okay, Kaiser Claw, be enhanced with the forces of fire and turn my foes into ashes!"

The dagger's blade turned red and then burst into flames. "Yes!" Ribbon exclaimed. She was getting better at the spell. There was a knock at the door.

"Enter," she said, turning her head at the door. She saw her blanket had slipped past her back and she drew it up and tightened it around her shoulders before the door opened.

"Ser Tristan," Ribbon proclaimed. "Good afternoon."

"Afternoon," Tristan replied, walking into the room. His thick belted boots thumping on the creaky wooden floor of Ribbon's apartment. He wore a white shirt, a black pocketed vest and black breeches with a belt looped around his waist with gold shields proclaiming his knighthood in Rassay. A title well deserved for his bravery in the battle more than twenty years ago. He had a black, iron bracer on his right arm which would transform into his Duel Disk when it was time to play.

"So glad you could make it," Ribbon said, slightly blushing. She had nothing underneath her blanket, but she knew Tristan for so long that it didn't occur to her to be embarrassed.

Tristan didn't either, for he kept his composure, and his smile, as he leaned against the wall. He looked to his left out of the room's window and saw the blue horizon of the Glistening Bay over the red-roofed houses and their white-stone chimneys. He could just make out the white sails of boats and ships in the distance.

"Just a few more months huh?" Tristan said, happily. "Just a few more months and Daveed comes home."

Ribbon beamed at him. "Yes. My, have the years gone by so quickly."

"I told you," said Tristan. "Are you going to be his teacher in spell casting?"

"If we still have the right to when he comes back," Ribbon said, looking down at her spellbook.

"What do you mean?" Tristan asked.

Ribbon sighed and said: "With every territory Forrest gains, the Church of Yeyu gets stronger. Magic and Duel Monsters has been outlawed in much of the North. Under pain of death."

"Daveed will sort this mess out," Tristan assured her. "Remember, he'll have the power of the Divines when he comes back. With Slifer, Obelisk, and Ra at his disposal, King Forrest would be a fool to continue marching his forces down here. And as for that crazy church, well…"

"Well what?" said Ribbon. "So what if he is High King. He can't just ban it. Daveed would violate so many laws, especially the Concordant of Free Speech. Even without it, the church is too powerful an organization to be banned by the king."

"But Daveed isn't just any king. He's the High-King of all Termnnia. And no, he won't ban them, but he can restrict them. I have to agree things have gotten out of hand. With no one to challenge them all these years, they feel they can spread their practice violently. You know Pegasus ordered a group of ten radicals hanged yesterday?"

"What were their crimes?"

"Murder," Tristan answered, coldly. "They were witch-hunting. They killed a family of Niwatori farmers because their youngest daughter was going to be a student in the Citadel. Unfortunately for these Witch Hunters, they ventured a little too far South, where magic is still law."

"Witch-hunting, you say?" said Ribbon.

"Yeah, they were lunatics inspired by the Swords of Light; a group of psychopaths who have dedicated themselves to prosecuting anyone who uses magic or summons monsters. Anyone can join their ranks, so long as they are pure in body and 'strong in faith'. I say piss on all of them. They're nothing but mercenaries in the pockets of the Church of Yeyu. Now they've come here."

"So far south?" asked Ribbon, extinguishing the flames on her dagger. "This is Embolodor, Mothers-damn them!"

"They'll go wherever to spread their faith." Tristan scoffed. "These thugs claim they work for a creep named Marcus Hamilton."

"Oh, dear! I've heard of him. A refugee from the North says they call him the Freak Killer."

"Freak?"

"It's what people of the faith label those who aren't like them," Ribbon explained. "People like us. Hamilton is famous for sending more than five hundred women to burn in the pyre for witchcraft."

"Damn him to Yamimakai," Tristan cursed. "I sure do hope Daveed gets here fast."

"Me too," said Ribbon. "But let's not press our concerns on this matter. The Church is still many leagues from here. We must be happy today, my friend. It is the Festival of the First High King!"

"Yeah, you're right," said Tristan. "Get your things and let's go!"

"Right!"

Ribbon darted to her drawer to get her clothes. Having done so, she let go of her blanket. She gasped and caught it just in time, looking timorously back at Tristan. Tristan diverted his look back to the sea and walked out the door so as to let her change.

After Ribbon had dressed into an embroidered brown leather corset and skirt, she ran down the stairs of the apartment building. Her thick belted-boots were ringing and clanking with magical knick-knacks inside the small compartments.

So were the items in her knapsack and the various pouches on her belt and the large ones strapped to her thighs. The liquids in the green and red vials swishing with every step she made. Tristan was outside the building, eating a turkey drumstick that he bought from one of the many vendors outside selling their wares.

"Where are you off to?" Tristan asked, his mouth full of turkey meat. "To war?"

"If what they say about Elven ruins is true, then yes." Ribbon answered adjusting one of the vials on her belt.

"Remind me not to piss you off," Tristan said before swallowing the meat in his mouth. He looked at the colorful vendor stalls lined up behind the railings facing the sea. One, in particular, caught his eye.

The sign above the booth read  _Crazy Crod's Collection of Mythical Artifacts._

"Hey check it out, Ribbon," Tristan said, devouring what remained of his drumstick. "That Sloager over there is selling rare and magical weapons."

"Why do you need that?" Ribbon asked. "You have a beautiful ax already."

She was protesting, but it was not to get Tristan from buying weapons. It wasn't that she cared; it was his money, but from approaching the rather large and bulky creature selling the weapons.

The Sloagers were an amphibious race of ugly, large and fatty creatures. They can grow from eight to ten feet tall. They were horribly obese-looking with big sulking arms, stubby tails with bumpy spines, three-clawed hands, and legs as thick as tree stumps and rough pink or purplish skin. They had faces like a toad, some sporting small but well-kept beards such as the Sloager selling the exotic weaponry. He had his beard oiled in juices made from sweet-smelling insects.

"Wow!" Tristan said, admiring the weapons.

Crazy Crod sold beautifully crafted weapons from swords, bows, crossbows, armor, shields and even guns. Each item enhanced with powerful runes that could make the blades burn with fire or get engulfed in a blizzard to cause frost damage. One sword had a black blade, a black guard, and a black hilt. The black blade had ornate carvings with red glowing runes written in Elvish and decorated in handsome red rubies from tip to base. It had red bolts of electricity surging all around it.

"What's that?" Tristan asked.

"It's not for sale," the Sloager said in a belching-sort of voice. "This blade is called  _Archfiend's Kiss_. The blade is reserved for Prince Michael of the Dalton Family in Domino."

"Prince Michael Dalton!" Tristan said, raising his voice. "Like he needs any more swords. He is going to own a hundred of them when he's king."

"The King of the One Hundred Swords," breathed Ribbon.

"So-called because he can wield a hundred swords," Mai Valentine said, approaching Tristan and Ribbon. Serenity and Téa were by her side. Téa turned and waved to get the attention of Yami, Prince Ryon, and a young Berja, who were examining the wares of the best blacksmith in Nefeli Port.

"You'd best no piss off the merchant, Tristan," Mai said. "Sloagers are infamous for their temper."

"Everyone," Yami said when his friends came together. "I would like to introduce you to Prince Jon Jahangir. Son of King Audun of Riftgaard, and thirteenth born of the Clan. And Prince Ryon Austus of Katina."

Ryon and Jon bowed.

"Well, well," said Mai. "Two handsome princes. And who says dreams don't come true?"

Jon smiled, bowing at Mai's presence. He admired her attire, which was too much of not enough. All she had on was a skirt, long boots and a black leather corset infused with a high metalwork collar. The friendship necklace was swinging over her cleavage. It was all Jon could do not to divert his eyes any lower. Her sword was sheathed horizontally over her lower back.

"I don't need an introduction to know who you are," he said, with a wolfish grin. "You are Mai Valentine, The Delight of Emboldor. Even after a hundred years, your beauty is still unmatched."

Mai laughed bashfully. "Your Grace, you are too kind. It seems I get that compliment every decade or two. But coming from you, it actually feels legit."

Ryon nudged Yami lightly in the forearm. He leaned next to his ear and said. "Uh-oh, smoothie. We got ourselves a smoothie."

"Why have you brought Prince Jon here all the way from Riftgaard?" Serenity asked.

"We're here to discuss his enrollment into the academy," said Yami. "And what is to be expected from him when he leaves for the Legion this summer."

"The Legion?" said Téa. "Wow, that's going to be tough."

"I'm more than ready, Lady Téa," said Jon. "I just hope my comrades are up for the task."

"They will be," said Yami. "You're not the only prince in Termnnia who can fight."

"I second the motion," Ryon said, holding up his cane. "Don't let this fool you. I can still burn a fully-armored knight to cinders from a hundred yards away. I'm set for any task the Legion has for us."

"What's the point of going to the Legion, again?" asked Ribbon.

"You don't know?" asked Jon.

"I'm a mage," said Ribbon. "My life has been spell books and magical histories. Forgive me if I'm a little vague with Termnnia's customs involving swords and brute strength."

"Every prince in Termnnia must go to Aurelia and train with the Imperial Legion," said Jon. "It is a great way to sharpen your skills in combat. The Aurelian army has been undefeated for hundreds of thousands of years. By the Third Age, kings wanted their sons to be fierce warriors as well as duelists, so they asked the soldiers of the Imperial Legion to train their boys for a few months. Needless to say, many kings in Termnnia have remained unmatched in swordplay thanks to the Legionnaires."

"Aren't you already a master swordsman?" Tristan asked. "I heard of your battles. They say you killed a hundred men, single-handedly."

Jon laughed. "Don't trust the words of bards, Sir Knight. They tend to…exaggerate a bit. I am good, but I'm not that good. It was my Gearfried that did most of the killing out there."

"If you'll excuse us," said Yami. "The princes and I have much to discuss and then we sail for Domino, hopefully, to greet Michael and the others when they come back from the war in Akuuda."

"We needed to get going anyway," said Serenity.

"Yup, off to our little adventure," said Mai. "We'll be back in time for the fireworks, though."

"Be careful up there," Yami advised them. "There have been reports of goblins lurking in the forest at the roots of the mountain."

"Don't worry about us, Yugi," said Téa. "We can handle a few goblins."

"If you insist," said Yami. "Jon, come with me. The others are waiting."

"I'm going to wait for Joey and Duke at the tavern," said Tristan. "Ladies,"

"Sir Knight," said Mai.

Tristan smirked. It was rare to be complemented by Mai. He walked away smiling.

"So what is so important you'd have us excavating an Elven ruin?" Ribbon asked after everyone left.

"I learned of a unique pendant that was sealed in the ancient treasury," said Serenity. She reached into her knapsack, pulling out a scroll. She undid the red ribbon holding it together and rolled it out to show her friends a drawing of a cross-like pendant.

"That's pretty." Ribbon said, admiring both the artistic skill of the drawing and the work on the pendant. Still, I can't believe you want us to delve into an ancient ruin just to find a little trinket?" Ribbon pouted.

"It's not just any trinket," said Serenity. "It was worn by the old Elven-kings of this region. It has great power and will secure Yuri's claim to the throne. Once this is around his neck, the Senate will have no choice but to open the Gates and let him back in. It'll also make for a good birthday present. Yuri's birthday is tomorrow."

"October the twentieth already?" Mai gasped, placing a hand on her cheek. "Wow, time flies. See, baby, I told you we'd see him in no time."

"Does anyone else find it astounding that he was born on the same day as High King Tiberius?" said Téa.

"Well now, that is amazing," said Serenity.

"Or, as Yugi calls it, destiny," Mai said wiggling her fingers. "Oooooh,"

"Well, Daveed isn't coming back until summer," said Serenity. "He still has to finish grade school. It's only natural that we let him finish his education first. And if Yugi's right, he should be getting the practice he needs in an upcoming tournament. But, we're wasting time. Let's find our supplies and get this show on the road."

"Yeah, I want to make it back by dark," said Ribbon. "Goblins are not my favorite creatures to encounter, especially at night."

"We'll be back by then. Come on. If there are goblins out there, we need to buy antidotes because of their knack of tipping their weapons in poison. We also need potions and mana crystals for Ribbon."

"You're going to aim your spells the right way, this time, right, hon?" Mai asked.

"I've learned a lot since our last battle," said Ribbon.

"I sure as the shadows hope so," said Serenity. "I'm still pretty peeved you burned off all my hair."

"Oh, by the Stars of Horakhty!" cried Ribbon. "Ten years and you're still holding a grudge!"

"Relax, babe; I was just kidding."

"Come on, ladies," said Téa. "We're burning sunlight."

When they gathered their supplies, sharpened their weapons at the blacksmith and saddled their horses, they left the safety of the city wall. There were caravans of circuses outside the wall trying to sort out their entry into the city. Meanwhile, merchants set up stalls and tents by the road. Some priests of the Church of Yeyu were standing on wooden boxes preaching to those who wanted to learn about the new faith taking Termnnia by storm.

Though their views on magic and the paranormal were harsh, there was no doubt the Church stabilized economies and kingdoms in many countries across Termnnia. Their special forces known as the Crusaders fought monsters off the land, and their regular troops guarded the towns and brought food to the hungry, if the people were to pay the associated taxes and convert to the Faith, of course. Those who refused were evicted from the town or killed. Mostly killed. For no one said no to the Church.

Serenity did her best to ignore one of the preachers. One pointed at Ribbon, quickly spotting the glowing rune on her arm and used her as an example to the crowd.

"Look!" he shouted. "Good people, feast your eyes on this! A mage. The ones who have brought so much grief into our beloved world. She eats ten square meals a day and sleeps within the confines of the wall, while you, the devoted of Yeyu, sleep on straw and under the rain, eat rats and live at the mercy of bandits and foul monsters."

"It is an injustice!" shouted a farmer.

"And look at her little friends!" the preacher said. He pointed a bony finger at Mai. Her Duel Monsters deck strapped to her exposed thigh.

"Look at this one!" he shouted. "This woman exposes her flesh to the world like the whore that she is!"

"Cover yourself wench!" shouted an angry priestess within the crowd.

"And she plays Duel Monsters. The vile game of monsters and magic!" the priest continued. "The very forces that have plunged our world into such disarray, they use so pleasurably."

"SHAME!" shouted the crowd.

"Fear not, good people!" cried the preacher. "For King Forrest is upon us. The Chosen Warrior of Yeyu will march upon these lands and purge it of the filth riding by us."

"HAIL KING FORREST!"

"PRAISE YEYU!"

"DEATH TO THE MAGES!"

"DEATH TO THE ELDORI!"

"DEATH TO THE DUEL MONSTERS!"

"Let's keep moving," Serenity whispered.

"Not very popular are we?" Mai asked when they were finally a safe distance from the crowd.

"I thought they wanted to get rid of magic?" said Téa.

"No," said Ribbon. "The Church doesn't say it, but they want to purge all things that aren't right in their scriptures. Eldori, Elves, Dwarves, homosexuals, non-believers, monsters, mages, it doesn't matter. If a priest says it's not right, his flock will destroy it.

They hope when Forrest conquers all of Termnnia they can reform their Inquisition. Which will not be a good thing? The last time the Church had an Inquisition it caused the genocide of the Arva many centuries ago."

"The beautiful winged-people of the old days," Serenity said, sadly.

"Hello, ladies!" called a voice from atop a hill. "Hello! Hello!"

"What is that?" Mai asked.

"Oh, a Gnome!" said Ribbon. "How cute."

The little creature was wearing colorful robes and was riding a donkey that was pulling a cart loaded with all sorts of treasures from weapons to jewelry and Duel Monster cards."

"What can we do for you?" Serenity said when they rode closer.

"I am Pompim," the Gnome said with a bow. "Master merchant, and an all-around good fellow."

"What are you selling?" Ribbon asked.

"Whatever your hearts desire, my dear," said the Gnome. "You're welcome to help yourselves, provided you have the chips."

"It looks expensive," said Serenity. "We're a little low on Star Chips at the moment. I'm only carrying a few bronze ones."

"Hmm," said Pompin. "I can hear a few extra chips dangling within you from somewhere."

"There's no fooling you, is there Mr. Pompin?" Téa asked.

"My dear, girl. I've been in this business for many years. I know how to spot and hear extra Star Chips on one's person. And my ears can pick up enough on you to buy a decent amount of items on my cart."

"You think you're that good, huh?" said Mai. "All right, Gnome, how's about a game?"

"Oooh, I do love games. What are the rules?"

"You have to guess where the girls and I are hiding our extra chips. Guess correctly, and we'll do business with you. Guess wrong, and we'll be on our way."

"Ah, splendid," said Pompin. "Hmm, you there, girl, is that a Golden Emboldorian Stallion," he pointed at Serenity.

"Yes," Serenity said, rather amused.

"That's a rare steed you got there. Difficult to breed."

"Impossible, actually," Serenity corrected him, as she patted the side of her horse's neck. "Takes many years and a ton of magical involvement to get the horses this sort of color. But it's worth it. They have the strength of a warhorse, the speed of an Elven mare and their mane and coat glimmer like a gold mine. Now, you were going to point out my extra chips?"

"Difficult, rather difficult to say." Pompin paused. "As you were riding in, I could hear something coming from…yes! The back pouch on the saddle you're riding on."

Serenity undid the string of the saddle and opened it. She reached in and yanked out a big sack of star chips.

"Good guess," said Serenity. "You sure it was difficult?"

"Not really, I was only playing to make it look like you had a chance of leaving without buying anything."

"I don't know whether to congratulate you for that or ride away?" said Serenity.

"If you wanted to ride away you would have done so by now," Pompin said, raising his eyebrows. "Admit it, young lady. I've piqued your interest haven't I?"

"All right," said Serenity. "You got me. Well, that's one down, three to go."

"And you, the mage with the yellow ribbon."

"Take your best shot," said Ribbon. "Where am I hiding my chips?"

"My dear, this is no challenge. There was no sound coming from you as you rode in. You don't have any on you."

"Oh my," said Ribbon. "He is good."

"And me?" asked Mai, riding closer to the Gnome. Her horse pushing past Ribbon's mare.

"Oh…I'll get to you last, my dear lady," Pompin said with a wink. "You there. I know you. You're the one who travels with Master Yu-Gi-Oh?"

"I am," said Téa.

"Anything going on between the two of you, may I ask?"

"No, none," said Téa. "Yugi is far too busy for something as petty as love."

"That's not what I hear?" said Pompin. "I found out he once traveled the roads with a beauty who smelled of strawberries."

"That didn't end so well, last I heard," said Téa.

"Oh yes, poor man. But, enough about Master Yugi's love life. Your chips, my dear, is…uh."

"You playing me for a fool?" asked Téa. "Or do I seriously have you stumped?"

"I can't lie, my dear. You have me stumped."

"You got sixty seconds," said Serenity. "Otherwise, we'll leave."

"Ah, excellent," said Pompin. He paced back and forth on his donkey's back. "I could have sworn as you were riding in that…Oh yes! That bandolier on the side of your saddle."

"Wow!" Téa said perplexed. "How did he know that when the bandolier is on this side?"

"I knew they were on your saddle," said Pompin. "But I didn't say which side. You revealed that for me."

"Oh, he got you good, Téa," Serenity chirped.

"And the chips?" asked Pompin.

Téa smiled, pulling up a red velvet sack of her extra star chips.

"Well, that leaves Mai," said Serenity.

"Ah…yes! This is going to be fun," said the gnome. "You have three extra sacks of coin on your person. There is one in your boot."

"Right-O," Mai said, reaching down into her boot and taking out a small sack of Star Chips.

"There is one in the second pouch on your belt."

"Correct," Mai said, taking that one out too. "And the third?"

Pompin sneered. That face was enough for Mai to know that he knew where the location of the third pouch was. Mai gave a wolfish grin, reaching into her cleavage and taking out her last hidden pouch of star chips.

"Ahhh," chimed the Gnome. "I thought so."

"Well, you won the game, little man," Mai said, tossing her pouch up and down on her hand. "You can have this one, for humoring us for a few minutes."

She playfully threw the pouch at Pompin.

"Oooh," he shivered rubbing the pouch on his puffy cheek. "Still warm."

"Well, I guess that means we have to buy something from you," said Serenity.

"What's that?" Mai asked, pointing at a tan-colored rifle hanging from one of the hooks on the cart.

"That's called a gun," said Pompin. "I looted it off some dead mercenaries under contract from Domino. The guy's name was called Remington. It says so on the weapon which called an A-C-R I believe."

"No, I've seen those weapons before," said Téa. "That name is the gun's manufacturer. Recently some traders who found a Gate have smuggled goods from the other world into ours in exchange for cards, and other resources. Those weapons are no exception. They're popular with mercenaries from Domino, though mostly used by the city's military and members of House Dalton. And bandit gangs, if they can afford it."

"Hmm, how much?" Mai asked.

"For you, my dear. A hundred gold star chips."

"I believe I've already paid you," Mai said, referring to the sack she handed him.

"Indeed you did," Pompin said, tossing the bag and stuffing it into his pouch. He climbed off the donkey's back and pounced onto the cart, climbing the supports until he reached the weapon Mai desired.

"Happy hunting," he said, tossing the gun at her.

"Wow, it's heavy," she said feeling the weapon.

"You're going to need these," the gnome said, picking up extra magazines. "They're called bullets. Without them the weapon is useless. They're on the house." He bundled them together with an elastic band and threw them at her. Mai caught them and thanked him.

"And what would you like, my dear?" Pompin asked Ribbon.

"What's that over there?" she said, pointing at a clip in the shape of a butterfly. It was glowing.

"It's an enchanted item, used by a young mage girl who needed to buy a ticket back to the Citadel. She told me it boosted her mana. I'll sell it for eighty Star Chips."

"I'll take it," said Ribbon.

"But you didn't have any Star Chips on you,"

"It's on me," said Serenity, then counted the chips and handed them to the little merchant.

Ribbon clipped it to her ribbon. She felt a little boost in her aura.

"And you?" he asked Téa.

"What's are those cards, the black ones?" she asked.

"Those are those new cards that are all the rage in Domino," Pompin explained. "They are called Xyz (Ik-seez) monsters. These are called Legendary Magician of Black and Ebon Illusion Magician."

"Magicians, huh?" said Téa. "Yugi's going to love those."

"Fifty chips," said the gnome.

"Here you go," Téa said, handing him the money.

Pompin wrapped the cards in tin foil and gave them to Téa.

"Well, ladies, thank you for your business. And because I had such a good time with you, I'll give you a parting gift."

He dug through the brick-a-brack in the cart and found a brown burlap sack. He opened it and showed them a glowing orb.

"I made this myself, took me five years to complete, but I got it. I don't know what to do with it, though?"

"You worked on that thing for years, and you don't know what it does?" Ribbon asked.

"I didn't say that," said Pompin. "I said I don't know how to use it. What it does is make a brilliant explosion. In case you ever run into a hairy situation use this, but seek cover. I tossed it at a rock ogre once, and it blasted him to smithereens. And would you do an old Gnome a favor and document its power for me? It's a prototype, and I do hope it goes into mass production for those military folk in Domino."

"Well, thank you for everything, Pompin," said Serenity, taking the bombs from him. "But we have to get going now."

"It was a pleasure, ladies," said the gnome, with another bow.

"Just a word of advice," said Mai. "I'd enter the city through the eastern entrance. You won't find pleasant company in the main gate."

"So I see," said Pompin. "Thank you, my dear girl. May the Stars of Horakhty light your path."

"Bye, Pompin," said Serenity.

Hours had passed before they reached their destination. The ruins sadly stood under the shadow of Mt. Eldar, the highest mountain in Emboldor. Judging by all the raised earth, fallen pillars and wagon tracks, the city had been ransacked, down to the last trinket.

"You sure it's here?" Ribbon asked. "It looks like a lot of folks beat us to the punch."

"It's here," Serenity said, dismounting from her horse. "I can feel it. Thank you, Honey," she said petting her golden stallion. "Good girl," she said, before feeding her horse a handful of oats.

"I don't like the looks of this place," Mai said, getting off her black armored warhorse.

"Neither do I," said Ribbon. "I feel ancient magic here."

"You do?" said Serenity. "Good,"

They searched the ruins. Every room, every crevice. But they were unsuccessful in finding the pendant.

"This isn't right," said Serenity.

"We looked everywhere, hon," said Mai, biting into an apple.

"Hey, look," said Ribbon. "Over here, girls!"

Ribbon's friends ran to her. She was holding a black arrow with an unclean fletching.

"Goblins," said Serenity.

"Damn," Mai said, taking the arrow from Ribbon. "I have a feeling humans didn't loot this place."

"I have the same feeling," said Ribbon. "That would explain all those runes I saw in the old throne room drawn in blood. Those markings were the goblins marking their territory."

"Well, that's not good," said Mai.

"Then they must have the pendant," said Serenity. "And any other treasure that may have been hidden here."

"Treasure, huh?" said Mai. "Sounds good to me."

"But, just where could those goblins be living?" Téa asked. An arrow flew past her face and struck one of the pillars beside her.

"What ho!" called the arrogant knight Ser Torvan. He stood atop a ruined stairway.

"Oh, not this guy again!" shouted Serenity.

"He has company," said Ribbon.

Five brigands came down the hills to join him.

"What's this?" said Torvan. "A party of lovely adventurers. Now isn't this group worthy of song."

"Get lost Torvan!" Mai shouted, aiming her ACR at Torvan.

The brigands stepped back.

"Look at that!" he shouted. "Beautiful! I want that! A hundred silver swords to the man who gets me that!"

They charged down the ruins. Mai shot one of them in the chest, ending him.

The loud blast of the weapon caused the others to freeze.

The brigands did not want to move.

"GET THEM!" shouted Torvan.

Suddenly an arrow pierced the back of his head.

Then the brigands were shot dead by more.

The goblins had arrived.

Screeches could be heard in the forest as a goblin attack party scurried towards the ruins. Just then an arrow flew out of the woods and hit one of the scouts. More screeches erupted from the trees to the eastern side of the ruins. It was another pack of goblins, but these were armored in stone and riding Razorbacks in rusty iron armor.

"What is this?" said Ribbon.

"Just great," said Mai. "We stumbled upon a war between two goblin tribes."

"At least that Torvan creep is gone!" said Serenity. "Man, but I wish it was by my hand."

The goblins on the Razorbacks thundered into the ruins. The head goblin was encased in rusty armor he looted from a knight he killed. He was riding an unnaturally large razorback with long tusks and a mane cut into a Mohawk. Serenity spotted something glowing around his neck. What luck. It was the item she desired.

"THAT'S IT!" she cried out. "That goblin war chief has the pendant! The Pendant of the Kings!"

"Oh great," said Mai. "Baby, why don't you worry about that later. Like, after we get out of this battle we walked into."

The goblins from the east charged and slammed into the goblins of the northern tribe. The fight had begun. Arrows hissed through the air mixing with the sound of the cries of fallen goblins.

"We can take them!" said Serenity.

"No!" said Téa. "Let them kill each other first. That way there will be less of them to deal with."

"I like where you're going, Téa," said Mai. "You know I saw a notice on one of the bounty boards before we left town. If memory serves me right, that goblin is Big Red Mona. He's been causing all kinds of trouble for farmers this past year. Burning the farms, slaughtering the animals and whatnot. Pegasus offered a juicy reward for proof of his death."

"Sounds like fun," said Serenity.

"What do we do now?" asked Ribbon.

"We wait," said Serenity. "Let's hope this battle doesn't take too long."

* * *

Serenity peered out of the storage room from the bottom of the steps like a curious fox peeking out of its den. Night had fallen. The forest alive with the sounds of crickets and the hooting of owls and the cries of Silver Fangs howling at the moon.

"Well?" whispered Mai.

"They're all gone," said Serenity. "You can come out."

"This place sure got spooky at night," said Ribbon.

The moonlight provided enough light for them to see through the darkness.

"Did you see where they went?" Mai asked.

"They headed north," Serenity answered.

"Who won?" Ribbon asked.

"Big Red Mona did," Serenity replied.

"I was afraid of that," groaned Téa. "Now we have to deal with him and that army of Razorback riders."

"Come on," said Serenity. "Before we lose their trail."

"Damn it," said Ribbon. "This pendant of yours better be worth it."

"Oh, it will be," said Serenity.  _You have no idea._

The sneaked out of the ruins and dashed into the forest following the prints of the goblin army that fought in the fields earlier. Mai took out a blue crystal torch from one of the pouches on her belt to light up the night. They followed the tracks which led them into a cave. There was a fire flickering from the inside.

"Do we have to do this?" Téa asked.

"You can stay behind and let me handle this alone if you want?"

"Wow," said Mai. "And to think she was a girl afraid of her own shadow once upon a time."

"You can thank Gabriel the Black for my sudden change in character," said Serenity. "With or without you, I'm getting my pendant. I want that to be Daveed's welcome home present."

"With all the other beautiful trinkets that Pompin was selling us earlier today, why go for that?"

"It's special," said Serenity. "Are you going to join me or not?"

"I don't know about these two," said Mai. "But I paid a lot of star chips for this rifle, and I want to use it."

"Well, what about the rest of you?" Serenity asked.

"Fine," pouted Ribbon.

"Let's do this, girls," said Téa.

They quietly dashed for the cave entrance. Mai was the first to go in, her eye glued to the scope on the rifle which had the technology to allow Mai to see in the dark.

"These otherworldly contraband weapons are fantastic," Mai whispered, stepping further into the cave.

Ribbon took out a golden binder from her pouch. It levitated in front of her and opened it up revealing page after page of the Duel Monsters she could call into battle, for she was a Summoner, a class very few could have. It was so difficult to attain that Termnnia had as few as twenty of them, and these mages received great praise earning jobs with elite political figures including the High King of Termnnia.

It took years of training in the magical arts and great discipline to become a Summoner and it also took a dedicated faith, for Summoners attained their creatures through prayers to the Mothers. Those they found worthy were blessed with powerful monsters. Ribbon prayed to and respected all the Mothers, for they each played a part in the creation of the world she called home. A Summoner's job was also to spread the faith of the Mothers. The Mothers each lived in and ruled their own worlds called Planes, and the monsters Summoners called on were proof of those worlds. Faith was highly needed, especially in these trying times.

"Do you have a creature selected?" Mai asked.

"Yeah, I have a few in mind?" Ribbon whispered. Her spellbinder flipped three pages towards her favorite page containing her best and rarest monsters. It cast a glow bright enough to illuminate a four-foot radius around Ribbon.

Serenity and Téa followed after them. Serenity quickly unsheathed her silver sword, placing a hand on Ribbon's shoulder to stay close.

They could hear nothing, save for their own footsteps crunching on the dirt and pebbles on the ground beneath them and the dripping of water from the stalactite formations. The chirping of Dark Bat could be heard from the darkness, but they never attacked unless provoked, so the girls did their best to ignore them as they delved deeper into the cave. From the light of Mai's Crystal torch and Ribbon's spell binder, they could see old campsites in the cave. Rings of small rocks that formed the foundation of campfires along with burned out branches and twigs and sewn logs that were used for seating.

It began smelling rank and the air grew musty. Their noses told them they were getting close. Serenity held back a scream when she spotted bones littering the ground by one of the old campsites. There were the bones of cows, pigs, and horses but there were some she recognized thanks to the many hours reading her mother's book on from the hospital she worked in. The bones she saw mixed with the animal bones were human. A skull missing its jaw was lying by one of the logs with a large knife lodged on the dome.

"This is horrible," whispered Ribbon. "They killed people."

"This ends tonight," said Mai. "I'm not much of a Summoner, but I can still call upon my Harpie Queen to aid us. She's never let me down before."

"What about the Battle of Rassay?" Serenity smirked.

"Come off it," Mai retorted quietly. "It was that one time. You shouldn't joke. How many times has she saved your rear end?"

"Hush," said Ribbon. "I hear something."

"I know that sound," Téa grimaced. "Looks like the goblins are cooking dinner."

"Be careful," whispered. Mai. "I'll go first."

"Use that weapon carefully," Serenity said softly. "That gun has a limited amount of those brass projectiles before it's utterly useless."

"Don't worry, babe, I got it."

"Don't you guys have the feeling we should have run into something by now?" Ribbon asked. "We went so far into the cave and there's no sign of them."

"Stop being such a sissy," said Mai. "Goblins aren't smart enough to plan an ambush."

There was a sudden hiss and a force that knocked Serenity forward.

"What the…."

Mai saw an arrow protruding from her knapsack. Just then the cave illuminated with the orange light of hundreds of torches and the walls echoed with the crackling and chirping of the goblins.

Serenity looked up and saw the creatures sneering at them, flashing their yellowed sharp teeth and widening their eyes, a sign they were ready for battle. They heard stomping coming from an entrance in the second level. Six armored razorbacks snorted as they trotted alongside their master, the goblin warlord, Red Mona. The pendant Serenity sought after shimmered around his neck. He raised up his dagger, once a handsome sword that broke in half, and laughed at them.

"Man-Female!" he sniggered, trying to speak Common. "Pretty Man-Females! Are they crunchy? Are they tender? Are they sweet?"

The goblins screeched, licking their chops.

"I think they've chosen us for dinner," croaked Téa.

"Do they boil? Do they cut easily? Are they juicy? Meat looks better than puny farmer and family."

"We taste the same," said Mai, aiming the rifle at Mona.

AHHHHH! Mona hissed. "She has a fancy boom-boom weapon! Attack!"

"For Yuri!" Serenity shouted. She and her friends charged toward the goblin horde, ready to bring them all down.

* * *

**Evelyn**

* * *

The sun began to set slowly over the silhouettes of the Emerald Mountains shading the sky in colors of red, pink and gold. Evelyn fanned her face as she sat in the king's box looking down at the sandy dueling arena below. The walls that surrounded the stadium were made of brown-colored stone with statues of former Ellerian champions standing proudly on mausoleums built into the walls alongside statues of their ace monsters. Red flags waved elegantly in the wind on their spires mounted on the very top of the walls.

The king's box was perched just over the arena to give Helmsley and his family an excellent view of the matches, ten in all this day in which the best duelists from all over Termnnia came to show off their skills or try to impress the princess.

The duels were entertaining, but to Alexis, an exceptional duelist who has mastered the rules of the game, they were all amateurs.

"Another pointless match," Alexis groaned. "I may not be a fan of the news rules in Domino but, boy they sure do spice things up."

"You mean those new black cards?" Ezra asked. "And those weird creatures that are half monster half spell?"

"Xyz monsters and Pendulum monsters," Alexis answered. "Yup. Complicated to play but they sure make quite a show when placed in the hands of a capable duelist."

"Well, these are the preliminaries, Your Grace," Josephine said plopping a grape into her mouth. "I'm sure the games will get exciting after this."

A blare of trumpets announced the next duel. The enigmatic announcer stood up and shouted the upcoming match.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" he called out. "I bring you the main event of the games celebrating the birth of our beloved Princess Evelyn Ethelburga Alteria!" The crowd cheered and whistled eagerly anticipating the next duel.

"Ladies of the arena, prepare yourselves! First, I present to you the bard from the Earldom of Ashwood. The Knight of Wine and Song!"

The women in the arena cheered loudly. Evelyn bit her lip and clutched both the edges of her seat to keep herself from jumping up for the handsome knight.

"Ser Dancer Firewing! Come out and prove your worth!"

The iron gates of the eastern entrance raised open. Two Duel Monsters called Flower Wolves dashed out of the darkness and summoned a rain of pink petals over the arena. Then, Dancer came riding out of the entrance wearing silvery engraved armor with carvings and statuettes of flowers and musical notes on the pauldrons and breastplate. The top of his silver helm was crested with a long white plume. A white cloth-of-gold cape flew gracefully on his back clipped to his gorget with silver fastening. A matching Duel Disk was built into the right gauntlet. His white stallion armored in a crupper, crinet, and chamfron that also matched Dancer's armor set.

Evelyn couldn't contain her glee and she gave a slight jump in her seat clasping her hands together watching her knight in shining armor below. The women in the stadium jammed towards the edge of the barrier protecting them from an eighteen-foot drop into the sands below. They blew kisses at the knight. Others tossed flowers and some even exposed themselves for him. Evelyn could even see a few young men professing their love for Dancer in the froth of screaming women.

"And now!" called out the announcer. "I bring you the champion of the Royal House of Delgado, the Dinosaur Lords of Feldia. From the land of Red Marsh, I present to you Ser Rex Raptor the Knight of Teeth! Come out and prove your worth!"

The gates to the west side of the stadium slid opened. A loud grunt erupted from the darkness. An Eldori knight came out mounted on a Duel Monster called Megazowler, a horned quadrupedal beast with the likeness of a ceratopsian dinosaur with yellowish-orange skin and horns and spikes of ivory. The beast was armored in white enameled steel plates.

The armor on the shoulders of the beast had the likeness of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, the symbol of the Delgado family. On the massive saddle of masterwork leather the flags bearing the emblems of both Rex's house and the Delgados flew proudly on both sides of Rex. He wore a red and black surcoat over chainmail and steel armor.

The behemoth of a mount shook the earth with each step sending vibrations up Evelyn's tailbone. He rode past the king's box to pay his respects to the Ellerian king. But then he saw Evelyn. He glared at her and growled like a predatory dinosaur ready to strike its prey before riding to his place in the dueling arena.

"How was he going to marry you!" exclaimed Ezra.

"He's from the House of Raptor," said Evelyn. "A cadet branch of the Royal House of Delgado. Since House Raptor has such close ties to the Delgados, our High King's relatives, my father arranged for Rex and me to marry so as to have close ties to the family of the High King."

"So, what happened?" asked Alexis.

"Master Yugi was furious when he learned the Delgados were planning to let Daveed back into the family. Not out of love, but a thirst for power. He and High Chancellor Pegasus refused their decree to have him back. That decision is ultimately up to the prince of course, but he is nowhere to be seen. Since the Delgados no longer had an official claim to Daveed my marriage to Rex was called off. And father has now made an enemy of the most powerful family in the west."

"Looks like both the Delgados and the Alterias are complete fools," Alexis whispered looking up at King Helmsley. He was savagely biting into a grilled chicken leg. He laughed and cheered as the duel commenced. He started waving the leg in the air.

"So, Rex," Dancer said taking his opponent's deck and shuffling it. "I couldn't help but notice you eyeing your former betrothed."

"Keep talking, Firewing," Rex furiously snatched his deck from Dancer's hand. "That's all your good for. As far as I'm concerned the Alteria's can keep the bitch because I have no need for it."

"I should strike you down for saying those words."

Rex laughed and took Dancer's deck and shuffled it. "Did I strike a nerve?"

Dancer took his deck from Rex and he paced towards his side of the field.

The duel began once Rex stood on his side of the field.

"DUEL!" they both shouted.

"I'll start first!" declared Rex. "I summon Tomozaurus!"

A portal on the field opened. A fifteen-foot tall brown dromaeosaur stomped out.

"For my first move!" declared Dancer, drawing his card. "I shall summon Lunar Queen of Elzaim!"

The men in the crowd whistled as a beautiful woman with white-feathered wings appeared onto the field from a portal. She wore salmon pink robes and had chestnut brown hair. She extended her wings and placed a hand on her hip. At 750 ATK she was fifty points stronger than Rex's dinosaur.

Dancer ordered the beautiful monster to attack. She flew up into the air and fired feathers of light from her wings destroying Rex's monster and bringing his Life Points to 3950.

"I shall play a card face down and end my turn."

Rex could only grin

"So, a weak monster is how you start eh?" Rex said drawing his card. "I'll put that creature in its place. I special summon two Gilasaurus!"

Rex summoned two brown ten-foot-tall raptors to the field. But they weren't going to stay on the field for long. "I now overlay them to Xyz Summon a new monster!"

"He's learned how to Xyz Summon too!" gasped Evelyn.

"Oh, this is going to be good," Alexis said taking a sip of sweet fruit punch.

"Come forth, Grenosaurus!"

Rex summoned a red allosaurus with a cream-colored underbelly. The beast steel parts on its body and its eyes were crested with flames.

"You've got to be kidding?" Dancer said with a loss of breath. Rex knew the advanced rules of the southeast.

"Attack!" shouted Rex.

His monster shot fire from its mouth. The flames then animated into a serpent-like dragon that wrapped around Ethan's Lunar Queen. The monster screamed in agony as the searing flames burned her body. She vanished and Ethan's Life Points dropped from 4000 to 2750.

"And now to activate his special ability!" Rex pumped his fist arrogantly. "I remove an Xyz Material monster from my Grenosaurus and he will inflict one-thousand points of damage to your Life Points."

Grenosaurus ran towards Dancer. Each step shaking the arena. It roared and showered Dancer in flames. Dancer cried out in agony. His Life Points dropped to 1750.

"No!" said Evelyn. "It can't be. It's only Rex's first turn and he brought Dancer to less than half his Life Points."

"I summon Goddess of Whim in defense mode!" Dance said summoning a lazy-looking woman in a see-through gown the color of seaweed. In place of hair growing on her scalp, she had leaves instead.

Rex attacked again. With another destroyed monster, he activated his Grenosaurus's special ability.

The creature stomped forward to attack. But Dancer stood his ground raising his fist at the Grenosaurus. The beast, again, bathed Dancer in flames. But he didn't move.

Evelyn could no longer contain her excitement and let out a mad laugh. She could hear Dancer screaming out: "Come on you stupid beast is that all you've got!"

"Your deck hasn't adapted to the changes it seems!" gloated Rex. "You're still using common first-generation trash monsters."

"Pureblood monsters!" corrected Dancer. He got up from the ground.

The shield aura his Duel Disk provided protected him from the flames of the beast but he could still feel a sharp stinging.

"Far nobler creatures than those artificial beasts that Kaiba Corp. creates in the south. And it doesn't matter the monsters in your deck or their rarity. It's the duelist.

Your shiny new Xyz monster is impressive Rex, but he will fall to my beast. I use the trap card, Call of the Haunted to bring back my Lunar Queen. But she will not stay for long, for I shall offer my noble creature in order to summon forth the very emblem of my House. Come forth, Firewing Pegasus!"

The girls cheered as a fiery portal burst open behind Dancer. A powerful neigh erupted from within. A dark blue stallion galloped out of the portal. The stallion had a fiery-gold mane and flames over its hooves and a dark blue tail. It trotted around the Dancer before coming to a stop. When it did, fiery wings erupted from its back.

The stats displayed next to it. ATK/2550 and DEF/1800

"How beautiful," said Ezra. "What a marvelous monster."

"And now, Rex. I play Polymerization to fuse my Queen's Double and Hibikime to create Empress Judge!"

Dancer's beautiful red-haired woman emerged from a portal behind Firewing Pegasus. She wore a revealing gown of crimson and wielded a golden scepter.

The Firewing Pegasus was ordered to attack. It reared up on its hind legs and started waving its front legs conjuring two tornados of flames that spun towards Rex's Grenosaurus. The monster was turned to ash.

"No! My Grenosaurus!" shouted Rex. His Life Points dropping to 3700.

"Still not enough," groaned Evelyn. "Come on, Dancer. You can duel better than this."

But she forgot about Empress Judge. She twirled her scepter and shot a blue ball of light at Rex, hitting him in the chest and knocking him backward five feet. He landed on his back with a thud. His Life Points dropping to 1600.

"He's in the lead!" cheered Ezra. "Well done, Dancer!"

"I doubt even Yuri can duel like this!" breathed Evelyn. "No one can best my knight. My champion. My love."

"So that's how you want to play, eh?" snarled Rex, getting up from the ground. He picked up his cards. "I'll make you pay. I summon Krokodilus to the field. But he won't be staying for long. Because I'm sacrificing him with my spell card Ultra-Evolution Pill. Now I can offer a reptile monster to special-summon my ultimate monster. Come on out...Dark Tyranno!"

Krokodilus vanished into a vortex of multi-colored light. From the vortex, a loud roar erupted. The vortex violently dispersed and revealed a towering forty-foot tyrannosaurus.

It was dark brown with peanut butter-colored stripes and lifeless amber eyes. "And now!" shouted Rex. "I will boost my dinosaur's power with Raise Body Heat. This will boost the attack and defense points of dinosaur monsters by three hundred points. Raising my Dark Tyranno's attack to twenty-nine hundred!"

"This does not bode well," said Dancer.

Rex ordered his Dark Tyranno to attack Dancer's Empress Judge. The beast ran towards her. She went to her knees and held out her arms in fear as Dark Tyranno roared above her. The dinosaur lowered his head and clutched Empress Judge in his mouth. He shook her violently sending her right arm flying into the arena, then ended her life with a powerful crunch before swallowing her.

"Urk!" Dancer went, watching his monster's feet delve into the Dark Tyranno's throat. It roared in his face. His Life Points dropped 950. "Is that all you got Rex!" Dancer shouted. He began to walk around the arena waving his arms arrogantly. "Is that all you got! Is this all they have to challenge me!"

The crowd got on Dancer's side. They chanted his name as he walked circles around the field. "My turn!" shouted Dancer. "Your pathetic reptiles are no match for my prowess! I summon Kanan the Sword Mistress!"

The men in the arena cheered when Dancer summoned one of the most beautiful Duel Monsters in the game. A woman with long brown hair and wearing green, silver-trimmed armor that left little to the imagination. Her ATK was 1400, leaving Rex confused. He grinned confidently, guessing Dancer had gone mad.

"And now!" Dancer announced. "The final play of the game!" He held up his spell card for all to see. "I play Wild Nature's Release! With this spell, my Firewing Pegasus goes into a rage that will increase his attack by his defense raising his power to four-thousand-fifty!"

"Accck!" grunted Rex.

Firewing Pegasus's eyes began to glow bright red. Its flaming wings and mane doubled in size and its tail burst into flames as well. The neighed so loud wine glasses shattered. When it charged to attack the flames on its body turned blue. It dashed towards Dark Tyranno and incinerated him to the bone. Then, Dancer finished Rex with a direct attack with Kanan, ending the match.

"Ser Dancer is the victor!" the announcer proclaimed. The crowd chanted his name,

_Dancer! Dancer! Dancer! Dancer!_

Dancer walked to the King's Box. He held out his arm, pointing at Evelyn and shouted, "FOR YOU!"

Josephine was not pleased with the display. She drummed her fingers on her beefy arms. She looked up at the king, hoping he would agree to some discipline, but he grinned and waved for her to do nothing. It was Evelyn's birthday after all.

Just then, Ser Kevin entered the box. He sprinted down to Evelyn. There was a grave look on his face. His eyes were red from his sorrow and his nose blushed red. His tears left shiny trails on his cheeks.

"Kevin, what's wrong?" Evelyn asked.

"My lady," Kevin sobbed. "It's your brother."

* * *

**Quote of the Day: "If you ever feel you are avoided by someone, just block them."**


	39. The House of the Grizzly

**Evelyn**

* * *

"My lady, it's time." An ebony knight said to Evelyn.

Princess Evelyn stared sadly into her mirror inside her bedchamber. Her nose glowing red with sadness. Her eyeliner was washing down her face turning her tears black like oil. She sniffled and nodded in compliance, then ordered the knight to go.

"We shall wait for you, outside," the knight said. "I pray to the goddesses Prince Talion is well."

Not likely, Evelyn thought, for the head of Talion's beloved horse, Lady, was sent to their doorstep as a present for Evelyn's birthday just hours after hearing the news of her brother's capture. The flaming eye of the Church carved onto the stallion's forehead. A note was stuffed into her mouth. When unrolled, a ghastly sight was revealed. A finger was inside the note and it bore the ring Evelyn gave Talion the day he was born. The note read: Negotiate or your prince's head will be next. I shall meet you in the Emerald Marches to discuss our terms.

"You should take a warm bath before leaving," Alexis Rhodes suggested. "Mix the water with Twilight Shade to calm your nerves."

"I'll be fine," sniffed Evelyn, weakly putting on her tiara. She was quaking like the tail of a rattlesnake. Her unstable hands dropped the tiara and then she sobbed.

"It would be best if you did," Ezra pleaded. "You cannot visit King Forrest looking like this. For that matter, you will worry the children if they see you this way."

"Come on, love," Alexis said, helping Evelyn out of her chair. "Ezra, tell the Ebony Guard we will be a down in a bit."

Ezra dashed out of the bed chamber to let the guards know Evelyn would be down much later than anticipated.

Alexis helped clean Evelyn up after she had a soothing bath. While still saddened of her brother's capture she felt her nerves became less feverish and she had better control of herself. Alexis helped her dress into a shadowy black gown with the black knight of her House etched on the front.

An hour later she descended from her chambers and into the main atrium of the castle. Her mother, Sera was at the front door donning a black-armored gown.

"Father is not going?" Evelyn asked.

"No." Sera replied sternly. "Helmsley is feeling ill this morning. I don't expect much from you, so I have sent Mister Boroth to the Emerald Marches to join you."

"I don't need his help mother," Evelyn sharply replied.

"I don't care what you need, child. I want my son back. The sooner we do, the better. I weep for the future if it is you who is heir to the Ebony Throne. Now go."

Evelyn nodded sadly and stormed out of the castle to join her knights.

"What did Helmsley and Sera do to deserve her!" whispered Ezra. "They're horrible parents as well as royals."

"Say no more, Sunshine," Alexis said, her eyes glued to Evelyn's poisonous mother. "The sooner Evelyn meets with Prince Yuri the better. Perhaps, he'll not only save the country but get Evelyn out of this horrid family."

She and Ezra followed Evelyn down the white marble steps to her two-floored carriage.

"Ya!" the coachman shouted after cracking his whip. The ten warhorses then moved forward leaving the luxury and comfort of King's Rock to the war-torn city of Arborleen up north.

The carriage rocked on the dirt roads, but not even the infernal rocking could tear her away from her thoughts. Her country, Elleria was at war with the Kingdom of Naralia, as were many nations; but hers was being hit the hardest.

Its ruler, King Forrest Ungard III, was a man of many delights and pleasures with an ego the size of his kingdom. His country was the biggest and the richest in all Termnnia; and for this he bullied nations for years, taking over much territory from the Arctic Kingdoms of Winterrun and Frostborne all the way to most of Northern Katina and the Eastern Isles. But it was the southern kingdoms Forrest wanted, none more than Emboldor with the Diamond Throne.

Elleria was almost easy pickings for King Forrest. The country had been at war for so long that its economy began to crumble on Evelyn's tenth birthday. Refugees from the north then began to pour into her home, the capital city of King's Rock, so called because of the hollowed-out mountain where the castle she lived in was built.

The partially destroyed mountain looked like a crown and the founder of the city, Lord Eren Alteria, chose the location for the castle's foundation.

The mountain was ruined in an epic battle during the Dawn Era when the now extinct winged-people, called the Arva, went to war against the first men of Termnnia.

It was a grim time for Elleria which was why Evelyn was urged by her mother and father to marry Daveed.

As the new High King, he would possess the Divine Beasts and the best military in all the world. The Divine Beasts could keep King Forrest from conquering her home, hell, just one of those monsters alone could bring ruin to Naralia.

But surely the other kingdoms would be expecting their princesses or other daughters of nobility to do the same. Marrying the High King of Termnnia would bring great power to one's family. This Evelyn knew, for her father was once a contender for the claim of Daveed in the War of the Infant more than two decades ago.

 _I lost many men in that cursed war_ he spat when Evelyn refused the task _. But if I can't adopt the future, High King, then it will be your duty to wed him! He will be returning to Termnnia soon, and I expect you to be his bride by the end of the school year, understood!_

Evelyn shook her head in frustration.

_What if he would not have her?_

_What would her family do to her if she failed?_

_What would happen to her country?_

For a moment, she hated being royalty. She would rather have been the daughter of a pig farmer than go through this hardship. She got up from her seat and into the kitchen for a glass of wine. She heard footsteps pacing towards her.

Slender arms reached around her to encase her in Dancer's loving embrace. He slowly turned her around so she could see him.

"You're trembling," he said softly. "Everything will be all right, my lady," he leaned forward to kiss her but she turned her head so his kiss turned to nothing more than a peck on the cheek.

"After we find, Talion, I want to run away. I've had it with this kingdom. I want to go south. With you."

"This is crazy, Evelyn. You can't just abandon your country."

"King Forrest will take huge ground after this meeting," Evelyn said coldly. "Once he claims the marches, Elleria will be free for him to conquer. Our soldiers are weak. Father's sellswords have deserted us to the northerners for better pay. There is no country left after this, Dancer."

"Whoa! Whoa!" called the coachman. He pulled the reins and the black mares pushing Evelyn's carriage came to a halt. An ebony knight opened the door then held out his hand to help the princess out of her carriage.

She was expecting the smell of flowers and pine, but all her delicate nostrils could pick up was the stench of war. She gave a petit cough and covered her nose with a pink silk handkerchief. The once prosperous city of Arborleen stood in greater ruin than it was before.

One of the captains reported that King Forrest's Meteor Squad, a trebuchet unit for hire, laid siege to them the night before. The city's gleaming red banners were torn and blackened by fire. Turrets and other towers stood with large gaping holes where stones from King Forrest's copper trebuchets smashed during an evening raid.

Bandaged up soldiers hobbled through the town. Dirty peasants coughed, and high-spirited mercenaries hooted and cheered with glee when they saw Evelyn arrive with her guard of Ebony Knights.

Josephine urged Evelyn to wear her jacket, for her gown exposed her shoulders and the upper half of her breasts, as well as the expensive diamond necklace gleaming over her neck and chest which cost over a million Star Chips.

"Do cover yourself, my lady," said Ser Kevin. "These dogs have not seen a woman in ages. They will show no remorse, even to royalty."

"Don't worry about me," said Evelyn. "You should have stayed at home, Kevin. You should study if you wish to pass your entrance exam into the academy. The Blue-Eyes White Dragon dorm is not easy to get into."

"My scores in the entry tests have landed me in the Red-Eyes dorm," Kevin said sternly. "That's well enough for me."

"I was hoping you'd join me and the others in the dorm," said Evelyn. "Please tell me you'll try harder, dear."

"If my princess wishes it, then so be it."

"Don't look at me as your princess, Kevin," Evelyn said beaming at her knight. "I am your friend."

"Of course, Evelyn," said Kevin, with a wan grin.

As Evelyn walked through town she threw sacks of Star Chips at the poor and gave the children bars of chocolate from the _Cascade Factory_ , the best candy makers in Termnnia.

Evelyn hated poverty and knowing that the children of her country were suffering because of the power-trip of an egotistical king (As well as the careless spending of her family) filled her with rage.

The children all came running for the princess and her Ebony Knights. She knelt down and greeted them with a smile that filled their little hearts with joy. She snapped her fingers and then a squad of knights arrived with baskets full of bread, cheese, grapes and apple slices. They were also presented with Duel Monster booster packs and structure decks. This mostly pleased the boys, but the girls were content to know she brought them dolls and other toys.

"Is this wise my lady?" Kevin whispered into Evelyn's ear as she handed a fire monster structure deck to a little farm boy. "Cards are worth a lot of money; these mercenary scum know it. They will steal the cards from the children."

Evelyn turned to look at him. She gave him a cold stare.

"Then see to it that they don't steal from the children. Any knight who arrests the scum fool enough to take from my children will have five pounds of silver Star Chips and their armor damasked in gold."

"Understood, my lady," Kevin said with a bow. He left to tell the knights the news.

When her charity was done, she went into the town where she reunited with the rest of her friends, who were volunteering near the gates of the city.

"What are you guys doing here?" Alexis asked, running towards them. "I thought you guys would have gone home by now."

"We're here as aid workers," said Antoine. "Your father is paying any noble warrior and duelist to come here. And that's what I'm here to do."

"Me too," said Ethan. "I got so much better thanks to my time at the academy. I feel I can take on King Forrest himself."

"You've gotta be kiddin' me," said a cocky voice from nowhere.

Alexis and Evelyn searched around and spotted a young man, an Anime boy, eating an apple on the tree above them. He wore modern clothing from Domino. A brown leather jacket over a white t-shirt and black pants.

A belt was looped around his waist with a decorated chain hanging from his right hip. He had large brown boots, red at the bottom; and gloves, with carbon fiber knuckle guards that covered all but his index and middle finger. He had messy brown hair and brown eyes.

"Jaden!" called Alexis. "What are you doing all the way out here?"

"Highnesses," he said with mock courtesy.

"And you must be?" said Antoine.

"Ugh, that's Jaden Yuki," Ezra said poisonously. "A mercenary duelist."

"And a friend of mine from Duelist Academy," Alexis added. "Are you here to aid us in the war, Jaden? Where's Della?"

Jaden shrugged. "Who cares? Didn't need her anyway."

"You lost her?"

"Bingo," said Jaden finishing his apple. He had a bright and confident smile on his face. He was a cheerful young lad, but the group was displeased by his sudden intrusion.

"I know his type," Ethan said with as much spite as Ezra. "Lords, Nobles or anyone who have the money pay duelists like him to play for them because they lack the skill to duel themselves."

"And you think you can take on King Forrest?" said Antoine. "Come on down here then, tough guy, and show me what you got."

"I don't deny your skills man," said Jaden, chucking away the core of his apple. It fell with a plop into the river. He wiped the juice off his fingers by rubbing them lightly on his pants. They were quite annoyed by his presence, but he still had his cheerful smile. "All I'm saying is you'll never get a guy like King Forrest to duel. He thinks dueling is for children and believes that real kings should settle their disputes in war."

"Bloodthirsty warmonger," said Ezra.

"What are ya gonna do?" said Jaden. "It's politics. Kings like Forrest have existed for ages. The Dueling Pact isn't enough to stop Man from behind his good ol' violent self. Now King Forrest's son, on the other hand, now that's a duelist worth taking down."

"But you said King Forrest hates the game," said Evelyn.

"Yes," Dancer agreed. "Why would the king teach it to his son?"

"Forrest had no hand in teaching his son Duel Monsters," Jaden said kicking his left leg back and forth and placing his hands behind the back of his head to cushion it from the hard bark of the tree. He yawned, covering his mouth. "The little prince taught himself." he continued. "Besides, Forrest would be a fool not to have at least one skilled duelist in his army. He has to follow the Dueling Pact. It's a must."

"Jaden is right," said Dancer. "The Dueling Pact is a sacred oath taken by the kings of old; with Horakhty herself as the witness."

"But yet he marches into our lands and claims them as his own," pouted Ezra.

"More like negotiates for territories," said Jaden. "Forrest wants to go to battle, no doubt, but both his council and the Church hold him back. So, he sends his son to duel for these territories. Those who give him smack when they lose, he threatens with his army. With all the land these kingdoms have lost, his son must be kicking some serious ass."

"Watch your mouth around the princesses, you peasant!" Antoine spat with anger.

"I'm sorry, and what are you?" Jaden said, shutting his eyes.

"I am the son of the Kalungan ambassador," announced Antoine.

Jaden shrugged as he yawned. "So? That doesn't exactly make you the Lord of Termnnia does it?"

"Away with you Jaden!" snapped Ezra.

Jaden responded with a snore. He fell asleep.

"Low-life mercenaries," said Ethan.

"Come, we are needed," said Evelyn. "King Forrest is on his way to make some deal for the Emerald Marches."

"Most likely he'll say: 'give me the marches and avoid war'," said Ethan.

Jaden's snoring could still be heard even from the distance that they walked.

"He could prove useful," Evelyn said looking back at Jaden. "I know that mercenary duelists are some of the best players in the land."

"Are you kidding? When you have guys like me?" boasted Ethan.

"To have a king chose you to duel for him is suicide," said Dancer. "You still have much to learn."

"We could ask him for help," Alexis said, her cheeks blushing. "I do find him...rather charming."

"Oh, please," said Ezra. "I know these mercenary dogs. They're scum, the lot of them."

The friends exited the city via the north gate, and they traveled up a dirt path into rocky hills that led into the mountains. The mountain which they were approaching was called Mt. Cedar.

It was here that the king of Naralia wanted to meet them. Upon reaching a hill, they spotted banners bearing the orange and black colors of the rival kingdom. A bear roaring in the night was the country's emblem. There were knights in surcoats bearing the colors and the bear of their kingdom over glossy metal armor with metal conicals and kettle hat helmets.

Under a red tent stood a figure surrounded by knights in gleaming gold armor trimmed with ebony and silver engravings. Their pauldrons were large and had the bust of a buxom woman with eyes made of galaxy cut amethyst. The figure in the middle was a large and beefy man dressed in maroon garments trimmed with gold. He was draped in furs to warm him from the chill of the mountains. There was a belt of golden escutcheons displaying images of his past battles looped over his torso. His feet inside dragon-hide boots. He had dark red hair and a bushy beard; lustful green eyes; a face red with drunkenness and a flat-top crown of gold sat on his head.

King Forrest Ungard III was as hideous as Evelyn's mother had said he was. He gave a smile and waddled towards them; his brown fur cape was swaying behind him. He held up his hands, covered in brown leather gloves. His knights followed, their entire right arms hidden behind their exquisite tower shields.

Evelyn saw a group of elderly men in dark blue velvet garments with gold chains over their necks standing a few feet from her waiting to greet the king. No doubt, they were from her father's council. Evelyn recognized them at once, for she had seen them eat at her table during dinner. The one in the middle she had no trouble identifying.

Richard Boroth, it was of no surprise to Evelyn that his vile man was here in the fields with King Forrest. His piercing blue eyes - as cold as winter - locked on to her. Evelyn crossed her arms over her chest, for her dress showed off enough decolletage to please him. He smiled at her once she and her friends arrived. Evelyn always felt uneasiness when she saw his mouth contort into the awful grin.

He turned when his old ears picked up the clink-clank of armor approach them.

Richard bowed and began his greeting to the king. "We most humbly greet His Majesty: Forrest Ungard III, King of Naralia; heir to the dynasty of the Great Bear; Master of the Diamond Throne; the future wielder of the Divine Beasts, Lord of Men, High King of Termnnia and all Her kingdoms."

"Welcome to Elleria," said another member of the council.

"I thank you for the greeting into my new territory," said the king. "Now, those not with me, get out! This land is now Naralian territory and property of the king, and, for those of you who are dunce, that's me! You all will pay dearly for losing my golden eggs."

"Your golden eggs?" snapped Ezra. "They would have hatched by now if it hadn't been for your intervention."

"I'm begging your pardon my dear, but it was the earthquake that did the loss of the eggs. They would have been mine if it had not been for that Yugi. But that is history. This is now. I want my land!"

"You jest," said Antione. "We're not going anywhere."

"I do not 'jest' young man. I am serious. But if you're going to be stubborn, then how much do you want for the land? Name your price; I can pay you anything."

"This land is not for sale!" Evelyn said, stepping forward to face the king.

"And who is this?" asked a vulture of a man, covered from head-to-toe in blue robes. He had chains of gold encrusted with jewels hung around his neck, a white flat top hat on his head. Donald the Vulture, the king's right-hand man, and court wizard.

Forrest smiled, baring his teeth when he saw the young girl approach him. But his wizard was displeased with how much skin Evelyn's attire revealed. "I do not recall summoning wenches to deal with us," Donald snapped.

"Mind your tongue, vulture!" Ser Kevin spat angrily. "This is Evelyn of the Alteria Family. The Princess of Elleria."

"You truly are a fool, Donald," laughed King Forrest, slapping his wizard in the chest. "Do you not see the tiara on her head? I must say, this is quite the surprise. I was expecting to treat with your father, yet he sends you, my lady."

"I came on my behalf," said Evelyn. "I will bear the authority to treat with you."

"I am afraid that will be my authority, princess," said Richard, arrogantly walking by her. "Your mother knew you would come here to Arborleen to do things your way. So, she sent me, and the council, to treat with His Majesty."

"Looks to me like you were about to sell your names and the land off to him," said Alexis, marching past her friends to stand beside Evelyn.

"So much beauty here in the South," King Forrest said licking his lips when he saw the golden-haired Eldori princess approach him. "I cannot wait to claim these kingdoms."

"I want her to be my bride father!" called out a young boy, only thirteen-years-old. He had the same dark red hair as Forrest, and his bright lustful eyes as well. Prince Malcolm was his name, one of Forrest's many children. His hair was curled, and he had big front teeth protruding from his mouth, and he had an indigo and gold Duel Disk on his right arm.

"She's beautiful, father! Make her my bride!"

Alexis made a face of disgust, crossed her arms over her chest and took a step backward. King Forrest laughed and patted his son's back.

"My boy, when I conquer all the Kingdoms of Termnnia I promise to get you any girl you want. Including this one. I know you, child, you are of the Rhodes family am I correct?"

"You are," said Alexis, with a nod.

"And what do you think of my son? A strapping lad, no?" He placed an arm around his boy.

Alexis glared at him coldly, like a dragon ready to sear the flesh of a thief foolish enough to steal from her horde. The look caused no fear in the boy, but it displeased his father.

"What? You think yourself too old? Girls far younger than you have wed. They are eligible to marry after their first bleeding; I'm sure you had yours many years ago."

"I am aware of our customs," said Alexis.

"Termnnian wedding traditions are not why we are here," said Donald. "We are here to see if you, members of King Helmsley's council, are going pledge your allegiance to Naralia, and accept the king's new nomenclature?"

"WHAT!" shouted Evelyn.

"I am sorry, princess," said Richard. "Your father is a good man and all, but I fear that we can no longer hold this kingdom against its foes."

He stepped forward more, casting her aside as he came closer to King Forrest.

"As for the price; the council demands five hundred thousand gold Star Chips, to each of us. I require the royal chateau in the Emeralds; and a title of marquis in your new kingdom, Your Grace."

"Traitors!" snapped Antoine. "Lady Evelyn was going to turn her summer home into a hospital for the children!"

"Hold your tongue, Redborne!" said Donald.

"Why such a title?" asked Forrest.

"Look around you," said Richard. "This is Northern Elleria. Termnnia's significant supplier of coal and steel ingots. We hold hundreds of quarries that harvest limestone and shale. Our mines are rich with cavities of gold and silver, and our magicians produce some of the finest Mana Crystals; the very life force that's used to charge Duel Disks.

We own the largest industries in all Termnnia and are the major trade route between the Kingdoms of the West and the City-State of Domino. To say nothing of The Grand Beach which brings in the wild and licentious youths of all the nations adds a significant boost in revenue during the summer months. You will need someone who will know how to control such resources, Your Grace. There are many Houses in this land who have accepted your rule, but I assure you none of them have the knowledge of maintaining an economy as I do."

"Richard, my family, trusted you!" said Evelyn.

"And I them," said Richard. "But it appears they know nothing about maintaining a government, nor what it means to hold a crown. It is because of your family's constant spending that they've brought Elleria to the wretched state that it's in. This land was once the place where the Arva gained their wings and helped the Celtra forge Termnnia into what it is today. Despite all the precious history Elleria holds, your parents treat the land's economy like it's their own purse. For the love of all that is holy, princess, your father took a loan from the Termnnian Bank."

"The Big Five?" King Forrest said with a shudder. "Even I am not foolish enough to take a loan from them. The last time a kingdom didn't pay them a debt, it was turned to ashes by their 'pet.'"

"Yes," said Richard. "They would soon sic that fell beast upon us should Helmsley not give them their dues."

"So, you're going to turn your back on your country!" said Ezra.

"Do not speak to me, bastard girl!" shouted Richard. "I am not betraying my country; I am saving it. King Forrest the Stupendous is the way for a new Elleria! For a new Termnnia!"

"I've heard enough!" Ethan called out. He jumped down from the rocks and morphed a silver bracelet on his wrist into an ornate silver Duel Disk. "King Forrest, by the decree of the Seven Kings of Old, I invoke the right of the Dueling Pact and challenge you!"

"No, Ethan!" shouted Dancer. "Your skills are not good enough. King Forrest, I will challenge you!" he morphed his ring into a Duel Disk.

"No, duel me!" Antoine shouted, his gauntlet turning into a massive Duel Disk of platinum, silver, and myrrh.

"The boy has already issued the challenge," said Forrest. "However, since I don't play this silly game, you will duel my son."

Prince Malcolm grinned. He stepped forward and held out his Duel Disk proudly so the sun could make the gold engravings shine brightly. He shined it proudly before Alexis, hoping its beauty would entice her. It only made her frown.

"So what are the conditions?" asked Forrest.

"The conditions are simple," said Ethan. "When I win, you and your armies will turn back to Naralia. You are to leave these lands and never come back! And these traitors will be returned to King's Rock to be executed."

"WHAT!" shouted Richard.

"The penalty for treason is death," said Kevin Garat. "You of all people should know this."

"And if I lose the Emerald Marches are yours." Ethan continued. "No more discussions needed."

"ETHAN!" his friends shouted.

"You cannot just speak for Lady Evelyn you fool!" shouted Kevin.

"Ethan, you always lose!" cried Evelyn.

"No, I won't. Not this time. This time, I will make you proud, my lady."

"Ethan..." Evelyn murmured.

King Forrest bowed. He raised himself back up and slammed his fist onto his chest with a loud thump. "I agree to the terms, and by order of the Dueling Pact, I will accept the challenge. My son will duel, Ethan, in my place."

The two duelists took their positions. The wind blew around them. Evelyn and her friends stepped back as did Forrest, Donald and his knights.

The two started with 4000 Life Points. Alexis tossed a golden coin in the air. Ethan called heads and Malcolm called tails.

The coin fell.

Heads. Ethan began first.

He drew his card and looked at his hand. "I summon M-Warrior #2 in attack mode!"

Ethan summoned a humanoid warrior with flaming red skin and bronzed armor. He carried a curved sword as long as his arm. The warrior stood over nine feet tall and growled as he jumped to the field from a magical vortex. It had 500 Attack Points.

"And that will end my turn," said Ethan.

Evelyn smacked her hand on her forehead.

Ethan already started the duel horribly. He summoned a weak monster with no spells to make it stronger or any traps to keep it safe. Prince Malcolm noticed this too and gave a hideous laugh.

"You're such a fool." he sneered. "I will play, Marauding Captain,"

Malcolm's monster appeared on the field. It was a blonde-haired knight in blue-steel armor decorated with gold fastenings. A white and red cape clung to his neck by an ornate golden brooch. He carried two swords with golden guards.

"Once my Marauding Captain comes to the field, his effect allows me to summon one level four or lower monster from my hand; and I choose it to be my Command Knight."

Malcolm's new monster appeared onto the field. A knight in gleaming red armor adorned with white feathers with a curved helmet that had four long wings near the bottom. An enormous black cape was fastened onto the knight's pauldrons, and he carried a large sword that reflected the world like a mirror.

Both monsters had 1200 ATK (Attack), but with the Command Knight now on the field, it increased the ATK of Malcolm's Warrior-Type monsters by 400 points so now both the Command Knight and Marauding Captain were at 1600 ATK. To make matters worse, the Command Knight could not be designated as a target by Ethan's monsters thanks to its effect. Malcolm smiled, seeing the distress on the faces of Ethan's friends, none more than the two princesses. He was convinced that he would impress them, so he began his Battle Phase, the time in the duelist's turn when they could attack their opponent's monsters.

The Marauding Captain attacked first. M-Warrior raised his blade and blocked the blows of Marauding Captain's swords. For a moment, it looked like the monster would survive, but he was too slow. Marauding Captain sliced off the M-Warrior's sword arm, sending it flying into the air.

Forrest roared with laughter, while Donald snickered in delight and clapped his hands. M-Warrior fell to his knees. The Marauding Captain walked towards him. He crossed his swords over M-Warrior's neck and cut off his head.

The headless body of Ethan's monster tumbled to the ground and disappeared. The difference between the two monster's ATK was subtracted to Ethan's Life Points. The battle cost him 1100 Life Points dropping his score to 2900. To end his turn, the young prince placed two cards face down on his spell and trap card zone

"Okay, it's still just the beginning of the duel," said Alexis. "Ethan can turn this around."

"Don't get your hopes up princess," Dancer assured her, sadly. "Remember, Ethan is one of the worst duelists in our class. He once ran a deck with nothing but monster cards."

"Well there go the Emerald Marches," moaned Ezra, slouching forward.

Ethan drew his next card. He summoned a monster called Kojikocy, a large muscular man with a long white beard and bushy eyebrows wearing green pants and a golden tasset with green and gold armbands and a green and gold helmet. He swung his curved blade furiously. Ethan then activated a spell called Banner of Courage.

When he did, a banner with fiery red and blue colors emerged from the ground and waved in the wind. The banner could increase the attack of all of Ethan's monsters by 200 points during Battle Phase. Kojikocy roared then charged at Marauding Captain once Ethan declared his attack.

Malcolm laughed and activated a trap called Reinforcements, which increased his monster's attack by 500 points raising Marauding Captain's ATK to 2100. Marauding Captain dodged the attack and dug his blades into Kojikocy's back. The monster wailed in agony and coughed out blood, falling to his knees. Marauding Captain then held out his arms, his blades cutting Kojikocy in half.

Evelyn covered her eyes to shield her view from the gore. The monster's body vanished, and Ethan lost 600 Life Points dropping his score to 2300.

"Ethan, remember what I taught you!" Dancer called out with much urgency. "Combine spells to make your monsters stronger!"

Ethan nodded, but he had not the courage to tell Dancer that he took out most of the spells and traps, for he thought them too complicated to use. He thought brute force was the way to win duels. He placed a card face down and ended his turn, much to Malcolm's delight.

Malcolm drew his card, then summoned a monster called Valkyrian Knight, a fair-faced warrior in dazzling red armor with gold decorations and a golden-winged helmet.

Its ATK was 1900 now 2300 because of the boost Command Knight gave to Malcolm's warrior monsters. Malcolm would have won the duel had it not been for the trap card Ethan placed. It was called Negate Attack, and it ended Malcolm's Battle Phase. With nothing else to do, Malcolm ended his turn.

Ethan drew his card. He used a spell called Pot of Greed, which let him draw two additional cards from his deck. He placed two cards face-down and summoned a monster in defense mode. "I would rather a battle." yawned Forrest. "These duels are so long and boring."

Evelyn stared at him poisonously. The Fat King wanted to resolve things with bloodshed. She saw many of his soldiers behind him relieved that they were resolving the dispute for the Emerald Marches with a duel.

Ethan continued his turn and placed a card face down. He ended it rather quickly.

"Boy, are you boring," Malcolm said drawing his card. He attacked with Marauding Captain. The knight sprinted for his next victim, but his swords came in contact with a massive shield.

"WHAT!" pouted the young prince as his Life Points dropped to 3000.

"YES!" Evelyn cheered when the attacked monster revealed itself. A massive man with tan skin and long oily black hair wearing a blue shirt and orange pants. He carried a heavy gold and burgundy shield. Marauding Captain's blades got chipped from the impact. He nursed his wrist, the bone almost shattered.

"Big Shield Gardna!" Evelyn cried out. "With a defense of twenty-six hundred! Marauding Captain's swords didn't stand a chance. Well played, Ethan!"

"Don't get so excited your majesty," said Richard, watching the duel with his arms behind his back. He had a blank expression on his face. "Yes, Big Shield Gardna has an impressive defense, however, after the battle, he is switched to attack position once the damage is calculated."

Big Shield Gardna stood up. Its ATK was a mere 100 points.

Malcolm laughed and attacked with Valkyrian Knight.

"The Emerald Marches are mine!" Forrest said as the knight ran to attack. "Was there any doubt?"

"Don't get settled in just yet!" called Ethan. "I will use the trap I set; Mirror Force!"

Malcolm's mouth dropped. "Oh no, that's one of the rarest trap cards in the game!" he shouted.

"That old thing?" said Forrest. "What for?"

"Look, Your Grace!" shouted Donald, pointing at a wall of light that appeared before Big Shield Gardna. The knight's sword hit the wall and smashed into tiny pieces. The Valkyrian knight stared at his broken weapon, but then the shield exploded destroying all of Malcolm's monsters. There was nothing he could do this turn except play his own Pot of Greed. He drew his two cards. He gave an ear-to-ear grin and summoned a monster in defense mode then ended his turn.

"Okay, now it's my turn," said Ethan. He drew his next card. "I tribute my Big Shield Gardna to summon Cyber-Tech Alligator!"

The beast Ethan summoned was a winged lizard-like cyborg with slimy green scales. It was once a dinosaur that was mauled by a dragon. It would have died, but it was saved by a scientist who rebuilt it. Its right wing was now red metal as was its right arm. Its torso covered in red metal armor and its left leg was now machine.

The ATK was 2500.

Monsters had stars on the top of their image on the card. The stars determine the monster's level 1 being the lowest and 12 being the highest. Monsters with four stars or less could normally be summoned. Monsters with five or more stars had to be summoned by tribute. Five or six stars meant players had to tribute one monster to summon it; monsters with seven stars or above had to be summoned with two tributes. Cyber-Tech Alligator was a five-star monster, so Ethan only needed to tribute one monster to summon it. Though the beast was fierce and vigorous Malcolm cared not. He shrugged.

"No harm done," he said playing with one of the curls in his hair. "If he attacks I still won't lose points."

"Not when I cast this spell you won't," announced Ethan. "I play the equip spell Big Bang Shot. This card will increase the attack of my monster by 300, raising him to 2800 points."

"So?" said Ethan.

"So, that's not all it does, little prince. This spell will allow my monster to inflict damage to your Life Points even if your monster is in defense mode. And do not forget about my banner. It will increase my monster's attack to 3000!"

Ethan's friends cheered as his monster took flight. Then it dived down and struck the face-down monster. A blue-clay jar that shattered into pieces. Evelyn jumped for joy when Malcolm's points dropped to 600.

King Forrest was displeased.

"YOU FOOL!" he roared at his son.

Malcolm was not phased. The monster Ethan attacked was called Morphing Jar. This nasty monster caused players to discard their hands and draw five new cards. Ethan was pleased with what he got.

"Time to end this!" said Ethan. "I activate, the spell Ookazi, which will deal 800 damage to your Life Points!"

"YOU DID IT!" cheered Evelyn.

"I knew you could!" shouted Alexis.

A fireball shot out of the sky and rocketed towards the prince. King Forrest was cursing up a storm, but Malcolm countered the spell with a trap called Magic Jammer. By discarding a card from his hand, he canceled out the effect of a spell.

He saved himself.

"Argh!" grunted Evelyn. "So close!"

"Come on, Ethan, we believe in you brother!" cheered Antoine.

But Malcolm was calm. He had a plan, and it worked perfectly, for so proud was Ethan of his attack that he ended his turn with nothing but Cyber-Tech Alligator. He was bowing as though he had already won the duel. But as he gloated, he lost. He had no traps, spells, no nothing to keep his cyborg alligator safe.

"My turn," said Malcolm. "And I will use the spell card Monster Reborn to bring back my Lady of the Mountain. Now when I tribute for an Earth monster; this lovely knight counts as two tributes, so, I can summon this to the field: Gilford the Legend!"

"Wait…that card!" stuttered Evelyn.

Higher-level monsters, when summoned, came out more extravagant. Gilford was a level eight monster, so the earth quaked when he came out. Runes appeared over the field and shot down beams of light which formed to make the glossy silhouette of the monster. He took shape, at last, revealing a towering man wielding a massive golden sword and clad in black armor with a torn black cape. But this one was wearing brilliant armor of gold, trimmed with white and elegant engravings. His cloth-of-gold cape shimmering like the stars.

His ATK was 2600; it was less than Cyber-Tech Alligator's for now. Malcolm gleefully used its effect. It allowed him to equip every equip-spell to warriors on his side of the field. Gilford was the only one out. Thanks to Morphing Jar, Malcolm earlier discarded three of them to his graveyard and the card he discarded to use Magic Jammer was an equip spell.

The giant swordsman held out his blade.

Card one was Divine-Sword Phoenix Blade which increased his attack by 300; a great golden sword in the shape of a phoenix melded with his already large blade gracing it with gold designs and a fiery aura.

Card two was Fusion Sword Murasame Blade which increased his attack by another 800 points; the blade grew longer and had an organic-like design on the sword's guard, and the fire turned dark purple.

Card three was Lightning Blade, which increased the attack by 800 more points; the blade grew longer and wider, and sparks of electricity erupted from the guard and hilt.

And finally, Wicked-Breaking Flamberg-Baou which increased the attack by 500. The blade now looked like darkness made solid and grew to be thirty feet long.

Gilford's ATK was now 5000.

Malcolm sneered, making it only worse when he used a spell called United We Stand. The spell card boosted Gilford's attack by another 800 points. The warrior attacked upon his master's command and with an earth-shattering attack pulverized Cyber-Tech Alligator and dealt 3000 points of damage to Ethan. He was knocked back a few yards due to the force of the warrior. He tumbled in the air and landed hard on the ground. He lay on his belly; face buried in the grass in shame. He could hear the disappointment of his friends and the clapping of King Forrest and his knights.

Malcolm put his cards back into his deck and took a bow.

"You'll marry a fine duelist, my lady," Forrest said to Alexis.

"Your Grace," said Evelyn. "Where did Malcolm get that card?"

"What card?" King Forrest asked. He had a grin on his face. He was obviously lying.

"GILFORD!" Evelyn shouted. "How does your son have that card! There was only one ever printed with armor of gold, and it belonged to my brother! How does he have it!"

The Naralian soldiers laughed at her outburst. Evelyn could feel her insides twisting from all the rage.

"Ah yes," said Forrest. "Young fellow, donning black armor, long black hair in a ponytail."

"Where is he?" Ser Kevin asked, taking a large step forward past Evelyn.

"We have him with us right now," said Prince Malcolm, jerking his thumb back at the camp.

"Let him go!" shouted Evelyn. "Or I'll…"

"Now, now, now. There's no need to get hasty, young lady." King Forrest said with a laugh. "Soldiers, the princess would like her brother back. She has lost enough this day; it is only fair we ease her pain."

"Thank you, your Grace," Evelyn said, bowing.

"There is but one favor I ask of you," King Forrest said, holding up his hand. "Get on your knees and kiss my ring."

He held out his beefy right hand and quickly pulled the glove off it to reveal his sausage-like fingers all adorned with beautiful rings. The ring Evelyn was supposed to kiss was the signet of his House.

"Evelyn…" Kevin said, beginning to protest. But the princess walked to the king despite his pleas. She got down on the grass and then placed her hands on the ground. She crawled towards King Forrest, but then he walked farther back. 

"Wait," said the king. "I want you out of that dress!"

Evelyn glared at the king, her lip trembling in fury.

"Evelyn, don't do it!" shouted Alexis. "Please!"

"Stay out of this, Alexis," Evelyn said. "I love my brother so much that I'm willing to do anything. Just shut up and let me do this." She started unlacing the back of her dress.

"Bah, this is taking too long!" Forrest drew his dagger and cut the back of Evelyn's dress and ripped it apart. He pulled it down her shoulders until her breasts bounced free and her black thong was exposed to her friends. Alexis closed her eyes and turned to look away from the horrible sight. Ezra clasped her hands over her mouth and sobbed. Ser Kevin did everything in his power to keep himself from attacking the king. He was on the edge of a very steep precipice. For a moment, saving his friend weighed greater on the scale than risking open war. 

Evelyn crossed her arms over her breasts and sniffled as she lay buried in a heap of her torn clothes. Again, Forrest commanded her to crawl towards him. Prince Malcolm was jumping up and down with joy at the sight of her. "Make Alexis do it next!" he commanded. But the King did not listen. Evelyn crawled out of her crumpled dress like a butterfly escaping its cocoon. Except for her thin, black thong and her tiara, she was practically naked. 

The king laughed like a winded horse. "What a view!" he proclaimed. "Her ass is so big it goes over her head!"

Evelyn had to crawl ten feet to get to the ring. The soldiers insulted her while making provocative remarks, laughing and howling like wolves. Evelyn finally reached the king's fingers and kissed the royal signet. Then, something else came before her. The king whipped out his cock and commanded her to put it in her mouth.

"NO EVELYN!" cried Alexis. "Take me prisoner in Talion's place! Do what you want with me, but leave Evelyn alone!"

"And risk having your friend Zane sick his Cyber Dragons on us?" laughed Donald. "Out of the question. No, the princess is a good girl. She does as she obeys like the bitch that she is? Isn't that right, little Evelyn."

Evelyn said nothing and did as she was commanded. A chorus of disgruntled cries and sobs exploded behind her. Evelyn pleasured the king until he bellowed like a bull and unleashed his seed into her mouth. Evelyn gagged and spit the horrible liquid from her mouth. She started sobbing, feeling terribly humiliated for what she had just done.

"Oh, Evelyn," Alexis whispered. A big tear ran down her cheek. If only she still had her powers. She could summon 'him'. He would have slaughtered Forrest and all his men right now for what they made her do. Evelyn let them humiliate her just to get her brother back. 

"Well done, little princess. I am a man of my word, so now you'll get your brother back. Men, release the prisoner!"

A knight approached from below the hill. He was holding a sack in his hands. Evelyn wanted to throw up. Every inch of her being wanted to believe that the king was toying with her, but she knew that sack he was holding contained her brother. Or a piece of him unless a spell enchanted the bag.

The knight threw the bag at Evelyn. It rolled a few times and undid itself. The content inside the bag came out then spun and stopped at her knees.

The Emerald Mountains then rang with a high-pitched scream.

Ethan heaved and vomited onto the grass. Ezra's legs wobbled and gave way. She fell to her knees, sobbing.

Alexis gasped and turned her gaze from the gory sight of Prince Talion's head.

His face was locked in a scream of agony. His crown, crusted with blood, was still standing on his forehead. King Forrest pointed at the grieving princess wheezing with laughter. His son is also finding the death of Evelyn's brother humorous.

"YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!" shouted Kevin.

"It is over, children," said Forrest. "Your threats mean nothing. I have the most powerful army in the world at my disposal. No one can stop me. Once I claim these lands I will march to Lorin and claim it," he pointed at Alexis. "I will see to it that you are wed immediately. My son will rule the city of water, with you as his queen, and I will make way for Rassay."

"Don't you get your hopes up!" Evelyn sobbed. "Even if you do take our lands, High King Daveed will stop your arrogant campaign! I will see you hanged!"

"A bastard boy has no hopes of stopping me," boasted Forrest. "If anyone is going to be hanged it will be him. And if you threaten me like that again I will see you dangle with him! Gentlemen. The duel is won so we may begin talks of your new abodes."

"Yes, your Grace," said Richard. "Evelyn, why don't I start with you? Marry me."

"You're delusional!" snapped Evelyn. "You...you...YOU TRAITOR!"

"I am not delusional, young lady, I am quite serious. We'll rule the newly established marquisdom together, and I promise the first thing on my agenda will be to aid the poor and downtrodden of the country. Was it not your campaign to grant new lives to the needy? Marry me. As the Marquis of the Emerald Marches, I will see to it we will eliminate poverty."

"I will not!"

"Have it your way then," Richard said at once. He walked past her; his cape gave a whoosh. He turned to look at her and said: "The blood of those impacted by the war that is to come will be on your hands, Princess. Forrest's army consists of mostly mercenaries who don't know the meaning of the word humane. They will slaughter all who get in their king's way. Consider this our resignation from your father's court Lady Evelyn. The next time I see you, you will be in chains in the Iron Dungeon. Don't think this silly game will stall King Forrest's advance any longer. The Dueling Pact is a dying tradition. Horakhty and the Mothers no longer care for us. And we no longer care for them. Neither Duel Monsters nor this, Prince Daveed, will be able to stop us. You kids have a good year at the academy. It will be your last."

And with that, he marched down the hills, following Forrest and his army. The other ex-members of the Ellerian council walked down with him, eager to hear of their new titles and estates when they returned to camp.

Evelyn remained on the ground sobbing and heaving.

"My country has no heir," she said, looking at her brother's severed head. "My home…is ruined. My brother…my…my brother is…. O' Horakhty. Goddesses divine! Daveed. Anyone. Help us."


	40. The Tyranny of Prince Hector

**Rare Hunters**

* * *

The Rare Hunter paced back and forth atop a building that has the second tallest in Aquarius. He looked over the rail to see the view. It was a spectacular sight. All the lights twinkling for miles and the different colored neon flashing in the downtown districts of the central island below him. The Phobos Tri-Towers loomed over him and the rest of the island dominantly.

He placed his hands behind his back and paced around, his boots clomped loudly on the ground. Finally, portals of darkness opened and six more Rare Hunters appeared. Their faces were concealed in the shadows of their hoods. Their black cloaks were outlined in purple neon and accents around the hems.

"You're late," he said sternly.

"Forgive us," hissed one of hunters. "The informant who gave us the whereabouts of the prince was recently killed. Gray Prince they call the assailant."

"Aster Phoenix, eh. Such a shame he refused my invitation to join us. Listen up. It's time to get to work. It's almost the end of the year and Yuri's birthday is tomorrow. That's already a checkmark to bring him home. But it's our job to make sure we break him. To keep him from being a good Duelist. I expect Master Yugi will be involved in this affair so be on your guard. Let's not forget we're Rare Hunters. If you spot anyone with valuable cards, be sure to take it from them."

"I already have my target marked," said a female Rare Hunter. "There's a girl here said to have the rare Chaos Emperor Dragon. I want it."

"She's all yours," said the lead hunter. "Move out. Happy hunting."

* * *

**Evelyn**

* * *

"If I weren't such good friends with your father, boy, I would have you executed!" King Helmsley said, scarfing down chicken wing after chicken wing, sitting atop the Ebony Throne.

"And you!" he pointed at Evelyn. "You would do best to put your friends in their place. This is the last time anyone duels on your behalf. Especially one so weak."

Poor Ethan stared at his feet, too ashamed to look at his king in the eye. He bit off more than he could chew challenging Forrest the way he did. And he was choking on his failure, having the king's wrath shoved down his throat.

"Get out of my castle!" shouted Helmsley. "You are not welcome here anymore."

"Yes, your majesty." Ethan bowed and left the throne room and then stormed out.

"And as for you, Ser Kevin. You will gather what forces we have left and march north."

"Father you can't!" stammered Evelyn.

"Be silent!" her father shouted. His voice boomed in the massive hall. "Ser Kevin is currently the most capable fighter in my army. You, Ser, will march north and reclaim the Emerald Marches. A land your brother worked so hard to defend for years," he looked down at his daughter. "And thanks to you and your games it was lost in ten minutes. But, you will more than make up for this after you are wed to Daveed."

"No!"

"Yes. You will do what you can to have him marry you. And you will produce him a child. That way our family will remain strong both here and in Rassay."

"And do you think Daveed will bed me just because I open my legs for him!"

"One way or another, he will get you pregnant."

"Are you suggesting I force myself unto him!"

"If it comes to that."

"You truly are a monster, father! No, not even. I insult the cards if I called you that. I will not rape the prince."

"You should well learn that he who puts his family first will always triumph over those who put the happiness of their children before everything. If I must make sacrifices, it is for the benefit of our house, for the survival of our family."

"It's easy for you to say that, father! You're the ones forcing us what to do for your own gain. When have you ever done something that wasn't just to stroke your ego."

"The day you were born!" Helmsley shouted.

Evelyn froze.

"Your mother and I both wanted to toss you into the Bay of Lendos after we saw you. Hell, a slaver from Sobek even gave us a hefty sum to take you. You would be rotting in the Mouth of Zorc by now had we accepted his offer. But I let you live and stay with us. And I took it upon myself to raise you as my daughter."

Evelyn felt tears stream down her face.

"Do something right for once in your life! Marry the High King and ensure the survival of our family. Talion died to protect this family. And if Forrest conquers our home because you remain rebellious then his death would have been for nothing!"

"Ser Kevin, ready your forces."

"Ser Kevin is a student at Duelist Academy!" Yami said loudly stomping his way into the throne room.

Evelyn gasped. How did he get here so fast? He was all the way near the border of Emboldor. It matter not, he was here in the throne room, unless her eyes were being misled by a clever spell. Regardless, she showed respect for the Eyar, and bowed, as did the other knights.

King Helmsley even got up from his throne and bowed to the Eyar. "Master Yu-Gi-Oh," he called out. "What an unexpected surprise."

"You really think I would not come here after learning our land is short one prince. You were a complete fool to send Talion up north to battle King Forrest!"

"Talion died fighting for his family,"

"If you would have kept your pride on a leash you would have known I have rallied support from other kingdoms to aid you in this time of need."

"Are they now?" asked Helmsley.

"Yes. House Dalton of Domino sends their armies and a horde of Cyber Dragons to the marches. And Emboldor, Katina, and Feldia have even sent convoys of Star Chips to pay your debt to the Big Five."

"And you tell me this now!"

"I take it you ignored my letters!" snapped Yami. "I've written to you multiple times. But it looks you were too proud to take part in my alliance to care and ignored them. And now, your son has paid for your pride."

Helmsley's face turned red. He knew Yami was right. The wizard shook his head, staring at the man people called the worst king in all of Termmnia.

"Leave us Evelyn," said Yami. "I have much to discuss with your father."

"Master," Evelyn said bowing. She strolled out of the throne room and went to the courtyard to think. She heard the sound of metal wailing as it collided with something very solid. She followed the sound and spotted Ser Kevin whacking a tree with his sword until it broke.

"Kevin!" Evelyn cried out.

"I'll kill them all!" he sobbed. "By the goddesses, I will kill them all."

"We will," said Evelyn. "But you won't stop Forrest with a broken sword. It seems I must follow through with father's wishes. There is no other option for me now."

"No, my lady. I will raise the greatest army the world has ever seen. I will march to Naralia and…"

"You will do no such thing!" said Evelyn. "Master Yu-Gi-Oh has accepted you into the school. This is your chance to follow your dreams."

"There are more important things now," said Kevin.

"Talion wouldn't want you to throw away your dream, sweetheart. He went north not just for me, but for you as well. He knew how much being a duelist meant to you."

"He said we would marry after he joined the alliance," Kevin started to sob.

"Of course, he did," said Evelyn. "You loved him."

"To live with him by the Rose Coast in Red Garden. To live with my prince in peace. Perhaps start a family. That was my dream."

Evelyn knew this. The day after the battle of Anon Harden, she sat in her chair and watched as Talion and Kevin kissed by the lake. He spoke of how they were to live in a sea-side castle and raise strapping lords and beautiful little ladies. Now that Talion was gone, all Kevin had was his Duel Monsters career.

"Look," Kevin said, pointing to the balconies above. "Master Yugi and Seto Kaiba are here."

* * *

"A tournament?" Yami said staring at a flyer from Earth retrieved by one of the elite agents of the Emboldorian Secret Service. "And he'll be participating?"

"Without a doubt," said Seto Kaiba. His hologram projected by the communicator anyway. "It'll be the biggest Duel Monsters event in the history of their world. I think Yuri could use a warm-up before coming back home."

"That's one thing we can agree on," said Yami. "If he wins this competition then he's a better duelist than I thought. Perhaps he won't need to enter the academy after all."

"I think he should," said Kaiba. "One Duel Monsters tournament will not be enough to ensure his skills are top notch. The Dueling Pact is still law. And if someone challenges him for the crown - Saafani save him if he is not prepared. Remember, those people are still using pure-blood monsters from the days of the game's foundation. They don't have access to the more advanced rules and the new generation of monsters like we do."

"You make a valid point," Yami said, throwing the flier at a nearby side table. "I suppose we'll send him home once the tournament is over. Regardless if he wins or loses."

"You sure you want to wait that long?" Kaiba asked. "What of King Forrest?"

"His advances have been halted for the moment," said Yami. "Many of the Southern Kingdoms are outraged of Prince Talion's murder at the hands of the Church of Yeyu and have sent aid to the kingdom. But I feel like they're stalling him."

"Stalling him?" Kaiba asked.

"Yes, as if they're biding time for Prince Yuri's return."

"There's still a matter of Hector Delgado in the southern parts of Emboldor," said Kaiba. "He's enigmatic at best, but he's gaining ground down there. I think you should consider watching him."

* * *

**Hector**

* * *

"You've come very far my young prince." The lady in black said to thirteen-year-old Hector Delgado as he stood proudly on top of one of the Red Stones of Serania.

Serania is the region in the southern half of Emboldor that was called the Dragon Lands, for it was here that the dragons first opened their eyes during the Forming and it was here that they departed Termnnia and returned to Drogos, the realm of their creator, Safaani, the Mother of Dragons. The realm was dotted with small lorddoms, dukedoms, and baronies. But the main seat of power in Serania was the capital city of Dragon's Nest, where his host King Janis von Klaus would be waiting for him.

Hector smirked.

"The land will soon be mine," he boasted.

"Indeed, they will," the lady said coldly.

Francine de Lavonne was a tall and beautiful woman in her late thirties. Her skin was as pale as milk, and her eyes were like glimmering emeralds. Her hair, black as the shadows, was tied into a long bun via a red ribbon. Her eyes seemed almost dream-like with her eyelids halfway down giving her a tired appearance.

Her elegant black dress revealed her shoulders and the upper half of her large breasts. Her metalwork collar and cuffs were made of decorated black steel, and a small chestpiece hung over her chest with small black chains making her dress look like armor. A black velvet deck box strapped to her right thigh.

The little prince surveyed the land around him like a conquering hero. Behind him, a squadron of knights in shiny plates of polished steel stood on guard holding up the banners of his newly formed House depicting an image of a black Tyrannosaurus with a golden crown roaring in the jungle with two crossed swords behind it.

The sky was white as snow showing it was soon going to rain, but Hector cared not. He was to be High King of Termnnia, and with the aid of the lady in black, he was confident it would soon be his title.

He and his lady marched on a dirt road through vast plains of emerald and gold for days until he saw the castle of the Klaus family looming proudly in the middle of the city of Dragon's Nest. The Klaus family was powerful and not to be trifled with, for they supplied much of the Western Kingdoms with Mana Crystals from the Glowing Caves that honeycombed underneath the mountains.

It was here that criminals were sent to toil day and night in the caves mining these crystals. They are kept in the Black Keep, a jail of steel and iron guarded by a dragon called Des Volstgalph who showed no mercy to those stupid enough to try and escape the keep. There were many, so Des Volstgalph never spent a night with an empty belly.

Aside from the dreaded prison the city of Dragon's Nest was a fair metropolis with elegant buildings of limestone and marble where the rich and powerful lived. Hector rode his armored stallion over a stone bridge with his sorceress and his knights. Soldiers in handsome silver armor and white cloth-of-gold capes stood at attention every ten feet of the one-hundred-yard white stone bridge.

Windmills stood on small stone islands hundreds of feet below in the Lake of Silver. Iron gates opened to let Hector and his party through. The crimson banners, bearing the white knight of the Klaus family, hung from the turrets on both sides of the gate.

"Dragon's Nest at last," Francine said blissfully. "After our meeting with Lord von Klaus, I think I could use a bath."

"So, could I," Hector said with his eyes glued to the castle where his host was waiting for him. "You know, we could save some time and go together."

"You are a rather charismatic boy, aren't you?" the woman said with a cheeky grin. "No, I think I will go myself. Besides, you are not the age to see a woman's flesh."

"I'll be thirteen soon," pouted Hector. "I'll be a full-grown man and I'm of the age to marry."

"You are indeed," said Francine. "But it is not your thirteenth birthday just yet."

"Yes, My Lady," Hector groaned.

"Have patience, my prince. One day, you will see what lies underneath this dress."

Hector shivered and looked at the world around him. Slaves stood for auction on stone podiums. They were dirty and dressed in rags being sold by men in fine apparel trimmed with gold or silver.

Many of them would be sent to Sobek to fight in the gladiatorial arena called the Mouth of Zorc.

They passed many brothels and inns with drunken and smelly clientele before making it into the gleaming pearl gates of the massive limestone castle of the Klaus family. The towers went almost hundreds of feet into the sky with walls of glass and silver and banners of crimson waving on their tops.

"Majestic, is it not?" said Hector.

He pumped his fist. The leather of his black glove screeched with every tension of the muscles on his fingers. "With his troops and gold, I can forge my army into an unstoppable force."

"He has dragon riders with him," Francine added. "Mercenaries calling themselves The Golden Wings. They ride the mighty Curse of Dragon into battle. The kings of Emboldor will have no choice but to duel you; lest they wish to take their chances on an army with them in the ranks."

Sure enough, shadows swept over them, followed by a gust of wind and a shriek like an eagle. Hector looked up and saw the Golden Wings performing dazzling maneuvers.

White banners with gold designs hung from the tails and helmets of the odd-looking Curse of Dragon, a Duel Monster sporting 2000 ATK in the game. Outside of a duel, the beast was surely a glorious sight to behold, especially with donning white armor with gold trim.

They arrived at the courtyard. There were hedge mazes, animal-shaped bushes, colorful flowers and fountains of limestone with crystal statues of knights and dragons. The elite of the elite walked about the gardens laughing and discussing family, Duel Monsters, and politics. They were dressed in colorful garments and powdered wigs. Servants walked about the gardens holding up silver trays with ruby red wine in jewel-encrusted goblets that were enchanted to keep the drinks cool in the humidity.

Hector and Francine then left their horses with the stable boys, leading them to the stall for a well-deserved drink. The pair walked across a stone bridge over a crisp, glistening river to the castle. The hot summer sun baked them. Francine fanned her face with her hand while Hector showed no sign the heat was bothering him. It was as if he was immune to the heat.

He walked with his head high, so his crown shimmered. His chest was out, and he walked with a sort of march. Francine grinned, admiring him for his strength. Cicadas hummed in the trees and bushes as they crossed the bridge towards the terribly large iron doors which creaked open once they arrived.

The entrance to the castle was a massive atrium with black and white tiled floors of marble, and a ceiling hundreds of feet high with a fresco of Arva, the ancient winged people, fighting the first humans in the Battle of the Emerald Marches. There was a silver water fountain in the shape of the white knight slaying a legendary dragon with white scales and eyes of blue.

A man in ornate robes walked up to them and bowed.

"Prince Hector," he said respectfully. "King Janis is awaiting you on the top floor."

"Thank you," said Hector. "Take us there at once."

They walked up long flights of stairs and took many trips on elevators of glass and gold ornamentation before they finally made it to the upper halls. The level where the lord of the city could watch his domain. A waterfall fell into a pool behind the long dinner table where Lord Janis and his family ate their supper.

Lady Claudette von Klaus arose from her gilded red-cushioned seat to greet Hector and the sorceress. Her colorful blue robes swayed like flowing water as she walked.

Princess Alexandra, also stood up to greet the guests. She had hair like golden threads going down to her back in sensuous curls. She wore a white leotard with a tasset of multi-colored silks, a blue and gold cape with a butterfly wing-shaped collar, long white gloves and white slippers trimmed with gold and plated in silver. A golden tiara with a glowing gem glimmered over her forehead.

Hector eyed her quite lustfully, admiring her darling face and the long legs the leotard so graciously revealed.

Hector had heard many tales of Alexandra's impressive, albeit brutal, accomplishments despite being so young and so innocent in appearance. She bore a beauty so magnificent that it was sung by bards across the land and started a war that caused three Houses in Serania to fight for her. They joined forces to conquer Dragon's Nest and overthrow the family, then duel to the death for Alexandra and the crown.

The event, called the Battle of Bell Hills, made her famous, for she demanded to go into combat with her father. After she and her father had won the battle, the remaining enemy forces surrendered and joined Janis's army. Then, Alexandra killed the rival families by feeding them, man, woman, and child, to Des Voltsgalph as a warning to those who would go against her House, and to those foolish enough to think they could have her so easily.

Alexandra was only thirteen-years-old at the time of the battle, a year older than Hector. Now she was a young woman of twenty.

Despite her having the appearance of a graceful butterfly she had the sting of a very poisonous scorpion. Hector smiled at her, and nodded his head, gesturing a hello.

The princess smiled back. It was a beautiful smile, welcoming, warm, and a tad seductive but very deceiving.

Hector was cautious as he looked at her, for it was the same smile she wore when the prince of Hammerhold showered Alexandra's mother and father with expensive gifts and rare golden cards in exchange for her hand in marriage, to which they agreed.

He was found the next morning in the sewer grate, dead and naked as the day he was born. He had been poisoned by her kiss, for she applied to her lips a toxin extracted from an Abyss Flower from her garden. The prince's family was powerless to retaliate as they were an insignificant noble family.

"Welcome to you both," Claudette said with a smile.

"Prince Hector, you have finally arrived," King Janis said, cutting away at a grilled chicken soaked in maple sauce. His golden hair and beard were slicked with oil scented like lilac.

He wore black robes and a black cape with gold trimmings. His Duel Monsters deck was inside of a black velvet deck box decorated with jewels and strapped to his right arm. He had an exquisite sword with a guard of gold that looked like the branches of a tree. His elegant crown had tiny glowing jewels spinning inside the mouths of six dragons. He raised a cut of chicken into his mouth and chewed.

"Please," he said, slowly eating his food. "Have a seat."

"It is a beautiful home you have My Lady," Francine said to Claudette. She took her hand and bowed.

"Thank you," said Claudette, taking her to a chair, which stood before a plate of cooked beef with potatoes, lettuce, and tomatoes still steaming from the kitchens. "Please sit, you must have had a long journey. Eat, eat."

"Thank you, My Lady," Francine said sitting down.

Hector eagerly took his seat, eager to help himself to a plate of ribs with a side of baked potatoes.

"What would you like for a refreshment?" Claudette asked. "We have a drink called pop, a praised beverage from the East."

"I'll have some wine," said Hector.

"Audacious little lad," said Janis. "I myself couldn't touch wine until I reached my early twenties. I am still not quite fond of the taste."

"It does have a taste one must get used to." Hector agreed while one of the servants poured wine from a gold dragon-shaped ewe. "My taste buds, I must say, are made of steel as is my resolve to reclaim the crown from the bastard my uncle produced."

"But the Divine Beasts have made their choice," Alexandra said sharply. "How can you possibly claim to take away the Children of Horakhty from the very master they have chosen?"

"Forgive my daughter, young prince," said Janis. "She is a supporter of the new High King."

"But father it is the very rule of Divine Right. The beasts had made their decision, and they did so with a very powerful statement when they heard Daveed's call that night in the Battle of Rassay and obliterated the Orc army along with that horrible giant. He is the chosen one to wear the crown whether people like it or not."

"Alexandra speaks out of line, but she is right." Janis took a sip of wine. "Divine Right has indeed been given to this bastard, this, Daveed. The Beasts apparently want him on the throne. What miracle do you possibly possess to prove that Horakhty and her children were wrong?"

"My sorceress, here, has seen me sitting on the Diamond Throne."

"How?" asked Janis. "In some vision I suppose? Young man, I have seen it all. Women like her seducing kings and filling their minds with empty hope because they saw visions in their dreams or a fire."

Francine grinned and said: "I would not go to call me some lowly fortune teller, Lord Janis. I know all, and I see all."

"Really?" sneered Alexandra. "All I see is a lowly fortune teller telling lies to a prepubescent prince thinking he can be High King. You're both fools."

Hector grinned at Alexandra. The audacity! He thought to himself. Naughty, naughty.

He had half a mind to put the princess over his lap and slap her rear end like you would a defiant child.

"I speak the truth, princess," Francine said, peeling open the collar of her dress.

Something gold glimmered around her neck.

"It can't be," Janis gasped in fear. He dropped his silverware and stood up from his seat, slamming his hands on his table to lean forward and get a better look at the item around the woman's neck.

"It is," said Francine. She had an expression on her face that sent chills down both Claudette and Alexandra's spines. "You know what this is? Don't you, My Lord?"

"Aye, I do."

"The Millennium Necklace," said Francine. "A relic that allows one to see the future. It is one of the seven Millennium Items."

"I thought the items were locked away by the Pharaoh's mages in Sobek," said Alexandra. "How did you come to possess a..."

"That doesn't matter," Francine interrupted, holding out her hand to silence the princess. "What is important is that it works. It has given me a vision of our young prince sitting on the throne in Rassay, and in his hands, he held monsters with a force far more powerful and ancient than the Divine Beasts."

"That's impossible," said Alexandra. "Except for Exodia, nothing is stronger than the Divine Beasts!"

"Oh, but there is, dear child," Francine said, her lips still arched into that cold grin again. "The Millennium Necklace was forged long before the arrival of Tiberius and the forging of the first kingdoms. It has seen things that have turned into legend and then to myth. There is an ancient power hidden in our Termnnia. And when Hector finds them, Obelisk, Slifer, and Ra will no longer get in our way, for the ancient creatures will force them into submission and bow down to their true master. So you see, it is destiny that Hector becomes the new High King of Termnnia. They stood behind him. They fought for him. The necklace never lies. I saw the three Enteri bow into submission before the ancient ones. Then the necklace blessed me with a vision so grand I wept with joy. I saw Slifer, Obelisk, and Ra looking down at Hector. His arms were held out in triumph as the lands of his enemies burned. Hector will not only control men but gods."

"Then I cannot deny the vision of a Millennium Item," said Janis. "If that's what it is, then so be it. I will aid you in conquering Emboldor and gather my friends and allies to raise an army large enough to challenge Chancellor Pegasus and the military of Rassay. But I fear we cannot maintain this army without at least one or two routes of trade."

"I don't buy any of this, father! Be reasonable."

"That's enough young lady!" snapped Claudette. "One more word and I'll take your cards away."

"You cannot touch my black knights!" Alexandra snarled. "The last fool that touched my cards got his hands turned to cinders, you know this mother. And father, I'm sorry you're just mad Antilles didn't become High King, but will following this boy change that!"

"You should know it was Captain Antilles and my grandfather Salazar who funded my campaign," sneered Hector.

"Rubbish!" snapped Alexandra. "Uncle Antilles would know better than to align himself with fools!"

"He is not mad," said Janis. "Unlike you, he does not disprove the facts this woman presents us. A Millennium Item never lies."

"But−"

"You should listen to your father, princess," said Hector. He took a sip of wine. "My grandfather and your uncle know better than to have a bastard take the throne."

"That bastard rid the world of the greatest evil since Zorc!" said Alexandra. Her cheeks were blushing into a bright pink. "And he is the commander of the three most powerful monsters the world has ever seen!"

"Once I find my ancient beasts, Slifer, Obelisk, and Ra will no longer be the most powerful monsters the world has ever seen. To be the High King of Termnnia is my destiny, not Daveed's. And you are going to be part of that destiny, princess."

It took a while for Alexandra to comprehend that. "I am not interested."

"You have no choice," said Janis. "Hector has the resources and monsters to achieve his goal. Including those Ancient Beasts. Once he claims the Diamond Throne you are to be wed."

"Inconceivable!" shouted Alexandra. "You'd have me betrothed to this...child!"

"You will say not another word of this young lady. End this now!"

"King Janis," Hector said sipping his wine. "Before me wife-to-be rudely interrupted you, you were saying something about certain trade routes?"

"There is a fishing kingdom many miles from here in the coasts of Emboldor called New Harbor. It is ruled by a self-righteous fool, Lord Walter Calhart who settles in a castle mounted on The Claw. He is also a faithful supporter of Daveed, and he holds one of the key commercial trade routes in Emboldor. Rjeli ships come to sell their spices, silks, steel, and monsters. The dwarves from Greenton also use this port to sell their precious gems, mithril, gold, Mana Crystals, iron ingots and limestone from their quarries in Ufenton, and the Redborne from Kalunga come with their salts and diamonds.

"These goods are vital to the strength of Rassay's army as well as their majesty. I swear those mithril armors the Rassay Guard wear make me burn with jealousy. There is a story that in the battle of Lunetar Fields there was an entire formation of mithril knights. The sun shone down on them so hard that it blinded the conquering boy-king Phillip and his army into submission. But I digress. If you can challenge Lord Calhart to a duel and beat him; we will take Rassay's major supply line. I have sent many duelists to New Harbor to challenge Lord Calhart for him to swear his allegiance to you, but they've all failed. Their heads sent back to me with their decks shoved up their mouths. Lord Calhart is an exceptional duelist it would seem."

"You have one of the most powerful military forces in Emboldor," said Hector. "Why not go over there and take it by force?"

"You are still young, my prince," chuckled Janis. "You should know by now that our armies were forged solely for the protection of our land from foreign invaders like the orcs or the dirty raiders from the Iron Mountains. We cannot fight each other as it could start another Great War in which Horakhty herself said she would end our existence should it happen again. Yes, there have been foolish Termnnian kings looking to take the kingdoms in a hostile takeover, but they've all failed. If you want to take their hold because you claim it for whatever reason, then you must challenge them to a duel under the rule of the Dueling Pact."

"Bah, I hate that stupid law," spat Hector. "It forces us to play the game."

"It is not a stupid law; you are just a stupid boy!" Janis retorted. "There is much you have to learn of this world, little Hector, and starting meaningless wars because you have powerful cards and a crown on your head isn't one of them. Our land had been at peace since Anubis's defeat. And now that he's gone we intend to keep it in order. There has been enough death and destruction the past hundred or so years, and our land is still on the verge of reconstruction. Even if you do manage to take the Divine Beasts from Daveed, your rule will be short and will end violently if you think war and bloodshed are the way to resolve problems."

"I understand," Hector said bowing his head humbly. "So, you're saying if I beat the Lord of New Harbor and take Rassay's primary supply line; you'll lend your support to me."

"Yes. In the event Rassay or the other kingdoms seek to do battle against you, my troops will be by your side. If you play your cards right, then all of Emboldor will be as well. Duel the Emboldorian Lords for their signatures supporting you for the Diamond Throne. With all those names behind you and those ancient creatures at your whim, Daveed will have no choice but to duel you for the crown."

"It will not be easy," said Claudette with a grin. "Even if little Hector does manage to make it that far and duels Yuri, he still has to contend with the Divine Beasts."

"She is right," said Janis. "If Daveed so much as summons just one of those monsters in your duel you'll be finished."

"Let us worry about that when the time comes," said Francine.

"Indeed," said Hector. "Let me worry about my future servants."

Alexandra frowned when she heard little Hector refer to the Divine Beasts as mere servants. He said it so casually and confidently. The boy believed he was going to be the new High King of Termnnia.

"You, Lord Janis need to think about getting your signature ready." Hector finished with a gulp of wine.

"Indeed. If I help you with this matter will you stay true to your end of the bargain?"

"I will," said Hector. "When I claim the crown, my monsters, and my throne; I swear I will expel all the other lords of this country and name you the Archduke of Emboldor. This country and all its riches will be yours."

"See that it is, my future High King," said Janis, raising his glass.

When he was done with dinner, Hector decided to retire for the night before their journey to New Harbor.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Your Grace," Hector said bowing. He turned and proceeded to the elevator.

"That Alexandra has a big mouth," said Francine.

"Yeah, she does," Hector said greedily. "I'd like to find out how big."

Francine smirked when she realized what he meant. "I see you have your eyes on the young princess," she said following Hector into the elevator. "She'll make a good queen for you."

"Indeed she will," Hector said watching Alexandra until she disappeared behind the closing doors of the lift.

"As for you, young lady, what news from Duelist Academy?"

"I have finally been accepted, father," Alexandra answered with her famous smile. "My skills in Duel Monsters and my superb grades last year have landed me in the Blue-Eyes White Dragon dorm."

"That's my girl," said Janis as he took another sip of wine.

"You do us proud, my daughter," said Claudette, taking her daughter's hand and kissing it. "And once you arrive at the academy you are aware of what you must do."

"I must seek Daveed and become his bride," Alexandra answered sheepishly.

"Yes," said Janis. "You must marry the new High King, my sweet. The Klaus Family will be the most elite House in Termnnia after you are wed to High King Daveed. Dueling Pact or not, there will be no kingdom in Termnnia, or the world, who will be foolish enough to challenge the Divine Beasts. Then both Termnnia and the rest of Keya will be at our fingertips."

"And Hector?"

"I don't know about these Ancient Beasts, but it would seem Daveed will be claiming the throne sooner than he. If Termnnia has hidden those monsters from the annals of history all these years I doubt even a Millennium Necklace will be able to find it. Hector or Daveed, it matters not. Our daughter will be there for the next king."

"I am pleased to know I'm nothing more than a bargaining chip for you, father," Alexandra said sarcastically. "A meal ticket just to feed your ego and bring you strength. Do I mean so little to you that you'd sell me off to any fool who comes this way seeking your power?"

"It has worked to our advantage for years, Alexandra. Because of you, the other lords fear us."

"They fear me!" said Alexandra. "I killed the Coltons, the Larrows and the MacDonalds in the war! Me and my dragon! We fought in the fields with the soldiers while you sipped wine in the castle."

"Kings win wars. Soldiers fight them. You are neither king nor soldier. You are a princess. And princesses are a deadly weapon. One only great kings, such as myself, may use. Your duty is to sit in the castle and look pretty to capture the eyes of our foolish allies so as to bring us even more power. Or, cause them to go into a lustful frenzy and watch as they destroy themselves for you. Like those fools in the Battle of Bell Hills."

"Yes, they all killed themselves in a war I started, not you!" said Alexandra. "I was the one who belittled myself by parading around the castle in skimpy outfits to arouse them. I was the one who filled their ears with poisonous whispers as I fucked them to make them go mad and fight for me. The war was all because of me"

"You are my daughter," said Janis. "And it was I who put you up to the task."

"Then why are all the songs about me Father?"

"Being sung about by lustful bards is nothing to be bragging about, Alexandra. Rest assured if the only way to secure what I want was to have every lord in Serania, and their sons, mount you I'd do it."

Alexandra's eyes sparkled with hurt.

"So, I see," Alexandra turned to leave. She turned her head, eyes wet with weep. "When I come back from the academy, think better of me, father."

"That depends on the manner of which you come back, D _aughter_. Be it Daveed or Hector, you will be the one who sits beside them. Am I clear?"

"Yes, father." Alexandra sorrowfully walked to the elevator and traveled down to her quarters.

* * *

**Later**

* * *

The sun had finally set behind the Great White Mountains. The stars dotted the inky black sky, and Termnnia now washed by the silvery light of Lucretia, the largest of the three moons orbiting Termnnia.

Hector sipped a cup of water while watching the lights of the city flicker in the night. "It will all be mine soon," he whispered to himself. "Everything as far as my eyes can see will be all mine."

"Will you be going to bed, My Lord?" Francine asked, dressed in a racy black bathrobe. The lace in the design of spider webs.

"I'm not tired," Hector replied. "What about you?"

"I will be going to the bathhouse across the hall," Francine replied. "Then I will practice a few spells. If you require anything, I will be in my room."

"Thank you, My Lady," Hector replied, still looking at the city. "Goodnight."

"Sleep well…my king," Francine said, leaving Hector's room.

Hector tossed his cup over the balcony and left his quarters to take a stroll through the gardens. He thought about what Janis said to him at dinner earlier today. If he was right, then gathering up his army would be the easy part. The Divine Beasts were unbeatable. Unstoppable. Invincible. No force in the known world could stop them, save for Exodia and the ancient monsters Francine promised he would find.

"Good evening, Prince Hector!" the guards said as he walked by.

Hector always responded with a wave of his hand. He went all the way down the castle and out the back entrance to the gardens. There were still people conversing by the light of the lanterns and bronze torches. But one person caught his eye.

Alexandra was walking into the forest. She looked around cautiously to make sure she was not being followed and disappeared into the shadows.

Hector grinned and decided to follow her into the forest, with a hand holding onto his shortsword.

If what the songs about Alexandra were true, then she was very dangerous. He went down a flight of marble stairs and had to trek through a hedge maze before finding the path Alexandra took to get into the forest. He dashed in, following the path.

He heard cicadas hissing in the trees and the chirping of crickets in the grass. His ears then picked up the sounds of a waterfall thundering somewhere in the dark.

Thankfully the moons were full tonight; he could still see his own feet on the ground and the branches reaching out for him from the shadows. There was a river churning to his right with frogs croaking by the edge. There must have been a pool up ahead, and if there was a pool, then it meant that Alexandra was bathing.

If so, then she would be naked.

He grinned and softly cackled. It had been years since Hector had seen a woman nude before. Last time he did he was only seven. He went to a battlefield after his House achieved a great victory against rebellious mountain raiders who took over a town with a salt mine. He recalled the women bandits lined up on a wooden platform to be sold as slaves for the crimes. They were stripped of everything that they had. So cruel a man was Salazar, that he gave one of them to Hector as his personal chambermaid.

But she didn't last long in his service. She was always confined to his chambers and died of hunger a few days later. But those women were just common bandits, he thought. He would soon gaze upon the flesh of a beautiful princess, and not just any princess. The girl ahead is the legendary Alexandra von Klause. The Slayer of Lords and Princes.

He shivered with excitement, carefully walking down the path. He saw wooden posts with iron lanterns lighting up a blue pebbled path into a cave. He heard singing. And it was coming from behind him.

Hector gasped and darted into nearby bushes. Then he waited. The singing came closer.

_The horses make the meadows quake. Hmm-hmm Hmm-Hmmm_

_The swords have clashed. The arrows fly!_

_Warrior meets. The shields all break. Hmm-hmm-hmm_

_The meadow echoes with their cry._

It was Alexandra. She was wearing a lilac silk robe with multi-colored sleeves the shape of butterfly wings. It went down to her thighs. Her luscious long legs glowing blue in the dim light of the glowing toadstools. She was holding her hair up while she was singing the song of her victory in The Battle of Bell Hills.

Hector had heard the song from the bards performing in the inn just a mile from Dragon's Nest. It was a bloody song, but to hear it coming from Alexandra's lips was frightening.

_Their wives will weep. Hmm-Hmm Hmm._

_They will never feel their lover's arms_

_Never will they join them at a feast._

_The fools they love warm the belly of your beast._

She went into the cave. The bathrobe she wore revealing the fatty lower half of her sensuous buttocks, exciting Hector more. She continued to sing her song as she disappeared into the cave

Hector slowly got up from his hiding place, hand to his sword in case the princess saw him and brought him hostile intent.

He breathed heavily and followed Alexandra into the cave. The sound of the waterfall magnified in the thick walls of the tunnel he had entered, as was the ghostly, sweet voice of Alexandra. He finally reached the hidden pool, an ancient Elven ruin inside the cave and just caught Alexandra slipping off her robe.

Hector covered his mouth with his hand to muffle his heavy breathing.

Alexandra stretched for a moment at the edge of a pool before diving into the cool, silvery water. Hector waited anxiously for Alexandra to reemerge. She dove up, gracefully, tossing her hair back, and waded under the waterfall to finally bathe as she sang her bloody song.

Hector hid behind a statue of an Elven guard and watched Alexandra, admiring her perfect figure and falling in love with her eerie voice.

But he did not enjoy the sight for long. For the light of the moon illuminating from an opening above the cave darkened. Hector felt a gust of wind that knocked him backward and heard a violent roar that sent shivers down his frame.

He looked up and saw the familiar sight of Des Volstgalph diving into the cave and landing in front of him. It stood up, looking down at Hector and shrieked in his face. Hector fell backward and sobbed, backing away from the beast.

"You should know better than to spy on a woman bathing," Alexandra said, adding cherry-scented oils to her hair. "It's as hazardous as going to battle. You never know what surprises your target will have up her sleeve. Bruton, sit!"

The dragon snorted and did as told as though he was a common dog. His eyes still glaring into Hector's. Alexandra got out of the water and put on her bathrobe behind the concealment of her pet dragon's wing.

"Give me a good reason why I shouldn't let Bruton end your miserable existence, child."

"I-I am sorry, Princess," the boy gulped and corrected himself. "My Lady. It's just that, I've heard so many songs and tales about your beauty. They are all shameful lies. They do your beauty no honor. No, you are a sight, unlike anything this world has seen since the Celtra. You put all the songs to shame Alexandra von Klause. Alexandra the Fair. The Graceful. The Killer of Lords and Princes."

"Do you think your flattery is going to keep you alive?" she asked with a cold and sinister grin.

"It won't?" gasped Hector.

Alexandra chuckled adorably. She paused before saying: "No."

"Oh please, Alexandra the Magnificent!" pleaded Hector. "Don't let it eat me."

"Stop your whining, child! If weren't for the fact my father needed you, you'd be dead now. No, no I won't end you tonight, little Hector. I want to see your plan unfold with my very eyes. My interest in your campaign is piqued as much as it pains me to admit it."

"As well it should," said Hector. "I am the one-true-king."

"So you declare," said Alexandra. "But the one-true-king is Daveed. And regardless of what my father says, I am still on Daveed's side. He summoned Slifer, Obelisk, and Ra and saved us from Anubis. Not you. And I must add that I cannot wait to see these predictions of your Black Lady fail so miserably."

"They are true!" said Hector.

"Are you quite sure that Millennium Item around her neck is real? She asked. Those items are kept by Lord Heishin and the Seven Mages of Sobek. How in the shadows did she wind up getting it? How do we know the item isn't a fake and its wearer a pretender shoving her womanly parts in your face just so could tag along and reap the benefits of your success?"

"How dare you speak about my sorceress like that!" Hector said, getting up from the ground. "She is real. Her visions are real. What she says about me is true. I. Am. THE KING!"

He stepped towards her, but Bruton roared silencing Hector's sudden burst of arrogance. Hector squealed with fright, falling back down on the ground on his butt.

"It is unwise to disrespect me in front of my dragon like that," Alexandra said, looking at Des Volstgalph who was breathing heavily. She kissed his cheek and rubbed her hand down his snout. "Shhhh," she said calming him down. "You'd best leave, little Hector. You have a long journey tomorrow, and I wish to continue with my bath undisturbed. Bruton needs to return to the prison to resume his guard as well."

"Forgive me for the intrusion, My Lady," Hector said, humbly.

"You're still young," said Alexandra. "In due time you will learn to give women the respect they deserve."

"I am sorry," said Hector. "I must say that a king with you as a wife will be richer than The Big Five."

"Are you insinuating something little Hector?" asked Alexandra.

"There is no lying to you clearly," Hector said, trying to grin. "Even with death looking me in the face, I can't help but fall in love with you."

"I am not for you little prince," Alexandra said frowning. "I belong to no man. I govern myself and myself alone. I need no one to get what I want."

"Sorry, My Lady. I just have an interest in dangerous women."

"Interesting," said Alexandra, rubbing her chin.

The warm smile Hector saw at dinner was back, lighting up that masterpiece of a face Alexandra had.

 _Marvelous!_ Hector thought _. She is a miracle when she smiles_.

"Well, little Hector if somehow you get this cockamamie plan into fruition and wear the crown before Yuri. I will think about being your queen."

"You honor me, My Lady."

"Stop flattering me!" Alexandra snapped. Her warm smile vanished instantly. "You are not the High King yet. So stop entertaining thoughts that I'm yours. As of right now, you're just a boy who's way over his head. Now get out of my cave."

Hector got and ran. Bruton was snapping his jaws behind him to get Hector out of the cave quickly. He squealed as he ran out, trying to get away from the gnashing teeth.

"Okay you," she said to her dragon. "Get back to the prison and return to your duties!"

Bruton spread his wings and took off into the night.

* * *

Hector, Francine, and the troops left at dawn the following day to beat the heat. The mages predicted it would be hot this say, so Hector wore a white shirt and black pants bloused into his heavy belted boots.

His knapsack loaded with bottles of water for the trip. He was still shaken by the experience with the dragon but was quite confident. Alexandra said that she would consider being his queen if he claimed the Diamond Throne, so that brought some joy to him. The memories of seeing her bathing in the spring of the cave was an added treat that woke him and made him happy.

It took a few days, but Hector at last arrived at the destination. He and Francine stood on a hill looking down on the fishing town of Eagle Claw. The air above was fogged with smoke from the stone chimneys and seagulls circled over the town hoping to get a catch of freshly caught fish. The horizon dotted with ships in the distance and a formation of mountains called The Triplets where a tall stone lighthouse shined brightly above the fog.

A wall of stone surrounded the town with towers that had red roofs and bright torches that could light much of the land at night.

Merchants, mercenaries, and pilgrims came in and out of the town ready to do business with the Lord of Castle North Star, which was standing proudly in the distance nestled on one of the fingers of The Claw, three rocky peninsulas that were in the shape of an Eagle's Claw.

The castle connected to other castles on the Claw via covered stone bridges. Merchant trading ships and small fishing vessels already docked in the harbor bobbed up and down in the wild waves. The seaside shacks wailed in agony as the winds blew on them, trying to knock them down.

"It's a smart place to start your Grace," Francine said as she put her hand on the boy's back. "You will claim this castle and the town as well. I have foreseen it."

"Good," said Hector. "Well, what are we waiting for? Come on men!" he shouted then marched down the hill into town.

The people looked at him curiously. The clink-clank of Hector's knights announced his arrival. Francine walked beside him proudly, her nose up in the air and her ears oblivious to the crude comments of drunken fishermen who witnessed her passing by.

Hector could feel small drops of rain splash on his face. His clean leather boots caked with fresh mud from the dirty ground, and the hem of his cape was covered in sludge as well. A beggar approached him asking for a few Star Chips so he could buy supper for his children. Hector responded by unsheathing his glimmering gilded shortsword and slicing off the beggar's hand.

The beggar fell to the ground sobbing in agony. Hector jerked his shortsword with his wrist to shake the blood off the blade before sheathing it. The spectacle caused the people of the town to back into their homes.

"Fear..." Francine said with a smile. "Along with the stench of drink and piss, this city reeks of it. You show them your dominance, and they will love you for it. There are many healthy men here who will make good soldiers for your army. Once we have control of the castle and this town, I will see to it that the Viceroys write up the draft."

"What would I do without you, kind lady?" Hector said taking Francine's hand and placing it to his lips for a quick kiss. It began to rain heavily. Francine took Hector close and used her elongated sleeve to shield the boy from the downpour falling on top of them.

"HALT!" called out a guard in a small stone house built on top of the gate in the entrance.

"No shit," whispered Francine, clearly seeing that the drawbridge to the castle was up, and all that stood before them was a hundred-foot drop into the waters below.

"What business do you have here!" the guard called out.

Hector released himself from the shelter of Francine's arm and sleeve and proclaimed: "I am Prince Hector Delgado of Feldia. Heir to the Dynasty of the Tyrannosaurus, Master of the Diamond Throne, Lord of Men, High King of Termnnia and all Her Kingdoms!"

"Impressive titles," said the guardsman. "However, I am to understand they belong to another."

"My bastard cousin will not be receiving them," Hector replied vindictively. "I am the true ruler of these lands, and I shall prove it by challenging Lord Calhart to a duel!"

"Lord Calhart is much too busy for games!" said the guard. "If there is nothing else, be gone with you!"

"This is no game!" called out Francine. "Hector invokes the right of the Dueling Pact upon Lord Calhart. We will either resolve this matter peacefully with a little duel or we shall we have to paint the ocean red."

"You don't have enough men to storm our fortress!" called out Walter Calhart. The King of the Claw grumbled as he stormed to the window of the stone gatehouse wearing a white nightgown and cap. He had a white mustache and was balding on the top of his head.

"I have no time for this! Nor am I in the mood for a duel."

"Then we shall take your castle by force!" Hector announced by unsheathing his sword.

"You're a fool to challenge me boy!" called Lord Calhart. His arrogance suddenly faded when he saw flaming orange dots lighting up all over the horizon. Archers, hundreds of them, were taking aim at the castle, meanwhile, far away in the hills, a trebuchet unit was preparing to fire once the castle was lit up. Janis's troops had arrived and joined forces with Hector's army.

"What will this resolve!" called out Lord Calhart. "You're a warmonger. We are at peace. There is no need for this!"

"There is a need for this castle to begin my conquest," said Hector. "And to liberate the people of New Harbor from your rule. You have three choices, My Lord. You can accept my duel, or you could peacefully surrender both the castle and your lordship of the city to me and leave. Or, my troops will advance upon your home, and you die. It's your choice but think of your daughter's well-being."

"I will not surrender this castle!" shouted Walter Calhart. "Nor will I waste my time dueling you!"

A horn blew in the distance. Twelve dozen ships emerged from the mist like ghosts. They began surrounding all three points of The Claw.

"Ah, right on time," said Francine.

"Those ships fly a black flag bearing a sword-wielding Kraken! The navy of Lord Andon is fighting with the boy My Lord!" called one of Calhart's soldiers.

"They have corsairs sailing with them as well!" shouted another.

"Calm down, all of you!" called Calhart. "Our walls can hold them."

"I don't know if it's bravery or if he's just plain stupid," chuckled Francine. "I don't think he'll accept the match, My Lord."

"We'll just see about that," said Hector, turning around to face the citizens of New Harbor. "Look!" he said to them. "He sits up there, warm and dry in his keep, feasting on the fish you work so hard to catch and the livestock you raised with your hand, and he counts the Star Chips that should be yours! I will see to it that New Harbor will be a place of prosperity and trade as it was in the days of old before this buffoon took over. What say you!"

The people were fearful of Hector, but they knew he was right. They angrily came out of their houses and shouted at the king to accept the challenge. Some even took arms with pitchforks, hammers, spears, and harpoons ready to fight with Hector and his men to evict Lord Calhart from the castle.

Walter nodded. "Very well," he said. "I accept the challenge. If you lose you will promise me your lady and your head so, I can mount it on my wall as a warning to the next fool who challenges me. If I lose, then the castle and New Harbor are yours. But will you promise safe passage to me, my daughter and my men?"

Hector placed his hand on his chest. "In my honor as a Delgado and future High King, I will grant safe passage to all who are in the castle. You. Your princess. Your servants from the maids to the cook down the piss boy. And to every soldier wearing your colors. I swear to all The Mothers you will be safe."

"Then I shall accept!" said Calhart. "Lower the bridge! Get me my cards and Duel Disk!"

The duel was over from the start.

The Lord used cards of old like Dissolverock, Droll Bird, Queen of the Autumn Leaves, Haniwa, Stone Ghost, and the like. The best monster he had was a Summoned Skull, one of the strongest cards of the Fiend Types with a powerful 2500 ATK. But not even it stood a chance against Hector's deck of Dinosaur monsters. Creatures with devastating effects that overwhelmed him.

"Father!" called out his adopted Anime daughter, Rose, whom he named after the last Celtra. She was watching the match from the top of the courtyard.

"Ah, Princess Rose," Hector said looking up to see the girl. He admired her blue velvet dress and her dirty-blonde hair that shined in the gray light of the cloudy morning. "You've come in time to see me claim my new castle."

"My, my," Francine said with a grin. "The Princess of Frogs. Even lovelier in person."

Hector sent forth one of his most powerful monsters to attack the king of New Harbor. There was a tremendous blast that shook the town. Lord Calhart tumbled backward grunting as he hit the ground and rolled until he came to a stop. His Life Points dropped to zero. Hector's soldiers grabbed him as Princess Rose begged for mercy for her father. She hitched up her dress and ran down the stone steps to save him, but she was greeted by two axes held by Hector's soldiers.

"You are the property of the new Lord of New Harbor!" one of them declared.

"Kill the others!" Hector command.

Hector's soldiers unsheathed their weapons and began slaughtering Calhart's men, who were poorly trained in battle.

"You promised to spare my soldiers!" shouted Calhart, as he was being taken out.

Hector gave a hideous cackle. "Yes but they're my soldiers now, seeing as how I'm the new lord of the castle. But they are weak and unskillful in combat. They are no good to me, so I am disposing of them."

"MERCY!" Calhart's soldiers cried out as they were overwhelmed by Hector's forces.

"DAMN YOU!" shouted Calhart. "I PRAY DAVEED SENDS YOU ALL TO THE SHADOWS!"

"Get him out," commanded Hector. "And take her to the tower," he ordered the two axe-wielding soldiers who were blocking the Anime princess from her father.

"FATHER!" shouted Rose, as the two soldiers grabbed her by the arms and dragged her up the stairs to her chamber.

"MY DAUGHTER!" cried Calhart, struggling to get free. "GET YOUR HANDS OFF HER! LET HER GO! GIVE HER TO ME!"

One of Hector's knights bashed Walter on the dome with the bottom of his sword's hilt. It left a bloody gash on the man's head. Blood poured down his face and reddened his snow-white mustache. Meanwhile, Francine took Hector by the arm, and they walked up the stairs to the gatehouse passing over the bloody gore that surrounded them. Walter heard Rose's cries as they rang out through the walls of the castle, soon drowned out by the mob of angry citizens. They threw rotten fish and other festering foods at their former ruler.

Hector and his lady entered the intruders. Now they were leaders of Castle North Star and the very country of New Harbor; a major trade point in Emboldor and one Hector did not want Yuri to have when he returned.

Francine and Hector arrived at the gatehouse in time to see the former count get carried into town. He yelled, demanding the release of his daughter. Hector mocked him from the balcony. His mercenaries ripped Walter's nightgown until he stood completely naked before the people. They pointed and laughed, shaming him.

"The Lord of New Harbor bids you farewell, Mr. Calhart," Hector said.

Walter glared at them with venom in his eyes. He could only watch as they turned to leave. Hector's hand went down Francine's back and then it smacked her buttocks and squeezed her plump right cheek. Francine cooed fervidly as they both disappeared into a corridor.

The soldiers then hounded Walter across town. The angry citizens of New Harbor crowded the streets and called him names and threw rotten food at him. He covered his genitals, but every time he did one of Hector's knights poked his buttocks with his sword. The bells in the castle tower rang, announcing the new lordship of New Harbor.

Walter was then hit on the back of the head with a club, and he fell to the ground. The people mobbed him grabbing him by his feet and dragging him towards a horse. They tied his legs to a hook on the horse's saddle.

"Hail to the count!" someone shouted, tossing an egg at Walter's face. A man slapped the horse's rump causing it to stir, and it took off dragging Walter through the mud across the city and out through the main gate. Rose sobbed from the window of her tower, watching until her father was gone from sight.

"Stop you crying girl!" snapped Hector entering her bedchamber.

"My father, why did you do that to him?" sobbed Rose. You won the duel. There was no need to humiliate him like that. You didn't have to take me from him. You monster, you didn't even let me say goodbye," She buried her face in her arms sniffling and hiccuping. "You didn't even let me say goodbye." She sobbed again.

"Stop your crying I said!"

"Yes, sir," Rose said, quickly accepting the position she was in.

"Lord!" snapped Hector. "I am a lord now. I am the new ruler of this city."

"Shall she be a candidate for a wife?" Francine asked. "She is rather lovely. It seems she has just bloomed into her adulthood. How old are you, dear?"

"Twenty-one," Rose responded, drying her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Still but an infant in this cruel word," chuckled Francine.

"I would like to have Alexandra Von Klaus as my queen," said Hector. "But, my road to the Diamond Throne is still far from my grasp, and I need a woman to satisfy my needs so I suppose she will have to do. But only until I have completed my campaign to conquer Rassay. Who's to say I can't have both of them when I become High King."

He chuckled villainously, baring his beaver-like teeth giving him the appearance of a grinning horse.

"You lot!" he said to a group of women cowering in the corner. "Are you the princess's maids?"

They said yes, babbling in horror.

"Bathe her," he commanded. "Then dress her in her best clothing. I want her looking fit for a king. I expect to see you in court this evening."

"Yes, My Lord," sobbed Rose.

Hector snicked, clearly drunk with power. It felt good lording over someone his senior. Then he stormed out of the room.

"You best do as he says, princess," said Francine, tossing her a handkerchief from one of the pockets inside her sleeve. "Or you will suffer a fate worse than your father's."

* * *

****

**Princess Rose- Dubbed The Princess of Frogs, for she duels using frog monster cards. Her three favorites are Treeborn Frog, who she believes are handsome princes who will one day save her. She is now a prisoner to Prince Hector Delgado after her father Lord Walter Calhart, King of the Claw, lost his office and his castle in a duel via the Dueling Pact to the thirteen-year-old prince who seeks to take the Diamond Throne from his cousin, Yuri.  
**

**She first appeared in the United States on October 12, 2006, in "Happily Never After" the 74th episode of Yu-Gi-Oh GX.**


	41. The 18th Year

**Yugi**

* * *

A gust of wind from the west told him that his guest had arrived. A portal opened and a hooded figure walked out. He knelt upon seeing Yugi, leaning against a chainlink fence on top of a building overlooking a bright and colorful city.

"Hey, there you are," he said, getting off the fence. "That didn't take a lot of time."

The hooded figure got up. "You should learn the art of teleportation, Master. It's much better than traveling on horseback."

Yugi shrugged. "I'm not a big fan of it. Besides, I can't level up if I teleport all over the place, huh?"

"Do you have the cards?" the hooded figure asked.

Yugi looked around nervously and nodded. "I do but...I don't want him getting into any trouble with his father."

"You let me worry about the old man. Yuri needs every advantage he can get. The Neo Rare Hunters have arrived in Aquarius."

"Then it's just as I feared," Yugi said with a sigh. He took out two cards, wrapped in aluminum foil, and handed them to him. "I was hoping he would use these at the Academy, but those Neo Rare Hunters are bad news. You do realize that if Yuri is going to get these new cards, we're going to have to release a new set, right?"

"Seto Kaiba can pay for it," said the figure, pocketing the cards. "We need a hundred more monsters and spells. These cards will no doubt boost the power of the Black Tyranno, correct."

"Correct. As I said, I was hoping he would use them at a later time. But if the situation is dire that he would need these, so be it. Antilles bends the law to his will, so I guess I better start doing the same as well."

The figure bowed his head then turned, activating a portal to Yuri's world.

"Wait," said Yugi.

The figure stopped and looked over his shoulder.

"Take good care of him. He's our only hope. Please."

"He's in good hands. You just worry about forging your Alliance, Master." He walked into the portal and disappeared.

* * *

**Alexandra**

* * *

"Have you any last words?" Alexandra asked the babbling thieves.

They were on their knees, arms tied to their backs while in a smoldering pit in the middle of a field of green grass shielded by forests and the Great White Mountains. The sun was up and the sky was as blue as the eyes of their killer, Alexandra Von Klaus.

She had a cape in the likeness of Hyozanryu - the diamond dragon - fastened over her silvery-white leotard. A tasset of the same fashion was around her hips with a bow in the back.

"Mercy! Mercy!" one of them sobbed.

"Should have thought of that before you slit that beggar's throat," Alexandra said to the pleading thief. "Was a measly three Star Chips worth all this?"

She took a step back and even felt audacious enough to fix her curls as if she wanted to look her best before the men before her were seared into oblivion by her beast, who was drinking from the small pond near the pit. His name was Bruton, her Des Volstgalph - a dragon-type Duel Monster, and the last in the House of Dragonheart. Alexandra got him as a birthday present when she was very young, and formed a loving bond with the beast over the years. The dragon stomped towards the thieves and bathed them in flames. They all screamed and flailed their arms and crawled on the ground as they tried to put out the flames with no luck. Alexandra smiled as her dragon began to devour them one by one.

"I see you're having a good time," Antilles said marching down to the execution pit where she stood.

"Uncle!" Alexandra cried out happily. She dashed towards him and embraced him in a long hug. She nuzzled his chest. "I'm so happy to see you."

He bowed his head and kissed the top of her head. He got a whiff of her cherry-scented blonde hair. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Lighting up my candles," Alexandra replied looking back at the burning thieves. There were twenty-one of them.

"Ah, of course, happy birthday, my sweet."

"And the same to you, Uncle," Alexandra said with a bright smile, despite the horrid wails of torment coming from within the flames. She and Antilles shared the same birthday together. October the nineteenth.

Antilles put his arm over her shoulder and led her away from the fire pit. Bruton picked up another charred thief and devoured him with one mighty gulp. Seeing that pleased him greatly.

To know that his beloved niece had inherited the same ruthlessness he had. Beauty as well as brutality. He leaned over her head and sniffed her hair before he kissed the top of her head.

"My, my, my. Twenty-one years old. I remember when you were a baby angel running through the flowery fields of Bell Hills. Now, you are a woman, ready to show the world what she is made of. I know you grow tired of me saying this but, I have had many wonderful gifts on my name day, but you will forever be the greatest and most beautiful birthday present I ever received."

Alexandra giggled and politely tilted her head the other way just to let him know it was bothering her. "Thank you, uncle. Oh my, and you turn fifty this day. My, you're halfway done with your life cycle."

Despite being far away from the dragon and its carnage, Antilles could see the Des Volstgalp's flames making her tear-filled eyes glisten.

"Why do you weep, child?"

Alexandra sniffled. She looked away and wiped away her tears with the back of her head. The last thing she wanted was her uncle seeing her cry. Not after that terrifying display she showed earlier. She had to come up with an excuse to hide her sorrow from him. And she wanted to keep her encounter with Prince Hector hidden.

"I'm not…it's just my allergies."

Antilles, being a man who knew his niece like the back of his hand, already supposed that there was something wrong and he pressed on and on until she broke. "Darling if something troubles you, speak."

"No," Alexandra said, blushing until her face turned bright pink. "I cannot..."

They were suddenly approached by men in leather armor and cloaks. There was a symbol engraved on a diamond-shaped plate on their shoulders. They wore wide-brimmed hats with red feathers sticking out of a gold band. They had black masks over their eyes and their armor was layered with iron stubs.

Antilles knew there was something very wrong with them. They were not friendly. First off, their cocky grins spelled trouble. Secondly, they were within the walls of the palace. They would not have been allowed unless the guards allowed them to, meaning they must have snuck in.

Those damn fools at the gates. He would deal with them later.

And thirdly, he recognized the red rooster with the crossed rapiers behind it. They were a band of Dueling Mercenaries known as the Knights of Chanticleer. He heard stories of their malice and the barbarism against opponents whom they've been hired to defeat.

"There she is!" said the awfully stout leader. He pointed dramatically at her. "She's the one. The one Lord Cullen was talking about."

Antilles stepped in front of his niece. "What are you lot doing here?" he shouted.

"Out of the way, old man!" shouted the leader. He let out a loud burp. He pounded his chest to control the gas in his chest. "Ahem, pardon me. You'd best stay out of our way if you know what's good for you. That girl. Our quarrel is with her. She's the property of Lord Cullen."

"Property?" Antilles retorted in disgust. "What sort of swine are you? She's a girl! A Princess of Termnnia! More importantly, she's my niece. You have a lot of nerve talking about her that way in front of me. As the King of Dragonrock, I order you to leave. Property!" He spat. "She belongs to no one. On what grounds does this Lord Cullen bastard think he owns her?"

The man pounded his chest again but could not hold back the burp. "Apologies, Your Grace. Regardless of who you are, we do not take orders from you. Our orders come from those who can pay us. The girl allowed herself to be put up as a prize in a gauntlet match in Rassay. Lord Cullen won her fair and square. But then, your brother arrived and took her."

Antilles looked back at his niece and shook his head. "What have I told you of allowing men to view you as a prize to be won?"

Alexandra rubbed her shoulder awkwardly and looked away, feeling embarrassed to be scolded in front of total strangers.

"What are you some trinket?" Antilles continued to yell at her. "Do you honestly have no respect for yourself?"

"It matters not," said the knight. "A deal is a deal. She allowed herself to be put on the line and our client won her. However, your brother's interference took her away. Lord Cullen is not a patient man, and he wants her back now. As I said before, Your Grace, only those with the proper amount of gold can tell us what to do. Unless you can counter the little Lord's offer of a million Star Chips, we'll make our leave."

"I wouldn't give either of your honorless mercenaries a copper penny," Antilles hissed through his teeth. "If you want her, you'll have to Duel me for her."

"You mean to tell us that you can Duel, old man?" said the leader with another burp. "So be it. This will be an easy victory. But, if you intend to keep your niece, you have to defeat all of us. And that's going to be no easy task, lemme tell you that much. You have a lot of guts, King Antilles, but there's nothing you have in your deck that can beat me, let alone my friends. So why don't you save yourself the humiliation and just surrender the girl?"

"Are you going to just stand there all day? Or are you going to Duel?" Antilles asked, holding up his hand. His royal signet flashed and turned into a Duel Disk that looked like a membranous dragon wing made of solid gold and red glass. "I'll let you start first," said Antilles. "Hurry up!"

The knight chuckled and activated his Duel Disk, engraved with the red rooster of their guild. "I play the Spell Card, Hieratic Seal of Conviction, which allows me to add a card to my hand. Next, I summon, Hieratic Dragon of Nuit in attack mode!"

**ATK/1700 DEF/900**

"Next," he continued, "I cast the spell, Dragon Shrine, sending a dragon from my deck to the Graveyard. At the cost of four-thousand of my Life Points, I can Special Summon the dragon I discarded. Hold on to your heart, old man, for here comes Destrudo the Lost Dragon Frisson! And since I targeted Nuit with his effect, I'm allowed to Special Summon Yamatano Dragon Scroll. And next, I will tribute Nuit and Destrudo for a Link Summon! Behold, Crystron Glassfiber (ATK 1500)! This monster allows me to call on another Dragon Scroll and I'll use both my dragon scrolls to Link Summon Pistythe Guardragon (ATK 1000) and Elphy the Guardragon who allows me to summon the mighty Tri-Horned Dragon!"

The knight and his men laughed. "What's the matter, gramps? Too fast for you?"

"So you can Link Summon!" Alexandra shouted, angered at their lack of respect for her Lord-Uncle. "It matters not. He's a King of Termnnia, so show some respect!"

"This won't take long, my sweet," Antilles said as calm as ever so he could soothe her anger. "Link Summoning isn't the only way to summon strong monsters. Stay calm, form a big smile for me, and allow me to demonstrate. I expect you to tell me everything after I've beaten this fool."

Alexandra did as she was told and stepped back. "Yes, Uncle."

Antilles' deck was built on the Phantom Knights archetype. And he knew how to use them well. For all that talk of speed, Antilles started to prove that the brash mercenary's skills were slower than his own.

He made a Link Summon of his own in no time at all.

"I Link Summon the Phantom Knights of Rusty Bardiche!" he shouted, summoning his shadowy knight carrying a massive battle axe in hand.

But he was not done.

Antilles used effect after effect and spell after spell until he was able to bring out two of his trusty Phantom Knights, which he overlayed to Xyz Summon the Phantom Knights who would spell doom for the fool and his friends.

**The Phantom Knights of Break Sword**

**ATK/2000 DEF/1000**

**RANK 3**

****

He used The Phantom Knights of Break Sword's effect to destroy Crystron Glassfiber. That ultimately destroyed the Phantom Knights of Break Sword, but Special Summoned the two monsters he made to create it. Now, he could unleash his ultimate beast.

"I overlay my Phantom Knights to create the dragon of rebellion who will punish you fools. Come forth, Rank 4 - Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!"

"There it is!" Alexandra shouted, clasping her hands together and beaming at the violet portal above the playing field that summoned the monster that became the heirloom of House Dragonheart, along with her uncle Peter's Starving Venom Fusion Dragon.

But this monster was by far Alexandra's favorite. She had heard of her uncle's dragon for years but never got the chance to see it in all her years. She remembered a glimpse of it at a banquet, but she was still just a baby when it was summoned.

Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon spread its odd wings and let out an ear-piercing screech.

**Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon**

**ATK/2500 DEF/2000**

**Rank 4**

Antilles had great fun tormenting the poor knight with is Dragon, especially with the abilities it had. At the cost of one of Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's materials, he could drain half the ATK points of one monster and add it to his own. But he would save that effect for later.

When he had his fun, Antilles used a Rank-Up spell that transformed Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon into another beast.

Dark Requiem Xyz Dragon. But it didn't stay for long, for Antilles ranked it up again to transform it into its most supreme form.

"Now, you will know the true power of House Dragonheart," Antilles whispered coldly as the poor knight begged for mercy.

His companions - little did he know - had run away after Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's first form rose to the top of the charts.

And now, to see it transformed into another more frightening beast, they did not wish to find out what abilities it had.

**Dark Anthelion Dragon**

**ATK/3000 DEF/2500**

Like it's previous form, Dark Anthelion Dragon robbed a monster of half its points to add it to its own. And he chose the power of the Tri-Horned Dragon.

The poor creature was suddenly bound by ropes of violet-colored energy which drained his strength and added it to the rebellion dragon's strength. To further torment the knight, Antilles removed the last to do it again, raising Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's attack higher.

"It's over five-thousand points!" cried Alexandra. "Uncle! It's unstoppable!"

And Dark Anthelion Dragon had more Xyz Material to spare. Antilles kept zapping points from every one of his foe's monsters until he had what he needed to end him with one final blow.

When the Duel was won, he ordered the knight to tell Lord Cullen that if he ever bothered his niece again, there would be war. The knight babbled and ran away, screaming for help. Dark Anthelion Dragon let out one last roar before it disappeared.

Alexandra approached her uncle slowly, amazed by the powerful beast he wielded with great efficiency.

"Uncle, you were amazing!" she cried.

"Yes," Antilles reluctantly agreed, putting his cards away. "Now, will you tell me what's bothering you? I believe you owe me an explanation. But first, a little warning. If I ever hear that you put yourself up as some prize to be won again, not only will I bend you over my knee and wallop you until you never sit again, but I will tear your acceptance to Duelist Academy to shreds. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Uncle," Alexandra said bashfully, biting her lip at the thought of her over the knee of a king and at his mercy. But, she worked very hard to earn her place at the academy, so she chose to obey his orders and behave.

"Will you tell me what happened now?" Antilles asked.

"Not here," Alexandra said, taking her uncle farther into the fields towards the forest of Elkar.

"It's Father," she said finally as they entered the forests at the roots of the mountain. "He's whored me off to the next person who sits on the Diamond Throne. Be it Yuri or his disgraceful cousin, Prince Hector."

They followed a dirt path lined with stones into a small clearing with a pond. They stopped and looked at the dark greenish water as they talked.

"I understand you had the displeasure of meeting young Hector," Antilles said, giving Alexandra a small brick of chocolate, kept cool from the Western heat in an enchanted bandolier that was strapped over his outfit of leather and steel.

Alexandra took it and ate the treat.

"He saw me naked, uncle!" She chewed the sweet candy. "Had the audacity to spy on me as a bathed in my favorite swimming hole in the caves. I want his head for that, but Father has his lips pressed to the little bastard's backside, so I can't harm him. And if I don't follow his wishes, and marry him, or Daveed, he threatened to disavow me from the House. Possibly even send me to work in the mines. I mean nothing to him. Just a token to bring his line into the Diamond Throne."

"Your father is an overzealous man," said Antilles. He paused, noticing Alexandra adjusting the back of her leotard with a snap. He continued. "He is only looking out for the best interests of his House. But there is nothing left for him save you, your sisters and his Mana Crystals. Of which I must ask, do you know how many Mana Crystals have been harvested from the mines in the Black Keep?"

"I don't know about these matters, Uncle."

"Here, take a guess with this card."

He held up a Millennium Shield.

"The number is in the monster. Take a guess."

"Surely it's his defense points," said Alexandra.

Antilles merely stared at her and said nothing.

"The stars?" Alexandra asked.

Antilles, still, said nothing.

The Millennium Shield's attack was 0.

"That can't be."

"The mine of the Black Keep ran dry a year ago," said Antilles. "Now without the production of Mana Crystals for Duel Disks, your father has nothing, save a monstrous debt to the Big Five."

"You can't be serious. My father was actually foolish enough to take a loan from the Termnnian Bank?"

"He did. He owes the Great Termnnian Bank a tremendous amount of Star Chips."

"How much?"

"As I have said, a tremendous amount."

"I'm not surprised he stooped so low," said Alexandra. "Father was not a very rich man despite our kingdom's size. He begged you to fund his own campaign to find those damned golden eggs. Did you ever see the eggs, uncle?"

"I did," said Antilles. "With my own two eyes. They were the size of apples when I saw Lady Andelera Pendragon; the last living decedent of Tiberius the Uniter, bring them to her husband, Ser Argrave Plantegrast."

"I heard she was very beautiful."

"Beyond beautiful," said Antilles. "Oh, my dear Alexandra, so great was her beauty that both man and woman fought for her heart. My father was one of them."

"So he started the rebellion for a pretty face and four golden eggs?"

"Yes, he was not the smartest man alive, but he knew how to rally people. His voice united all of Emboldor to fight against the Plantegrasts. Whatever was in those eggs was enough for one to claim lordship over the land despite the God Cards."

"What were they? The eggs I mean."

"I don't know, my sweet. But whatever they were, they seemed to have enough power in them to spook even the Sisterhood. So frightened of the eggs was Denethon the Black Mage, that he sent one of those _femme fatales_ to the keep where Andelera hid. A feeble act; for no one hides from the Sisterhood. But Denethon could not find the eggs, for Ser Agrave and Andelera were not foolish enough to hide such a treasure in their own home."

"Where did they hide them then?"

"In a vault all the way in the peaks of the Great White Mountains. Ser Argrave was so overcome with grief over the loss of his wife that he left the eggs unguarded as he vanished into the night and was never seen again. That's when my father found the eggs. With them in his possession, he had all he needed to storm Rassay and murder the Plantegrasts. Then that self-righteous fool, Antar of House Wallcroft, the cadet branch of the Plantegrasts, led the fight with Yugi Muto and Gabriel the Black. It was my task to hide the eggs before they stormed into the keep to claim them, but then that wench who smelled of strawberries entered the keep and swiped them away before I could take them out of the castle."

"Wench?"

"A woman said to be Yugi Muto's lover. She took the eggs to a hidden location in the Dragon Lands. After Antar was crowned king, and we were taken out of power, the woman deemed it was safe to move them back to Rassay."

"And that's when the Orcs and the Naralians attacked."

"Yes," said Antilles. "Then the earthquake shook the land and the eggs were lost in the chaos. Then, just a couple of months later, another object of power was born."

"Prince Yuri!" gasped Alexandra.

"Yes."

"Well, such a shame those eggs were never claimed. I could very well be out of this situation. Does he really intend to sell me off to Prince Hector?"

"Oh yes, he is confident the alliance with Prince Hector will get him what he wants, and that is all of Emboldor at his whim. With all those Star Chips and resources, and a daughter married to the High King, he will have enough to pay back the Big Five and then some."

"So, he's just selling me away to clear his debt."

"Don't bend yourself over to his throbbing ego, my sweet. Remember he is married to my sister, so the blood of House Dragonheart flows through your veins. My blood. Hector is nothing but a pawn in my game. I would never have my beloved niece marry the likes of him."

"A pawn? Uncle, are you sure you want to play with House Delgado like this?"

"House Delgado is a powerful family here in the West thanks to their blood ties with Norman the Conqueror. But despite this, it is a House of fools. Their greed and arrogance caused the bloodline to be polluted with bastards, who in turn plagued Termnnia in a decades-long civil war. People revolted against them for years because of the Delgado's incompetence. They had their chance to return to power when Daveed was born, but they were angered that he was born from a woman who wasn't the bride they choose for Gabriel the Black to marry. They named him a bastard and disavowed him from the family. But when High King Antar adopted him, and the child became the new Prince of Termnnia, the family had a change of heart. Yugi Muto denied them their request to take the child back into their house. And now with the legend of these Ancient Beasts coming out, they feel they have their chance to reclaim what's theirs with Hector."

"Ancient Beasts?" Alexandra looked up at her uncle. "The Shadow Lady talked about them. What are they?"

"I don't know, dearheart," said Antilles.

He knelt to the ground and picked up a stone and threw it into the pond. "All that history tells us of them is that they are the first monsters sent by Horakhty to help Norman the Conqueror fight against Zorc when he first set foot into Termnnia in the dawn of the First Age. And, that they even battled fiercely against Obelisk, Slifer and Ra in the War of the Giants. A fight so cataclysmic that it caused Termnnia to split into the five continents we know today. If what the legend says is true, then they should be more powerful than the Divine Beasts. Hector was more than pleased when I told him about these ancient monsters. I was the one who sent him on the quest to find them."

Alexandra backed away from her uncle as if she just watched him commit a murder. "You put Hector up to the task? Uncle. All those lives lost. The Gate Wars. That...that was all your doing?"

"Yes." He said this with authority. He was proud of the chaos he caused across the continent.

"But...but why?"

"Hector is the only male heir to the Delgado dynasty, so naturally, I went to him and told him about the Ancient Beasts. And the Shadow Lady, Francine, was the key to further my goals. She claims she saw the monsters calling out to her in the visions the Millennium Necklace gave her. And without so much as a map or clue or text to follow, Salazar sent his nephew into the world to search for the monsters. Now that leaves us with Daveed, the master of the Divine Beasts. I have no doubt he will claim the throne first before Hector, so it is most likely he will marry you first."

"What?"

"I have already spoken with Master Yu-Gi-Oh about the marriage. He said he would consider you for a bride if you proved yourself to him."

Alexandra stomped her foot onto the ground, almost snapping the seven-inch heel of her boot.

"Uncle, you can't be seriously considering me marrying him, are you? I thought you of all people would understand how I felt about this."

"I told you, many years ago, sacrifices must be made for the good of the family. You said you would do anything to keep the family strong, correct?"

"The Dragonheart legacy is all that matters to me, uncle, yes," Alexandra turned, cheeks blushing red with fury, and looked back at the pond. "I would do anything to see that our family remains the envy of all the noble houses of Termnnia, but to be given away like some trinket to a man I don't love...it just irks me."

"You're a fool if you think you're going to be marrying for love," Antilles said, sternly. "This is about our family and the reclamation of the throne that was taken from my father during the rebellion caused by Antar, Yugi, and Gabriel. I worked very hard to ensure the survival of the family after your grandfather was killed by Antar Wallcroft. While at the academy I want you to befriend the prince. You can seduce him if that's what you want, but you must be near him."

He knelt down and picked up another stone to throw at the pond.

"And then," he continued, "you will do everything in your power to make sure no other princess or girl of nobility opens her legs for Daveed. The same goes for any man if that's what Prince Yuri prefers. For that matter, you must make sure he does not get himself killed. For if he does, the Divine Beasts will lay dormant for who knows how long until they deem one worthy for the throne and we will be sucked into another Interregnum, which is the last thing Termnnia needs right now, what with the Orcs rallying in the Black Continent. If the Orcs storm into Termnnia, again without a king, then not only will our family die, but all of Termnnia."

"Where are you going with this, Uncle?"

"Listen, child, when Hector finds the Ancient Beasts, he will have what he needs to Duel Prince Daveed under the pact for the Diamond Throne. Whoever wins that match will then have six of the most powerful monsters in the world. Who the winner is matters not. None of them will survive. I have arranged it. When the winner is gone, then by the law of Divine Right, Slifer, Obelisk, and Ra will go to the heir of the High King. Or his queen. You."

"Me! You wish for me to be the High Queen of Termnnia?"

"Yes, my sweet. I had my chance to get the family into the Diamond Throne when I summoned Slifer the Sky Dragon in a Duel years ago, but then Daveed, or Yuri as they call him now, was born and took everything away from me. The God Cards must have probably felt ill will towards our family after Julius destroyed House Plantegrast. I may not bear the right to sit on the throne anymore, but it will do my heart pleasure to know my greatest love in the world sits high as Termnnia's High Queen once the two blundering fools of House Delgado are no more."

"I understand, Uncle. But wouldn't it make more sense to have the Ancient Beasts brought to Yuri instead? Why must Hector be involved in this?"

"Because I need war, Alexandra," her uncle replied coldly. "I gave Hector the false hope to be High King so he could rally up the Houses to the south who are under my payroll. As I have planned, Yugi has assembled a fighting force to challenge them. The Gate Wars are almost over, but it came with a very high price. No doubt in my mind Hector's forces will suffer greatly, but if they do, then the bannermen and resources of the Houses that fall will go to us. More money and bodies to further power our House and our Kingdom."

"You're a cruel man, Uncle," laughed Alexandra.

"Yes, and the Church of Yeyu uses King Forrest to weaken the Northern Kingdoms. Soon, my sweet, we will end the line of Norman the Conqueror and reclaim our hold on the Diamond Throne as our ancestors did thousands of years ago. And this time, there will be no one left to stop us. It took many years, but I've finally weakened Termnnia. There will be no rebellion this time. This time our House will rule in a dynasty that will last thousands of years."

"With me as the High Queen?"

"Yes, and then the Dragonhearts will take their rightful place back on the throne, finally since the day Tiberius the Unifier ejected our family from Rassay. You will succeed where my father failed. By the way, congratulations on making it to the house of Obelisk Blue at school. Only the elite of the elite may enter that dormitory, which is perhaps the most exclusive dorm in Termnnia."

"Thank you, Uncle. I promise I will not let you down."

"I have no fear of that. I know you will succeed. My perfect niece. My beautiful girl."

"Oh, Uncle," Alexandra moaned burying her mouth into his for a passionate kiss. She shivered, tasting his breath. The taste was of wine, not to her surprise. She moaned, wrapping her arms around his neck, to which he spanked her. She hooted gleefully and they both laughed.

She felt the royal hands slide up and down her ribs, then falling to her thighs, feeling her shapely legs. Alexandra took a step back and undid her cape, letting it fall to her feet in a crumpled heap. Alexandra unclipped her tasset, leaving her only the white leotard.

Antilles grinned, lowering the straps of Alexandra's leotard off her shoulders. He peeled it off her body, leaving her completely nude before him. The princess felt a chill as the wind caressed her bare skin, dotted with goosebumps. Antilles rose and leaned forward to suckle on her nipples which were as pink and hard as two little gumballs. He kissed her on the lips, chin, and down her neck. Alexandra stood there, letting him do anything he wanted with her body.

Antilles took advantage of this. He told her - no - commanded her to get on the ground on all fours and crawl toward the edge of the pond. He started unbuckling the belts all over his armor until he was down to his trousers and dress shirt. Alexandra stopped and wagged her bottom, tempting the king to come get her. Again, he was more than happy to oblige. He got on his knees and began to kiss her ass passionately as though he were making love to two beautiful women.

_High Queen of Termnnia? My uncle always knows what to do to make me happy._

Alexandra grinned with satisfaction and bit her index finger as she felt her uncle's tongue explore her forbidden parts.

* * *

**Evelyn**

* * *

Sitting high on the dais beside her lord father, Evelyn watched the guests entering the chamber for her father's Name Day celebration. A party, she thought. Another fucking party. She just had a birthday celebration weeks ago. Parties. Parties. Parties. Parties. That was all King Helmsley and Sera wanted to do while Talion was toiling on the field of battle keeping the borders safe.

Now he was gone.

She saw her friends sitting below the salts laughing and jeering. Ser Dancer was teaching Ethan to play Duel Monsters again. Evelyn sighed, wishing she could join them. But, she was the princess, so she had to sit with Helmsley.

"Smile will you!" Josephine scolded stealthfully.

Evelyn winced at those words. She looked at one of her father's Ebony Guard knights, Ser Maximus Valerian, who was a prisoner of war to King Forrest and his church. He stood below the dais with his arms crossed.

He was missing an eye and there were scars on his face, hundreds more on his torso and one of his fingers were missing on his shield hand. If it wasn't for Talion, Ser Maximus would have surely died a long and agonizing death.

What horrors did her poor brother have to endure under his captivity? She dared not think about it. She felt tears bubbling in her eyes and her lips trembled.

"The poor thing," said a woman from one of the banks in the city. "Her eyes are practically glowing with weep."

On a table to the right of the royal dais right sat the newest council members of Elleria's parliament. The lead councilman was a kind and cheerful man who finally replaced the likes of Richard Boroth, the Chamberlain, advisor, and savant to the king. Now he was Marquis under the rule of King Forrest.

Evelyn hated that man more than her father. During dinner, when he lived here, he just looked at her with his eyes as cold and gray as the stone of Castle Alteria.

His smile was like a black and crackled snaked slithering under his crooked, warty nose. Ugh. She remembered the crusts of dried mucus hanging off it and lost her appetite. And his thin neck was concealed behind a white ruffle collar stained with condiments. His sickly body concealed in a black doublet and silk slacks with red embroidery in the shape of flowers.

Even though he was gone from her life, she saw him still - gazing at her as he smiled, holding up a chalice.

Evelyn gave a loud "Humph!" and shook her head to avoid remembering his gaze. He had a lot of nerve smiling at her the way he did. He always did that at dinner. Just looking at her, undressing her with his eyes.

Richard longed to see her body again. He had seen her naked before when he barged into her bath. Her father scorned her instead, demanding why Evelyn hadn't locked the door before.

To make matters worse, he touched her when she was a child, dragging her to dark corridors and putting his hands in places he was not supposed to touch. To objectify her for his amusement, he tucked secret messages into her panties and commanded her to deliver the messages to his friends around the castle. It made her sick to her stomach that her mother and father allowed him to walk back into the castle again after aligning with Forrest. For old time's sake, he said, and for the prospect of peace between him and King Forrest. He was afraid, that's what he was. It brought her great shame to know her family would go down in history as the worst monarchy in history. And there was nothing she could do about it.

Evelyn told Helmsley of Richard's behavior for years. He did not believe her, but Ser Maximus and Ser Kevin did. They kept a close eye on her as her knight-champion before being replaced by the younger Ser Kevin Garot, a Norman boy of twenty. He was standing over Evelyn in his jet-black armor. The black knight of House Elleria inlaid on his breastplate. Ser Kevin looked at Evelyn and smiled.

"I wish I could just cut that horrid grin off his face," Ser Kevin said.

"One day I'll give the order," said Evelyn. "Will I see you jousting again, my knight?"

"My jousting days are over," Ser Kevin replied.

"Oh please," said Evelyn. "You are still twenty. You're still young."

"If something were to happen to me, princess? Who would protect you from the North? Talion is gone. I failed to protect him. I will not fail to protect you."

Evelyn nodded. She could risk losing another knight. If she did, many would start to guess that the title of Knight-Champion to Princess Evelyn would be cursed.

Not that she would have any trouble finding candidates, for down below in the salts were hundreds of the best knights in Termnnia coming to prove their worth in the Duel Monsters tournament.

They all had their eyes on here. A sea of handsome smiles beckoned her. At the nearest table sat Ser Michael Gianni the Knight of Angels, so-called because he used a Lightsworn deck. Then there was Ser Brandon Kyle in his burgundy and white armor with holographic amber ornaments decorating his plating. He carried both a battle rifle and a claymore. Two hand cannons strapped snuggly in holsters on his tasset.

Josephine leaned in. "Surely if Yuri does not tickle your fancy, princess, one of those knights below could."

"Indeed," said Evelyn. "I have my eyes on one now. Ser Dancer."

Josephine scoffed. "You must be joking?"

"You asked."

"Why you..."

The heralds blew their trumpets, announcing the coming of someone important.

"Presenting!" shouted the lead herald. "Master Yugi Muto and his companions, The Heroes of Rassay!"

The doors creaked open to let Yugi and his friends through. The guests rose from their seats to applaud the party of legends that marched proudly into the throne room.

Lady Téa Gardner, the seventh in line for the throne of Gardenrealm in a white gown with silks of a hundred twining flowers glowing in blue and purple and pink.

Ser Joey Wheeler in his Red-Eyes Black Dragon themed armor and his adorable sister, Serenity dressed in a sugary pink gown and white silk flowers speckled her chestnut-colored hair.

Ser Tristan Taylor waved at the crowd in marvelous armor plating colored blue and trimmed in platinum. A white cloth-of-gold cape fastened to his gorget with two pins of sterling silver in the shape of a winged sword in front of a shield, the emblem of his House. Prince Duke Devlin blew kisses at the screaming baronetesses, noblewomen, and serving girls.

Lady Mai Valentine the Delight of Termnnia followed behind, looking around with boredom with her purple eyes. There were many jeers and whistles for her. She wore an elegant red-wine ball gown trimmed and embroidered with gold thread with a plunging back. A red rose was tucked in her golden hair, a gift she received from Ser Dancer just before she came into the throne room for dinner.

"Well, stand up, child!" beckoned Josephine. "Greet them!"

Evelyn stood from her seat and walked down the dais to greet Yugi and his friends. "I was not expecting you," she said. "I thought you would have left by now."

"Thought I'd drop by for a visit," said Yugi, looking up at her. "Thanks to the new airship Kaiba lent us, we can get anywhere in the knick of time. We were in the neighborhood. Again, I am sorry for your loss. I wish there was something we could do for him."

Evelyn waved her hand to silence him. She did not want to talk about Talion. "Well, thank you for coming by," said Evelyn. "My Lords and Ladies, welcome."

"Princess Evelyn," said Mai. "I haven't seen you since you were just a seedling. You've really sprouted into a pretty flower."

"Thank you, My Lady," Evelyn said happily and gave Mai a hug.

"Master Yugi," King Helmsley said, standing up. "These are grim times and much sorrow runs through my halls. But, you are always welcome here. Would I interest you in a table to sit on and some food?"

"Thank you, Your Grace," said Yugi. "While you get the table set up, I was wondering if I could talk to Evelyn in private."

King Helmsley shrugged. "Very well."

Evelyn followed little Yugi out of the throne room and out the halls into the gardens. It was so peaceful, and Evelyn longed to get away from the laughter and loud music. The crickets chirped in the gardens and the waves crashed against the rocks hundreds of feet below the castle. They could still hear seagulls crying in the night. They stopped in front of the garden fountain where Evelyn and Ezra dueled a few weeks before.

"You wanted to speak to me?" Evelyn asked.

Yugi looked down at his Millennium Puzzle and rubbed it with his little hand. "No," he said with a smile. "He did." The puzzle began to glow. "YU-GI-OOOOOOOOH!"

Evelyn shielded her eyes from the glow. When it subsided, Yugi was now taller, his hair more jagged, and his demeanor more mature.

"Master!" Evelyn cried and went down on one knee. She was one of few people who knew of Yugi's bond with the spirit of the puzzle. "How I've longed for your visit!"

"Get up, Evelyn." Yami bent forward and placed his hands on hers, gently. He helped her back up. "I am not a lord, Princess. And you are in grief. I cannot bear to see you bow with your heart already burdened by much pain. I am not only your master, my love, but your friend. So treat me as such."

"No," Evelyn said with tears in her eyes. "You're much more. You are of the Eyar. Agents of Horakhty. My friend Ezra says you are angels of some sort."

"Not anymore," Yami said sadly.

The look of hurt on his face caused Evelyn to feel regret for what she had said. "I did not mean to offend you, master."

"No it's all right," said Yami. "I am not who I used to be. Whatever power I had in the days of old are gone. Now I share the body with a young boy."

"No offense intended, master, but isn't Yugi like...ninety?"

"He's more than a hundred years old," Yami corrected with a gentle smile. "You have not met many Eldoris have you, princess? A hundred is still an infant in the eyes of our elders. My grandfather has lived for more than a thousand years."

"Gracious! I can only wish to live that long."

"It has it's up and downs," said Yami, leaning over the limestone rail over the dark ocean. The wind blew his locks over his face. "The down is I'll outlive many people in my lifetime. Even after you grow old and die, Yugi will still be young and healthy. He'll possibly outlive six of generations of your House."

"Oh my," said Evelyn. She joined him on the rail. "Your grandfather must have seen a lot of people come and go, huh?"

"Yes," said Yami. "Many have died - be it the sword or the slow and agonizing disease of time, my grandfather has seen people come and go. He's outlived his friends. And their children. And their children's children. And their children's children. Many Eldoris, like Zane Truesdale, view our long lifespan as a curse."

"I can imagine," Evelyn said softly. "But I take it you did not want to see me just to talk about the lifespan of Eldoris."

Yami gave a soft chuckle. "No, but I just wanted to personally tell you that Lady Avi will be the key to finally bring peace to your troubled kingdom."

Evelyn gasped. "Goddesses, so it's true? Termnnia finally has its first dragon summoner?"

"Yes," said Yami. "My grandfather and I sent her on her quest. She found a new beast the day before yesterday. King Forrest was sending his troops after her."

"Damn it!" Evelyn cried, kicking one of the pillars. She kicked it so hard she stubbed her toe and cracked the nail. She fell to the ground sobbing and massaging her swollen toe. "Oh, now I've gone and done it. I have to dance with all those knights tonight."

"Are you all right?" Yami asked.

"No!" sobbed Evelyn. "Twenty-thousand men! That's how many he led into Naralia. He can't just have lost like that! Maybe a handful of them could have returned or something. They couldn't have just all been wiped out. It's not possible."

"I don't know what transpired on that mountain," Yami said, crouching down and using magic to heal her toe. "But King Forrest will not get away with this treachery."

"Ahem," said a servant of the castle who was watching from an arched tunnel to the castle atrium. He bowed. "The guests are waiting, Your Majesty."

"Let them WAIT!" shouted Evelyn. "Goddesses, they can spare a few minutes without me!"

The servant bowed apologetically and walked away.

"We must go back, Princess," Yami said. He helped Evelyn back up. "I promise, we'll find Avi and bring her here to make Forrest pay." Evelyn nodded sadly and followed Yami back into the castle. They went arm and arm back into the throne room. Yami kissed the top of her head and said: "If you don't mind, Evelyn, I've set up an opponent for you this night."

"You have?" Evelyn asked.

"Yes. Word on the street is, you've been using those Buster Blader monsters I gave you rather well. Now I want to see you use them."

They entered the throne room, still loud and ringing with music. The air smelled of cooked meat, sweet pie, and tobacco. Yami walked Evelyn to a nearby table where an Eldori knight with spiked blue hair sat with his companions.

"Ser Esther," Yami said to the young man.

Ser Esther recognized the voice and got up from his seat. "Master Yu-Princess Evelyn!"

"Princess," said Yami. "This is Ser Esther of House Little. The Knight of Nekroz and Duke of Chutney."

"It's an honor to meet you," Ser Esther said. He picked up Evelyn's hands and kissed it. "Shall we see if you and your Buster Bladers have what it takes?"

The two duelists took their positions. The guests poured wine into their goblets, ready for a good match. Others started placing bets. They were in favor of Ser Esther.

The first two turns went by. So far all they did was search for cards with spells and play face downs. Then Evelyn's turn came at last. She used the special abilities of her Whelps to bring out a Buster Blader the Destruction Swordsman to the field.

She attacked directly. Ser Esther took it for the next few turns.

Then they started coming out.

Within a few turns, Evelyn was being stared down by Nekroz of Trishula, Nekroz of Gungnir, and Nekroz of Unicore.

They did a serious number on her hand and her deck. Her heart started pounding and she felt beads of sweat coming out of every pore on her body. Everyone was watching for her, ready to make a move. It was her draw phase, but she was so nervous she couldn't move.

But she kept her cool and believed in the Heart of the Cards, some sort of force that Yami and Yugi told her to believe in when she was in a jam. Sure enough, the card she drew was the one she needed.

And before long her Buster Blader the Destruction Swordsman came back to the field, allowing her to use a Destruction Sword monster which she used to Synchro Summon her Buster Dragon, allowing her to bring back her Buster Blader from the Graveyard.

This allowed her to use Destruction Swordsman Fusion and combine her Buster Blader with a Tyrant Dragon in her hand to become Buster Blader the Dragon Destroyer Swordsman.

Thanks to Buster Dragon's effect, Ser Esther's monsters were forced to become dragons which gave Buster Blader the Dragon Destroyer Swordsman an extra 1000 ATK and DEF points for a grand total of 5800 ATK.

Richard spit out his ale. Even King Helmsley and Queen Sera were impressed with what Evelyn had done.

Buster Blader then forced the three Nekroz monsters into defense mode. And he attacked to do piercing damage, meaning even if the monsters were in defense mode, Ser Esther would lose Life Points. And he lost what little he had with one devastating strike.

The blast knocked Ser Esther across the room and he landed at the bottom step of the dais.

All was quiet. Then King Helmsley stood and applauded. Queen Sera followed and then all in the throne room stood to give a round of applause. Ser Esther stood and bowed respectfully for Evelyn's victory.

Buster Blader the Dragon Destroyer Swordsman rested his hands on the pommel of his massive blade, doing an epic pose over Evelyn.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" shouted the crier. "Your winner, Princess Evelyn!"

Whistles and cheers. Joey put two fingers in his mouth and whistled.

Evelyn did curtsy with her powerful warrior standing proudly behind her.

_If you could see me now, brother. Thanks to Master Yugi, we will avenge you. My Buster Blader will also grant me a path to victory so that our kingdom can prosper. The High King will return. Until we meet again, Talion. Watch over us and keep us safe._

* * *

**Yuri**

* * *

Yuri walked the lonely highway towards the secret spot he and Crystal found when they were kids. He smiled when he saw that it stood untouched. The beach was a short hike from a hidden trail that led from the main road. The path was well hidden by a few trees and a tall waterfall as well as a palm that Yuri and Crystal planted to keep their sanctuary safe.

" _This is our spot. Let's make sure no one finds it_." Crystal said the day they planted the trees.

Crystal and Yuri found the spot when they were hiding from their parents. What a night that was. Yuri had never seen Crystal's mother so angry before. All he did was step into their house and she just lost it, lecturing Crystal and scorning her with screams and insults.

Escaping punishment, Crystal led Yuri all throughout the islands until they found their spot and founded it. Needless to say, their spot kept them well hidden for a couple of days before the coast guard eventually started looking for them.

Yuri set up a hammock in between two palm trees. When he saw it was good and tight, he laid down on it and started looking at his Black Tyranno card at the bottom of his deck. He rubbed his thumb on the surface of the monster's picture to feel the rising image and he used his wrist to move his deck left and right to make the holographic foil and gold letters shine brightly in the light of the afternoon sun.

 _Somehow, I feel like you were meant for me_ Yuri thought to himself. _But even if my dad, the creator of the game, doesn't know what you are, then who made you? And why did they give you to me?_

"I thought we'd find that lazy bum here," Crystal said standing over a dune overlooking the beach. Ren stood beside her smiling and he had a platter with three cupcakes one of which had a blue candle burning on it.

Yuri sighed and felt a tad embarrassed. Today he turned eighteen. He sat up on the hammock while Ren and Crystal made their way down a stone path towards Yuri's spot.

"Happy birthday, Yuri," Crystal chimed. "Now blow out the candle before the wind does."

"Hey now," said Ren. "Don't forget to make your wish. You can't have a birthday without a wish."

Yuri blew out his candle. He looked at Crystal and Ren and said, "What more do I need when I have friends like you?"

"You still need to make a wish, silly," Crystal said placing her hand on her hip. Her pink skirt and white tank-top both blowing in the wind.

"What did you wish for?' Ren asked.

Yuri shrugged. "I don't know, something amazing I guess. There's gotta be something better than this. I mean just laying on my butt working the days away in Uncle Sergei's card shop is not how I intend to live my life."

"You'll get your wish sooner than you think," Ren assured him.

By the look on his face, Yuri knew Ren felt confident about that statement.

"And just what do you see for our Yuri, hotshot?" Crystal asked.

Ren nodded. "A grand victory perhaps."

"In the Millennium Tournament I hope," said Crystal. "Have you reconsidered, Yuri?"

"No."

"Well, it's for the best, I guess," Crystal said, accepting defeat. "There is a hefty stipulation to the tournament. Losers must fork over their rarest cards to the winner."

"Wait!" Yuri cried out. "So, that means I must forfeit my Black Tyranno! I'm glad I'm not going."

"It's a nasty rule," said Ren. "But only someone as callous as your brother could come up with something like that. One way or another, he'll get your beast."

"Ugh, he's a complete jerk," Crystal rolled her eyes and crossed her arms furiously over her chest. "I think he did this on purpose just to keep Yuri out of the tournament."

"Is that so?" said Yuri.

Yuri opened the shield on his necklace to listen to the song again. _Passionate Duelist_ Yuri thought. _Perhaps that's what I'll be._ "I'm not afraid of them," Yuri said arrogantly. "Perhaps...I could enter."

Ren raised his eyebrows in surprise and smirked. "Did my eyes deceive me or did Yuri just grow a pair?"

"You make me prouder everyday little guy," Crystal beamed, clasping her hands together.

"Little guy?" Yuri said looking up at her. "I'm eighteen years old today, come on!"

"Little Yuri," giggled Crystal. "That reminds me. Hey, Ren, do you have Yuri's present?"

"I sure do," Ren reached into his pocket to take out a card encased in a plastic sleeve. He handed it to Yuri.

"Little D!" Yuri exclaimed when he laid eyes on the dinosaur card. The image was of a red tyrannosaurus rex, and judging by the name he was going to look small in holographic form.

"Go wild," Ren winked and made a clicking noise, and pointing at Yuri.

"That's not it!" Crystal retorted.

Ren laughed at her snappiness. He pointed at her then patted her cheek to calm her. "I know, I know. Come on, woman, don't bite my balls off. Here, Yuri. This is your real present."

"Now that's more like it," Yuri said looking at his new monsters. There was a Super-Rare fusion monster called Bracchio-Raidus.

"Thanks, guys, for these and for Little D. I'll use him to the best of my ability. These will go along great with the new cards I got today."

"New...cards?" Crystal asked. "What did you get?"

"Boo!" someone shouted, causing Crystal to jump in fright. It was the bug duelist everyone spoke of.

"I knew it would be a matter of time before he found me," Yuri groaned.

"You can't be here!" said Crystal. "This is our secret spot!"

"Not anymore it's not," said Herman, adjusting his glasses. "You know, I've been avoiding Yuri this long because I didn't think he was worthy of my time. But over the past few weeks that I've been here, he and his friends have been making big news around here. I've got to say, for a group of misfits, you guys know how to make things interesting."

"Misfits!" said Yuri. "Yeah, my friends and I are not the most popular group of kids on the islands, but misfits?"

"That's really low," said Crystal. "I suppose Brett put you up to this?"

"He did," said Herman. "Randall Lawson was my former client, but after that punk-bitch, Patty, scared him away, I looked for work elsewhere. I should have sought Brett sooner. He pays a lot better and offers pleasurable company. You were wonderful last night, Crystal."

Ren stepped forward. "What the hell's he saying?!"

"Relax," said Crystal. "We didn't do anything. I just popped out of a cake and sang happy birthday to Brett's right-hand man, Santiago."

"That son of a bitch!" snapped Yuri. "I suppose you'd like to duel? I can't. I don't have those fancy wrist watches you guys carry around."

"They're called Duel Disks," said Ren. "And you're welcome to use mine."

"Then let's get started," Herman said in content. He held out an emerald enameled Duel Disk with amber gems. The monster zones were carved with filigree engravings and trimmed with green neon lighting.

Yuri put on Ren's Duel Disk. It was so heavy. He felt like his arm was being horribly weighed down. But he got used to it after holding it up for a few minutes.

"Let's duel!" said Herman.

**LP 2000**

"I shall begin," said Herman. "Fifty grand to the one who defeats you and brings the Black Tyranno. This is going to be the easiest lump of cash I've ever won. For my first move, I shall place two cards face down and summon Hunter Spider in attack mode!"

**ATK/1600 DEF/1400**

**LV 5**

The arachnid with orange and brown spikes hissed and clicked when it came to the field.

"Ugh..." Ren cringed. "It's not real. It's not real."

"What's with him?" laughed Herman.

"He has arachnophobia," Crystal answered apprehensively, in case Herman decided to take advantage of this and play pranks on Ren with the holograms. The last time someone did that - Summoning a Jurai Gumo card - Ren ran out of the stadium gasping for air.

Herman laughed. "The mighty Ren Kakihara afraid of a little bug? You'd best hurry then, Yuri, it looks like Ren might piss his pants.

"As you wish," said Yuri. "Here comes one of my newest monsters. Megazowler, attack mode!"

The Duel Disk projected a triceratops with yellow-orange flesh, ivory spikes on its back and sides and two large horns and a beaked mouth.

**ATK/1800 DEF/2000**

**LV 6**

Megazowler reared on its hind legs and charged at the spider. It rammed the creature and sent it flying to the air where it shattered.

"Damn!" said Herman. "I wasn't expecting him to fight back like this!"

**1800 LP**

"Don't you underestimate my Yuri!" Crystal boasted, confidently crossing her arms over her chest. "Randall did that, and he regretted it."

Herman chuckled and adjusted his glasses. "Well, I won't make that mistake again. I summon Ultimate Insect Level 1 ( **ATK/0 DEF/0 LV 1** )."

There was a monstrous caterpillar bluish-purple in color with hues of blood red. It was coming out of a red shell of some sort. It made horrible squishy sounds as it moved.

"Why play that?" said Yuri. "It's useless."

"No it's not Yuri!" said Crystal. "It's one of those monsters who can level up. My former teammate had one of those in her deck. They get stronger as they evolve, so you'd better take that thing out as soon as possible."

"Oh, but he won't," said Herman. "For I activate, DNA Surgery! This trap card changes the Monster-Type to any I choose. So now your dinos become bugs! Come on, Yuri. Prove to me that my Ultimate Insect is useless!"

Wings and slimy appendages began to grow out of Megazowler's body.

"Eww," said Crystal. "That's really gross!"

Yuri smirked confidently. "Don't worry, I'll exterminate it. Megazower, squash that bug!"

Megazowler charged.

"Ah, ah, ah!" teased Herman. "I activate the Spell-Card, Insect Barrier!"

Megazowler rammed into yellow laser shield that shocked it and sent it flying back to Yuri's field.

Herman smirked, shrugged, and adjusted his glasses again. "As you can see, this card prevents all insect monsters from attacking me. And thanks to my DNA Surgery card, every dinosaur your play will become a beautiful bug. But they will not harm me, thanks to the Insect Barrier."

"What a combo," said Crystal. "He really knows his stuff."

Herman chuckled and bowed. "Why thank you, my dear. I do believe it's my turn, no? And being my turn, my Ultimate Insect will evolve to Ultimate Insect Level 3!"

**ATK/1400 DEF/900**

**LV 3**

The caterpillar grew larger in size and started forming armor plating. Herman laughed. He was so full of confidence, he could drown in it.

"And now for the fun part. Thanks to a lethal toxin he releases, my Ultimate Insect reduces the attack of your monsters by 300 points. He may still be weaker than your Megazowler, Yuri, but thanks to my barrier, your attacks are useless!"

"He's right," said Yuri, "and that thing is only going to get bigger every turn. I switch Megazowler to defense mode and summon Anthrosaurus in defense mode!"

**ATK/1000 DEF/ 850**

**LV 3**

"Running scared, are we? Good, because you should be, Yuri; for now my Ultimate Insect Evolves again. Arise, Ultimate Insect Level Five!"

**ATK/2300 DEF/900**

**LV 5**

The caterpillar turned into a giant beetle with razor-sharp appendages and a metallic body with a light blue hue. It hissed and clicked. Just like its previous form, it let out a poisonous cocktail into the air and reduced the attack of Yuri's monster, but this time reducing them by 500 points.

Herman attacked with his bug. Ultimate Insect LV 5 jabbed one of its sharp legs into Anthrosaurus's skull. The dinosaur's eyes rolled to the back of its head and he shattered. When the damage was done, Herman bowed again when he saw the look of disdain on Crystal's face and the squeamish faces Ren was making.

He laughed and said: "As you can see, Yuri, bugs are the most powerful creatures in the natural world. They can survive anything, even the extinction that killed your precious dinosaurs." He pushed his glasses back up his nose. "Why don't you quit while you have the chance?"

"I don't quit," said Yuri. "I summon Tomozaurus in defense mode. And play two cards face down."

**ATK/500 DE/400**

**LV 2**

"Yuri, come on, is that it?" Crystal bellowed.

**Yuri-2000 LP**

**Herman-1800 LP**

"I got this," said Yuri. "Don't worry."

"I seriously doubt you've got anything in your pathetic deck that can take on my insect in its final form. Not even your Black Tyranno will be strong enough to take on the Ultimate Insect Level 7!"

**A** **TK/2600 DEF/1200**

**LV 7**

Now the creature grew monstrous. Ren estimated the bug was the size of a yacht. It giant creature sprouted wings. Its color changed to a darker blue with a red underbelly and gold mandibles the size of a man's arm.

"And that's not all I will do!" Herman boasted. "Now, I will summon one of the rarest and powerful monsters in my deck. I use the Ritual Spell known as Javelin Beetle Pact.

He sacrificed two monsters in his hand to complete the ritual. Two gold cauldrons with an Egyptian Wdjat Eye carved in the center rose from the sand. They were covered in insects. The monsters he offered, Kwagar Hercules and Blade Fly squirmed over the cauldrons. Then, the cauldrons let out a hot pillar of steam and sucked the life force out of the two monsters.

The steam slithered through the air and crashed into the sands next to Ultimate Insect LV 7. When the mist went away, it revealed a twelve-foot tall beetle colored a shade of magnificent blue and the joints a light green color. It stood on two legs and wielded a four-bladed javelin. The blades in the shape of mandibles. It made a loud hissing sound like a cicada.

**Javelin Beetle**

**ATK/2450 DEF/2550**

**LV 8**

Crystal put her hands over her head in frustration. The Duel was getting worse for Yuri. "Come on, Yuri!" Ren clapped. "You can do this man."

Herman laughed. "Ha! I think not. For you see, friends, Ultimate Insect Level 7 releases an even more potent toxin into the air which will reduce your monsters' attack and defense by even more points. Seven hundred to be exact!"

"My monsters!" Yuri cried. Megazowler was puffing and wheezing. Tomozarus fell to the ground with an agonizing bellow. He laid in the sand and accepted his fate.

"Oh, and think your Life Points are safe, Yuri? Think again. I activate the spell card, Continuous Destruction Punch! This card is a more permanent version of the Fairy Meteor Crush card you and those amateurs use in the card shops. So long as this card is out, you will lose Life Points even if your monster is defending."

"Oh, this is not good!" said Ren.

Crystal felt dread in her gut. She didn't think it possible, but it was happening. "If Herman makes this attack, Yuri loses the duel!" She covered her eyes with her hands. "I can't watch!"

It made her sick to know Yuri was going to lose to one of Brett's henchmen.

"Say goodbye to your Black Tyranno, Yuri!"

"I don't think so," laughed Yuri. "Your attack activated my trap card, a really rare one to be exact. Negate Attack."

"NO!" cried Herman.

Javelin Beetle ran into a magical barrier. He bounced back, landing with a great crash in the sand.

"You saved yourself this time, Yuri, but I assure you things will be different this time."

"Oh, they'll be different alright," Yuri said. "I've got just the card I need to take you out. I tribute Black Tyranno to have him transform into my newest monster."

Black Tyranno was enveloped in massive, bulky, dark brown armor with gold trim, and Fleur de Lis emblems emblazoned on his massive shoulders and knee guards. There were ruby orbs on the shoulders and knees as well. Its tail grew longer, and its size increased twofold. Long silvery hair emerged from the back of its armored head.

"Come forth! **Kaiser Black Tyranno**!" Yuri announced.

**Kaiser Black Tyranno**

**ATK/ 3200 DEF/ 3000**

"Impressive," Ren said.

Crystal placed both hands over her mouth and bent forward with excitement. "Yuri...what in the hell is that? It's amazing!"

"What is this!?" shouted Herman. "I didn't know Black Tyranno could transform!"

"He can," said Yuri. "Now that he's out on the field, he automatically destroys two monsters. So say goodbye to your Javelin Beetle and Ultimate Insect!"

"YES!" Crystal shouted, jumping up and down with joy. "YES! YES! YES!"

"Now I use Twin Twisters. By discarding a card, I can destroy your barrier and surgery card." Two tornadoes formed behind Yuri and rolled towards Herman's cards. It sucked them up and they vanished.

"My combo!" Herman cried in despair. "No! This wasn't supposed to happen!"

Crystal arched her back and clasped her hands together in excitement. "Yuri! You're getting just too good!"

Ren smiled. "Impressive. I think I might have found my newest rival."

Herman's turn. He used Monster Reborn to bring back Javelin Beetle in defense mode. Then summoned Killer Needle also in defense mode, hoping they could stall Yuri until he could come up with another combo. Big mistake. Yuri also had a Monster Reborn in his hand. With it, he brought back Black Tyranno. And since the only cards Herman had were defense position monsters, it was all over. Black Tyranno smashed past both creatures, stomping them into paste underneath his feet, before bashing the top of his head on Herman. He fell backward and landed hard on his back as his Life Points were reduced to 0 and ending the game.

"You did it! You did it! You did it!" Crystal shouted, jumping up and down. She made a leap and embraced Yuri in a powerful hug. She kissed his cheeks over and over again.

Ren slowly walked to his friend and clapped. Yuri opened his locket so the music box could play the song Passionate Duelist.

"Looks like he's not a little flower anymore," said Ren. "Congratulations buddy."

"Yes, congratulations," Herman said, walking to Yuri. He shook his hand. "Brett had better wise up. It's not safe to underestimate your opponents. I did, and I paid for it dearly. You were a good opponent Yuri."

"Who are you and what did you do to Herman?" Crystal asked. She was right. This wasn't the same brash young man Yuri had been playing earlier.

Herman bowed. "It looks like I have much to learn. I am not ready for the upcoming games it seems. But you, Yuri, you have what it takes to enter, maybe even win the Millennium Tournament. And I know you will rule your father's business well."

"You really think so?" Yuri asked.

"I do. It was a fun experience, but I must take my leave. Happy Birthday, Yuri. I hope we meet again."

Herman turned and walked away.

After he did, Crystal, Ren, And Yuri returned to their homes to get ready for the party. As Crystal promised, it was going to be one that Yuri would never forget. She bought an entire compound of glass and steel that could house all 1000 of their guests.

There were fireworks, a famous DJ to provide entertainment, and Dueling. At the entrance to the compound, there were armed guards from RAPTOR, providing security for Yuri after his tale about the Rare Hunters. At the fountain nearby, was a giant pile of gifts for Yuri which included a new Duel Disk, a giant crate of cards, and so much more.

A RAPTOR Humvee stopped in front of the house. For a second there, Yuri thought he was in trouble. That was until the door to the Humvee opened and a smooth, gorgeous leg concealed in a long, black, stiletto boot slithered out of the vehicle. Patty finally walked out, drawing the attention of many young men who whistled and cheered for her. She looked amazing wearing a tight, very short, white, long-sleeved wool dress with slits on the side to show off a little skin. Yuri walked out of the house and kissed her.

"You look great," he said.

"I look even better out of it, birthday boy," Patty said, tapping his nose. She followed his lead inside to the fountain in the foyer where Tyson, Carter, and the others were waiting.

"This is what I'm talking about!" Tyson said, tapping his glass of punch with Carter's. "Yuri, this is exactly what we needed, man. Of course, this is all thanks to you, Crystal. Thanks for inviting us."

"Of course," Crystal said. She tapped her glass of champagne with Tyson's glass. "You guys have known him just as long as I have. I couldn't just leave you behind."

"Any friend of Yuri's is a friend to us," Ren added, dressed in gothic gentlemen's wear that revealed his chest and caused many girls to look his direction and swoon.

Patty was one of them. She saw Yuri looking a little perturbed and looked away before she made things awkward. She pretended to cough into her fist before she asked a very important question. "Did you by any chance send an invitation to Nick?"

Crystal shook her head. "I did," she replied sadly. "But he never got back to me. I looked all over the compound and there's no sign of him. I guess he chose not to come."

"Forget that hotshot," said Natalya, clad in a pink party dress and white heels. "He thinks he's so much better than us now because he got some new shiny cards and plays on a different tier than before. I mean sure, maybe we did go overboard with the insults, but he was still a friend nonetheless. We were only joking around."

"There's only so much one with so much pride can take," Ren said. "Your pal just couldn't take it anymore and worked hard to prove you guys wrong. And it looks like he did. Who knows, he might be a match for Yuri."

"Fat chance," Patty said, leaning on Yuri's shoulder. "My baby can show that turncoat what for. Who needs Nick? He was obnoxious, prideful, arrogant, and smelly."

"And he was our friend for years," Yuri added. "I don't want to lose him."

Crystal sighed. "You just have to learn to accept that he's moved on. Besides, you all should have known better. Real friends don't make fun of real friends. If you want to jest and poke his ego every once in a while, that's fine, but it looks like you guys tortured the poor guy."

Yuri, Tyson, Carter, Patty, and Natalya looked around with guilty looks on their faces. They knew she was right. But before they could reflect on what they had done, they heard the roar of a powerful engine outside. They each hurried upstairs to the balcony and saw a Lamborghini Vision GT slowly make its way to the front gate. A horde of paparazzi was following it, snapping pictures like crazy to get a good view of the driver.

When the canopy opened, it revealed Brett, who was smashed up in the cockpit with two gorgeous bikini models from Greece.

"Who invited him?" Patty said with spite.

Ren sighed. "He's Brett Martinetti. He can go wherever the hell he wants. I suggest we play it cool so we don't have any trouble tonight."

"Please," Crystal begged. "I worked very hard to set up this party. I don't want him or any of you ruining it. We'll enjoy ourselves if we keep our distance from him."

Carter scoffed and furiously dug into his purse to find his makeup case. "Girl, it makes me sick to know we're breathing the same air as him. Ugh, look at him surrounded by those bimbos."

Just then, a young man joined them. He wore a fur coat and lots of gold chains, which said a lot about his lust for material goods. He stopped where he was, noticing Crystal, Natalya, and Patty were in a row together in front of him. He lowered his sunglasses and admired their butts being pressed against their tight party dresses.

"Nice," he said. "Thanks for allowing me down here, Yuri. Happy birthday, by the way." He bobbed his head up and down as he looked at Patty, Crystal, and Natalya. "Very nice," he said. "You keep good company. Having a threesome later? Cuz if you are, you're going to need a wingman."

Yuri shook his head as though he were a boxer recovering from a punch. "Uh...excuse me, what?"

"Can we help you?" Patty asked.

"You can sure as hell try," the young man replied. He was a famous online personality, and he arrogantly found it odd that Yuri and his friends did not know who he was. "You must be Patty, the girl with that Diabolos card, right?"

"Yeah," Patty replied. "What do you want?"

"Who's your friend?" he asked. "Or is that your butt?"

"Ooooh..." Patty said, nodding. "You go in quick, don't ya?"

"Sorry, guys," said Crystal. "This dunderhead is Lance Peterson. He's MLG as well as a top-tier player. He's got a channel on YouTube and everything."

"That I do," said Lance. "But, as much as I want to be here chatting with the birthday boy, my interest is in my main man, Ren. I've heard a lot about you. They say you're pretty good with a Vampire deck? Wanna try it out against my deck?"

Ren smiled and accepted his challenge. "Sure, on the grounds that you leave us alone if I beat you."

"You'll appreciate me soon enough," Lance replied. He led Ren and the others to an arena on the roof of the compound. They took out their cards and started the Duel.

"I'll start things off," Lance said. "I place two cards face-down and summon Flame Armor Ninja in attack mode. Your move."

"I draw!" cried Ren. "I summon **Vampire Moon**!" he said, summoning a beautiful, pale-faced, blonde girl in a gothic lolita outfit. Her attack was 1700. "I use her effect to send Vampire Grace to the Graveyard. Next, I discard Skull Conductor. And now, I can Special Summon this card. The lord of my deck! Behold, Vampire Lord!"

The girls who were watching the Duel cheered and whistled when the handsome vampire arrived to the field after a cloud of bats flew around the monster zone in front of Ren. He almost looked like Ren, making Yuri feel a tad overwhelmed. The hairstyle - with the only difference being that Vampire Lord's hair was green and Ren's was red - was almost exactly the same.

**Vampire Lord**

**ATK/2000 DEF/1500**

**LV 5**

Ren then paid 2000 of his Life Points to bring back Vampire Grace ( **ATK/2000** ) from the Graveyard. Then, he used the spell, Anti-Magic arrows which prevented Lance from using his cards. Vampire Lord attacked first, destroying Lance's Flame Armor Ninja. Then, **Vampire Moon** and Vampire Grace both attack Lance directly, ending the Duel on Ren's first turn.

"I'm going to have a hard time beating him," Yuri whispered to Patty. "He ended the game so quickly, it was terrifying."

Patty laughed. "Hey, I'm sure you can take him on when the time comes. In the meantime, let's just enjoy the party, okay? Come on, I want to dance with you, and they're playing my favorite song downstairs."

"You might want to hold up on that dance, babe," Brett said, walking towards them arm-in-arm with his two dates. "Everyone, this is Eva and Tula. They've come all the way from Thessaloniki, that's in Greece. And they want to see your Black Tyranno in action."

"Against you or are you gonna cower behind another mercenary?" Crystal asked.

"Against me, of course," Brett answered confidently. "What do you say, Yuri? You in?"

"I've been looking forward to this for a very long time," Yuri growled. "There's an arena upstairs. Let's settle this right now."

"Yes," Brett agreed. "It's time to see which one of us is superior. Your Black Tyranno is impressive, Yuri, but let's see how he compares to my Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon."

They walked upstairs to the arena, which was thankfully empty. Once the guests saw that there was going to be a match with Brett against Yuri, they came rushing upstairs to get a good view. Those who couldn't make it upstairs had to watch the game from screens conveniently placed around the compound.

"Duel!" they both shouted.

"I'll let you go first, birthday boy."

"Fine," said Yuri. "I summon Uraby in attack mode. Then I place a card face-down and end my turn."

"I draw," said Brett. "I summon Blade Knight in attack mode. Next, I will equip him with Legendary Sword, increasing his attack to 1900. Next, I use Card of Sanctity, allowing me to draw three cards and discarding two. Now, I use Double Summon, allowing me another Normal Summon this turn. I summon the mighty Garnecia Elefantis!"

The elephant warrior was rendered on the field. It stomped its hooved foot on the ground and bellowed, waving its curved sword around to intimidate Yuri.

**ATK/2400 DEF/2000**

"Next, I place a card face down. And here's where things get interesting, Yuri. You see, when I have one or less cards in my hand, Blade Knight's attack increases by 400 points, now making him stand at 2300."

"Wow," Natalya said, watching the match from below with her friends. "Brett brought out some heavy hitters really quickly."

"That's the way he plays," said Crystal. "He summons tough beaters to hopefully intimidate his opponents. I hope Yuri can stand strong."

"Now it's my turn," Yuri declared. He smiled. It was a Black Tyranno. However, Brett could also tell what it was by the look on Yuri's face.

"I think I know what' you've got there," Brett said with a sneer. "So I'll activate this. Lightforce Sword." A flash of blue and then a giant sword appeared, hovering in front of Brett. "Now, I select any random card in your hand and my sword gets to work. Your Black Tyranno will now be removed from play until the fourth turn after this card is activated."

The sword zoomed towards the card Yuri drew and skewered it, pinning it to the ground.

"Well, you got a Black Tyranno, but not THE Black Tyranno."

"What are you talking about?" Brett asked. He looked closely at the card. "What's this? Kaiser Black Tyranno? So, Herman was right. Your monster does have some other forms to take. More favors from your daddy, I suppose."

"Oh, shut up," said Yuri. "He's strong, but he's not unbeatable. He ain't broken like many other cards out there."

"Still, it kind of irks me to know you're getting special cards all to your own. But you're right. They're not unbeatable. Your Kaiser Black Tyranno will be put out of play for a very long time. And that's too bad. Your Black Tyranno needs to transform into that thing to take on my beasts."

Yuri narrowed his eyes at him. "Oh, don't worry, Brett. I've got plenty of monsters looking to take you down. This is payback for what you did to me and Crystal that night!"

"All right, tough guy, show me what you've got!"

"With pleasure. I summon Big-Tusked Mammoth!"

Yuri slapped the card on the playing mat and the projectors hummed as they displayed the giant, purple-furred mammoth with bronze tusks. The creature reared on its hind legs and bellowed.

"Now, I play the Field Spell, Gaia Power." The arena's steel and neon trimmed field faded and was overcome with tall grass, boulders, and a tall tree grew from the center. "This card will increase the attack of our Earth Monsters by 500 attack points but decreases their defense by 400. Now Big-Tusked Mammoth stands at 2500!"

Brett fixed his hair. "True, but my Garnecia Elefantis is also an Earth Monster. His attack points have increased to 2900. You just made him stronger, fool!"

"Don't count on that, Brett. I use the Spell Card, Shrink, which will reduce your elephant's attack by half."

Brett went as stiff as a board. "Huh?"

"Yes, and now I reveal my face-down card. Fossil Excavation. Now, I'll discard a card and summon a Dinosaur from my Graveyard. I'll revive the dinosaur I just discarded. Sword Arm of Dragon!"

The four-legged dinosaur's fossil rose out of the ground via magical crane that appeared from nowhere. When it stood next to Big-Tusked Mammoth, its flesh magically formed over the bones and the creature was reborn.

**ATK/1750 DEF/2030**

"Now, I'll boost his power with this card. United We Stand. This card will increase his attack by 800 for each monster I have on the field, so he gets a 1600 point boost, increasing his attack to 3350! And don't forget. Since he's an Earth Monster, he gets another 500 points from Gaia Power."

**3850**

"Wow!" cried Patty. "Yuri really beefed that monster up."

"That Sword Arm of Dragon is stronger than anything Brett has in his deck, too," Natalya added. "He's got the bastard cornered."

Yuri held out his hand and shouted: "Now, Sword Arm of Dragon, attack Brett's Garnecia Elefantis! Sword Tail Slash!"

Sword Arm of Dragon charged across the field then stopped to turn its body before whipping its blade-like tail, striking Garnecia Elefantis in the chest. Yuri then commanded Big-Tusked Mammoth to attack. It struck Blade Knight with a powerful headbutt and shattered it to pieces.

Brett sighed as his Life Points fell to 2850. "You lucky bastard. Just watch what I can do." He drew. "Perfect." He kissed the card. "Always comes up when I need it."

Of course, it did. He kept a card in his sleeve and with fast hands, he made it seem like he drew it.

"Card of Sanctity. Now we both draw until we have six cards in our hands. A whole new game for me, Yuri. You think you're so tough because you got a power bonus from your spell cards? Well, I'll show you. I activate, Harpie's Feather Duster. This will destroy all Spell and Trap Cards you control, so now your monsters return to their pitiful base attack. Now, I'll discard Thunder Dragon from my hand to draw two more from my deck. Now, I use Polymerization to fuse them together so they can form my ultimate beast. Come forth, Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon!"

"Uh oh," Crystal said when the strange beast appeared from a bright display of lightning. "Brett's ace has appeared. And Yur's monsters are nowhere near strong enough to beat him."

"And I have yet to make a Normal summon," Brett continued. "Well, here's another monster for you to contend with, Yuri. Mr. Volcano, with an attack power of 2100! Attack his Sword Arm of Dragon, Mr. Volcano!"

The fiery gentleman created a ball of fire with his hands and created a dazzling display as he came to a stop.

"Your monsters cannot attack the moment they are summoned thanks to my mammoth!" yelled Yuri.

"Your mammoth will have no such power here, Yuri. I use the spell, Tribute to the Doomed, which sends your beast tot he Graveyard."

Big-Tusked Mammoth was wrapped in bandages and then a red, demonic hand grabbed it and pulled it to the Graveyard. Now, Brett was free to attack, but not before he raised his Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon's attack with Ax of Despair, increasing his ATK to 3800. He attacked Yuri's Sword Arm of Dragon and blasted it after summoning a lightning bolt with the long horn on its snout, dealing massive damage to Yuri.

"Your move, Yuri."

Yuri breathed heavily and placed his fingers on his deck. "I summon Black Tyranno!"

When the black prehistoric titan appeared on the field and roared, the guests went wild and cheered. They drew out their phones and started taking pictures of the monster.

"It's ace versus ace!" Crystal squealed in delight.

"What's there to be excited about?" asked Carter. "Look. Brett's monster has way more attack points than Black Tyranno. As much as I love the big guy, I'm sorry to say he's outmatched."

Brett sneered. "At last, I can finally prove that my Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon is far superior to your pathetic fossil, Yuri. How I savored this moment. All those silly legends. They die today. I'm better than you. My Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon is better than your Black Tyranno. And now I'll prove it. And I took out your Black Tyranno's only means of offense against my dragon. Your Kaiser Black Tyranno is still out of play. Your Black Tyranno is weak, Yuri!"

Yuri sniggered. "Yes, but Black Tyranno has another new and powerful form. After so many years on top of the food chain, he has taken over all the animals of the ancient world. Watch as my Black Tyranno becomes..." Yuri sacrificed his Black Tyranno for his ultimate form: "King of the Prehistoric Beasts-Neo Black Tyranno!"

"WHAT!" Brett shouted.

The crowd went silent as Black Tyranno reared up its head and gave a loud bellow into the afternoon as it was overtaken by a formation of rocks. The rocks began to glow with red runes and a shiny circle with intricate magical designs appeared over the rocks. It started to spin and shot down a beam of light onto the rocks and then BOOM!

The rocks imploded and a beast standing twenty meters tall and as long as a football field stepped forward. Crystal and the others began to back away in awe as the strobe lights and lasers revealed hard, iron-like scales as black as night. There was a spear on the tip of its tail, heavily armored as was all of its body. Two large sails protruded from its back; dark blue on the top of turning a shade of violet at the bottom. It had a crown of spikes on its head surrounding a purple orb, and sharp sword-like blades came out of its elbows. A white beard swirled underneath its chin and its eyes were like two gold orbs.

**King of the Prehistoric Beasts-Neo Black Tyranno**

**ATK/ 3300 DEF/3000**

"Yuri, what a monster!"

"And he also comes with his own surprises," said Yuri. "See, for every dinosaur that I have on the field and in the Graveyard, Neo Black Tyranno gains an extra 500 attack and defense points. So, first, I'll activate my Graceful Charity, allowing me to draw three cards and discarding two. That's Uraby and Sword Arm of Dragon, plus the Megazowler and Black Ptrera I discarded with Graceful Charity and finally, Black Tyranno. And let's not forget Neo Black Tyranno as well. That's six monsters."

**Neo Black Tyranno**

**ATK/ 6300 DEF/6000**

Crystal didn't know whether to laugh or shout. This was it. Yuri was going to beat Brett. Here. At his own birthday party. Patty leaned on Crystal to hold herself up. They both laughed hysterically, gazing at Neo Black Tyranno.

"ATTACK!" Yuri shouted.

Neo Black Tyranno opened its mouth and charged up a purple laser that made an ear-piercing metallic humming sound. Just as it fired, the holograms disappeared.

"Hold on," Brett said, his ear to his cellphone.

"WHAT!" shouted Yuri.

"If you insist," Brett sighed. He hung up. "Sorry, but this Duel is canceled. I have important matters to discuss with my uncle. So long, Yuri. Happy Birthday."

"Asshole!" shouted Patty. "This isn't over! This still counts as a loss!"

Brett didn't listen and took his dates downstairs. When the tension died down, the party resumed. But Patty, feeling excited about what she saw took place, could not contain her thirst for Yuri any longer.

"Follow me," she whispered.

"People are going to notice if we're gone," Yuri whispered back.

"Are you kidding? Look at this place. Nobody's gonna notice if you disappear for an hour. Maybe two. Now come on! I want it! Give me it!" She dragged him out of the roof. Yuri followed her lead downstairs where they danced. Patty had a bottle of wine in her hand, which she chugged down until she was drunk and wild.

She started getting handsy with him and grew to be too much for him to control. Yuri ultimately decided to retire to his room. They raced through the compound to the private rooms upstairs, kissing and yanking at their clothing throughout the journey. When they were alone in the hallway outside of his room, Yuri lifted Patty's dress until he exposed her backside. The black thong she wore was wedged so deep into the crack of her yoga-firm buttocks it was almost invisible. He pinned her against the wall, burying his mouth into hers and rubbing his hands up and down her ass. Her wine-laced tongue slithered into his mouth. Yuri felt her unbuckling his diamond-crusted belt buckle. He smacked her butt, forcing her to cease and making her giggle. Yuri lifted her up. Patty wrapped her legs around his waist and Yuri carried her into the bedroom

Thankfully, his private quarters was built with soundproof walls. Even though they didn't completely drown out all the sound, the music was reduced to nothing more than a few loud, but soft bumps. He laid her down on the bed and watched her undress. She didn't wear a bra. Her breasts bounced free from the confines of her dress. She then unzipped her boots and took them off as Yuri took his pants down. The siren gazed at him, snarling like a starving lion. It was her turn to dominate him. She lifted him by the tie still wrapped around his neck and forced him to sit down on the bed. She pulled his boxers down and smiled before she pleasured him with her mouth.

Unbeknownst to him, or anyone at the party for that matter - someone had snuck into the compound, concealed in the shadows.

* * *

Serenity placed her finger on the earpiece. "I'm in," she said. "Wow, this party sure is something else. Mai wasn't kidding about that girl, Crystal. She must love him very much to have thrown this kind of party. Just the entertainment alone could bankrupt Kaiba!"

"I highly doubt that," Mai's voice responded. "Don't focus on the festivities. That's Yuri's affair. Just make sure to hand him his present and be back before time runs out. We don't have much of it before Antilles' forces arrive to close this Gate. I want to be out of here by then, please."

"Don't worry," Serenity said, sneaking toward the presents. "I'm going to make sure he gets it."

She reached into her coat and pulled out a black, velvet box with a red ribbon. She kissed it lovingly and set it down on the pile of presents.

"He's your responsibility now," she whispered. "Take care of him. The fate of the world rests on both of you."

* * *

**End of Part 1**


	42. An Unexpected Guest

* * *

Yami paid a few extra coins to the innkeeper to leave the bottle of Emboldorian wine. Without a word, the innkeeper handed him the bottle and resumed his duties, praying to the Goddesses that the wizard didn't burn his establishment down in a fit of drunken rage. Yami was on his fourth round, but he showed no sign of drunkenness. He was still proper and calm. No doubt his immunity had to be cheated by some spell. Any normal person would have been knocked out by now or wobbling upstairs arm in arm with a pretty paladin or a fair elven archeress. 

Suddenly the inn rumbled. The patrons all paused, wondering what in the world was going on. They soon realized some rich snob from Eredas had come by, disrupting the peace of their medieval culture with their Eastern technology. It had to be one of those fancy starships that constantly leave contrails crisscrossing in the skies. And then, all was still. Silent. 

The door to the inn slowly opened. Instead of seeing a figure in typical adventure gear, say a suit of armor, a leather jerkin, or what have you, he was clad in rich, silky black cloths. A blazer with a vest underneath and slacks.

"I thought I'd find you here," said the figure, walking towards the bar to sit next to Yami. "I see the prince's birthday has made you happy."

Yami looked at his guest while slurping down more wine. "Zane?" Yami said, setting down his engraved, silver goblet. "Fancy seeing you here, son. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Just came by to give the kid his present." He lifted the left part of his blazer and reached into a compartment where he pulled out a small box decorated in colorful wrapping paper. "I hope I'm not too late."

Yami smiled and shook his head. "No. I know someone who can get to Yuri's world without the use of a Gate." He took the gift and put it in a pocket in his cape. "I'll see to it that he gets it. But, you came a rather long way just to give Prince Yuri some birthday present, Zane. Is there something on your mind."

"Yeah. I know that when Yuri gets back he's going to have his hands full with the training in Aurelia. Even then, it's still a long way to go before then. I thought your Alliance buddies could use a little help."

"Help?" Yami chuckled. "What are you suggesting?"

"Yeah, see, uh,  we're putting together a team."  

 


	43. The Book of Heroes: Volume I

* * *

**The Loremaster**

* * *

A lone knight sits by the fire, poking at the logs with a stick to keep it burning. Crickets chirp in the grass and katydids hiss gleefully in the trees. A night bird squawks somewhere in the distance. The knight is clad in rusty, bluish-steel armor with a tattered cloak around his neck and flowed over his shoulders. A massive greatsword is strapped to his back, wrapped with multiple strands of linen cloth. His face is concealed behind the visor of his helmet, crested with a bluish-black plume. He sighs as the fire crackles in front of him and then gazes at the dark silhouette of the Great White Mountains looming over the dark pine forest. A great, golden eagle rests on his left pauldron. She squawks and flaps her wings.

A girl, fully plated in armor made of steel with a white surcoat edged with light blue walked out of the darkness of the forest. On her back she carried a massive greatsword with a gold guard shaped like an eagle spreading its wings.

"Well met," she said to the lonely knight. "My name is Colette. I've traveled for days looking for you."

"Hello there, traveler," the knight said with a wave. "You caught me at just the right time. Don't worry about Diana. She always gets her feathers ruffled up after a battle. And we had a tough one earlier."

Diana screeches again and ruffles her feathers as the knight leans back on the log and kicks his feet up on a stone.

"Did some adventuring, have you?" said Collette. She sat down on a stump. She picked up her long, blonde, braid and twirled it around her finger.

"Yup, I just finished raiding an old Elvish ruin." The knight revealed a knapsack full of rare and magical trinkets, and a heap of ancient gold coins.

"Impressive," Colette said with a nod.

The knight agreed. "Some pretty good stuff. Although it would have gone better without battling that no good Headless Knight."

"What's that?"

"What's a Headless Knight?" the knight said surprised. "Being a Duel Monsters fan, I would hope you know. Well, it's this horrible monster that's been created from the tortured soul of a soldier who lost his head in battle. They have been known to stalk old Elvish ruins and ancient Norman burial mounds. They can grow to great lengths. Some foolhardy adventurers have reported encountering Headless Knights as tall as up to twenty feet. And lemme tell ya. Whatever their size, they are tough bosses. But, if one's around, you'll know there's some good loot to be had. A word of advice, traveler, go with a seasoned group of warriors from the Adventurer's or Fighter's Guild before doing such a thing. It doesn't matter how well-armed you think you are. If you're still a young adventurer who just went out the door, you'd best get some experience before you go dungeon raiding. I once saw a group of youngsters who tried to raid a goblin horde when they were still green. Nobody ever saw them again."

The fire snaps after he says this.

"But I reckon you're not here to talk about adventuring. No, you look like you can handle yourself. I can tell you've seen many adventures in your time. You're here for a story."

"How did you know?" asked Collette

"How did I know you wanted me to tell you the story? Well, for one, you wouldn't have come all the way out here in the ass-end of nowhere looking for me. Especially not if you didn't know who I was. I am the Loremaster. A teller of stories. Stories of great heroes and songs. As you may or may not know, I don't raid dungeons for treasure. No, no. As much as I'd like to find a golden set of armor, a sword used by some forgotten hero, or a chest full of coins, my idea of treasure is the history of those. I tend to scavenge for books, scrolls, old texts, things of that nature. I love stories and every dungeon and ruin has a story to them. The more we learn about our history, the better our future can be. If we forget our history, we're doomed to repeat it over and over again."

He coughs into his hand. An owl hoots and a fox yelps in the distance.

"But I digress. You came to hear me tell you a story."

"Yes," Collette answered. Her beautiful cerulean eyes peered at the thick tome hooked to the knight's belt. "Specifically that one. The book of heroes. They say you know everything there is to know about all the greatest warriors in Termnnia. I would like to know about them. Mayhaps you'll even write about me one day. Possibly even put me into that book."

"Mayhaps," the knight replied. "History will determine if you're worthy enough of your own song. Well, traveler, I don't normally tell stories without a fee. But, you trekked through the Askar Forest alone, and at night, no less, just to seek me out so you have my respect. Just for that, I'll give you a freebie. Which story would you like to hear first?"

"I would like to know more about our High King," said Collette. "There is a lot of mystery and controversy surrounding where he's been all these years. Perhaps you can clear that up for me."

"Indeed I can," said the Loremaster. "You've seen much Prince Yuri's experiences, but want to know more about his story? Right? Of course, you do. Well, as a wise man once told me: To get to the heart of the story. You have to go back to the beginning."


	44. The Birth of Prince Yuri: Part 1

 

* * *

**Bakura**

* * *

Rain violently poured onto the roof of the Lady Luck Inn, a cozy tavern nestled in the middle of the Askar Forest in the Earldom of Ashford. The trees whistled in the night as the bullying winds rustled their leaves which fell from their branches and glided in the darkness covering the dirt road that cut through the forest and bumped into the sturdy stone walls of the inn.

The warm orange glow in the windows gave relief to the stranger in the dark leading his black horse by a leather bridle. He had a black cloak over his shoulders with the hood down to protect him from the storm. He had traveled all the way from Dragon Rock, a kingdom many leagues from where he was. He noticed an iron lamp, sturdy against the gale, hanging over a moldy wooden sign that pointed west. It read: Ashford.

It is a small town on the border of the Province of Thara, meaning that the stranger still had many miles to go before reaching his destination in the Blue Ridge of the Great White Mountains. The stranger felt his stomach growl at the smell of sweetmeats and freshly baked bread coming from the smoking chimney. Quickly, he led his horse to the last free stable and locked up the gate.

The stranger followed a stone path, passing a garden pond. A frog was croaking on a lily pad but it stopped upon seeing the stranger pass through. Something about him spooked the amphibian causing it to hop off the lily pad and dive into the water with a loud plop.

The stranger opened the wooden door and was graced by a kiss from the hearth burning at the entrance.

In a den lit up by paper lanterns in the shape of fire-breathing dragons, a band played songs of merriment with drums, tambourines, lutes, and wooden pipes.

The innkeeper at the counter grimaced at the sight of the hooded stranger. Men like him always came into his tavern to start trouble. Behind the counter, he kept his hand on the leather-wrapped grip of his rusty iron sword in case the stranger in front of him meant ill intent.

"What'll it be?" he asked.

"Meat," the stranger responded. His voice was scratchy and cold as if someone took a dagger and slid it across the surface of a block of stone. "I require lodging as well, the road was long and I still have a ways to go."

The innkeeper paused while wiping a mug with a linen washcloth. "We have no lodging available," he said. "But you are more than welcome to lay your head down on one of the tables for the night."

"That will suffice," the stranger said.

He looked around for an available spot to rest and eat. He located a table right by the window and slowly walked to it. The maple floorboards moaning under the weight of his belted boots. He pulled up a wooden chair, and sat down, thankful that he was out of the storm. The hairs on his arms stood when the fire in the hearth warmed his body.

An iron chandelier hung from the high ceiling with nine white candles burning bright and scenting the air with the aroma of vanilla and pine. The patrons of the inn spoke of the day's labors and the politicians of the land. From the dimwitted lord of Wingleaf to the good looks of a princess who lived in the White Spire, a castle perched on the peaks of the Great White Mountains, once the stronghold of a powerful lord from House Kaiba.

But those conversations never lasted long in the tavern, for the ale flowed like the flooded creek behind the establishment and the Duel Monsters cards were taken out.

For the farmers of Ashford, nothing beat ending the day at the Lady Lucky Inn with a tankard full of ale and a round of cards. Duel Monsters was the most beloved sport in the land of Termnnia ( **Term-Nee-ah)**.

The object of the game was for players to bring down their opponent's score, called Life Points, to 0. And they did so by casting spells, setting an array of deadly traps and, of course, summoning monsters. There was a variety of monsters to play with. In fact, there were hundreds of thousands of them from cute little furballs like the Kuriboh to magic-wielding wizards like the Dark Magician and fierce dragons such as the feared Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

Here in the tavern, Duel Monsters was but a mere game of cards. But out there in Termnnia's grandest cities, players, called Duelists, had the ability to call monsters in a real form giving the game a greater sense of urgency.

Nothing fogged the mind like an angry Red Dragon Archfiend, which could stand more than ten meters tall, staring you in the face.

The beasts have caused some Duelists to wet their pants and flee from the game in fright. Playing this way was mostly mastered though by the youths who traveled to the school, Duelist Academy, and perfected their craft learning complicated Dueling strategies, sometimes not even flinching at the sight of the monsters.

But as romantic as it was summoning real monsters to the field, the patrons preferred to just play with cards and tabletops. A large group of them gathered some tables together and started the annual weekend tournament with a pot of two gold Star Chips as the prize to the winner.

The innkeeper even held out an ultra-rare card to be won as well. A _Gaia the Fierce Knight_ , a warrior whose power was at the top of the charts with a devastating attack power of 2300.

A player with that monster in their deck would be a force to be reckoned with, for the citizens of the town had creatures with 600, 900, even a mere 100 attack points in their decks.

The games were going well with nearly five participants being eliminated from the tournament. The top player, a farm boy of seventeen, was being surrounded by the inn's wenches coming to root him on.

They were scantily dressed in bodice corsets, which exposed their shoulders, and tan linen skirts opened at the side to expose their legs.

A lacy garter wrapped around their thighs with rare Duel Monster cards tucked into them as payment.

In Termnnia, rare cards were worth their weight in gold. Sometimes being offered as payment instead of Star Chips and coins. Cards could be used to enhance one's deck and possibly participate in the city tournaments for bigger prizes. Or they could be sold for a handful of coin and chips to purchase enough food to last them a week.

The pretty wenches offered the farm boy kisses of good fortune in exchange for a rare card, and his binder was full of them. He was good friends with the son of the Earl of Ashford and had access to his collection, which was why he was trouncing the competition this night.

Sitting alone by the window, away from the festivities, the stranger was drinking from a jeweled goblet which he took out of his traveling back. Its sparkling gems caught the eyes of many of the patrons. He drew attention with his black coat, armored in layers of engraved black steel over his chest, shoulders and around his waist forming a tasset.

His face hidden in the darkness of his hood trimmed with silver, but the nearby fire revealed a mouth twisted into a grin.

He reached under the table and took out a bottle of _Scarlet's Kiss_ , a bottle of delicious wine from the finest winery in the land of Emboldor, a country far to the West. He poured it into his extravagant goblet and took a loud satisfying sip. The goblet was enchanted to keep his drink as cold as the Arctic North.

Bakura was his name.

He was of the Eldori, a colorful race of people who were born of drawings by Nala, the goddess of art and song. They had an uneasy relationship with Men, but these tavern patrons knew better than to pick a fight with Bakura. There was something about him that made them feel uneasy. They left him alone so that they could play cards in peace, yet many were eyeing his jeweled goblet.

"The Dark Magician Girl!" the farm boy said, slapping his rarest card on the table.

"Oooh," went the other patrons. They circled around the boy to get a better look at the card and admire the suggestive art of the most beautiful monster in the game.

The farm boy continued with his turn.

"I will destroy your Eyearmor monster and that wins me the Duel, and the Gaia the Fierce Knight!"

He picked up his winnings, a pile of copper pennies and three gold Star Chips. He held up Gaia proudly.

"A shame we don't have one of those Duel Disks," said the farm boy's opponent, the son of the town blacksmith. "I'd like to have a look up that skirt of hers when she's played. See what color knickers she's got on...if any."

The other patrons laughed and howled with agreement.

Bakura rolled his eyes. Naturally, tavern patrons would make crude comments about their favorite female Duel Monsters. Kanan the Swordmistress was a good topic for discussion, and the Gemini Elf as well. But no monster stiffened a male's manhood like the sensuous spellcaster: The Dark Magician Girl.

"I heard of an old Duel Monsters legend," said a bearded fellow with a round red nose, sitting near a wooden pillar. "They say that those who lust after the Dark Magician Girl just enough, are then visited by her in the night!"

"Ahh, and what does she do?" asked the town baker.

"Anything her chosen lover wants!" the bearded man replied.

The patrons let out haughty laughs.

"Bah, that's an old wives tale," said the farm boy.

"No, it's true," said a veteran warrior with an eye-patch. "There's talk that she visited The Delight of Termnnia, after the Battle City tournament in Eredas."

The men groaned with lust. Meanwhile, Bakura shook his head and took a violent gulp of wine.

"The Dark Magician Girl and Mai Valentine. In bed with one another," the veteran said, licking his chops. "Aye, now that's the stuff of legend. I'd love to see that action take place."

The farm boy gave a great scoff. "Exactly, it's the stuff of legend. It can't be true. I've had the card for months and she never came."

"Mayhaps, she's just not into your scrawny cock!" said the bearded man.

The others laughed again, slamming their hands on their tables, knocking down flasks and silverware.

"I can think of a few things I would do with that rod of hers if she ever visited me!" laughed the owner of the inn. "And I tell you it won't be for making magic!"

"What a bunch of drunken miscreants," grumbled Bakura.

But he had to let them slide and have fun with their petty legends. Who knows how long it has been since these men had any contact with women, save for the Lady Luck's pretty, young waitress who came by to serve him.

"What would you like to eat milord?" she asked.

"Pulled pork," Bakura answered. "And I am not a lord."

The waitress bowed and scampered away.

A miner nearby could no longer hold his curiosity. He sat up and arrogantly walked towards Bakura. He pulled up a chair and sat down. The wooden frame of the seat creaked and moaned trying to support his weight. The miner leaned forward, placed a gloved hand under his chin and eyed Bakura's cup greedily. The leaves of the bushes outside brushed against the rain-soaked window by his table as if pleading to be let inside.

The miner licked his teeth to remove bits of chicken meat and then he stroked his mustache. Despite his presence, Bakura remained oblivious to his guest.

The inn's waitress arrived with Bakura's meal, a steaming plate of pulled pork doused in herbed honey sauce. Bakura paid the girl handsomely with a small sack of gold Star Chips, and with a wave of his hand sent her away.

"That's a mighty fine cup you've got there," the miner said at last.

Bakura paid him no heed and placed a handkerchief over his lap so the sauce would not drip onto his coat and stain the beautiful leather. He picked up his fork and knife and began to eat his meal. He gracefully dug the fork into the juicy strands of sweetened meat and raised them into his mouth where he chewed them slowly. His mouth arched into a satisfied smile, a sign that he enjoyed the taste of his dinner.

The miner continued to watch Bakura eat. There was tension brewing inside of him, and many of the patrons in the inn could sense a brawl was about to begin any moment now. The musicians felt it too, but they had to proceed to play their songs.

The miner was a bulked-up bully with thick arms covered in hair and marred with tattoos and scars from the many years that he toiled in the mines. He spoke to Bakura again, but he said not a word and poured himself another drink.

"Would you care for some?" Bakura finally said. His cold and scratchy voice almost sending a chill up the miner's spine as though embraced by the winds of winter.

"Ah, so he speaks," said the miner. Yes, I have a brother who works up in Emboldor. He delivers me a few samples from the winery owned by a family of Elves. I hate them pointy-ears, but they sure do know how to make a good drink."

"You have a dislike for the Elves?" said Bakura. "How do you feel about my kind?"

He removed his hood to reveal himself to the miner. He looked like he walked out of picture book. His pink hair was multi-layered and spiked, and his eyes were cold and unforgiving. His face was angular, and his skin as pale as death.

"You're one of them Toons?" said the miner. "Can't say I like you lot either."

"Then you must find elsewhere to sit," said Bakura. "For I do not take kindly to the company of bigots. You, _humans_ , are all the same: Greedy, hateful...and destructive."

The miner let out a heavy snigger. "Be that as it may, you've got a nice, fine cup and I want it."

"Do you?" said Bakura. "Are you accustomed to the game Duel Monsters?"

The miner grinned, showing off his teeth, yellowed from years chewing tobacco. "I couldn't call myself a Termnnian if I didn't play Duel Monsters. If you're insisting on wagering the cup, then I say you're on."

"Very well," said Bakura. "I will wager my cup. But you must wager your _soul_."

The miner laughed. He didn't believe in that sort of nonsense. He thought the man in front of him was probably another Murk smoker from the Indigo Mountains who read palms and tarot cards. He agreed to the match, reached into his pocket, and slammed his deck onto the table. His cards were old and wrinkled. The edges, once a crisp white, were now a shade of brown mold.

Bakura placed a black rubber mat on his side of the table before putting down his cards. The miner's eyes widened with awe and greed, for Bakura's cards were shiny as if polished, and the borders were in a bright gold that reflected the firelight beautifully.

"What's your name, good sir?" asked the miner.

"Just call me Bakura."

A loud blast of thunder broke the calm of the night once again.

The miner nodded. "Very well, Bakura, I'll start first."

He drew his card from the deck, adding it to his five-card hand.

"Fine," said Bakura. "We will play with two-thousand Life Points, as I am short on time."

"Fine with me, that'll mean I'll be taking that cup a lot sooner. I summon Bio Plant! With a strength of six hundred attack points. Got anything to beat that, do ya?"

"Is that all?" Bakura chuckled, drawing a card from his deck. "You disappoint me. I will summon Three-Headed Geedo in attack position, and he has a strength of thirteen-hundred, more than enough to take out your Bio Plant."

"All right, you got lucky," said the miner.

He now had 1300 Life Points. He drew his next card after Bakura ended his turn.

"Aha, this'll do nicely," the miner said with a smile. "I summon Crazy Fish, with an attack power of sixteen-hundred. And he will destroy your Geedo."

"Nice move." Bakura picked up his defeated monster card and placed it in the discard pile. "I might have underestimated you. But how can your fish fare with this?" Bakura slapped his card on the mat. "Ghoul with an Appetite."

"That ghost has the same attack points as my Crazy Fish," said the miner. "They'll destroy each other if they battle."

"No, they won't," cackled Bakura. "For I will combine it with the power of the Malevolent Nuzzler."

The miner gasped. "A spell card!"

"Indeed. And a very powerful one too, for this card will increase my ghoul's attack by seven-hundred for a total of twenty-three hundred attack points. And with that, I will destroy your Crazy Fish."

The miner was stunned when he did the math and realized that Bakura brought him down to 700 Life Points. He drew his next card, muttering prayers of blessing from the Goddess of Luck. His worried look faded and turned into one of joy. His spirits lifted, thinking his prayers had been answered.

"Wait till you see this!" he boasted, smacking his card onto the table. "The Millennium Shield in defense mode; now you can't strike my Life Points."

"Hmm," thought Bakura. "A defense strength of three thousand. Impressive, but you'll have to do better than that I'm afraid."

"What are you talking about? You don't have any monster that can match up to my shield. Your cup is as good as mine."

"So you say," Bakura said with a sinister smile. "But watch as I play the spell card, Stop Defense! This will force your monster into Attack Mode."

The miner slammed his fist on the table. "Shit! My shield has an attack power of zero!"

Bakura sniggered at the miner's despair. "I will strike your shield with my ghoul. That wins me the game and your soul."

The miner suddenly pulled out a dagger from his belt.

"You think some Duel Monsters game is going to stop me from getting your cup!"

He leaned over the table, raised up his arm and he jabbed his weapon into Bakura's chest. The man sneered and rammed his dagger farther and farther into his foe's flesh. He looked up to see if his victim had passed but gasped in utter horror when he saw Bakura didn't even flinch, despite the ten-inch dagger was deep inside of his chest.

Bakura looked at the miner and sneered. He raised his index finger and wagged it to and fro over the man's face.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," teased Bakura.

The inn suddenly got cold. The fire went out and the patrons were gone. The calm music was nowhere to be heard. There was not a sound, save for a spine-tingling moan from the souls wandering the darkness outside the windows. They were nothing but hideous, faceless masses walking about outside.

"What are they!" the miner babbled.

Bakura let out a laugh. The look of fear on people's faces made him hard. "They are lost souls," said he. "Doomed to wander the shadows for all eternity. You shall be joining them soon."

The miner's teeth chattered seeing Bakura's face light up in the gloom. At this moment, he knew he would never again see the sunshine. Never again feel the sensation of cold beer run down his gullet. Never would he feel the flesh of the tavern wenches. After this moment, he would know only darkness and suffering. He heard a loud crunch, followed by a sharp, fiery pain below the waist. He coughed and looked to see what had happened.

Jowls made of shadow were clutching his legs and pulling him to the floor snarling with hunger. The miner grabbed the table with all his might calling for help.

"Fool," said Bakura. "It will do you no good. As of now, nobody even knows you're here. They'll have no memory of you. I promise you'll get used to the darkness soon enough."

Bakura took the dagger out of his chest. He licked the blood from the blade and laughed when he saw tears pouring from the miner's face and snot oozing out of his nose.

With a powerful chop, Bakura cut off the miner's fingers. The miner screamed as the jowls dragged him into the darkest depths of the Shadow Realm. And he was never seen again.

When the miner was gone, the fire returned and the sound of music and laughter came back to the inn. Bakura shuffled his cards and put them back into his coat, before sitting back down. His wound healed instantly.

The waitress approached to take his clean plate.

"May I recommend something to follow with your meal, sir?" asked the waitress. "We've got cream caramel, or may I recommend a slice of apple pie?"

"The caramel will be fine, my dear," Bakura said, finishing the last of his pulled pork. "And a little something extra if you could quench a little more than my thirst tonight."

He placed a velvet sack of small diamonds onto the palm of her hand.

The waitress blushed and gave a cute giggle. "I get off my shift after eleven, sir."

"I will see you then," Bakura said with an ear-to-ear grin.

The waitress suppressed another giggle with her fingers and walked away. Her pigtails were flailing up and down as she playfully scampered back to the kitchen.

The doors to the inn opened, letting in a gust of wind that caused the fire to stutter and the chandeliers to shimmy and shake.

"Welcome to the Lady Luck," the innkeeper said to a man, hooded and cloaked to shield him from the elements outside. "Would you require anything?"

"A glass of water if you don't mind," the man said from the darkness of his hood. He quickly shut the door and spotted Bakura.

"So there you are," the man said taking off his hood to reveal his face.

Like Bakura, he too was of the Eldori race. He had light-blue hair, fringed like Bakura's, and he had a green eye and a gold eye. There was a chain with a green gem hanging over his forehead.

"Dartz," Bakura said, gleefully. "So good of you to join me."

Dartz disapprovingly shook his head. "We march to battle, and yet I find you here feasting, drinking and fraternizing with wenches!"

Dartz pulled up the chair the miner once occupied and sat down.

The waitress came back and brought Dartz his water. Afterward, he waved his hand and shooed her away.

"What reason do you have to be so worried?" Bakura sneered. "We have all but won this night."

"There has been talking as of late. Whispers that the song that thundered in the sky a fortnight ago was the harbinger of a great and ancient power."

Bakura scoffed and shrugged his shoulders without care. "It's just gossip."

Dartz leaned forward. "But it speaks truth. The Celtra you were supposed to eliminate gave birth to a child up north. They were hiding from the church inside of a stable until Yugi Motou rode in from the night and rescued them. The child's birth only adds to my chagrin of that flying Duel Monster: The Winged Egg of New Life. It is a special creature the foresees the birth of children. Special children. The egg flew all over Termnnia the night heroes such as Tiberius Pendragon and Gabriel the Black were born. Now it flies all over Termnnia and then a song that causes dragons to dance shakes the earth. The child that the Celtra has given birth to is the offspring of Gabriel the Black, our fellow Eyar ( **eh-yar** )."

"Gabriel?" Bakura snickered, spilling wine out from between his teeth. "I should have known he had something to do with the Celtra's disappearance."

"He is no fool," Dartz said ominously. "He knew we were hunting his wife. I blame you. You give yourself off too soon summoning that Diabound monster. Gabriel can sense darkness and your creature reeks of fell power."

"But now we have him cornered," said Bakura. "There is nowhere for him to run. Our orc's numbers are far too many for those self-righteous Silver Paladins to contend with."

Dartz shook his head slowly. "We should call off the assault."

Bakura let out a laugh in which the entire inn ceased what they were doing and looked at him.

"Outside!" He got up and stormed out of the inn.

Dartz followed cautiously. Though a wizard of great power, he knew Bakura was just as potent, if not more than he.

"Call off the assault!" Bakura shouted over the pounding rain. The frog on the lily pad jumped back into the water when the two men were outside together. "Do you have any idea of the sacrifices I had to make sneaking those brainless orcs into Thara!"

"I have a bad feeling about this, Bakura. There is a force beyond our own at work here. I fear even the Dark Lord is in great danger. He still has yet to recover from his battle with the spirit of the puzzle!"

"How are you an Eyar of the Higher Power?" Bakura flashed his sinister grin. "You will let rumors, stories, and speculation stop what we have worked so hard to achieve?"

"If you wish to go forth with this madness you shall do so without my Orichalcos Soldiers."

"Then I will have the glory, Dartz. I assure you, turning tail on the master will be paid for with deadly consequences."

"I fear it shall be you and your orcs who will suffer on the battlefield. Though a word of warning before we depart. Vivian Wong and her all-woman mercenary group have been bought for by Yugi. She will be waiting with the Silver Paladins in the battlefield. According to our scouts, they have beaten us to the estate where Gabriel and the Celtra live. Hiding in the mountain fortress of Karad-Antha was a tactical choice for Gabriel, but a foolish one. Our fiend riders patrol the skies so they will not get far. Unless the Silver Paladins beat your orcs there will be nowhere for them to run. Good luck. I pray my suspicions are not justified this night."

* * *

**Lore**

* * *

**_The_ _Goddesses of Termnnia_ **

* * *

 

 **The Higher Power:** The One who always was. He stepped into the Void and saw that it was vast, dark and empty. Thus he created from his thoughts, beautiful, divine entities called Endari, or, The Mothers of the World. He is nameless and has never been seen, not even by the Endari. He is the creator of Celtra, Men and Elves, his most beloved children for whom his Endari created the world.

* * *

****

**Horakhty:** Mother of Monsters, Ruler of all Worlds, Ruler of all the Endari. Horakhty is The Higher Power's most beloved creation. She is associated with monsters, goodness, justice, warriors and is the symbol of kings and queens throughout Termnnia. She has many cults following her mostly consisting of women who view her as a symbol of femininity. Others view her as Termnnia's main diety. She is the creator of the _Celtra_ , a divine race of women who were tasked with completing the formation of Keya when the other Endari finished their tasks and retreated to their realms.

Horakhty is also the one who tasked the wizards known as the Eyar to guide Termnnia and protect it when Zorc Necrophades was wreaking havoc on the world. Her four mightiest children are known as the _Entiri_ or Divine Beasts. Obelisk the Tormentor, Slifer the Sky Dragon and the Winged-Dragon of Ra, are her most beloved children. She gave them to the first High-King of Termnnia, Tiberius Pendragon, as a gift for bringing order and the first dynasty to Termnnia.

Her fourth and most defiant son is the Entiri known as Exodia, dubbed The Forbidden One. He is by far Horakhty's mightiest child, whom she proclaimed the Lord of all Monsters because he was also created with the help of the Higher Power thereby blessing him with the gift of infinite strength.

For this, he was arrogant and had done many devious things that have angered his mother to the point where she had him carved into five pieces. His limbs were turned into cards and he was scattered all over Termnnia, only to be released for a limited amount of time when a lucky duelist finds all the pieces to summon him.

Her other children were the _Intiri_ or the Ancient Beasts. These powerful monsters were the first to roam the earth as guardians against the forces of Dark Master Zorc. Later on, they were given to the Delgado family of Feldia. They were so powerful that they were kept hidden from the world never to be used again.

Horkahty's chapel is located in, where better than, Rassay, the City of Kings. She blesses her followers with increased Mana and will rarely give those who pray to her a Duel Monster card. Her artifact is a set of golden armor befitting only noble warriors.

* * *

 **Aafi:** The Goddess of the Seas. Ruler storms, earthquakes, and natural disasters. Her sphere is of sailing, fishing, navigation, and the respect of all sea life. Aafi created the seas of Keya and all the life that dwells in them.

She created the Estera (Ocean Elves or mer-folk) and the Sirens. She has a realm known as Aquas, a dimension of limitless ocean where she rules in a castle of gleaming pearls and coral. The sea serpent, fish, aqua and thunder Duel Monsters are her creation.

Her greatest creation is the Entiri known as Leviathan who was her ultimate tool of destruction against the world during the Leviathan Wars in which she used the beast to flood the world. But thanks to the power of the Ancient Beasts, she failed her mission to turn Keya into an endless ocean for her aquatic-based monsters.

The Higher Power almost executed Aafi for her treason, but Horakhty took pity upon her and had her life spared. Her main chapel is located in White Harbor on the coast of Emboldor where she blesses her followers with increased endurance and speed. She has three artifacts.

Ultil; a compass that leads you to hidden treasure. Seascream, a powerful trident that summons waves to decimate the user's enemies, be it by the sea or on land. It because of this artifact that many great lakes dot Termnnia. The third is Wundil, a finely crafted blade that looks like water made solid.

* * *

 **Entuli:** Goddess of the Light. Ruler of the suns and the moons. She has six wings of warm golden light which she used to form the stars throughout the void creating the first light in the Void.

Her sphere is of goodwill, tolerance, generosity, and faith. The fairy-type Duel Monsters and Arva, the race of Termnnia's beautiful winged-people are her creation. She lives in a realm called Eaven, a world that is blindingly beautiful with golden flowers and vast fields where her fairy monsters live.

There is a city made of gold called Eden where she rules from a castle of gleaming limestone, gold, platinum, silver and diamond. Her temple is in Monde, blessing those who pray to her with a boost in Mana, and luck-of-the-draw in the game of Duel Monsters.

Her artifacts are an enchanted necklace of diamonds called _Ena'Duvil_ or The Stars of the North, and a jeweled sword engulfed with golden flames called the Shimmerblade.

* * *

 **Tenna:** Goddess of Knowledge. Ruler of machinations. Tenna is associated with mathematics, science, alchemy, and medicine. The Machine and Psychic-Type monsters are her creation.

She is the one who gave the people of the land of Eredas the blueprints to create a vast city of technology which would one day be called Domino. She loves the races of Keya and is eager to fill their heads with knowledge so as to move Termnnia forward.

Though she is loving towards the people, most are not fond of her. Those who live to the East, the North and the South are not too pleased with the foundation of Domino.

Some finding technology blasphemous and deceitful as it is a spit on the gifts the Eldari and the Stars have given the people of Termmnia. For this, her only chapel is located in Battle City, a man-made island off the coast of Domino.

She blesses those who pray to her with increased intelligence for a limited time. For this, many schools and universities prohibit students to pray to her during test days. Her realm is known as Machina, an endless city with fair-faced people creating all kinds of machine monsters. Some of these beastly machinations being sent into Termnnia to cause trouble.

* * *

 **Ana:** Goddess of Love and Beauty. Ruler of all things spectacular and beautiful. Ana is associated with art, parties, feasts, and sexual desire. Her creation is the _Neldar_ , the Golden Elves; a race of all-female beings whose beauty is said to rival that of the Celtra.

She has cults following her mostly consisting of women and those seeking erotic pleasures. Her temple is located in the city of Ironfort in Thara where she blesses her followers with wisdom and radiance. All monsters regardless of type or attribute who are beautiful are her creation (Some associating Duel Monsters like the Dark Magician Girl to her when played). She has a realm called Lustos, a dimension where parties last an eternity.

She rules in a festive castle celebrating with her beautiful servants called Divine Seducers. Her artifact is a glowing red ruby in the shape of a heart called Oda. The one who possesses this stone becomes heavily desired by the opposite sex, or, if the user so chooses, the same one. Her child is the Shooting Star Quasar Dragon.

* * *

 **Untolia:** Goddess of Fire. Ruler of the flames of creation. She is associated with volcanoes, droughts, and the summer. Untolia is an Eldari with red glowing hair that flows like flames. The pyro and fire attributed Duel Monsters are her creation.

She blesses those who pray in her temple in northeastern Emboldor with heightened endurance and strength. Some even associate her with dragons even though their creator is her sister, Saafani, though she had a hand in their creation, hence their powerful fire breath.

Untolia formed the landscape that the other Eldari would use to complete their tasks. After thousands of years, she created the rock and earth, the foundation of the world. Her realm is Ignus, a fiery domain where her children, the Pyro live. She rules in a castle made of obsidian deep in the heart of a volcano-shaped like a dragon's head.

She has an artifact to gives to adventurers called Flamehammer, a powerful hammer engulfed with fire that can shatter the earth. Many of Termnnia's blacksmiths pray to her, asking that the fires of their forges burn hot with her grace so their craft is strong. Her most beloved monster is the Infernal Flame Emperor.

* * *

 **Lucia:** Goddess of Nature. Lucia was given the task of creating the trees, the flowers and the fruits and crops for the people of Keya to feast upon. She is associated with the harvest and the forests. Lucia caused all things to grow with her beautiful voice that rang like thousands of silver bells. plant and insect-type Duel Monsters are of her design. She is the creator of the Eldergrow, which are trees as tall as mountains.

One day she grew jealous seeing her sisters creating life. Not fond of just creating plants, she secretly created large golden flowers and from them bloomed her own race of sentient beings, the Nymphs.

The Higher Power was displeased when he discovered them frolicking in the forests and ordered Untolia to kill them with her flaming sword. Lucia pleaded for their lives to be spared but, The Higher Power refused to listen, but then, he took pity on Nymphs for they were so blissful and naive, as Lucia's skill with creating sentient life was not on par with his. As punishment, The Higher Power had her children labeled as lesser creatures, for they were not in his original blueprint for the world.

Lucia's temple is located in Red Garden on the Western Coast of Termnnia. It is in this kingdom that she grew the first flowers. She blesses her followers with increased Mana and resistance to disease, a blessing many adventurers who journey wish to have before going into Termnnia's swamps.

Her artifact is a staff of polished ash covered with glowing roses that can cause all sorts of vegetation to grow. She also has a sword for lucky adventurers called Thorn of Lucia, a red sword with a blade encased with iron thorns and decorated with glowing roses which can drain the life force of fallen enemies and heal the wielder. Only those who protect and respect the forests and all the plants within are worthy to use this deadly weapon.

* * *

 **Dwenya:** Goddess of Justice. She is associated with law and order, legislation, government and peace. She helped fill the minds of Men with the knowhow to build kingdoms and establish ordered and fair ruling governments so as to keep the newly forged kingdoms at peace, for she hates war and violence.

Thanks to the dark influence of Zorc, her work was all for naught. She has a realm of her own called Dovia, which in Elvish means, peace. Her temple is found in many large kingdoms, but her main chapel is located in Katina where she is prayed to for peace within the kingdoms.

Artorigus and the Noble Knights are both her loyal servants from her realm, setting foot into Termnnia to lend aid to High-King Tiberius in his campaign for a united Termnnia. She blesses law-abiding adventurers with a golden, gem-encrusted shield that protects against any attack both physical and magical. Its gems turn dull in the presence of corruption and injustice.

* * *

 **Odivia:** Goddess of Perfection. Possibly the most feared of the goddesses for she wields the keys of life and death, taking it from whoever she pleases. Odiva is the most defiant of the Mothers, ruining the works of her sisters and even the Higher Power, taking the gift of immortality from the race of his beloved creation: Men.

She started the first war on Termnnia when she kidnapped the elves of Arna Eltuve and twisted them and tortured them until they became horribly deformed monsters. The Orcs.

After losing the Battle of Pain, the Higher Power banished her into a realm of endless nothing which she converted into the Shadow Realm. She sent her son Zorc into Termnnia to conquer it and turn it into a realm of darkness, but ultimately failed when Exodia, the Enteri, and the Intiri battled him in the War of the Giants.

Since she is the cause of all things bad in the world, worship of Odivia is forbidden by law, but there are devoted cults of necromancers, assassins, and sorcerers who will pray to her. The zombies, fiends, and many of the dark-type Duel Monsters are her creation, formed by twisting all the good creatures created by her sisters.

* * *

 **Safaani:** Goddess of the Wyrms and Mother of all dragons. The most beloved and praised goddess in Termnnia behind the Mother of Monsters, Horakhty. Safaani with the help of her sister, Untolia, created the most powerful monsters in both the game Duel Monsters and the world of Keya. Safaani is associated with, what else than, the dragons and the wyverns; for they of her making.

She called them all back to her plane when they were being massacred during the Termnnian Inquisition led by the Church of Yeyu.

Since then, dragons have been scarce in Termnnia. Summoners pray to her in hopes of being blessed with a powerful dragon from her realm, but she has ignored them. Thousands of years later, she found the girl known as Avi and chose her to be her champion. Dragon duelists and dragon riders are often the ones who praise her.


	45. The Birth of Prince Yuri: Part 2

**Serenity**

* * *

"I think it's deep enough," Serenity thought to herself as she plunged her shovel into the earth. The rain had turned the hard dirt into mud making it easier for her to dig the final resting place of her friends.

Two beloved companions, she had known when she went to school at Duelist Academy after The Dark Lord Anubis was defeated by her friend Yugi, and fled to the Black Continent.

"We failed…" she said coldly, looking at two bodies lying before her wrapped in white linen. "Forgive me."

The rain clanked on her silver-plated robed armor. Her hair drooped pathetically over her face. She was chilled to the bone but vowed not to move from that spot until she laid her dear friends to rest. A cruel wind bellowed from down the mountain and caused a shiver to run through her body.

She bit her bottom lip while combating the elements until it began to bleed. A trickle of blood oozed down her chin and some of it washed into her mouth with the rainwater. The taste of iron caressed her tongue which was clenched underneath her molars, stinging with a pain that distracted her from the cold.

She bit her tongue for so long she felt any moment now it would be bitten off so she was smart enough to let it go for a while, but only if started getting very cold.

A flash of lightning illuminated the ruins of Karad-Antha, the final resting place of her fallen friends. Though she was grieved with their loss she felt a pinch of content in her heart, for the Dark Lord Anubis had finally fallen.

Dead at last after more than a thousand years at war against him and his legion of orcs from the Shadow Realm. She never thought there would come a time when she would have to fight them. Serenity had heard about those foul creatures in her books and heard tales told by knights at the local tavern.

She recalled the first time she saw one. A misshapen creature of greenish-gray flesh, slanted pig-like noses, large fangs, eyes like burning amber and hair like a thousand spider webs. They were taller than any man she had ever seen with an ape-like walk and a thirst for war and destruction.

She had nightmares for days since her encounter with the beast, wetting her bed even from the terrors. Her friend Ribbon, an alchemist-mage, and an Eldori like her, had to give Serenity a brew with an essence of Nightshade to help her sleep which was a necessity that Serenity needed for she was part of a noble order known as the Silver Paladins.

She worked for them as a healer, for she was a skilled White Mage, magicians who practiced in the arts of White Magic which revolved around healing spells. She heard tales of some who were so powerful they could even put a stopper in death. How she wished she was that capable. Mayhaps, her two friends would be alive if she did, but she was only an apprentice, conjuring basic heal and regeneration spells, called Regent for short.

Serenity growled when she saw worms wriggling in the earth. "Blasted creatures!" She muttered and looked back at the bodies second-guessing her decision to bury her friends into this pathetic muddy pit. She could not fathom the thought of them being devoured from the inside-out by the bugs burrowing through the earth.

"You've been in there all day!" cried the golden-haired Eldori woman named Mai Valentine.

She approached the sorrow-stricken friend of hers. Mai was wearing a set of red enameled plate armor. A sword was sheathed on her back, its guard made of gold with galaxy-cut rubies that glimmered in the light of the torches dotting the campsite around the ruins of the once impregnable mountain fortress.

Her helmet, resting in the crook of her arm, was crested with the likeness of a Harpie's Pet Dragon enameled in black and pink with sapphires for eyes. A shoulder cape of brown fur covered her exposed shoulders with a bronzed brooch in the shape of three Harpie Ladies forming a rainbow-colored X.

It was the sigil of her newly formed House, though small, and made up of women from hedge-knights, mercenaries, and sword oaths.

She made a bit of gold battling in the Kaiba Corp, Battle City tournament making it to the finals, and being the Delight of Termnnia, as she was called for her immense beauty, she received a lot of sponsorship from the likes of Industrial Illusions as their official poster girl for Duel Monsters as well as the endless of offerings of Star Chips from the countless men who were infatuated with her.

Serenity looked at Mai, standing over her from atop the pit. Even in armor, she was beautiful. Her purple eyes were alight with a fiery impatience towards Serenity and her stubbornness.

"I have to finish this, Mai," Serenity said, digging further into the pit.

"It's not your fault. Now get out of that hole before you catch a death of cold."

Serenity didn't listen and continued shoveling the earth.

Mai sighed sympathetically. "Come on, sweetie; we tried our best."

Serenity jabbed her shovel deep in the mud with outrage. She looked at Mai with weepy red eyes and said: "Our best wasn't enough Mai. I did my best, and now an Eyar and the last Celtra are DEAD!"

"Come on sis," Serenity's older brother; Joey said walking towards the grave clad in masterwork leather armor with a solid armored cape of black. The image of a Red-Eyes Black Dragon was sewn onto the back of his cape. "Ya can't blame yerself fer what happened to them. Have ya forgotten their son lives?"

"I know what the baby has done here." Serenity looked at the smoldering remains of what was once a well-fortified fortress built into the roots of the mountain. Piles of dead goblins and Orcs littered the ground. "But it still doesn't change the fact that I lost two people I loved with all my being."

"There was nothin' we could do sis," said Joey. "This is Anubis we're talkin' about. He would'a killed us all."

"He's right," said Mai. "Anubis has killed warriors so powerful they were close to Gods. What could we have done?"

"Not very much it seems," said the snobbish voice of King Antilles Dragonheart of the Kingdom of Dragon Rock. He rode towards them atop his black stallion. He spotted the bodies of the dead Eyar and his Celtra companion and climbed off his steed. His gear jingling with each movement he made.

Antilles's nose was far up in the air and his eyes half-open giving him a tired look. His low tone was drab and monotonous, enough to make one fall asleep. His armor, crafted of polished steel and real diamond shined like a mirror.

The shoulders shaped like dragon's heads and the chestplate decorated with silver filigree carvings and designs. The emblem of his house, a Dragon embracing a heart, glimmered in rubies in the center.

A red velvet sash was hung over his shoulder, and a white cape flew behind him. The hem at the bottom turned brown from being dragged in the mud. His gray hair still had a tinge of blonde, drowned in gel and oils with the scent of amber musk. His eyes were as cold as ice and even colored like it as well giving him a sinister look.

"Antilles!" exclaimed Joey. "What the hell are you doin' here?"

Antilles looked at Joey with an impatient glare. "I've brought my troops to aid you in battle. It seems I am too late?"

"What's your excuse this time Your Highness?" Mai said with a scowl. "Fort Northroot is but a short ride from here."

Antilles looked at her and retained his composure. "The storm proved too ferocious. It held us back."

"A likely story," Mai retorted.

"Whether you believe me or doubt me is not my concern. I have come to see the child who destroyed Anubis." He looked around. "Where is he?" he asked.

A squire, a young boy of sixteen, followed him with an umbrella to shield him from the rain.

"The baby's asleep right now," snapped Serenity. "Leave him alone!"

"What reason have you to be hostile, paladin?" Antilles asked.

"She's probably mad she failed to protect the last Celtra, My Lord," sneered the King's squire. "I always knew those Silver Paladins were all flash and no sword. They failed to protect anyone like always."

"That's enough, Torvan," Antilles said elbowing his squire in the stomach. "It's not polite to instigate a fight. Now, if you please, the child."

"Right this way," Joey said defeated.

Antilles followed him. His knights marching behind him, scoffing at Mai and the others.

"I hate those damn, knights," Mai said leaning against a tree with her arms folded. "They think they're above everyone else because they have a title and a set of fancy armor. I remember when I was a girl, knights were noble and true gentlemen of the battlefield. Now they're just egomaniacs with a thirst for blood and glory."

"I couldn't agree more," said Serenity with a sigh. "And that Antilles. What a creep."

"He can't help it," said Mai. "He hates us Eldoris. I remember a time he called us unnatural beings who should never have existed. Not our faults Nala got bored and decided to bring her pictures to life during the forming of the world."

When Antilles was gone, Serenity continued to shovel the ground, continuing her work on the grave.

"You sure you want to bury them here?" Mai asked sadly. "A hole in the ground is not befitting an ancient wizard and the last Gardner of the World."

"I suppose you're right," Serenity said looking at the pitiful hole she made.

"We'll see they get a proper burial when we return to Emboldor, sweetie," said Mai. "Why don't you follow Joey and make sure that jerk, Antilles, doesn't cause any mischief."

"Oh, right," said Serenity.

She dropped her shovel and climbed out of the hole. Then she started after Antilles.

"Oh, and baby," Mai said. Serenity turned. "If that squire mouths off again, you can kill him you know."

Serenity smiled.

"Don't let anyone say you didn't do your best protecting the Celtra. Not everyone lifted a sword to aid them. If he speaks ill of the Silver Paladins again, then end him. No one is going to miss a squire." Mai gave her a wink.

Serenity nodded and followed Joey. He was leading Antilles to a red tent in the center of the battlefield which was on the other side of a tunnel that led to the fortress. Soldiers searched through the heavy rain for any survivors of the orc army who gathered earlier in the fields to assault the fortress and its small army of Black Luster that guarded the grounds.

They were all wiped out. This hurt Joey when he saw the bodies of the valiant monsters lying motionless in the muck. They were sent to Gabriel by Yami and the High King as a means of protection. But what hope did these poor creatures have against the ferocity of Anubis?

"Tell me, girl," Antilles said to Serenity as they marched across the fields. "What is it you plan to do now that the Celtra are all gone? The mission of the Silver Paladins is over."

Serenity thought for a moment. "I was planning to teach at Duelist Academy?"

"As if," said Torvan. "I've heard a great deal about you, Serenity Wheeler. Before you were a healer for the Silver Paladins, they told me you served in the House of Flowers in Naralia. I once served a knight who paid you a visit during the Red War. He said you sucked his cock like you were born to do it. I don't suppose you'll grant me such favor too."

Serenity gasped in shock and stood still, trying her best not to remember those horrid years as a slave in the House of Flowers, Termnnia's most provocative whorehouse.

"Don't you DARE speak to my sista like dat!" Joey shouted, removing his sword and pointing it at the arrogant squire. "I'll gut ya where you stand!"

"And what of it, Torvan?" said Antilles, again nudging his squire in the stomach. "So she was a slave in the House of Flowers. She has moved up from that and has fought as best she could to keep the Gardeners safe. I respect that, even admire it. Which is more than I can say for you."

Torvan rubbed his aching belly and looked at the ground shamefully. When he was taught his lesson, Antilles put his focus back on Serenity.

"As for your position as a teacher in Duelist Academy, Miss Wheeler, I commend you. It is an excellent career path to tread, for the path of the warrior was clearly not for you."

Serenity felt her heart drop when she heard those words. Perhaps he was right. She took the oath to defend those she loved. Many of them were now in graves. Her two best friends were the latest victims of her failure. She was glad it was raining heavily. The raindrops of the storm mixed with the tears that were rolling down her pretty face. The thunder muffled her hiccups and sniffles.

"You Dragonhearts are just like the Kaibas," Joey said with spite. His long blond hair was sagging over his face. "Cold and arrogant," he continued. "You should wed to combine your Houses."

He continued to lead Antilles through the muddy battlefield until they reached the bottom of a hill with a path that was lit up by iron lamps rocking back and forth in the heavy wind as they hung on wooden posts.

A Blackland Fire Dragon in gold-plated armor stood near the tent like a guard dog along with two Buster Bladers draped in royal purple hoods trimmed with gold thread. They had their hands resting on the pommel of their massive blades.

"You will let me through!" Antilles ordered the two monsters arrogantly holding out his hand.

"Be quick!" one of the Buster Bladers said with a booming metallic voice.

"I will spend all the time I want." Antilles snapped at the monster.

"We have orders from the High-King that no one is to disturb the Great Hero!" The other said loudly, clearly not in the mood to deal with Antilles's insolence.

"Great Hero?" scoffed Antilles. "Indeed."

"Six minutes," The first Buster Blader snarled. "Or we will escort you out with force."

"I'll keep that in mind," Antilles said pulling open the flaps to the tent.

A blast of warmth greeted him. There was a roaring fire in a pit and bronzed torches stood on every corner. The floor was covered in bear furs and crimson rugs. Then he saw a white crib and what looked like a bundle wrapped in gold and royal red blankets. An Eldori woman stared into the crib dressed in tight black leather gear that formed perfectly with her curves.

A large, ornate odachi was sheathed on her back, and a heavily modified battle rifle was swinging from a sling over her shoulder. Her face was caked with mud and dried blood.

"What is this mercenary doing here?" Antilles said folding his arms.

"This mercenary pulled the baby out of the wreckage of the house!" Joey said, balling his fists. "So show sum respect will ya!"

"Vivian?" Serenity asked.

"Vivian Wong?" Antilles said with interest. He placed his index finger on his lips. "The Lady Dragon of Uzumé?"

"I am," Vivian said weakly. Her voice was raspy from all the yelling she did in battle.

"Well done," Antilles said, stepping forward. "I suppose congratulations are in order for recovering the child from the ruins."

"Thanks…I guess," said Vivian, followed by a cough to clear her throat.

Antilles stopped a few paces from the crib and bowed respectfully. "If you please, Miss Wong, I came to see this hero."

"By all means," Vivian said taking a step back.

Antilles walked forward. "Stay!" he commanded his squire like a dog, then proceeded forward to see the child.

He could hear cooing and timid yawning coming from the crib. He pulled one of the blankets back and saw a patch of black hair underneath. The baby was sound asleep. Antilles removed his black glove from his right hand and touched the child.

The baby's little arms shook when he felt Antilles' cold fingers on his head. It rolled around trying to get away from him.

"Such a cute little thing," Antilles said. He began to laugh like he had gone mad. "So hard to believe," he said stroking the baby's hair with his finger, "that one so small has ended an enemy so powerful that not even the Eyar could stop him. What miracle does this child possess that caused him to succeed where so many others have failed?"

"Possible spell backfiring; influence from his father, we don't know," said Vivian.

Antilles looked at her as she stood on the other side of the crib. "And Anubis's item…. the Pyramid of Light. Do you have it?"

"No," Vivian responded quickly. "Once the fire died down we sent some Citadel Mages to examine the ruins. The item was never found. It must have been destroyed or has been stolen. I say stolen. Anubis's lapdog Bakura was here."

"The Reaper?" gasped Torvan. "Bakura was here in this battlefield?"

"Yes," said Vivian. "He and I were locked in intense combat. It wasn't until the death of Anubis that he realized all was lost, and he fled into the mountains. I sent my best soldiers to chase him down, but they never found him."

"Pity," said Antilles.

"Yeah," Joey said slamming his fist into the palm of his other hand. "Pity he didn't stay so I could'a knocked da stuffin' outta him. He musta been da one who ratted out my friends, Gabe and Rosie, to that scumbag, Anubis."

"You wish to fight Bakura?" said Vivian with a scoff. "Wheeler, if you want to die so badly I'll let you walk into my sword."

"Ha, ha, ha!" sneered Joey.

"I meant no offense, of course," said Vivian. "But I'm a better fighter than you, and I was almost pummeled. He killed many of my girls as well, all excellent swordswomen. Bakura's skills are unlike anything I've ever seen. And that monster of his. Diabound. Incredible power."

"Nothing my Red-Eyes Black Dragon can't handle," said Joey.

"Diabound is a direct offshoot of Zorc," said Antilles.

Saying the name of the evil monster sent a shiver down Torvan's spine.

"A Red-Eyes Black Dragon would not be enough to fight it," Antilles continued. "I doubt even the white dragon could stand against it. I must ask, what is to become of the child? And why has the High-King placed him under such a heavy guard?"

"High-King Antar has shown great interest in the baby," said Serenity.

"Whatever do you mean?" said Antilles.

"You haven't heard?" she responded with a smile. "You're looking at Termnnia's new prince."


	46. The Birth of Prince Yuri: Part 3

**Yugi**

* * *

The chirping of birds was the first thing Yugi Muto heard when he finally awoke from his slumber. The Eldori boy's heavy eyelids forced open to a crisp autumn morning outside of his estate. It was a grand home nestled on an island in the middle of a lake with water as smooth as glass and fresh as a summer breeze. Yugi smiled and cupped his right ear with his hand so as to listen to the chorus of birds chirping and the echoing roars of dragons hunting deer in the distance. The white bedsheets draped over him to conceal his nakedness.

The King of Games is what they called him, for he is the best Duelist in the world, having only been defeated a few times. But he did not reach the top alone.

Yugi looked at a 3D puzzle made of gold, sitting by his night table. Inside, slept the spirit of an Eyar, who was once the Pharoah of Sobek, The Land of the Sun, many leagues across the ocean. He was known as the Nameless Pharoah, though his friends called him Yami.

But to Yugi, he was Partner. Aibo.

The both of them had been through so much together, winning both the famous Duelist Kingdom Tournament and the Battle City Tournament, cementing their legacy as the King of Games.

Yami and Yugi became so well-known throughout the continent, that High King Antar even asked him to be his High Chancellor, the right hand of the High King.

 _"You have the capabilities of a great leader, Spirit,_ " Antar said to the Pharoah that day whilst they walked down the halls of his home, The Spire of the Kings, the central hub of power in Termnnia built so high the king slept in the clouds. The Elves who built it said it brought the High King closer to the Goddesses and their master, The Higher Power.

Antar was one of the few people in Termnnia who knew that Yami was actually the spirit of the Pharoah, living inside the puzzle with Yugi as his vessel.

Even with his rich knowledge of the ancient times, High King Antar still could not tell Yami much of his past, save that he was once a legendary Eyar sent by the Goddesses to fight Zorc Necrophades, the embodiment of all evil.

But Yami didn't mind. He and Antar were like brothers, a friendship that was forged when they fought in the Wallcroft Rebellion, a bloody civil war that toppled the usurper High King Julius of House Dragonheart from the throne after he took it from Antar's father in a Duel and slaughtered his sons and fed their corpses to Des Volstgalph, the main dragon of their House, and ruled Termnnia for five years in with a first of iron.

Antar of the House of Wallcroft was already a well-beloved leader as King of the Blue Mountains and head of the cadet branch of the House of Plantegrast, which held the Diamond Throne for centuries before the Dragonheart Rebellion.

Antar had support from every kingdom in Termnnia and fought High King Julius in the Battle of Gaia Fields.

Yami remembered how young and fit Antar was that day as he stared out the window in spiritual form. The King of the Blue Mountains was adorned in armor of solid steel plate with a yellow surcoat, a suit of chainmail and wearing the horned helm of his House, his family sigil being that of a Mountain Ram.

Julius in his black armor set with a helmet in the likeness of five Des Volstgalphs hissing with fury and breathing fire thanks to cleverly placed machinations in his helmet that gave him a frightful look.

The two battled in the river while Gabrielle the Black was having a magical battle with Julius's sorceress Queen Belladonna the Flaming Queen; a pyromancer and Summoner who called forth an Infernal Flame Emperor into the field and burned half of Antar's army into ash.

But Antar was able to control the beasts Julius could not. The Divine Beasts, more popularly known as The God Cards. Since he was the rightful king, they obeyed him. And thus, Antar called the Winged Dragon of Ra who brought ruin to Julius's army with one mighty swoop. In his shock, Julius failed to see Antar's battle-ax which cut him in half with one mighty blow.

With his death, the rebellion was won. In the middle of the battlefield, Yami placed the Red Dragon Crown atop Antar's head and declared him High King of Termnnia. After Antar's coronation, he decided to give Gabrielle the title of Court Magician and Yami the title of High Chancellor. But he refused.

"I would be the second most powerful man in Termnnia," Yami replied with a chuckle. "It is not a responsibility I wish to be burdened with."

Being one of the Eyar, Yami did not need any more power. His concern was focused on four mysterious golden eggs that Julius kept as his greatest treasure. They were lost after the rebellion, and Yami made it his mission to find them, but to no avail.

There was a knock at the door. Yugi got out of bed and slipped on a black robe before he walked downstairs, leaving the spirit of the puzzle alone upstairs. By the rhythm of the knock, Yugi suspected it was the courier coming to deliver his mail.

He wearily opened the door and was met with the irritating ear-to-ear grin of the courier.

"Mornin' Master Yugi," the young courier said, raising his feathered hat.

"Morning," Yugi groaned in a monotonous tone, not in the mood to be dragged into a conversation with the hyperactive courier. "You sure look bright today. Have the orcs stopped giving you trouble?"

"There shall be none of that today, milord," the courier said with a bright smile. He reached into his knapsack to find Yugi's newspaper and his mail. "Not now, not ever."

"Whatever do you mean?" Yugi asked.

"There is great news 'cross the land. I 'eard from the town guard that orcs have been runnin' for their lives back to the seas."

"Is that so?" Yugi said curiously.

"O' aye. Sum of the officers 'ung themselves in the night out of fear. The Scarlet Trading Company says the trees by the roads are decorated with the bodies of dead orcs. There were sailors in Rowport who claimed that they spotted the orcs running back to their ships babbling in fear; pushing and shoving and even stabbing one another in the back to get on. Wish I could 'ave seen it for myself. It must have been quite the sight."

"It does sound rather humorous," Yugi said, forcing a smile to pretend he found the story funny. On the inside, he found the news rather disturbing.

"They won't be missed, master. Now without those beasties raidin' the roads I've gots nothin' to worry about anymore. Things haven't been the same since the night that noise erupted from the sky. Aye, many 'ave been wondering if the noise was the announcement of the end times. I say it was a blessin'. Many good things have happened since that night and today is one of them. Enjoy this glorious morning milord. Huzzah, it's a day of independence. There will be a new ruler after today!"

"A new ruler! Wait…"

"I wish I could stay and chat, Master Yugi, but I've got lots of mail to deliver, and I'm runnin' behind schedule. Farewell, milord!"

"Uh..." began Yugi. But the courier was already over the bridge and back on the dirt road. "Damn, he's gone. That kid can sure run fast."

First a song from the skies now the orcs killing themselves? Running back to their ships to sail out of the land? A new ruler? A day of independence?

"Has the whole world gone mad or is it just me?" Yugi shouted, closing the door to his home. He discovered one of the letters was rather dirty and torn. The green ink read: From Serenity.

Yami pursed his lips while he hovered over Yugi in spectral form to see the letter. "What news?" Yami asked.

Yugi didn't answer and carefully opened the note. The letter was soggy, and from the sloppy writing, it was hastily written.

* * *

**_Dear Yugi,_ **

**_I regret to inform you that the Eyar, Gabriel the Black, and his wife Luthia Noctiva Androsa a.k.a Rose, the last of the Celtra, are both dead. We learned that the traitor, Bakura, gave away their location to Anubis. He sent an army of orcs to the root of the mountain where Gabriel and Rose lived, and they slaughtered the Black Luster Soldiers we posted to keep watch on the couple. Their child is safe. As of right now he is being guarded by Buster Bladers and is being carried to Domino to be treated for some minor wounds. Despite this tragic event, we also learned that Anubis, Lord of the Dead has finally expired, and at the hands of the child no less._ **

**_Come to Domino and meet us there at once. High King Antar has made a very special announcement concerning Gabriel's son. See you soon._ **

**_Love from Serenity, ex-Silver Paladin_ **

* * *

She drew an unhappy face.

Yami felt his heart drop. "Yugi?" said Yami.

"Do you think it's true?" Yugi asked, looking up at him. "Is Anubis really dead?"

"It seems so," said Yami. "Serenity is not a liar."

"We better get to Domino quick," said Yugi. "We might run into the gang."

"Yes, you're right," said Yami.

We're dealing with no ordinary child Yami thought. Could this boy be the one I've been searching for?

* * *

**Serenity**

* * *

The High King of Termnnia, Antar, allowed Mai, Téa, and Serenity to stay in his castle and care for his newly adopted son while he was in his summer home being treated for his illness. Sadly, he passed away just a few days later leaving the kingdom in mourning.

Now it was official. The baby boy, named Daveed, was the future High King of Termnnia. All races of the world traveled to Rassay to get a look at their next ruler and, as many called him, The Slayer of Anubis.

The Elves had arrived first; they came traveling a long way from their hidden woodland cities to bring gifts for the baby.

Mai, Téa, and Serenity watched in awe as the mightiest Elven lords from all over Keya and even the mystical continent of Almara entered the grand halls of the throne room to see the baby asleep in his gilded crib by the Diamond Throne guarded by Black Luster Soldiers donning beautiful white capes with dragon-shaped fastenings made of silver.

The Elven lords brought the child jewels that shimmered like the stars; cloth-of-gold blankets, and comfortable silk clothes. A crown of glass, silver, and diamond was placed on his little head, and he was given an oriental dragon-shaped dagger with blue Elvish runes.

Finally, the presented the baby prince a set of armor for when he grew older. Its craft was unlike anything anyone had ever seen. When Joey saw it unveiled, he let out a loud, "NYEH!"

The scaled armor of the Rassay Royal Guard was beautiful, but compared to the suit the boy would soon wear, Joey felt as though he might as well have been wearing an enameled trash can.

The armor the baby would soon wear was made of solid gold and decorated with rubies, emeralds, diamonds, and sapphires. The pauldrons were large and had banners with the insignia of the High King hanging from them, and the gauntlets had golden arches protruding from the wrist. The white cloth-of-gold cape was enchanted to shield him from attacks from behind, and the chainmail was made of blackened mithril. He had a matching shield and a sword with a blade that had a mirrored finish.

Even the Black Luster Soldiers guarding the baby went red in the face when they saw that even their armor seemed inadequate compared to the child's armor. Serenity was oblivious to all this, for she had never seen Elves before. They were as beautiful as she imagined them, especially the female Elves who turned many male heads as they passed the halls. They smelled sweet, and touching their skin was like touching water.

Lord Aelothin, King of the Silver Leaves, held up a hand and six beautiful Elven maidens slowly walked up the steps towards the baby's crib and sang a haunting song in the Elvish tongue.

When the Elves were done with their blessings, the Dwarves of Greenton were next. They arrogantly marched into the throne room, hoping to outdo the Elves with their gifts to the prince. These were the Dwarves of the highest nobility from the inner sanctums of the subterranean city called Eledon.

Serenity beamed with joy seeing them dressed in elegant garbs of gold, red, emerald green and dark blue trimmed with gold or silver. Wothar Redhammer, The Dwarven king of Eledon arrived bearing a tall crown of platinum veined with gold.

His beard was decorated with a gold plate in a zigzagging pattern. His royal legionnaires were trailing behind him in their armor of steel and silver plate with white plumes cresting their helmets. A squadron of bannermen holding up flags of red with a gold hammer and an ax crossed before a crown.

Mai came forth, holding the baby in her arms and went down the steps carefully, dressed in a glittering golden formal gown with a black interior. She knelt to give the Dwarf king a better view of the child. The glitter on her dress beautifully reflected the sun and made Mai's face glimmer like the stars above. Her smile made her face glow with warmth. Wolthar was infatuated by Mai's presence and smiled at her before gazing upon Prince Daveed, asleep in her arms.

He bowed before the Heir of Termnnia. "Hail the Prince of Termnnia!" he shouted.

"HAIL!" Wolthar's bannermen shouted getting on one knee while still holding their banners up high. King Wolthar snapped his fingers, and then the craftsmen arrived carrying crate after crate of gifts for the future king. They presented the prince with precious gems, masterwork swords and shields; toys made by master carpenters; and bundles of fine clothing.

Kings and queens from all the kingdoms of Termnnia both grand and small arrived to shower the boy with gifts too, and the Mages from the Citadel came with books, magical rings, and a Spellcaster deck worthy of any Duel Monsters tournament.

King Helmsley of Elleria proudly strolled into the room with his family. His wife, Sera, was pregnant which child due at any moment, and their little daughter, Princess Evelyn happily walked beside them carrying a box of gold coins for the prince.

Serenity wrinkled her nose to hide her anger when she saw Helmsley and Sera. She noticed Yugi hiding behind Tristan and Duke. He gave a nervous gulp. He did not like Helmsley very much either. Many months ago, he tried to force him into marrying little Evelyn. Not that she wasn't a fair child. She had a face that looked like it was sculpted by the Divines.

Her ebony hair went down to her shoulders in pretty curls and she had a rose sprinkled with gold dust tucked into the left part of her hair. A large red bow was also perched there as well with a galaxy-cut ruby in the center.

"Princess Evelyn," said Mai. "How do you do?"

"I am well, My Lady," Evelyn said doing curtsy. "Pleased to see you."

Mai smiled delightfully and looked at Helmsley and Sera. "You're daughter has grown into quite the lady, Your Grace. You must be very proud."

Helmsley scoffed. "Proud is not what I would use to describe her. The girl has a long way to go when learning how to greet the Heir to the Throne. How dare you march ahead of us young lady?"

Evelyn squeaked and went red in the face. "I'm sorry, papa."

"Don't be so hard on her, Helmsley!" Yami said after quickly talking Yugi's place. He said this as he walked out from behind Duke and Tristan. "High King Antar told me you weren't any better as a child."

Helmsley grumbled. Mai sniggered stealthfully seeing the king get put in his place. She noticed a timid youth hiding behind the dress of Queen Sera. "Oh, and who is this strapping young fellow?" she asked.

Helmsley looked at the boy and gave another scoff. "This is Dancer of House Firewing, a cadet branch of my House. He is a childhood friend of Evelyn's."

"It's good to meet you Dancer," said Mai.

Dancer whimpered and hid behind Sera's gown. The crowd laughed at his timidness. Sera laughed and tugged her dress away from his clutches. "Forgive him, Lady Mai. He is star struck. Master Yugi is somewhat of a hero to him."

"Is that so?" said Yami. "Come young one, you can sit with me in the tourney celebrating the new ruler of our lands."

"Re-really?" Dancer asked.

Yami held out his hand. Dancer took it, feeling a sensation of relief overtake him when he touched the hand of his idol. Serenity found the sight to be very charming and gave a soft chuckle.

The baby was then moved to the arena outside of the Star Gardens. The lanes were set up and the dirt was smoothened and raked for the convenience of the knights participating in the games. Prince Daveed was put on a shaded balcony overlooking the arena below, and Mai, Téa, and Serenity never left his side.

The three of them had a powerful bond of friendship with his mother, _Luthia Noctiva Androsa_ , but they called her Rose; for they first met her while studying Light monsters underneath a rose bush.

Because of this powerful friendship, they felt it was their duty to protect her child and care for him. On some days the baby would wake, and the halls of the castle would ring with his glee.

The blonde-haired Mai Valentine held him by his arms and laughed, as she raised him up and down to make him giggle. She was so glad to finally give the child fresh air. "You are most definitely your mother's son, little one," she said with a graceful laugh. The baby cooed and grabbed her diamond flower necklace hanging over her chest. The symbol of her friendship with Rose.

Téa had one, as did Serenity.

"He has such a liking to you," Téa said gleefully. She wore a green gown with gold floral patterns that exposed her shoulders and she wore a black shoulder cape with a brooch of silver in the shape of a turtledove, the symbol of her House.

Long black velvet gloves covered her hands and went up to her elbows. The turtledove glittering brightly with tiny diamonds at the top of each glove. Her friendship necklace glittered catching the light of the waning sun.

"Makes sense that he would," said Mai, holding the baby up so his cheek could rest on her shoulder. "Rose named me his godmother the day we found out she was pregnant. After all, I've known her since we were kids. This is such an and honor." She nuzzled the baby's stomach to raise another giggle out of him. She kissed his cheeks three times and held him close.

"Hey, there's the little guy!" called out Joey Wheeler, now the Captain of the Royal Guard. He was adorned in black and red-enameled plate armor and a helmet crested with a black enameled Red-Eyes Black Dragon with blood-red rubies for eyes.

He removed it from his head, so as not to frighten the child. He accidentally greeted the baby with his helmet earlier that morning, and it gave him a fright. His black cape with red on the underside was strapped over his breastplate with a brooch in the shape of a Red-Eyes Black Dragon's head. He had on a surcoat parted over his legs. One side had his Red-Eyes Black Dragon and the other showed a Black Skull Dragon.

"You're looking handsome, Joey," Mai said, placing a hand on the back of the baby's head, holding him close to her chest. Her hair blew in the breeze.

"And yer looking beautiful," Joey bowed. "Aw man, dey don't call ya the Delight of Termnnia fer nothin', Mai."

"You're a real charmer Joey," Mai said with a tease.

Serenity stared at her beloved brother in his armor, reminiscing her days growing up in the kingdom of Gardenrealm. They were not pleasant memories. Seeing the baby boy being loved and cared for made her envy him, for it was a love that she was denied when she was little.

* * *

**_Serenity and her family lived in an island community in the center of Lake Maria, the largest lake in Gardenrealm._ **

**_Serenity's father was a mercenary working for the Red Scale Company, an infamous band of sellswords known mostly for racketeering, raping and pillaging. He was a horrid Eldori. Long greasy hair matted his face ruined with acne scars, and he reeked of rum._ **

**_Serenity's mother made her living running a laundromat in the alley. Joey was her father's pride and joy, and for a good reason._ **

**_Joey was already making easy money winning Duel Monsters tournaments, and he was enlisting in the Emboldorian Army to fight off Orcs sailing into Termnnia to cause their mischief. Serenity, on the other hand, made her money selling flowers from her garden in the backyard of their shack. The people loved her for her kindness and beauty_** **_and paid her well, but her father_** **_spited her for being the weak runt of the family._**

**_Her mother had a miscarriage many years after Joey's birth; the child could have been the Wheeler's second son. Mrs. Wheeler was with child again many seasons later, and out came Serenity, much to Mr. Wheeler's chagrin._ **

**_He once told Serenity that he wished it would have been the other way around. That she had died, and the son had lived. But he never refused the money she brought home from selling her flowers._ **

**_Some days she wouldn't make enough, and Mr. Wheeler would rip off her clothes and then smacked her back and buttocks with a wooden board which left splinters on her flesh that got filled with gooey puss. Mrs. Wheeler would clean her after every beating, wiping her backside with the caring love only a mother could give, and she would sing her songs of knights saving princesses from giants and dragons to soothe her of the pain._ **

**_Those moments when her mother healed her beaten butt were the only fond and happy memories she had as a child. Most of her life had been hell._ **

**_Often she would wonder if she was a spirit wandering the Shadow Realm. She never pondered this more than that terrible night when her father brought her into the tavern for her birthday._ **

**_She thought that she finally going to have a birthday party the night she had turned sixteen and bloomed into adulthood. Her mother made her a beautiful pink dress with sashes of white silk. But when she entered the tavern, no celebration would be found that night._ **

**_Serenity's father took his knife and cut the dress off Serenity and showed her naked body to his mercenary companions who enjoyed hours of pleasurable company with her for ten Star Chips. She could still hear herself screaming, begging for her father to save her as he sat outside, counting the money he made. The money made off her flesh and misery._ **

**_After the party, he sold her to the House of Flowers, the most provocative whorehouse in Termnnia, for 10,000 gold Star Chips. After ten years of slavery and abuse, Serenity was rescued by the Eyar named Gabriel the Black when he saw her being beaten by her keeper._ **

**_With a powerful bolt of lightning, he turned him into a pile of ash. Serenity had seen wizards before in her books, and she often thought of them as old men in dirty cloaks and pointed hats. This wizard did have a cloak and pointed hat, but they were black and made of fine leather and had gold zippers, buttons, and he was wrapped in a black and crimson sash. And instead of being an old man he was a handsome boy of nineteen with short-cropped hair and eyes as dark as stone._ **

**_"I know your face," the Eyar said to Serenity. "Your brother's been looking for you. Come, let me take you home."_ **

**_From then on, Serenity's life got better._ **

**_As for her father, he vanished. Never to be seen again. Justice was never served for Serenity, but she didn't care as long as she had her friends and Rose's baby._ **

* * *

"Serenity, anybody home?" Téa asked, snapping her fingers in front of Serenity's face.

"Huh?" Serenity gasped.

"You looked out of it, hun," Mai said, rocking the baby in her arms.

Serenity made a wan smile and brushed her hair back with her fingertips. "Sorry, I had a lot on my mind."

Joey picked up the boy from Mai's arms and asked if he and the baby looked alike. He held him up to his face so the girls could compare.

They jokingly said no, of course, and Joey didn't take it kindly, but then, he was slow to catch a joke even if it slapped him thrice in the face.

Serenity smiled, seeing Mai and Téa laugh at Joey's outburst of offense. Joey gave the baby back to Mai. "Whatever," he said.

Mai leaned her head to the right and said: "Joey, your tilt is about to begin. Make us proud."

Joey slammed his fist over his chest. The armor clanked and the chainmail cocooning his wrist in mithril jingled. "Yeah, you bet!" he said proudly. He marched away and disappeared into the underbelly of the arena.

Fifteen minutes later, the herald of the tournament made his way to his box on another side of the arena from the box where Prince Daveed and the others were sitting. A loud, majestic blast from the trumpets silenced everyone announcing that it was time to for the herald to speak.

"Honored guests, it is with great pride that we welcome you to these games honoring the young hero who not only vanquished Anubis from our world precious but will take the Diamond Throne as the new heir. Ladies and gentlemen. From this day forth, begins the days of Daveed Wollcroft Delgado the Eradicator of Anubis!"

The crowd cheered. The herald held up his hands to pacify their applause. "And now, presenting his Grace, High Chancellor Maximillion Pegasus and his beautiful wife, Cecelia Pegasus!"

The crowd let out a round of applause for the High Chancellor, often called the Right Hand of the King. While Daveed was the heir to the Diamond Throne, and by all rights should be High King now that Antar had passed on, he was still way too young to rule. Until he came of age, it was Pegasus's job to rule Termnnia. Cecelia blew kisses at the crowd in the stands. A fair-faced Eldori woman if anyone had ever seen one.

Pegasus gave a long speech about his title and promises to keep the land in balance until Daveed was ready to grow and claim the throne for himself. And then, with a clap of his hands, he said, "May the tournament begin!"

The trumpets sounded again. The herald stood up and gave a deep breath, ready to announce the first tilt of the games.

"Presenting from the east side; the captain of the Spire Guard: Ser Joey Wheeler the Black Dragon Knight! Come forth and prove your worth!"

Joey came riding into the lists on the back of a black warhorse adorned in armor to match Joey's plating stylized to look like a Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

"So, what's the objective to this, guys?" Serenity asked. "Joey says that this joust is going to be different than any jousting I've ever seen."

"He's right, hun," said Mai, letting the baby suck her finger. "This is Duel Joust. The rider's chestplates carry fifteen-hundred Life Points. Each hit from the opponent's lance is minus five hundred Life Points. The one who deducts their opponent's Life Points, or, knocks them off their horse is the winner."

"That's all?" Serenity asked.

"No, that's not all," said Mai. "The knights each select one monster to join them in the tilt. The monster appears next to them as a Phantom. It forces the jousters to think on their feet, because the monsters will attempt to knock the riders off as well."

"How do you defend against a monster?" Serenity asked again.

"That's up to the knight," laughed Duke, nodding to sleep on the seat behind them. "There is no magic way to get them not to dehorse you."

Serenity nodded, and in great anticipation watched the tilt unfold.

* * *

**Yami**

* * *

After the joust, the festivities continued. Once the sun went down, Joey, Tristan, Duke, and Yami made merry in the tavern called the Drunken Knight Inn, having a meal of hot meat, baked potatoes, and tankard after tankard of mead. The other patrons laughed and roared with joy as a band was playing music in the corner. One man in the band banged on his drums while his companion played his flute and another member shook tambourines.

The old tavern rang with laughter and fragranced by the delicious smell of Niwatori meat roasting in the kitchen behind the bar. A fire roared in the giant stone fireplace filling the tavern with intense bursts of warmth and a fiery glow bathing the patrons in a golden orange tinge.

Their shadows danced on the polished wooden floors and walls. Chandeliers made of elk antlers with little white candles glimmered from their iron hinges on the ceiling. The two lion statues carved into the fireplace had red candles in their mouths. Above the fireplace was a portrait of a buxom woman posing over the decapitated head of a giant she slew.

Joey proudly boasted her as Belladonna Wheeler, his great-great-great aunt. He explained her greatest exploits and how she convinced the stubborn House Walsten to share their Red-Eyes Black Dragon cards with the Wheelers.

"What do you think, Yug?" Joey asked.

"I'm sorry, what?" said Yami.

"Anyone home?" Tristan asked then he chugged down the last of the mead in his metal tankard.

"Still thinking of the baby I suppose," Duke said playing with a lock of his long black hair, his bright green eyes like emeralds in the red glow of the fire.

"Relax Yugi," said Joey. "The kid's the High King of Termnnia now. He doesn't need us."

"Technically, no," said Yami. "We don't know if the Divine Beasts have accepted him." The tavern then shook violently. The chandeliers waved to and from their iron hinges, and drops of mead fell from Joey's tankard. "That's the third time tonight," Yami said with worry.

"More mead, gentlemen?" asked a servant girl who approached holding a wooden tray with one hand. She raised her voice so as to be heard over the lively music and the roaring laughter of the patrons.

"Absolutely!" called Tristan. "And can I ask for the Rassay Mountain?"

"Of course, Master Taylor!" the girl said taking his empty tankard.

"What's the Rassay Mountain?" Yami asked.

"You should try it Master Yami," said the girl. "It's a drink containing sweet cream, covered with caramel, over some of our finest mead and topped with a delicious golden berry from my garden."

"I'll try it then," Yami said with a smile.

"Make it four!" Duke Devlin said, pounding the table and holding up four fingers.

"Right away gentlemen," the girl said bowing and she walked away.

"What were you saying about the Divine Beasts, Yugi?" said Duke, eating a pretzel.

"It is up to the Divine Beasts to see who sits on the throne. Not us."

"He makes a good point," said Duke. "But why wouldn't they pick the kid? He destroyed the greatest evil since Zorc."

"And?" said Joey. "The Divine Beasts can be rather picky. You ever heard of Relegost Delgado the Red Knight of Sapania? He was one of the contenders of the Termnnia Interregnum. He defeated almost all the Great Houses and petty kingdoms of Termnnia, and took Rassay without a fight, but despite his accomplishments the Divine Beasts rejected him."

"And when he forcefully tried to summon them, the monsters exterminated him," Duke said with a laugh. "What a moron."

Another violent shake and this time it caused the patrons to stop what they were doing. The laughing subsided, and the music came to a halt. Yami and his companions quickly dashed outside; Duke tossed a small sack of Star Chips on the table before heading out. They exited the warmth of the tavern and entered the cold, wet rainy night. Bands all over the city stopped playing their music, and people stopped dancing. Lamps shook to-and-fro on their hooks, and a few shacks and stables were even knocked down. Yami began to fear the worst.

An Embodorian soldier called out to him from the walls above.

"MASTER YU-GI-OH! YOU NEED TO SEE THIS!" he called.

Yami, Joey, Tristan, and Duke walked up the stone steps to the city walls above. The knight pointed at the mountains standing a mile away which were nothing more than black silhouettes in the dark, rainy twilight sky. It was dark, but Yami saw clouds of dust rising into the sky, and large chunks of rock were being tossed into the air.

"What is that!" cried Tristan.

A loud horrifying roar answered his call. Yami stood rooted to the spot when he saw six burning red eyes peer through the mountains far off in the distance. Another loud roar and the beast revealed itself.

A Mist Wurm.

The beast was over a mile long and heavily armored in a purple shell. It had hundreds of sharp armored legs. Noxious purple gas erupted from multiple chimneys from its back as it gave another bellow into the night. The people of Emboldor screamed in fear and began running about, fleeing for their lives. Yami's jaw dropped when he heard more horrible roars from the mountains that burst into clouds of dust.

Five more Mist Wurms appeared from the mountains giving screeches and grunts as Emboldor stood before them.

But then Yami heard another sound. Drums. Yes, he could hear drums coming from the mountains as well. The Mist Wurms stayed where they were, swaying from side to side in a battle dance.

Yami heard another familiar noise. Grunting could be heard mixing in with the sounds of beating drums. A Fire seemed to be flickering from the tunnels the Mist Wurms made. What Yami saw next made his heart stop. Legions of orcs were pouring in from the tunnels made by the giant Duel Monsters. They snarled and roared as they at last set foot onto the surface.


	47. The Birth of Prince Yuri: Part 4

 

* * *

**Yami Yugi**

* * *

The Emboldorian guard began evacuations while troops marched into battle positions.

The familiar grunt and growl of orcs sent the people into even more of a frenzy, thus making the guard's job of evacuation much more challenging. But then, Yami came riding into the plaza near the gate. His presence alone was enough to calm the people down. He began ordering the guard, telling them where to go and what to do as legions of Black Luster Soldiers, Seven Swords Warriors, and Buster Bladers poured to the gate.

"Go forth! And fear not the shadows!" he shouted as the guard led the people to safety.

The orcs were already crossing the plains of Lunetar Fields.

People from the farms and small villages outside the wall were running for the gates. Black Luster Soldiers went out to aid them. The villagers carrying carts were forced to leave them behind.

Yami, Joey, Tristan, and Duke rode outside the wall. Yami thought it best to delay the orcs while the guard led the people to safety. The last villager went through, and a battalion of Black Luster Soldiers and Buster Bladers quickly stormed out of the gate to aid Yami and his friends.

A phalanx of monsters called Shield Warrior formed a wall outside the opened gate with their tower shields of steel and gold, and they held out their spears. The orcs were now a mile away from the city walls.

Yami could see the thousands of bannermen up in front ranks. An entire horizon of orcs as far as the eye could see. He could see the outlines of their dire hogs, dire wolves, and rhinos of war. An orc in armor of obsidian went forward, lifted up his sword and gave a roar shouting the charge.

The earth began to quake as the massive army from the Black Continent began to sprint towards the wall.

"Here we go," said Joey, unsheathing his sword.

"A hundred Star Chips says I can take out more than you," said Tristan.

"If we live through this I hope you can pay up," said Duke.

"You're on!" said Joey.

The Black Luster Soldiers and Buster Bladers readied their weapons in unison. A wave of blades went down the line.

Yami held out his sword. When the enemy was close, he quickly lowered his sword to give the signal and shouted: "ARCHERS!"

A rain of arrows flew from the walls falling onto the army.

Hundreds of orcs fell dead from the attack, but still, the army marched forward.

"Swords!" Yami called. The army of Warrior Monsters readied themselves. A few tense minutes passed and the orc army was over a hill several yards away.

"CHARGE!" Yami called out. His friends let out fierce battle cries as they rode forward to meet the army.

There was a loud SLAP of flesh and steel as the armies collided.

With a mighty blow, Yami hewed an orc's head off its shoulders. His heavenly blade, once gleaming, was now covered in a tarry, sticky substance that was the blood of all the orcs he had slain in the battle. His armor was covered in it, and his cape was sticking to his breastplate as was the golden puzzle he had around his neck. It dripped down his face leaving oily streaks with the rain that fell down on the battlefield.

Every orc knew Yami from the wars many years ago, and when they saw him, they raised their swords and gave a yell issuing their challenge.

Joey was a few feet behind Yami slaying a squadron of goblins wielding spears which held the banners of their armies and stubby shortswords made of obsidian.

Joey had a twisted look of anger on his face, and he let out loud "NYEH! NYEH! NYEH!" as his blade split their skulls. A big orc spotted Joey. He beat his chest with his spiked club and waddled towards him. Joey was too busy slaying goblins to see the orc.

"NYEH! NYEH! NYEH!" He shouted cutting one of their heads off.

The beast raised his club but was then hit by a prismatic blast of white-hot magic. He shook violently.

Joey turned around just in time to see the orc shatter into pieces. A Duel Monster was standing not far from where the orc fell. It was Yami's favorite, the Dark Magician. His purple armor was looking almost gray in the waning light. Joey spotted Yami holding up the card from where the magician was summoned. Joey smiled and gave a quick salute before going back into battle.

"Let's go, man," Joey said to his friend, and he charged down the field.

Up in the mountains, an orc in rusty red armor peered at the battle with his brass spyglass. He had long oily black hair that resembled thick seaweed. There were runes carved on his arms and legs, and his eyes were glowing orange. He had tusks protruding from the sides of his mouth, and there was an iron ring pierced in his snout.

"Yami is there." A goblin said sulking towards his commander. "Will the mighty Gerthmod challenge him?"

"Yami is not my concern," Gerthmod growled, setting down his spyglass. "We are here for the little prince."

"It's only a matter o' time before the city is ours m' lord," said the goblin. "What will you do when we have the child?"

"I will EAT him!" Gerthmod said through gritted teeth.

With a majority of their forces gone, the orcs retreated to the mountains.

Yami and the others cheered, and the warrior monsters raised their weapons and gave triumphant roars.

"Looks like they're retreating," the goblin said to Gerthmod, who only gave a wide grin.

"First wave ineffective!" Gerthmod roared into the hole in the mountain. "MOVE! MOVE!"

The goblin then heard a loud roar coming from the darkness of the caves. The legion of orcs who were pouring out of the mountain quickened their pace, pushing and shoving to get out of the way of the large shadow that was approaching.

"Let's see how you handle Doronon...Yami." Gerthmod sneered.

He turned around to face his group. The orcs were wearing red armor like Gerthmod, and they wore spiked helmets with visors down to give them a much more menacing appearance.

"Let's go," said Gerthmod. "Yami and the Emboldorian Guard will be preoccupied with Doronon. This is our chance. Vipers of Anubis, tonight, we will have our revenge. FORWARD!"

With a prideful charge, Gerthmod and his Vipers ran down the mountain and disappeared into the night.

An Emboldorian soldier blew a horn from a guard tower on the ramparts of the Rassay wall. Yami felt the earth shake again. His body trembled in disbelief when he saw more orcs, twice as many as the first wave speeding down the fields towards him and his monsters.

"Another wave!" Tristan shouted.

"Aw, man, that's not good!" said Joey.

"Damn, so this is how it ends," said Duke.

"Reform the line!" Yami shouted to the warrior monsters. The exhausted soldiers did as they were told and got into position behind Yami and his friends. Yami's heart gave a drop when he saw how few remained in the ranks.

Nevertheless, his courageous Duel Monsters followed him as he charged into the next wave of orcs. Though they were sore and tired, the army fought on. When Yami slew a group of orcs, he sat down on a boulder to rest. But the ground began to shake.

Yami feared the Mist Wurms were burrowing towards the city. He would have preferred that. Instead, towering over the buildings was a thirty-meter beast of a man, clad in armor as black as the stormy night.

Yami's eyes widened when the silhouette of the giant began to grow more detailed as he approached the battlefield. He had a long beard and a bald head. His eyes were glowing bright red as was his mouth which was billowing steam. The giant was wielding a weapon Yami had hoped never to see again.

It was the fabled Nelorung, the Hammer of the Shadow Realm. The black iron handle was the size of a redwood tree. The hammer was like darkness forged into a solid object with decorative rings hanging from both ends. The orcs and goblins stopped fighting and cheered, then began to chant.

"DORO-NON! DORO-NON! DORO-NON!"

Doronon spotted Yami. Yami stared at the giant, wide-eyed, paralyzed with fear.

Doronon raised up his hammer. When it came halfway down Yami came to his senses and dodged the strike. Everyone on the battlefield lost their balance and fell from the powerful impact. Some towers in the city even gave way and collapsed to the ground.

"BACK TO THE CITY!" Yami shouted when he recovered from the blow. He needed every monster to guard the people, and he could not afford to let anymore Black Luster Soldiers and Buster Bladers die.

"What are you doing!" shouted Joey.

"I will take care of the giant!" said Yami. "Go back to the castle. Save the girls. And the prince as well. You must ensure he lives; our future depends on it!"

"No, way man!" said Joey. "We're gonna stay and fight."

"We should do as Yami says," said Duke. "It's hopeless out here. We need to retreat."

"I'm not leaving!" Joey protested.

"Me neither!" said Tristan. "I was born for this. If we die, we're going to die fighting."

"You want some honorable death? Look at that thing. The city is doomed. We must leave."

"Go shove a dice up yer ass, Devlin!" said Joey. "All dat fancy gear and yer not even gonna make good with it. Yer all show, ya fuckin' coward! I'm stayin'."

"Me too!" Tristan said getting beside Yami. "I know these orcs, and they're not going just to let Yami and that Giant fight alone. They're gonna intervene. Not on my watch they're not. Antar's son is up there. If these orcs, make it through they'll have Serenity and the girls in their way. And they will defend the prince to the death. Well then, so will I. Even if I have to face a million of these foul creatures, and that giant to boot, I will keep fighting. I am not afraid. As a Termnnian soldier, I will guard High-King Antar's son with my life."

"I'm sure my sister would appreciate that brother," said Joey.

Duke frowned and folded his arms.

"If Tristan's gonna stay and fight, then so will I!" said Joey. "YEAH! If this ugly bastard wants t'get his hands on da prince, well den he's gonna hafta get through me, Joey Wheeler: Duelist Extraordinaire and Captain of the Royal Guard!"

To Yami's shock the Buster Bladers, Black Luster Soldiers and Seven Swords Warrior refused to go back into the city. Like Joey and Tristan, they were going to fight till the last Duel Monster.

"Thank you, all of you," said Yami. "I knew I could count on you."

"The way is clear, Devlin," said Joey. "Get your scrawny ass outta here!"

"Hah! I'm not going anywhere," said Duke, taking a stand by Yami's side as well. "You forget, I have Orgoth the Relentless with me. And he's the strongest monster on the field. He packs far more punch than those Black Luster Soldiers. Besides, won't Serenity be impressed when she hears I took down one of the Giants of Belroth."

Doronon gave a mighty roar and swung his hammer down on the friends. They jumped out of the way. The earth shook violently when the hammer struck the ground. More buildings from the town crumbled and the mountains wailed in agony as they began to collapse.

* * *

**Mai**

* * *

"There has been an order to evacuate the city," Mai said grimly. "The Orcs have broken through the gate."

When Serenity heard those words, she felt dread like nothing she had ever felt in her whole life. Rassay had never been taken. Not by men and certainly not by Orcs. She knew it was too much to hope for Yami to slay the giant which she could see towering over the walls and smashing the ground with his fell hammer.

The castle shook violently each time the hammer's head struck the earth. The supports and the walls wailed, not supporting the powerful impact. It was as if the whole castle was moaning that it could take that force no longer.

The window was open so she could hear all the chaos ensuing outside. The sound of sword clashing against sword. The grunt of the Orcs, and the cries of death from fallen soldiers. Quickly, the three of them grabbed their belongings, each of them taking turns holding the child. The situation was so dire they felt it unsafe to lose sight of him for just a second.

Mai began to rock the child in her arm. Her other hand, grasping the handle of her sword. The baby boy was giggling cheerfully as Mai playfully kissed him on the top of his forehead. She wished she was him for a moment. Too young to know about the cruel world she lived in.

She longed for a time when she was just a girl; to a time when the world was nothing but a giant playground. A world all her own to explore. Those thoughts brought back memories of her dancing through the colorful fields of Fair Market in Rimgarden in the days of her House before it fell to the Raptors and the Underwoods.

She sang songs of the Goddesses as she picked flowers by the river Noloron, flowing like molten silver behind the bastion of Castle Valentine, standing proudly atop the hill overlooking the town of Fairfax with its banners of violet and bearing the golden sun sigil.

Mai began to grow a little calmer and warmer as she stood there with the child in hand and those thoughts in her mind.

"I'm going to protect you, little one," Mai said looking down at the child. He reached for her flower-shaped friendship necklace and held it in his tiny hands. "This will not be the world you inherit, my little prince. I promise you we'll make it out of here and we will show those Orcs what happens when they decide to mess with our beautiful home. Perhaps one day, you will be the one who drives them from our world forever. You already rid Termnnia of one asshole."

"Mai!" snapped Serenity. "Don't use foul language in front of the baby."

Mai rolled her eyes and looked down at the child. His green eye glowing mysteriously like a beacon in the night.

"You don't mind what I say do you?" She asked to which the child grinned and put the necklace in his mouth. "Didn't think so," Mai laughed nuzzling his hair with her nose.

An explosion below in the market took all the bliss away from her. There was an Orc trebuchet unit in the hills launching explosive projectiles in Rassay. Soon the night rang with the cries of frightened people and the urgent orders of all the soldiers and knights.

Doronon was standing over the wall, looking down at the streets below for soldiers looking to stop the Orcs. He could go no further because there was a divine force that was holding him back.

What it was, no one knew, but whatever it was it kept the giant at bay. He seemed frightful of going any farther into Rassay. Something was startling him. Serenity fumbled through her belongings taking everything that was dear to her.

"Is everything packed away?" Serenity asked urgently; she was in such a hurry to escape the city and get as far away as she could from the Orc that wanted to kill the young hero. Mai looked around and nodded.

"Yeah," said Mai. "All of our things are packed. There are Black Luster Soldiers on their way up to guide us out of Rassay."

"Do you think we'll be safe on the road to Wargren's Keep?" asked Téa.

Mai paused and bit her lip again. "Yeah we will be," she said with a fake smile.

Outside the nursery, Gerthmod and his squadron of Vipers sneaked through the darkness of the castle. They were agile climbers and some of the fastest warriors in Anubis's army.

They sliced the throats of unlucky guards and dashed through the halls on all fours like red blurs. They approached the nursery with such speed. Gerthmod raised his obsidian dagger, signaling the others to get ready.

Four Orcs then gathered at the door to the nursery. One was about to smash it down with his mace when suddenly a Harpie Queen burst through and tore him to pieces.

Téa and Serenity came out of the nursery room with swords in hand. Mai with twin blades from her time in the Emboldorian Special Forces; Serenity with a blade of blue steel; and Téa with a flowery golden, gem-covered blade called Rose Thorn; a legendary sword passed down to her by her mother.

The Orcs smiled and grunted with glee as they surrounded the girls. Two of them charged, both hacked to pieces by Mai's Harpie Queen. Gerthmod charged next. The Harpie Queen screeched and dove down to attack him, but Gerthmod sliced off her wing.

The Harpie Queen squealed and crashed into the wall with tremendous force. A group of Orcs ran for the fallen monster and stabbed her to death. The Orc, seeing that the girls lost their monster, roared and charged in to attack. The halls ran black with the oily blood of Orc.

More Orcs seemed to pour in from the very darkness. Mai and the others began to feel fatigued and were slowing down. An orc with a spear joined the battle and fought hard with Mai. She was too weak to fight and missed an attack.

The Orc saw an opening and jabbed his spear into her rib cage. Mai roared as fiery pain surged through her body. More Orcs gleefully jabbed their weapons into her flesh. The long sleeves of her blue velvet took the form of an indigo halo as she twirled elegantly to the ground.

Her twin blades both landing on the floor with a loud _Clang!_ Gerthmod and the others laughed, staring at Mai writhe in pain all over the floor, moaning in pain as if having an orgasm.

Serenity saw Mai getting wounded and missed the attack of an Orc who rammed his iron sword into her belly. Serenity wailed as lightning flashed, illuminating the halls. Her red velvet dress turned dark like wine as the fabric eagerly drank her blood. Another orc jumped in and rammed his knife down her back.

She gave a thunderous roar and fell to the ground leaving Téa to fend for herself, but even she was overrun by the Orcs who jabbed their weapons into her body. She grunted with pain and dropped her sword and fell to her knees. Both her friends were alive.

They squirmed on the ground, moaning and groaning as their bodies trembled in burning agony while wallowing in pools of their blood which turned muddy brown from mixing with the Orcs they slaughtered.

The Orcs picked them up by their hair, ready to slice off their heads when the Gerthmod held out his hand and told them to cease. "The child first," he growled. "We would not want them to miss that."

The Orcs approved and gave a laugh as their leader unsheathed his dagger.

"Anubis will be avenged this night!" Gerthmod snarled.

The Orcs in the halls pounded their red armor and howled while chanting Anubis's name repeatedly. Serenity babbled helplessly, watching Gerthmod walk into the room. Serenity saw his massive silhouette from the lightning.

He was so large and fierce. The lightning flashed again, but this time, the confident mass of the orc leader turned into fear as in the brief light she saw him hold out his arms begging for mercy. An ear-piercing scream surged through the halls followed by a clap of thunder.

Serenity could feel the back of her head trembling. It was the orc holding her hair. His body was quaking in fear. The other Orc called out to their missing leader.

A flash of lightning again and a round object flew out of the room at the foot of one of the Orc. Gerthmod's head. His mouth opened in horror and his eyes shut. His obsidian dagger lodged in his skull.

A roar of thunder shook the halls causing many of the Orc to whimper and yelp.

"Who's bloody in there!" called out one of the Orc.

Another flash of lightning. Everyone could see a shadowy mass standing inside the room.

Thunder clapped again.

The Orcs readied their weapons.

The figure in the room was moving towards them. The blue light of the waterfall behind them revealed a man clad in platinum armor and a white cloth-of-gold cape that glimmered as he walked. His pauldrons were immense, about the size of a bull's skull. His gauntlets had curved arches, as did his greaves and boots. His chest plate had an elegant design and was decorated with egg-sized diamonds.

His sword was twice the size of a man and was made of the finest steel the Orc had ever seen. Gold wrapped around the bottom of the blade and around the guard like vines. The hilt was wrapped in engraved black leather, and the pommel was a magnificent glowing gem that gave off hues in all the colors of the rainbow.

A blue arcane circle hovered over the sword lighting up the radius around the knight in dark blue. His helmet was horned like a dragon and concealed his face. His armor was the most beautiful thing Mai and the girls had ever seen.

The very sight of it filled them with hope and joy, and they could feel warmth surging through their bodies, easing them of their pain. When the man was fully revealed, he began to glow with a warm light. He raised his massive sword, resting it on his shoulders.

Two cocky Orcs gave a war cry and ran for him, but the knight held out his hand, and an enormous arcane circle of elegant design appeared before him. The Orcs drove into the circle and burst into white flames, and they vanished after giving high-pitched screams.

The knight put down his hand, and the barrier disappeared. The other Orcs charged at him, but he fought them with a combination of divine magic and master swordplay.

His spells were beautiful to watch, and his speed with such a massive blade was inhuman. He didn't just kill the Orcs; he vaporized them into nothing. To finish his foes, he summoned four pillars of light that created a sphere of burning hot light.

There was a powerful gravitational pull that sucked the Orc into the sphere. The Orc dug their claws into the ground, hoping not to get sucked in. But the spell was too powerful. They roared as they were pulled into the sphere and were incinerated.

There was a bright flash like the sun and then it was quiet.

Serenity opened her eyes and saw embers flying around the halls of the castle. The sound of the battle below echoed throughout the halls. The knight fell to his knees, his arms resting on his sword which stood jabbed into the floor. He lowered his head; then his helmet cracked from when he was hit in the head by a lucky orc wielding an enchanted hammer.

The horned helm fell to pieces revealing the man's head. The girls could hear him breathing, and they could see his short cropped hair. He covered his face and dashed into the nursery.

"Wait!" Serenity said softly.

She and her friends forced themselves up. It was lucky for them that Orc knew not to hit vital organs of their victims, for they wanted them to suffer greatly before death. The warmth the Knight gave seemed to fade, and pain returned to their bodies. But the thought of the baby gave them the strength to get up on their feet.

They wobbled to the nursery where they saw the knight holding the baby boy in his arms. He placed the baby back into his crib and looked at the three Eldori girls. Through the dim light of dawn coming from the window, they could see a smile on his face. Then he pressed a finger to his lips. ' _Shhhhh_ ' he said before vanishing into thin air.

"Okay, that was weird," groaned Téa. She burst into the room and collapsed onto the couch staining the white fabric with her blood.

"Who was he?" Serenity said wincing in agony. She rested her head on the door frame. Mai placed her hand on Serenity's back.

"I don't know," Mai said shaking her head. "Whoever he was, thank Horakhty he arrived."

"Sl-Slifer," said the baby.

Serenity, Mai, and Téa turned their heads and looked at the baby in his crib.

"Slifer..." said the baby.

"What did you say?" Serenity gasped.

"Say?" gasped Téa. "He was just born; he shouldn't be saying anything."

"Slifer…Oh-Oh-Obelisk,"

"He's saying the names of the Divine Beasts," said Mai.

"Slifer…Obelisk…R-R-Ra."

* * *

Far away in his deathbed, three cards in Antar Wollcroft's deck began glowing. They shot off the deck, scattering his cards all over the room where his lifeless body lay, and they shot out the window; traveling across the land at the speed of light towards Rassay.

A thunderous choir began to sing a song of power, which shook the earth. The singers were harbingers to the beasts who were being called to the realm of mortals. The Orc and the soldiers of Rassay looked up at the sky in confusion. The clouds dispersed and revealed three arcane circles. From the circles, three colossal monsters flew down shattering the circles like glass.

All anyone could see of the beasts were their massive silhouettes in the metallic blue light of dawn, and they could hear their roars which boomed louder than thunder and the chorus singing their arrival.

"Can it...can it be?" said Mai.

The shadow of a massive serpent-like dragon zoomed over the battlefield and fired from its mouth a white-hot energy blast at the evil army. The Orc below attempted to flee, but it was in vain. They were bathed in the dragon's white-hot light. The second dragon then flew towards the mountains and fired a breath of golden flames and turned the Mist Wurms and the rest of the orc army into cinders.

The blue behemoth landed before Doronon. He raised his fist up. It was then encased in a bright, white aura. Doronon held up the hammer, Nelorung, hoping its dark magic could save him, but he could not be spared from the Divine Beast's massive punch to the gut.

He felt his flesh being seared to the bone from the inside and then felt nothing at all. In seconds Doronon, the Orc, and the goblins, down to the Mist Wurms at the mountains vanished in the blink of an eye. There was nothing left save for the countless flaming embers dancing in the air. It was all that remained of the massive army of evil that stood in the streets mere moments ago.

The warriors of the capital looked around in confusion, trying to find the foes they were just fighting.

They were gone.

Emboldor went quiet. There was nothing. The world stood silent, save for the wind which howled all across the city. The three monsters gave a thunderous roar and then flew back into the sky.

Serenity, Mai, and Téa stared at the baby in shock. He giggled and nuzzled his blanket, then fell asleep. Mai stood still with her mouth open and fainted seconds later.


	48. The Birth of Prince Yuri: Part 5

* * *

* * *

**Yami**

* * *

"How can we be so sure this boy is truly the one chosen to be the High-King?" asked King Helmsley from the Kingdom of Elleria. He followed Yami and King Alphonse Gerard Gaston de Ruvon, ruler of the Blue Isles, all throughout the halls of Castle Rassay which was still going through some repairs from the battle many nights ago. Helmsley's question was answered with a loud scoff from King Alphonse

"The boy was adopted by High King Antar and was declared his son," said King Alphonse continuing to follow Yami down the gleaming white halls of the castle.

"That may be so, but the boy is still a bastard!"

"Not anymore he's not," said Yami, turning his head to look at Helmsley, who was still following them. "By royal decree, the baby is now Daveed Wollcroft. Whether or not he chooses to keep the name, Delgado, is up to him in the future."

"And how could you ask such a question?" asked King Alphonse. "The baby has brought to ruin the greatest evil in our lands. I think he is worthy of the Dragon's Heart Crown."

"But he is not of royal blood," Helmsley protested.

"I agree," Captain Antilles said approaching the men. "It is not right. Are you quite certain you want to name the child High-King of Termnnia? What right does he have to bear such a title?"

"That's enough, Antilles," said Yami. "You were always hard on the boy the moment it was declared he was the prince. What reason do you have to hold so much spite against him?"

"He is not worthy enough to be High-King," Antilles snarled.

"At last," said Helmsley. "Someone who sees reason."

"Are you blind? The boy summoned the Divine Beasts," said King Alphonse, tipping his wide-brimmed hat at a beautiful lady paladin guarding the halls of the castle. "It is clearly obvious the child is the one whom they have chosen. When a king is chosen, they have the right to summon the beasts. That is called Divine Right. Only the High Kings of Termnnia can summon them."

"I know what the Divine Right is. But there is nothing to prove he did summon them," said Helmsley.

"The three girls taking care of him stated that they heard the names of all three monsters come out of his lips." King Alphonse said, tipping his hat to a lovely palace maid.

"But the child is of no age to be speaking," said Antilles. "He was practically just born. How do we know these girls are not fabricating this tale?"

"My friends are not liars if that is what you are insinuating, captain," said Yami. "They are very honorable women. They speak the truth."

"This is not the way!" Helmsley demanded. His voice ran across the halls. "Perhaps if we could have a Gathering. Summon all the kings and hold an election, a proper election."

"An election, you say?" King Alphonse said, stopping, and then spinning around to face the Ellerian King. "No, no, Your Highness. I said it once, I'll say it again. The child has vanquished Anubis. Orcs no longer wish to trouble us, for they fear the baby. He has driven evil out from our lands, and he's barely old enough to walk. AND, he summoned all three Divine Beasts at once, obliterating an army of thousands, including a Giant of Belroth. There is a far greater power at work here, Helmsley, and it's something that no mere Gathering can resolve. It is as it stands. The baby is going to be the High King, and that is final."

"I would not continue to protest this any longer, Helmsley," said Yami. "Say you did have your way, and you send your child to summon one of the monsters."

"That's right, they'd be put at risk of the Denial," said King Alphonse.

"You would not want to put your child in danger of a Denial from the beasts, would you?" Yami asked.

"Child?" Helmsley paused to gather his thoughts as Yami and the chubby king walked away. "And what if I were to take him?" He asked, to which Yami and Alphonse stopped and turned around to face him once more. "My wife and I have always wanted a little friend for young Evelyn to play with. I could raise him."

"Get in line," said King Alphonse.

"What do you mean?" asked Helmsley.

"He has a point, my lord," grumbled Antilles. "All of Termnnia wants to have the child."

"I do as well," said King Alphonse. "That I will not deny. I could raise him well and teach him to be a good Duelist and ruler. My family is a good choice as any to take new prince. Eh, Yugi?"

"You?" said Helmsley.

"Playmate for Evelyn my fat ass!" said the plump king. His powdered wig was almost tipping off his head. "You're still mad at Evelyn for turning out a girl and not a son like you wanted. This is not to be a good Samaritan; you're looking to take the child to bring glory to your House, as is everyone else who wants him. And I can't blame them. Think of what there is to gain. The most powerful being in the world in the most powerful position in the world wielding the most powerful monsters in the world. A fine prize for any family. And that family will be mine. To say nothing of the rather, pleasurable maidens who maintain the castle," he added, looking at the palace maids in their ruffled black uniforms.

"We will not bicker here," Yami said holding up his hand to pacify both men, and to tear Alphonse from his creepy lustful gaze which Yami found, disturbing. "There will be a decision over who will take the child; of that, we will have our Gathering. But I warn you if there are any violent disputes and any of the Houses clash; I will take matters into my own hands and the child will go to no one."

"What, you will take him, Yugi?" asked Antilles. "Somehow I have a feeling this is all your doing."

"No," Yami said quickly. "I did not have anything to do with the singing in the sky, the summoning of the Divine Beasts, or the destruction of the Dark Lord Anubis. The powers behind these events are far too great to have been pulled off by a mere politician, or by myself for that matter. As I said, I will take matters into my own hands if I hear war in there. Now let us go. Everyone is here."

"Have your gathering," the captain said, furiously. "This is a spit on the kings of old. I will not stand idly by and watch as thousands of years of tradition ruined by pure speculation."

"Then, by all means, do something to stop the crowning," Yami said folding his arms. "I'm sure you can explain your feelings to three angry beasts."

"Mark my words, Yugi. That bastard will not be High King." Antilles said. He turned quickly and dashed away, knocking down a flower pot on the gleaming floor that a palace maid worked so hard to clean.

She gasped delicately at the mess.

"You missed a spot," Antilles grumbled, continuing to march down the halls.

The Gathering was a meeting in which all the rulers of Termnnia would meet in the White Rotunda in Castle Rasaay for matters of great importance. If this were a normal situation, they would meet after the death of the High King and hold an election to decide who would be the one to take the throne.

The Divine Beasts were usually quite confident with the results and harmed no one who was chosen by the Gathering to be the High King. They only brought harm to those elected through corruption. But it appears now, they have taken matters into their own hands and have chosen a new ruler without the need for a Gathering.

This meeting was to decide who could keep the child. And the moment Yami saw all the races of the world in the rotunda, he knew it would get hot. Elves and dwarves in the same room always meant shouting and vulgar language. Throughout the meeting, each ruler gave good points as to why their family should have the child, but there was always someone countering their statement.

It was the same thing for hours.

But then the Elven king, Erthond of the Great White Mountains, spoke.

"It is clear that neither person here is worthy to take the child," said he. "None of you have given reasons from the heart. You mainly want the boy for political gains; to grant the glory and power to your houses. Even after all these years, you have shown no sign of maturity. There is a baby just a few towers away from here without a family. Without a home. He will never know the warm embrace of his mother or father. But you all could care less about this. You seek to have him for your own selfish reasons. He must stay with the Elves. We are his only hope."

"YOU!" shouted the Dwarven King, Wolthar Redhammer. "And just what makes you so special that you can have the boy and not us? How do we know this isn't some ruse for you to bolster your kind into taking over? The Diamond Throne is what you pointy-eared rats want. It is what you Elves always lusted for since the mighty Tiberius passed away."

"HERE! HERE!" called the king from Riftgaard. "This could be revenge for losing the Crimson Rebellion."

"That is not true!" shouted Erthond's daughter Taarie. "The Crimson Rebellion has nothing to do with the child. My father speaks the truth. If anyone is to have the baby, it is our people!"

"HAH!" bellowed Wolthar. "The little She-Elf thinks she has the gall to speak with the men!"

"What would a dwarf know of honor or courage?" spat Taarie. "Who was it who fought day in and day out when Anubis sat on his black throne ruling over our lands? I first entered battle on my sixteenth name day, taking back homes from the Orcs, while you dwarves chose to cower in your mountain halls, and you Men did nothing! My people bled, fighting to free us from Anubis. The child should go to us."

"I would rather see Anubis rule Termnnia for another thousand years than to see the little prince get adopted by an ELF!" shouted Wolthar.

And that was the fuel that fed the fire.

Yami rubbed his face as everyone in the rotunda got up from their seats and started yelling at each other. He should have known it would come to this.

"I knew it," he grumbled.

In a matter of weeks, war did break out. It was a violent and bloody conflict that would be referred to as The War of the Infant.

While there were those who wanted to adopt the child, there were some who did not want the baby boy to have the throne. One bloody night, Anubis fanatics attacked every village in Termnnia, slaughtering all the newborn boys of every house they came across in the hopes that at least one of them was the little prince. Yami and Kaiba led a short campaign to stop them. But despite their efforts, day after day assassins were killed in Rassay; all of them hired to terminate the boy.

Yami could take it no longer. Termnnia needed to recover from Anubis's rule. It needed to rebuild, but the people were fools who chose to drag themselves into another conflict. This would surely bring doom to Termnnia. Yami decided enough was enough.

Too many people have died defending the baby and just as many died fighting to have him. Clearly, the Gathering was not the way to dispute this matter so, as he threatened, he indeed took it upon himself to deal with this issue.

"And just what do you intend to do?" asked Maximillion Pegasus, High Chancellor of Termnnia and creator of the modernized version of Duel Monsters. He swung his hand in circles, clutching the bottom of his silver goblet to keep the wine crisp and flavorful.

He, Yami, and Seto Kaiba were sitting in a dark room hidden deep within the castle in Rassay. Their only light source was from the azure stained glass windows on the wall surrounding a long stone table big enough to seat twenty people.

Just weeks after the baby saved the city of Rassay, the kingdoms of Termnnia began to violently fight against one another in a bloody civil war that would be called The War of the Infant. The baby was the key to bringing a family immense power, for he would be in the most powerful position in the world and summon the most powerful monsters in the world. But he had no family. That was the reason for the war. To see who could have him.

Yami found the conflict to be pathetic. So he took matters into his own hands and organized this meeting. After all, it felt like he, Pegasus, and Kaiba were the only ones in the world who used common sense.

"Is he to stay with you?" Pegasus took a sip of his drink. He grinned. "You would make an excellent father, Yugi-boy."

"I would say that I could," Yami answered, rubbing his puzzle "I have talked about it with Tea. We wanted to raise him in my castle in the Blue Mountains. But, I fear having the boy brings great risk to myself and my friends."

"And he sure as hell can't stay with me," Kaiba said, sternly. "I have a kid brother to look after."

"Well, then it's clear you've brought me here to ask if the child can stay with me," Pegasus said with a chuckle. "I'm sorry gentlemen, but I'm afraid I have to decline. I am not fond of the thought of having that bundle of joy running in my halls."

"You have something against the boy, Pegasus?" Yami asked.

"Ooooo," hooted Pegasus, feigning hurt feelings. "Perish the thought, Yugi-Boy. Don't get me wrong I do love the spotlight, and I find little Daveed rather adorable."

He giggled in a creepy manner that caused Kaiba to shudder. "But I'm afraid the attention I'll get with the lad in my house is not the attention I desire. Power hungry families, assassins and Orcs are not my forte, Yugi."

"There must be something we can do," said Yami.

"There is one alternative," Kaiba said, getting up from the table and walking towards one of the windows displaying a Blue-Eyes White Dragon. He clicked his tongue and smiled. " _Alternative_ ," he muttered looking at the mosaic image of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

"Do you have something to say?" Yami asked.

Kaiba closed his eyes and nodded then placed his hands behind his back. "We could send him through the Gate.

There was a stunned silence.

"Kaiba!" Yami said, almost in a shout. "You don't mean…"

"Oh yes," said Kaiba. "As you know, the Gates are portals made by the Different Dimension mages long ago to find a paradise to escape from Zorc Necrophades when Termnnia was at war with him. The mages discovered a world not too different from ours. They call it Earth."

"Seto Kaiba, sometimes you frighten me," said Pegasus. "Are you suggesting we send the child into this other world? This…Earth?"

"Yes,"

"And where do you intend to send him?" Pegasus asked.

"A few decades ago, a stranger went through a Gate that was accidentally left open by a foolish mage asleep on the job. I found him stumbling through the forest when I was racing High King Antar through the mountains. I would have been the victor, but, our little friend got in the way and forced our race to end. Antar had a liking for the man; he was a soldier who got lost after losing a bloody battle in his world. As much as he liked it here, the soldier wanted to go home. We sent him on his way, but not before Antar, and I taught him a thing or two about Duel Monsters. The High King gave the soldier a box of cards for him to use, promising him that the game would give him eternal fame and fortune beyond his wildest dreams, so long as he kept our world a secret. Not like he had much of choice, as he was under pain of death."

"And who was this soldier?" asked Yami.

"Sgt. Jacob Montgomery," Kaiba answered. "United States Marine Corps was where he said he was serving. Antar wasn't kidding when he said the game would bring him fame and fortune. It has grown rather addictive in the other world."

"Be serious, Seto," said Pegasus. "The man is not going to just accept him."

"No," said Kaiba. "I don't think he will. And He is well-known around here, so sending the prince to live with him would be no better than sending him with Yugi. However, my love for Duel Monsters got the best of me. I can't stand to see the game played in such a mediocre way. So, I've sent a few 'assistants' into the world. A large island city was built, in record time may I add," he boasted. "That city has become the central hub in that world for all things Duel Monsters."

"You helped people from another dimension build a city?" said Yami. "Kaiba, that's meddling. That's illegal!"

Kaiba sneered and crossed his arms. "No, I didn't help per-say. I just gave them some loans and the know-how. We could send the prince to live in this city until he's old enough to rule and fend for himself. He'll get his practice in Duel Monsters while he's down there."

"And you are sure the boy will be safe with these people?" Pegasus asked.

"I am positive," said Kaiba. "This city is safe, secluded, well guarded by a private army, and lives and breathes Duel Monsters. It will be the perfect place for him to go until he's ready to take the crown."

"And what are we to do while Prince Daveed is on Earth?" Pegasus asked. "How do we get all these kingdoms and Houses to stop fighting one another?"

"Leave that to me," said Yami. "Right now, Pegasus, you are the High Chancellor of the Royal Council; therefore, we will name you the de-facto ruler of Termnnia until Daveed is old enough to rule. We will also claim the baby is staying with you in your castle in Duelist Kingdom."

"My island getaway isn't exactly hidden from the world," said Pegasus. "But, I know a place we can use as a diversion. Castle Dawnheart, my hidden fortress in the Blue Mountains."

"No one will be looking for him there, correct?" asked Kaiba.

"I can't guarantee that," Pegasus said with another creepy chuckle. "But just getting to the place would make the perfect death trap for any fool looking to do harm to our little hero. The castle is perched high up in the mountains. It is surrounded by an immense valley filled with monsters who have vowed to protect the castle. The fort was built by my forefathers thousands of years ago and held back armies more than a hundred times. Why it even survived a raid by High King Matthias and his onslaught of Blue-Eyes White Dragons during the gruesome White Dragon Wars."

"Then why not keep him there?" asked Yami.

"Don't be a fool, Yugi," said Kaiba. "As strong as this fortress is there are no guarantees he'll be a hundred percent safe. A fort can hold its own against an army, but its walls are still no match for a skilled assassin. The siege of Rassay proved that."

"You are right," Yami said, looking down at the table in defeat.

"Have no fear, Yugi-Boy, just the thought that the boy is nestled deep within the walls of Castle Dawnheart is enough to discourage even the coldest and keenest of killers."

"So be it," said Yami, getting up from the table. "I will tell everyone at once."

"Break it to them gently Yugi," Kaiba said with a smirk. "Those dweebs you call friends have grown rather attached to the prince. I expect quite the show when you tell them the news."

"You're all heart, Kaiba," Yami said, walking out of the room.

When the midnight hour struck, Yami rallied up his friends and proceeded by horse into the empty fields outside of Rassay's giant walls. Pegasus was at the entrance of the city, holding a bundle in his arms, that was merely nothing more than a mess of blankets served to fool the people he had the prince in his arms. He rode away as the citizens sadly bid farewell. The city was rank with sadness. Sobbing could be heard throughout the streets that night.

Meanwhile, a Machine-Type monster called Gatekeeper was waiting for Yami and the others, standing in front of two massive pillars. Ever since the incident with the Mage asleep on the job, it was the duty of these machines to guard the Gates.

When Yami and his friends arrived, Gatekeeper took a key-shaped weapon from its back and pointed it at the pillars. A vortex of multi-colored light swirled in between the pillars. Powerful gusts of winds shook the grass around it, and rocks shivered trying to stay their ground.

Joey gulped and made a strange, abnormal face only an Eldori could make.

The Gatekeeper bowed to signal the all clear, and the companions rode into the Gate.

Mai and Tristan vomited into the ground.

Joey heaved and Yami coughed trying to hold down his dinner.

Serenity threw up in her mouth and swallowed it to keep her bile from spilling on the baby who just let out a burp.

Their horses swayed left and right as if drunk.

When the companions were healed of their brief sickness, they found themselves under a starry sky and in a forest of palm trees. It did not take long for Yami to spot the orphanage Tristan and Duke found when they scouted the city earlier. The sand muffled their horse's hooves as they rode through the palm trees. They could hear the soft sound of waves crashing on the shore in the distance.

Serenity held the baby close to her breast and rocked him gently. She found it surreal that she was in another world. It felt so much like theirs. She gave a sigh.

"At least the stars look the same," she said sadly. Remembering when she took the baby to the very top of Castle Rassay where they would stare at the constellations for hours.

A cool tropical breeze graced their faces. There was a road of asphalt before them, so Yami decided it was best to dismount.

"Think anybody will see us?" asked Serenity.

"If ya keep yapping, they will," said Joey.

"Be nice to your sister, Joey," said Mai.

"Here it is," said Yami. He stopped in front of the orphanage.

The others could not believe how large and comfortable it was. The lights were on, and they could hear the sound of children laughing and singing from within. Yami and his friends got off their horses and walked across the street one by one. Tristan was about to cross, but Duke grabbed him by the hood of his cloak and pulled him back when a bright light illuminated the darkness.

It was a car.

Thankfully the driver didn't see them and continued on its way. When the coast was clear, they crossed the road and into the grounds of the orphanage. The children could be seen huddling around the fire was the owner was singing Old McDonalds Farm while playing his guitar. He was dressed in overalls and a straw hat.

"Looks like a cozy place," said Mai, gently removing her hood.

Serenity's face creased into a scowl. "An orphanage is no place for a prince."

"Exactly," said Duke. "That's why it's the perfect place to put him. No one will ever think to find him here."

Yami nodded in agreement, then he walked to Serenity.

"It's time," Yami whispered.

Serenity nuzzled the baby's forehead and gave him a peck on the cheek. Then she put him in a basket. Yami saw a tear roll down her cheek and land on the baby's head. The baby began to coo and stir in the basket. Serenity rocked gently until he settled down.

"Must he really go?"

"Serenity, don't start!" snapped Yami.

"But I love him so much."

"Serenity please, someone will see us," said Joey.

"Just five more minutes." she wept.

Yami smiled.

"Ten."

"Thank you."

And so they gathered around the baby one last time. They kissed him, hugged him and took turns holding him. They offered well wishes until it was time to finally say goodbye.

Serenity gave the baby one final kiss, nuzzled his head and sniffed his hair. She put him in the basket and handed him to Yami. "Goodbye," she said, giving the baby to Yami.

Yami took the basket and walked to a rose bush where he set the baby under it so no other person could see him.

 _A rose bush_ , Serenity's lips trembled. _That's where I met your mother_. She sobbed then began to weep, burying her face in her hands.

"Serenity, Serenity, it's okay," said Téa putting her arm around Serenity. "We'll see him again." Téa patted Serenity's back. "Rose and Gabriel would greatly thank you for taking care of their baby."

"Yugi lets go before it becomes harder for us to leave," said Tristan who was fighting back tears.

"I agree." Duke. "Damn, I'm going to miss that kid."

They were all leaving, but Yami stayed, watching the baby.

"Yugi are you coming?" Téa asked.

"You go on ahead I'll catch up."

"Okay, I'll tell the Gatekeeper to hold on."

Téa rode away into the woods.

When the coast was clear, Yami took three cards out of his pocket, and he stared at them. They were the three powerful monsters the baby summoned the night of the attack. Slifer the Sky Dragon, Obelisk the Tormentor, and The Winged Dragon of Ra.

They were children of Horakhty, and they could only be summoned by the Lord of Termnnia.

Their summoning the night the Orcs raided Rassay sealed the baby's fate as High King. Just before dying Antar adopted the baby boy and declared him the new heir to the throne. Many weren't sure the Divine Beasts would come to the aid of the boy since he wasn't really of the High King's bloodline, but the baby called their names despite being too young to speak, and they flew down from the sky and destroyed an army of Orcs with one strike. They came at their master's call. That was proof enough to the people that he was indeed the new Lord of Termnnia.

"When the time comes..." Yami said holding the cards above the baby. "...they will be yours again." The cards lifted out of Yami's hand, and they flew into the sky disappearing into small slots of golden light. Yami knelt down and kissed the baby's forehead then he put a letter on the baby's chest as well as a package from Serenity.

Yet...little did he know he was being watched.

"How clever of you," sneered Bakura hiding in the shadows of the trees near a lamp post. "So, Yugi. You seek to hide the child here in the other world. Did you honestly believe whisking him to another dimension would keep him safe? You are such a naïve fool, Yugi. There is nowhere you can put the child that can keep him from me. But, I must say. An orphanage? Is that the best you can do? No, no, no. This will not do at all."

Bakura sniggered quietly and slowly descended into the woods gone from sight.

Meanwhile, Yami looked around, and gently kicked the baby's basket. The baby cried louder than he anticipated so he quickly ran for cover and turned his horse invisible with a snap of his fingers. He peered from behind a tree. The lights began to turn on inside, and figures could be seen running downstairs. The owners of the home came storming out.

"What is that?" asked the in the farmer's outfit, no doubt the owner of the orphanage.

His wife came out and spotted the baby crying in her rose bush. She gasped. Her silky robe flapped behind her like wings as she dashed for the infant.

"Oh, you poor little thing!" she said, sympathetically. She took the baby out of the rose bush.

"Hey! Hello! Hello! Is anyone out there?" shouted the man.

His wife quickly made the baby stop crying. "Don't worry sweetheart we'll care for you." The woman tapped the baby's nose.

"What's with his eye?" asked the man. "Why is it glowing like that?"

Damn! Yami gasped. He forgot about the eye. This was a dimension where magic or monsters existed. A plain world, so to speak. But even though the child had an unusual eye, it did not affect the pair's feelings for him.

"Well," the woman said inspecting the eye. "Isn't that odd? It's bizarre, no doubt, but I see no trouble bringing him in. What do you say, dear?"

"Well, honey, this is your birthday after all. All right, bring him in before he catches a cold or something. It looks like you're stuck with us little guy."

" _Yes!"_ Yami whispered.

The mission was a success.

"Good-night, and good luck to you, little one. I will see you again soon." He said as a big tear rolled down his cheek.

Yami could feel his heart tie into a knot when he saw the boy in the woman's arms enter the house. His eyes were glued to him as if he did everything in his power to see the baby one last time. When the door closed and the baby was safe inside, Yami got back onto his horse and disappeared back to Termnnia.


	49. The Birth of Prince Yuri: Part 6

**Bakura**

* * *

He stood on the branches of a tree watching as the owner, Mr. Roberts was teaching Daveed how to walk in the backyard. Though he knew it was his intent to kill him, Bakura kept his composure and just observed him from afar. He knew now was not a time to execute his plan. Deep down he had the means to keep the child alive thus far. He had a feeling he would be of more use living than dead.

He grinned, and wished the others in his order saw this as well, but they were assassins who loved their job and were deeply determined to see their contract complete. At the moment, nobody but Bakura knew the child was living here on Earth under the care of the self-proclaimed Duel Monsters creator. He bit into an apple, keeping an eye on the boy as he wobbled towards Mr. Roberts

Many seasons went by, but in this tropical climate, Bakura couldn't tell. But he was content. After many months of planning, he finally got a family to adopt Daveed from the orphanage. Not just any family. It was the Montgomery Family, the owners of the island. Daveed was playing football with his new siblings, while the owner, Mr. Montgomery, was having a barbeque celebrating Daveed's acceptance into the family.

A Yata-Garasu, a raven-like Duel Monster, flew into a tree branch and morphed into Bakura. He hid in the shadows of the leaves keeping his watch on the child. Bakura sat down on the tree branch and swung his leg back and forth watching the Termnnian prince kick the football back to his brother, who lightly tackled him to the ground. Daveed laughing wildly as he tickled his stomach.

This warmed Bakura's heart and brought a smile on his face. It almost bothered him that Yami and the others sent him to live in some orphanage. But, he did not bring the Montgomery family to Yuri from the good in his heart. There was no good in it (if he had one at all). This favor he did for the prince was nothing more than a means to his own end.

"Ah there he is!" announced a bulky Russian man. "Come here little Yuri!"

"Why do you call him that, Sergei?" Paula Montgomery asked. "Lately we've all been calling him that. It just sticks for some reason."

"Because it means flower, and isn't he as sweet as one!"

"Sergei!" called Jacob. "Come help me with the meat."

"Da, we know you're no good at cooking."

Bakura smirked. "Yuri, huh?" He nodded. "Sounds almost like Yugi. It would be something if he grew to be quite the Duelist."

The football rolled towards the bottom of the tree Bakura was perched in. He looked down and spotted Yuri running towards it. The little boy looked up and saw the Eldori man looking down at him.

"Shhh!" Bakura said placing a gloved finger to his lips. He tossed the child a candy from his pocket to keep him quiet.

"Shhh!" Yuri said mimicking Bakura's actions.

"Shhh!" Bakura said again.

"Shhh!" Yuri mimicked again. He began to laugh hysterically. He thought Bakura was playing with him. Bakura realized this and made funny faces to entertain the child.

"Hey, Yuri, come on!" called Buzz. "Your little friend, Ren, is here."

Yuri picked up the ball and waved goodbye to Bakura before sprinting off back to his family.

"You're lucky I still have some form of a heart left in me, little Prince," Bakura whispered.

"I don't know what your son did to Josh and his friends, Mrs. Montgomery," the principal said during a meeting after school. "But he has the other children spooked. They won't go near him."

"I don't care what happened to them," Paula said coldly. "Lady, you have a lot of nerve letting those little bastards off easy after what they did to my son!"

She looked down at Yuri, his face bruised and there was dried blood on his lip. The bully at school wrapped Yuri to a tree with a jump rope and took turns beating him with his friends.

"I can't punish them," said the principle. "Not after what they've been through. It will be lucky if they ever retain their sanity again. We found them so scared their hair turned bleach white. They kept muttering about a pink-haired demon that Daveed summons at his command. Has Yuri been known to have any imaginary friends?"

"He talks of a man in black, but I figured it is just that; his imagination."

"That may be so, but imagination doesn't scare children senseless. I recommend psychiatric help for your son, Mrs. Montgomery, and a specialist to see that glowing eye of his because I've been receiving a lot of complaints from concerned parents. Some have even taken their kids to go to school elsewhere because they fear his eye is contagious."

"Bullshit!"

The principal ignored her outburst. "I also have a list of programs Daveed should take here on campus."

"You mean to isolate him?"

"Until we can figure out what's going on with your son, ma'am, I fear he is an endangerment to the students here in my school."

"My boy is harmless!" Paula retorted. "I don't know who or what screwed those boys up so bad. But I commend them! Because they did a better job executing justice than this poor excuse of an institution. Come on, Yuri, let's go."

She grabbed her child and left the office despite not being excused to leave. "Come on, baby. Let's go see if your friend Ren wants to play."

Little Yuri, now five-years-old, sat alone under the shade of a tree eating his lunch. It was his birthday but no one wanted to get near him to celebrate.

"He's so scary," said a child eating his lunch with his friends. "I heard they transferred him here from that other school because he summoned a monster or something that put those kids in a coma."

"I heard that glowing eye is how he summons that monster," said another. "They say it's some sort of demon with spiky hair."

"Those two kids are crazy befriending him."

Yuri finished his lunch. But as he got up to throw his trash away a cupcake appeared before him.

"What's a birthday without some sort of celebration?" Bakura asked from the top of the tree. He had the hood of his black armored coat up in case anyone spotted him. He was already some sort of monster in an urban legend, and the children around the little prince were already fearful enough of him as it was. Bakura jumped down from the tree and sat down in front of the boy. He tossed him a party hat, crumpled from being in his pocket. He placed it on the prince's head.

"Well, aren't you going to make a wish?" Bakura asked.

The boy just stared at him with a confused look.

"It's your birthday after all. Aren't you supposed to celebrate?"

Yuri swallowed and just looked at Bakura, examining his strange features. Yuri was young, still but an infant, but he was smart enough to know Bakura was not human.

"Blow out the candle now before the wind does you damn fool."

Still nothing but a stare from the child.

Bakura was growing impatient.

"Look, I risked a lot getting this stuff for you!" snapped Bakura. "The least you can do is say thank you."

The boy still said nothing and stared sadly into Bakura's brown eyes.

"I swear if I didn't need you alive," Bakrua growled grinding his teeth. "Stop looking at me like that!"

"Aren't you supposed to give me a present?" the prince said at last.

"Present!" Bakura stammered slamming his fist on the table almost knocking over the cupcake. "The things I do for you, my lord." Bakura muttered, but the 'lord' he was referring to was not Prince Yuri.

"I will be right back." Bakura leaped over the chain link fence and dashed away.

"Yuri!" called a cute little blonde girl with green and blue eyes. She was carrying a bouquet of linen balloons in one hand and a pack of cards on the other. "Look what I got you!"

"You mean look what I got you!" said a boy with short red hair. "I bought that pack."

"You got me a pack?" Yuri asked.

The little blonde girl nodded. "Uh-huh, and look! You even got yourself a cupcake with a candle and everything." The girl clapped her hands while sitting down. "Now we can have a proper party."

"Who was that guy you were talking to?" the red-haired boy asked.

"Nobody," Yuri replied. "There was nothing there."

"Good," said the blonde girl. "Because it's bad talking to strangers!"

"What's this?" Bakura said clutching onto a teddy bear he stole from a vendor's stall. "Ah, so his little friends have come to join him."

He watched the children all day and followed them to the beach where they splashed each other in the water and played in the sand. As he stood hidden in the cool shade of the palm trees, he couldn't help but feel jealous of the prince. He was having fun. Something Bakura was denied for far too long.

After all these years being so close to the child, Bakura was fighting an urge in his being, his heart perhaps, to spare the child of the malicious plans that were in store for him in the future. But he was loyal to his order and his lord. He made a name for himself being a cold and emotionless killer in the battlefield and in the game of Duel Monsters. He could not afford to let this boy change that.

Another year went by leading to a dark and rainy night. Bakura was leaning against the wall outside the mansion. His hood down over his head to shield him from the cold rain beating down on him. He could hear Mrs. Montgomery crying inside the kitchen from the window beside him.

"My baby!" she sobbed.

"Mrs. Montgomery, it will be all right." The sheriff confided to her, rubbing her back to soothe her. "We're doing all we can to find him. We have helicopters searching the sea and boats forming a perimeter around Aquarius to make sure the kidnappers don't get far. I assure you we'll find him safe and sound."

The front door opened. Sergei came in with the blonde little girl. Paula gave the little girl a long hard hug as she wailed in her chest.

"It's okay, sweetie." Paula soothed the child.

"Any word yet?"

"None," said Jacob. "The kidnappers still demand money from me. We've got until midnight to pay the ransom. Otherwise, we'll never see our son again."

The blonde girl let out a sorrowful wail when she heard him say that.

"Please, ma'am," said the sheriff. "We're doing all we can."

"It's not good enough," scoffed Bakura from his hiding place. "I found the boy's location hours ago," he grinned. "I was hoping to spare the fool who took the little prince the pain of having to contend with me, but your amateurish search has gone on long enough. You leave me no choice."

And so Bakura dashed into the city keeping to the darkness. It was too windy for him to turn into Yata Garasu, and as he went deeper into the city there were more obstacles to fly around. He couldn't afford to get hurt tonight. As much as it pained him to admit, the child needed him. He found a rundown apartment building nestled in between two large hotel rooms. The apartment building was scheduled to be torn down soon. Inside Yuri sobbed uncontrollably as four men walked about the room with guns.

"You got four hours. If you don't pay up he's dead." The leader of the gang said hanging up the phone. He was a skinny old man with gray hair, balding all round the top and a short cut beard. He was wearing a white tank top, mattered and dirty and torn work jeans. He reached into a bag of chocolate chip cookies and ate one savagely. He peered to the left and saw the child he kidnapped looking at the cookies hungrily.

They heard a scream from downstairs. It was one of the guards.

"Go check it out!" the leader ordered. His men switched the safety off their MP5s and dashed downstairs.

"You're gonna be okay kid," the leader said looking at Yuri. "Come here," he signaled him to get close. Yuri didn't want to move but then the man took out a gun from his pocket and pointed it at him. "I said come here."

Yuri moved forward cautiously until he was directly in front of him. He offered the child a cookie. Yuri smiled and reached for it. "Syke!" he laughed swiping the cookie away and stuffing it into his mouth. "That's the fourth time you fell for that you stupid kid! You know what Yuri means in Japanese?" he asked. "Lilly flower. I hear they call you that because you're a nice kid. And you are a nice kid aren't ya?"

Yuri nodded his head twice...Three times.

"Yeah, you're a real nice kid."

He had a look on his face that was scaring the boy. "What is with that eye of yours, kid? Your eye glows like a nightlight," he laughed. "I wonder if anything else glows on you."

Without warning, he yanked down both Yuri's pants and underwear with a powerful tug.

"I wouldn't do anything brash if I were you," the chilling voice of Bakura said from the darkness of the apartment roon. He grinned, entering the room. Yuri dashed for a bed and went under the sheets to hide.

"What the hell are you?" the kidnapper asked, staring at the Eldori creature coming into the light.

"Is this how you get your sick kicks?" Bakura asked with a sneer. "By going after children? I'm by no means a saint myself, but you. Animals such as yourself make me vomit. You poor excuse of a Homo sapien."

The man was about to ask Bakura where his men were, but he could see his twin blades were dripping with blood.

"You killed my guys!"

"I would do the same to you, but your death would be quick and painless. A form of punishment I don't like. So, I have something else in mind."

"Oh yeah, tough guy?"

"Are you accustomed to the game Duel Monsters?"

"So, you want to Duel huh?"

"Yes, and the boy will be at stake."

"And why would I do that?"

"Because if you win, I will hand you these," Bakura took a black sack out of his coat. He walked to a table and poured egg-sized diamonds onto it.

"Are those real?" gasped the man.

"They are very real. And they will be all yours if you win the Duel. And you can keep the child."

"Very well, but I warn you. I'm good."

"We'll just see about that," sneered Bakura. "Come sit."

Bakura used his arm to clear the table of empty beer bottles and boxes of takeout Chinese food before opening his game mat to set his cards down.

"You first," said Bakura. "We'll play with two-thousand Life Points."

"Why so little?"

"Because the police already have a bead on your location. If you wish to escape with the boy and the diamonds on time you'll play with what you have. You did say you are a skilled player?"

"I am. After this match, you're going to make me filthy rich," he drew his first card. Then, with is free hand reached into the bag of cookies and ate one. "You know, I should thank you for taking out my boys. After I win this Duel and get the ransom from Montgomerys all that money will be mine and I don't have to share it. Fewer hands mean more pie. Anyways, to start my turn, I summon Flame Manipulator!"

**Flame Manipulator**

**ATK/900 DEF/1000**

"My fiery spellcaster is going to roast ya!"

"Is that so?" Bakura said drawing his card. "I shall summon The Gross Ghost of Fled Dreams in attack mode!"

"Hey, how come I've never seen that card before?"

"The game evolves from day to day," said Bakura, laying down a face-down card. "A well-experienced Duelist knows how to adapt to these changes. The game; ever-changing. And now I will destroy your Flame Manipulator with my Souls of the Forgotten."

"Okay, not bad," the kidnapper said, tossing his defeated card in the Graveyard. "But how can you go against this? Ancient One of the Deep Forest with an attack strength of eighteen-hundred points."

"Oh dear," Bakura grimaced.

The sheep-like monster easily defeated his ghostly creature and dropped his Life Points down to **1100**.

"It's your turn, freak. If you summon another pathetic monster you're going to get wiped out. And then your diamonds and the kid are all mine."

"Very well," said Bakura. "I shall use the spell card Polymerization to fuse Tainted Wisdom and Ancient Brain in order to create Skull Knight."

Bakura's fusion monster had an **ATK** of **2650**. The kidnapper gawked in shock. But Bakura was not done yet.

"I now use the spell: Shrink, to reduce your goat's attack in half reducing it to a pitiful nine hundred attack points. Then I will attack with my Skull Knight and finish you off with a little Hinotama which does five hundred points of damage to your Life Points which have been reduced to a measly two-hundred-fifty because of the devastating attack of my Skull Knight."

"But the match just started!" gasped Yuri's kidnapper. "That just isn't fair!"

"You're another fool who plays with nothing but aggressive monsters in his deck," Bakura picked up his card. "This world plays so primitively. Now if you don't mind, I will take the child."

The kidnapper stood up and pulled out the pistol tucked in his waistband. He shot Bakura four times in the chest. Bakura grunted and fell backward in his chair laying lifeless on the floor. The kidnapper fired more rounds into Bakura's corpse until the clip was empty.

Yuri screamed with fright, covering his ears from the blasts.

"You thought it was going to be that easy, huh?" the kidnapper said picking up the bag of diamonds from the table. He even looted Bakura's golden cards. "Look at this deck," he said greedily. "I've never seen such cards. These creatures. They all just reek of pure darkness. I could be world champ with a deck like this. After I get my money of course."

He stuffed Bakura's deck into his back pocket and undid his belt.

"Okay, kid. Where were we?"

Yuri wailed doing everything in his power to keep from being sodomized by the sick man who had no clue Bakura was getting up from the floor with a smile on his face.

The kidnapper finally yanked the sheets away, but before he could commit his dastardly crime he felt a sharp pain in his back. He gasped in shock looking down at his chest and seeing a bloody katana poking out of his body dripping with his blood.

"You thought it was going to be that easy, huh?" Bakura whispered in his ear. He then shouted: " _Penalty Game_!"

Yuri cried trying to make sense of what was going on around him. Bakura wiped the blood off his blade with a towel hanging on a kitchen rack and then he tossed the frightened child his pants.

"Stop your wailing you fool!" he snapped. "Now get dressed so we can get you home."

Yuri sobbed pulling his jeans back on. He suddenly ran to Bakura and hugged him then started wailing in his lap.

Bakura stood rooted to the spot.

"Come off it!" he said, patting the child on the back of the head. "You're all right. Want a cookie to make you feel better?"

Yuri wiped his face and nodded taking the cookie from Bakura's hand.

"Well, go on then, eat it."

Yuri gave a wan smile little knowing of the face wailing in fear at the bottom of the cookie.

_Where am I? What have you done? Why can't I move? Where are my arms and legs?_

Yuri bit into the cookie with a loud crunch. Thanks to Bakura's shadow magic he couldn't hear the scream of agony erupting from the treat.

"Finish it," said Bakura. "It's a sin to waste food. Well, I don't know about that cookie though. You really shouldn't eat junk food."

Yuri did as he was told and finished eating the cookie thus ending the sorry excuse of a life the kidnapper once had.

After Bakura led the child out of the apartment he summoned a mischievous Pyro-type Duel Monster called **Hinotama Soul**. The fiery creature laughed maniacally as it bounced into the apartment, hopping from room to room and setting everything it touched ablaze.

"Come on," Bakura yanked the child by the arm leading him away deeper into the city as police cruisers and fire trucks wailed down the rainy streets towards the burning building.

Later, Bakura and Yuri were strolling through the rainy night back to the Montgomery estate. Since leaving the nightmare of the apartment complex Yuri said nothing. But as they reached the entrance of the neighborhood, Yuri looked up at Bakura.

"Are you an angel?" the boy asked timidly.

Bakura stopped.

"What did you say?" he asked coldly, looking down at Yuri from the corner of his eye.

"Mom said if I prayed hard enough, God would send me an angel to take care of me. I think he answered me. You always come to save me and are there to make me feel better when I'm alone. "

"No."

"You have to be a one. You are a very good person!"

"SHUT UP!" Bakura shouted unsheathing his katana.

He swung hard and stopped just inches from Yuri's throat.

"I may have watched your back all these years, but I implore you to understand that you are needed for a fell purpose in the future. When the time comes, my lord, my service to you will be over and I swear, child, I will let the shadows devour your soul!"

Yuri stood motionless, staring into Bakura's eyes. He could feel the cold steel caressing his little neck. Yet, his feelings for Bakura did not change. He was still young and figured Bakura was trying hard to convince Yuri he was a bad guy.

But five years of kindness failed to convince him otherwise. Bakura was still his hero in his eyes.

"Thank you, for saving me tonight," Yuri said anyway.

"Ugh!" Bakura gasped, his eyes widening.

 _Strong and brave_. _Any other fool would have begged for mercy upon seeing me, but, even with my blade to his throat, he still loves me. A remarkable child_.

Bakura sighed, put his sword away and grimaced for a minute before saying, "You're welcome." He ruffled the prince's jet black hair.

Bakura offered Yuri his hand. The child took it and followed his angel, for lack of a better word, up the hill back to his home. He watched as the boy slowly walked into his house. He rang the doorbell and was later met with a crying, sobbing Paula Montgomery. She picked him up and brought him inside the house.

"Some night, eh?" said an Eldori with wild, spiked hair leaning against a tree while hiding in the shadows.

"Marik?" said Bakura.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you've grown attached to the boy, Bakura."

"We need him alive in order for our plan to work," said Bakura. "I thought he'd be better off here than that orphanage that Yugi sent him to. Obviously, he's been so pampered that he's a weak boy. Plus, his father refuses to give him cards, so his skills in Duel Monsters will never grow. At this rate, he'll be dead before he turns eighteen. I don't know what else to do. Everyone is after him. I lost sight of him for just a few seconds and look at the trouble he's been in this night."

"Arrr." Marik grinned as he crossed his arms over his chest. "So see to it that he grows up big and strong. He has great power inside of him that has yet to see its full potential. It would be a shame to let it go to waste so soon. I do hope you're going to keep those assassins in line."

"They don't know he's here," said Bakura. "It's going to be difficult watching over him and keeping him a secret from them."

"I will aid in suppressing his power so they don't sense him here," Marik said, holding up a golden rod-shaped item. A Millennium Item, just like the ring around Bakura's neck. "In the meantime, raise the child as though he were your own. Raise him properly, Bakura. I want a man returning to Termnnia, not a prince."

The next day, Bakura met with Yuri again, safe and secluded in the backyard beach behind the estate. He sneered and tossed the boy a wooden rod. Yuri caught it with ease. Bakura unzipped his jacket, stripping down to his black belted vest. He picked up a wooden rod on the ground and spun it around. Yuri then realized that Bakura wanted to fight, and he shook his head no.

"I'm not going to watch you forever, boy! It's time you learned to defend yourself! Pick it up and fight me!"

Yuri dropped the rod and attempted to run. Bakura grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and threw him on the sand.

"Do you want bad people to come after you again!?" he shouted. "FIGHT!"

Yuri whimpered. He knew he had no choice, but at the same time, he knew Bakura was right. He suddenly felt determination and picked up his rod, ready for battle.

"That's it!" said Bakura.

Yuri charged and started to swing his rod wildly. Bakura blocked each messy attack and tripped Yuri. To punish him for his mistake, Bakura slapped his staff on Yuri's rump.

"Ow!" yelped Yuri.

"Again!" said Bakura, twirling his staff. "If you want to go back inside with mommy and daddy then fight!"

For hours, Yuri was beaten by Bakura. When he decided he had enough, Bakura cleaned the boy up and let him back into the house. "I expect you back here tomorrow!" said Bakura.

When Yuri remained in bed, refusing to go out. He was wakened by a firm grasp on his neck. Bakura dragged the boy out of bed by the scruff of his shirt. He took him outside and threw him in the sand again. It was time to spar with him again.

They continued fighting with the staves for days until Yuri grew quicker and stronger, whacking Bakura's thighs and back. When he was good and ready, Bakura nodded.

* * *

**Five Years Later**

* * *

Bakura stood on the roof of pharmacy watching as Yuri, now ten-years-old, ran out of the store with an armful of goods from candy to packs of Duel Monster cards. Yuri ran into a crowd and started secretly giving them to his friends, who were helping him with the robbery. The owner of the store came running out of the store, chasing Yuri with a broom.

When he finally caught Yuri he attempted to swing at him with the broom. Yuri dodged the owner's weapon with lightning-quick reflexes. He finally took the broom from the store owner's hands and beat his legs with it until he could no longer get up. Yuri looked at the top of the building. Bakura was looking at him with an evil sneer and nodded his head, congratulating him for a job well done.

At school the next day, Yuri stole some goods from one of the teachers and shared the loot with his friends who ordered him to pull off the heist. When he demanded his cut of the items, they turned on him.

Yuri's training with the wooden staves could not defend him from hand-to-hand combat. The boys beat him and tossed him into the bay. Bakura saw this and shook his head disapprovingly. He fished Yuri out of the water and slapped him for his weakness.

The following day, Bakura brought two Dueling Mercenaries known as the Paradox Brothers from Termnnia. They were expert Duelists, but they were also well-trained in martial arts, being masters of kung-fu. They helped Yuri with his hand-to-hand skills. Naturally, he was beaten and bruised by their fists which came at him as fast as thinking.

Normally, one would give up after having such a beating, but being secretly raised by a man like Yami Bakura poisoned and strengthened his mindset. Yuri took the pain as motivation to keep on going. He trained with them for months in secret on the sands of his father's private beach.

Bakura played with the minds of his parents and staff with his Millennium Ring so as to keep them from worrying about Yuri or even thinking about him when he was in the backyard undergoing his training. Yuri fought with the Paradox Brothers until his fists were just as fast as theirs were. He blocked both of their attacks in a two-on-two battle.

When they saw that their work was done, they placed their hands together and bowed. Yuri bowed back.

* * *

**Three Years Later**

* * *

Now a teenager, Yuri was stalking the streets of the slums stealing Duel Monster cards from gullible little kids. He traded his fake cards in exchange for their rares. The children were too young to realize they were being cheated.

He laughed cruelly, for he could not believe they were so stupid not to see the text on the cards he gave them was bigger and the surface of the cards were a lot brighter and faded. Nevertheless, someone caught on. The son of a slum overlord caught on with Yuri's actions. He and his goons beat him and dunked his head into the water of a fountain as punishment for his schemes. He had to be a lot more careful from then on. He learned never to linger in one spot or his entire operation would be ruined. Still, he had a desire to be stronger.

Still seething from his mistake Yuri started a racketeering ring in Los Angeles Rojas, charging the poor people for money to keep them safe from both the mafia and the islands private security force, RAPTOR. He paid the roughest boys in the slums with large amounts of money and ultra-rare cards to form a gang to help him collect the dues owed by those who desired his protection.

He marched through the town with his gang, and with his newfound muscle, Tyson, he was able to shake the stowaways into paying him, and he would spend his money on cards, video games, and expensive dates with girls whose names he could not remember. This Bakura enjoyed seeing Yuri's transformation from his shadowy perches over the streets; watching Yuri's every move. The little angel Yugi Muto and his friends worked so hard to keep pure was now a juvenile delinquent, a spoiled rich kid, and a bully. Clearly, he was losing the qualifications to be king.

But, once again, Yuri would find himself in trouble. A woman from the slums reported Yuri's activity to the authorities. He was arrested and spent months in a detention center and put him into even more trouble with Jacob.

At sixteen, Yuri lost a fight trying to defend Crystal from her abusive boyfriend. Even though he had spent weeks of training with the Paradox Brothers, he was outmatched. Bakura helped him back on his feet and told Yuri to keep getting stronger.

"Every failure is a lesson," he said to him while cleaning his wound. "Learn from it, understand? That is the only way you can get revenge for your lady friend."

Not long after hearing Bakura's pep talk, Yuri joined a gym and began to spar in the ring, learning mixed martial arts techniques, much to Bakura's joy. While in the form of Yata-Garasu, he watched as Yuri was beaten and stood back up again to take more punishment until his opponents were the ones on the floor, groaning in agony and defeat.

Every morning Yuri would walk to the beach and do exercises to get better. His muscles were like iron and he grew taller and leaner. A year later, he joined an MMA tournament, going up the brackets until he finished fourth place.

Bakura shrugged when he saw the progress he made and decided his job was done. Yuri was a man now. A man with a cold, black heart. With him behaving this way, there was no way those back home would allow him to be king.

Bakura would watch Yuri for another few months before he disappeared never to be seen again. With one final shadow spell from his Millennium Ring, he faded away from Yuri's memory, erasing decades of memories.

* * *

**The Loremaster**

* * *

"And that's the story of how our beloved Prince Yuri was sent to Earth. It was not an easy task on Yugi's part, but it was one that needed to be done. Too many enemies were looking for him and too many people were dying just to defend him. Earth is not the friendliest of places, Traveler. Lots of pansies live there. Lots of people with radical ideas. You can get locked in prison for holding a straw, run into a person who gets offended by just about everything or meet a world leader who used to be a reality television star. Pfft, it's so messed up, some have called Earth a plane of the Shadow Realm."

Colette felt like she was hit by a gust of ice-cold wind. "Eesh, I shudder just thinking about it."

The knight gets up. "Well, it's time I headed off Fare thee well, Lady Colette."

The girl shook her head. "Huh? Wait! That can't be it. That can't be all you have in that book, Loremaster, sir! Please, tell me another one. Let's keep this going."

The knight placed both hands on his tasset. "Another story? I'm sorry, Traveler, but I told you I would only give you one free story because I felt flattered you came all the way out here to find me. But if you want to hear another story, I'm going to need something from you. A little quid pro quo if you understand my meaning."

"If that is what it takes, yes. What would I have to do to hear about the next hero in your book?"

"If you come along with me to an ancient Norman temple and help me uncover a bit of history, I'll be willing to tell you the second part to this story. Prince Yuri is not the only hero whose birth was foretold by the Divines. "

* * *

**Lore**

* * *

**The Divine Beasts** **\- The three mightiest monsters of the Goddesses and children of Horakhty. When summoned to the world, angelic singers, called _The_ Meleyan, or Harbingers of the Divines, blast their powerful song announcing their coming. The three beasts first came to the earth to serve with the Pharaohs of Sobek, the golden continent. They battled Zorc alongside Exodia and three Ancient Beasts of Power in the War of the Giants that ended the first age and shattered Termnnia into five continents. When the Nameless Pharoah passed away, the Divine Beasts were left without a master until the beginning of the Second Age.**

**After Tiberius the Uniter brought Termnnia into order in his campaign for peace and unity from the Norman Invaders, the Divine Beasts vowed to remain in the World of Men and serve the High Kings of Termnnia forever.**

**Nelerung, Hammer of the Underworld** **\- A weapon once used by Dark Master Zorc in the first Termnnian war.**

**The Giants of Belroth** **\- A fell race of gigantic, cannibalistic humanoids who rose from Belroth (Meaning hunger in elvish), a plane of the Shadow Realm. Anubis used them to fight the armies of Men and Elves in the _Titan Wars_ bringing both races to the brink of extinction. The giants were all but wiped out when a mysterious girl with silver hair and eyes of brilliant blue summoned an army of Blue-Eyes White Dragons and slaughtered them all.**

**High King Antar Wollcroft** **\- The last living member of the House of Plantegrast, a cadet branch of the house of Pendragon, the House of Tiberius the Uniter. He, Yami Yugi, and Gabriel the Black led a long and bloody rebellion to take back the Diamond Throne from the Dragonheart Family, who murdered the High King Lenneth Plantegrast and his family and took the throne. After taking the Diamond Throne back from the Dragonhearts, Antar was named High King and accepted by Slifer, Obelisk, and Ra as their new master. He ruled well for twenty years. In the final days of his life, Antar adopted Prince Daveed after he destroyed Anubis in the mountain fortress of Karad-Antha, naming him his heir.**

**The House of Wollcroft** **\- A small and extinct branch from the House of Plantegrast founded by Darrion Wollcroft, a bastard son of High King James Plantegrast (The Plant King). Their House lost all of its members in the Battle of Red Pass, where King Julius Dragonheart ambushed their caravan atop his dragon (A Des Volstgalph) and burned them alive. The survivors were slaughtered by the House's mercenary forces. Antar Wollcroft was the sole survivor of the battle and sought the aid of Yugi, Yami, and Gabriel to fight back the Dragonhearts and avenge his family. It went extinct after Antar's passing.**

**Sobek** **\- The Land of the Sun, often called the Continent of Gold; for mountains and mountains of it is harvested daily. Sobek is home to the Rjel, a fair-faced race of people with ebony or silvery hair and skin kissed by the sun. After the land was separated in the War of the Giants, it sailed to an inhospitable part of the world. The trees died out and the lakes dried up turning the land into a harsh desert. But the people fought back against the elements and adapted to the hot, barbaric conditions creating a vast empire ruled by a leader called a Pharaoh. After the Nameless Pharaoh of the Second Age defeated Zorc Necrophades with the aid of Horakhty and the Divine Beasts, the Pharaohs were replaced with Sultans who rule their land with loving care, putting people over wealth because there is so much to be had. Many foolish kings in Termnnia have tried to conquer Sobek, but all have failed.**

**Eyar** **(eh-yar)-Powerful wizards sent down by Horakhty, the Mother of Monsters to combat Zorc Nercophades. They include Yami Yugi, Aigami, Bakura, and Dartz.**

**Karad-Antha** **\- Meaning _Heart of the Mountain_ in the Old Norman language, is the fortress where our story begins.**

**Nala - Goddess of arts and songs. She is the creator of the Eldori, a race of beings who arose from her paintings in the dawn of time. For this, she is highly praised by them. Artists, bards, and storytellers also pray to her in various temples across the land.**


	50. The Loremaster

**The Loremaster**

* * *

Collette had just finished her bath underneath a waterfall known as Gaia's Call. The water was cool and crisp, a perfect way to end the day after a long and hard dungeon raid with the mysterious Loremaster. He was back at camp cooking a can of beans for them to eat for dinner. Night had once again fallen and the forest was erupting with cicadas and owls hooting. She dried herself up quickly and dressed in white footie pajamas. She had a hard time buttoning the flap in the back.

Confounded, she groaned. One of the buttons was missing. She adjusted the flap as best she could before coming back to camp. She found the Loremaster sitting on a rock in front of the fire, cracking and sending embers into the cool night air. She rubbed her hair down with a towel and sat down on a stump. 

Her eyes looked down at a brown burlap sack that rested beside the knight's feet. It was loaded with the loot they picked up when they raided an old Normandian burial mound that was being ransacked by soldiers from a mercenary outfit called DracoTEK. Colette had dealt with all kinds of enemies in all her years as an adventurer. Goblins, minotaurs, wyverns, cockatrices, bandits, and river serpents. But she never went up against mercenaries from the East, who fielded assault rifles, rocket launchers, and drones. Colette knew how to summon Eidolons, and called upon her crystalized lion, Leonite, to aid her in the battle against the PMC.

"That was an interesting monster you summoned earlier today," the Loremaster said. He reached for a can of soup he made for Collette. He handed it to her after cooling it with an ice spell that froze his gauntlet solid. 

Collette took the cup and was surprised to feel that the soup was still very warm. She took a slurp and thanked him. "I found him in a temple that led to a ruby cave. He's never let me down before. Those bullets the mercenaries use were worthless against his crystallized body. 

"How many years did you study as a magician before you gained the ability to summon Eidolons?" 

Collette shook her head. "I didn't study to be a magician. I just instantly got the spell. I touched Leonite's ruby and out he came. He just became my Eidolon."

"Ah, that is a very rare gift. Becoming a Summoner is a very, very long and difficult task that can take years to learn. Only mages who spent a long education at the Adamantium CItadel or are seniors at magical academies can learn this skill. However, there are a few gifted with the power to just use it. Gifted Summoners. Seems like you are one of them. My congratulations. You know, the next hero in my Book of Heroes was also gifted with the power to just call her Eidolons. But these were no ordinary Eidolons. This girl had the gift to summon True Dragons."

"True Dragon?" Collette gasped. "You mean...Avi!"

"You've heard of her, I see."

"Heard of her? I saw her summon Infernal Dragon at the Battle of the Emerald Marches. She summoned a great, big, beautiful dragon who turned the fields into ashes. I've never seen anything like it."

"Avi had to undergo many trials to get to where she is today," said the Loremaster. "I think you've earned yourself a story for your actions today."

"Oh, boy!" Collette said, getting comfortable. "Tell me everything."

"Sit back and relax. Because this is going to be a long one."


	51. The Summoner of Dragons: Part 1

 

* * *

**The Summoner of Dragons**

* * *

**Blair**

* * *

The people of Dornhollow gathered around the grinning priest, standing in the middle of the grand plaza atop a moldy wooden crate. He was shielded from the icy drops of rain by his golden-crimson armored robes. The flaming eye of Yeyu was emblazoned in gold on his chest. It brought him great joy to see wandering souls come to him, what with Prince Stas sending back the Naralian forces and conquering the Fortlock Mountains in the final weeks of the short conflict which would be known as the War of the Golden Summer.

Anyone with the faith of Yeyu was sent on a long trip back to the borders of Naralia and it was not easy for them. They were attacked by ravenous monsters and patrols of rowdy mercenaries. The priest clutched an ornate staff in his right hand in jubilance. There were so many of them. So many people. So many new souls to convert to his religion. Two armored Clerics stood at attention on either side of him clutching their halberds in a vice-like grip. The priest was a pretentious, steadfast and impetuous believer of the God known as Yeyu. And he was ready to pound his belief on their ears, for the people were lost, afraid and weary of the events taking place across Termnnia.

Among the throng of onlookers, Blair Flannigan stood hooded and cloaked. She was an Eldori, and her kind was not welcome amongst humans. She used the crowd's focus on the priest to blend in. None cared to notice her or pay her any heed. In her arms underneath her cloak, she carried a very unusual pet. A baby dragon, colored green with a big, yellow horn on its nose. It was smart enough to know that these people didn't take kindly to his kind either, for long ago they ordered his ancestors wiped out in the Great Dragon Purge of the Second Age.

The priest finally decided to speak. He held out his arms and he shouted: "HA! I see you, poor wandering souls gathering before my presence. Stand back! I do not wish to catch your sins."

He laughed in a conceited manner.

"Look at all of you wretches. Hungry. Afraid. Angry. You are all men from the South. Of the East and the West. You come here to the North because your kings and leaders have failed you. The rebellious boy-king Hector marches his forces farther into our lands, laying waste to every city from the coasts of Tor Point to the Great White Mountains. Like a rapacious rat, he nips away at the map as though it were cheese; closer and closer to finding his unholy trio of demons to challenge the evil beasts who follow his cousin, The Eradicator of Anubis. Yuri. Our supposed 'chosen hero'. But ever since his coming, Termnnia has fallen ever further into the mud."

He laughs and points histrionically at the crowd as he continues his rhetoric.

"Now, there are rumors of a girl travels the lands summoning the demonic, winged, fire-spewing spawn of the witch Saafani. With each step she takes, death and destruction follow. Some say she is a herald of the end times. Aye, Without the guidance of the almighty Yeyu, this continent falls apart."

Nods of agreement from the poor people.

"Your mages have failed you. Your 'Goddesses' have failed you. And your 'hero' has failed you. So you come to the one-true-church for salvation, for you stand at the end of your ropes ready to dangle. You come to Yeyu but do not plead for his mercy! You do not make the signs with your hands! You do not pray and kneel. You come here to our hallowed Northern soil and scream: 'Why have they forsaken us! Why have the Goddesses not answered our prayers? Why has the world fallen farther into the precipice than ever before? Simple. They NEVER were and never have been the keys to your salvation. There is only one who made our world possible. The one who set all in motion. The one who graciously placed flesh on your bones. The one who gave you your pathetic lives is the almighty Yeyu: PRAISE TO HIS NAME!"

"Praise to his name." The people muttered wearily.

The priest balled his fist. "Let me remind you what has caused our world to fall apart. Long ago, Yeyu the almighty created the world. A paradise for us to live in. A realm for the race of Men. But his sisters, your so-called Goddesses, burned with jealousy over his creation. So they swooped down from their unholy planes and ruined his perfect plan. They brought forth the opprobrious force called magic."

He grinned.

"And the monsters came into our lands. The odious offspring of these sinful enchantresses began to defile the earth. The dragons in the sky. The zombies raising from the mud. The sea serpents lurking beneath the waves. Did we raise blade and shield against them? NO! We studied them! We collected them and used them for our own power and wealth in sinful games. A game of dark rituals called Duel Monsters. We offered our young to them. We twisted their very lives to use these monsters to bring glory to our Houses. We call them _Duelists_. Children who have been taught the ways of perverse sorcery and their bodies ruined by crystals which poison their veins with Mana to summon the beasts from cards."

The crowd looked at the ground in shame. Many of them forced their children to play Duel Monsters.

"Listen now, you poor souls. The time of the Golden Flames is upon us. Soon Yeyu will bathe the world in his righteous fire and turn the wicked into ashes while we, the saved, will inherit the earth. But he cannot do it alone. This is not the time to cower. You must defend the will of Yeyu, with your lives if need be, for this is the time of the sword and the ax. The grim reaper smiles, waiting for the Warriors of Yeyu to send him the souls of the unbelievers. It is time to fight. Will you help me, defend our world!"

Blair slowly stepped away as the crowds cheered, and ran for the forest. "This is not good," she said. "Not good at all."

Her dragon chirped in her arms. Blair ran for a tree and excavated through a pile of dead leaves until she found a claymore safe and sound. She strapped the weapon over her shoulder with a baldric and pressed on down a dirt road. It was raining heavily, but her cloak was enchanted to be waterproof, and even provided heat for her to keep her warm.

The dragon peered his head out of her cloak and sniffed.

"Yeah, there's no time, little guy. They know about her. And if I know the Covenant, they will kill her if they find her." She smiled. "But I doubt they will. She can summon dragons. She's tough. Powerful. She'll be no easy warrior to take down. Now I just need to know where I can find her."


	52. The Summoner of Dragons: Part 2

* * *

**Avi**

* * *

**_July 5th_ **

**_Year 17 4AOS_ **

**_Normandia_ **

**_1800 miles across the Azure Ocean_ **

* * *

The waters of the great Cameron Falls fell from 1000 ft. from a hanging valley located above the village of Dragon Tooth, which got its name from the countless fossilized teeth of ancient dragons located around a five-mile radius of the town.

The valley above from, which the falls inclined, ended with pendulous cliffs that delved into the river, Fair Maiden. During the rainy seasons, the falls bloated, making its majesty increase tenfold.,

A young, golden-haired maiden stared up at the falls from her bedroom window. "Another day," she thought. "Another day, another copper penny."

No joke, for that was all she was tipped with during her shifts at the tavern every night.

Avellana Lofnmagni Ethelfleda was the maiden's name. It was Ancient Norman for _Great Gift Born from Dragonfire_. But many in the town thought she was anything but. Though a fair-faced girl in the eyes of many, poor Avi was officially labeled as the village idiot due to various mishaps caused by her cluelessness.

 _"She's such a ninny!"_ said the tailor with her lady friends as they had tea, exchanging stories of their unfortunate crossings with Avi. _"The little clutz held more than she could carry in groceries and fell into my fountain. And her head in the clouds instead of looking where she was going! Scared all the birds away, she did. Now they never come. Gift Born from Dragonfire indeed."_

 _"That's nothing,"_ replied the shoe cobbler. _"The bitch chased a butterfly into my garden and smashed all my vegetables. Poor Roldan had to compensate me with his own produce and hardly had any to make supper at the tavern. That poor, poor man. He takes her in when nobody else would, and this is how she repays him? By dragging his name through the mud and making his tavern the laughing stock of Normandia? Shameful."_

Avellana was many things to the villagers, but a _Great Gift_ was not one of them.

Avi gave a heavy sigh and stared at two Gray Wing dragons soaring over the falls hunting for elk. No one in the village feared them, for they were a trouble to no one so long as they kept their distance. Still, a company of Felgrand knights patrolled the town just in case; for dragons were unpredictable creatures.

A loud whoosh caused her room to shake. She eagerly leaned out the window and saw two knights atop a Normandian Blue Beast. But in the game of Duel Monsters, it was known as **_Winged Dragon Guardian of the Fortress #1_**.

Avi rested her chin on her palm and fluttered her eyelashes while gazing dreamily at the riders. Ever since she was a little girl, she dreamed of being swept off her feet by a handsome knight riding a dragon, just like the princesses from the Ages of Old. She hoped to marry a Dragon Rider the likes of Ser Jayce Ryder the Crimson Blade, or Ser Bradley Goldenshield the Knight of the Silver Hills.

Or perhaps she would be so bold as to be a Dragon Rider herself. She wrote stories about it in her journal. Tales of charging into battle atop of a Blue-Eyes White Dragon while aiding a handsome prince in golden armor in a battle against Orcs.

She closed her eyes and let the gentle mountain breeze caress her face. Avi smiled, pretending she was riding her ferocious mount. In her mind, she saw the clouds whipping by her, and the patchwork quilt of agriculture in the countryside below her. Behind her was her knight in shining armor, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her neck...then unlacing her gown so he could fondle her flesh...

"AVI!" someone shouted.

Avi gasped and snapped out of her dilly dally; her eyes blinking wildly with the shock that tingled her core. She looked to the left and then to the right in confusion, searching for the one who called her.

"AVI!" the raspy voice called out again. It was her step-father, Roldan Salvatore, the owner of the inn, dubbed the Drunken Dragon Rider. "Where the hell are you, girl?"

"I'm coming sir, I was just using the bathroom!" Avi called down from the doorway near the top of the stairs. Her voice rang soft and sweet, almost like a whisper.

Roldan grumbled like an angry bear. "Well, I need you to go to the market and get us spices and chicken. And hurry it up, we've got customers!"

"Yes, sir!"

Roldan sniffed indignantly. "And don't be late! Or no table scraps for you tonight!"

Avi quickly sped back into her room and rummaged her drawers for her riding cloak. Heavy footsteps thumped up the stairs, they stopped in front of the door to her room. Avi turned. When she saw Roldan standing sternly in the doorway, she gave a meek gasp.

He formed a cruel smile with his chapped lips and walked towards her. "Stand," he said.

"Why?" Avi asked timidly.

"Let me see you," he said. "Today's October the Fourteenth. This is the day they found you, right?"

Avi nodded to show he was correct. She could not find it within herself to speak. That look in his eye and his careful movements meant only one thing. Avi did not want him to 'see' her, but she knew better than to confront him.

She remembered to stand up straight, for it displeased Roldan to see her slouching. Roldan put his hand over his mouth as his cold, brown, eyes slithered back and forth studying Avi inch by inch.

"You've gone up another size," he commented very pleasedly.

Avi knew what he was talking about. She blushed, hunching her shoulders as she crossed her arms over her breasts, to which Roldan sniggered cruelly.

"Let me see," he said.

When Avi refused to move, he stepped forward and undid her nightgown for her. She cooed timidly, feeling her garment getting looser.

"Now, now," Roldan said. "None of that. Stop slouching!" he suddenly snapped.

Avi straightened her back.

"Good girl," said Roldan, looking into her eyes. He admired the rainbow hue that glowed about her iris, giving off a strong Norman heritage, another clue to her mystery. "Your mother took the liberty to get you a new uniform. She left it wrapped in a parcel in the bathroom. See that you wear it."

"I will."

Roldan's sick grin stretched even wider. "He's coming to see you, again."

"Who?"

"Ser Godfrey, dearest. He came by in the night while you were sleeping."

"Ser Godfrey? Papa, he's a horrible man."

"And you will treat him with the utmost respect, do you understand? Ser Godfrey is a hero in this town, Avi. Treat him like one, for he has returned home from that meanless war against those ravenous Centaurs of the Indigo Plains."

"What did he say about me?" Avi asked, quaking where she stood as Roldan's fingers slid across her stomach.

"He was tired and hungry. Naturally, your mother and I were quick to feed him and supply him with ale. As he ate, he told us the stories of his battles. Wonderous tales worthy of song, I tell you. But you can't expect anything less from a man like Ser Godfrey. After he told us the story of his deeds in the Battle of Saldari Lake, he said that all he thought about at night was you."

"That surprises me not," Avi replied. "It seems like all he does is think of me."

Roldan halted his fingers' pleasant journey through Avi's body and looked at her with a blank expression on his face. A gargoyle at the temple had a far more pleasant glare by comparison.

"You are the village idiot, Avi!" he reminded her starkly. "And being so, you are lucky that a man of great stature such as him has an interest in you. You should be honored. Because of Ser Godfrey and his band, our lands are kept safe from vagabonds and brigands, bandits, boogeymen, and other menaces of the wild too dangerous for our lazy overweight town guards to go after."

"But what does he want with a lowly village idiot like myself?" Avi asked.

"That is his business, not mine. So long as there is gold involved, I don't care what he does to you."

He took her nightgown and walked away, leaving her alone, naked, anxious, embarrassed, and chilled. Avi gasped for air in quick sessions as though she looked at a dragon directly in the face. Tears streamed down her eyes. That's all she was to the people of this town.

An idiot. A piece of meat. An ornament to be ogled at.

But if that's how things were, that's how things were. She had no power to change how the people viewed her, or how her father used her.

She gingerly walked across the hall to the bathroom where a hot bath was already drawn. The parcel containing her new outfit rested on top of the toilet. She stepped into the water, wincing from the slight sting the blistering bath gave her toes. But she grew used to it and sat down on the wooden stool. She found a bar of soap, doused it in the water, and started rubbing it against her skin. As the hot water coursed down her flesh in gentle streams, she found an aura of serenity and felt calm.

Her father demanded she looked perfect tonight; for he was to be treating a knight with a proposition. By his command, she had her hair fashioned into two little pigtails with baby blue bows. And now it was the moment of truth. The new clothes her mother gave her.

Avi's new barmaid outfit consisted of nothing more than a bodice corset of brown, engraved, leather and a tan mini-skirt no doubt to give the customers a good view of her legs, partially covered by leg-length white socks topped with black ribbons. She looked at herself in the mirror, hunching her shoulders timidly.

Her outfit was too raunchy. Nevertheless, she had to quickly adjust to wearing it for her father's sake. She forced a smile, and then looked at the bright side of the situation.

Showing off as much skin as possible had earned her enough silver coins to purchase a few luxuries such as books, some candy, and new underwear for herself. Avi put on thick black boots to walk the muddy, pebble-laden streets of Dragon's Tooth. A belt choker with embroidered leather was wrapped around her thin neck, completing her look.

Avi gave herself one last look in the mirror and applied gloss to her naturally pink lips before she darted down the stairs past the tavern which was being swept by her mother in preparation for the customers.

Avi stepped outside and went around the inn to the garden in the backyard. It was her only sanctuary in the town. The bushes of roses, dragon blossoms, jeweled bells, and other exotic flora rose high over the white fence, acting as a wall that shielded her from the troubles of the town.

Not long ago, Avi had installed a water fountain with a birdbath, which attracted very small, fluffy, yellow-bellied bluebirds known as Normandian Azure-Wings. They were used to Avi coming to the garden to tend to the vegetables and the flowers she grew to sell in town for an extra bit of coin.

The Azure-Wings chirped happily in the peach tree as if they were trumpeters in a royal palace hall, announcing the coming of the queen. The brave ones fluttered from their perches to the white-stone pathway where they scampered around at her ankles.

"Hello," Avi said cheerfully.

She picked up a basket perched on the workbench by the side of the inn. She held it in her arm and walked around the garden picking flowers healthy enough and colorful enough to sell.

She went to her knees to examine a multi-colored six-petaled flower. She grinned, for they were all in bloom. She picked up a pair of clippers lying on the ground and snipped them off, adding them to her basket. Two Azure-Wings hopped towards her and stood there watching her work.

"Ser Godfrey is coming to see me," Avi told the birds. She threw another flower into her basket. "Papa says he has a proposition for me."

The second bird, a male by the scarlet trident-shaped mark on its belly, chirped in response. Avi took the chirp as a question.

"What he wants, I don't know. What do you think he has in store for me?"

The bird chirped again.

"Marriage? You think so? Oh, Safaani's grace, I hope not. The town sees him as a hero, but don't let that fool you. You don't know what kind of person he is. You won't believe the things he has done to me over the years."

She sighed when she realized what she was doing.

"Now I know I've gone mad. I'm talking to a bird! As if you even know what I'm saying anyway."

Avi felt guilty for saying that when she saw the male tilt his head to the side with a sad twinkle in his beady black eyes. Avi ran a finger down his head, smiling to show she did not mean to say that.

"Sorry," she said. "By the way, how is he doing?"

Understanding what she meant, the bird flew to the peach tree, wrapping his little black feet lightly around a branch where his nest was perched. Avi put the last of the colorful flowers into her basket. She got up, wiped the dirt off her hands and knees, then sauntered to the nest. She peered inside and saw the last of the five hatchlings still cowering in the corner.

"You're still here?" she asked.

The baby bird gave a squeaky chirp in embarrassment.

"Come on now. You promised. It's been a week since your brothers and sisters left. Don't you at least want to try?"

The Azure-Wing chick squeaked sadly.

"Just try," she implored him sympathetically. "If you fly, you'll be free. Or do you prefer to be like me, and be cooped up in this place forever like a prison?"

Avi cupped her hands together, to which the baby bird beettled into quickly with two quick hops. The sky was starting to turn gray, and the trees quivered from the fierce winds of the summer storm approaching.

"Hmm," Avi said. "The day could be better, but that is no excuse not to try at least."

Another Gray Wing flew over the town with a powerful _whoosh_ and created a great wind that rustled the leaves in the trees. It roared loudly, causing the other Azure-Wings to chirp in a fearful frenzy, save for the baby bird, who jumped up and down in the sanctuary of Avi's palms with excitement.

The sight of the baby bird's sensation caused Avi to giggle. "You see? He's flying, too. You can do it. Just do what he does."

The bird flapped and flapped its wings until it started to hover in the air. "You did it!" Avi cried out with joy.

The bird flew in circles around the garden and landed back into her hands. "Go on! Go on! Your friends are waiting for you." She kissed the chick, boosting his confidence. "Go! Get as far away from here as you possibly can."

The baby bird flew out of her hands and joined the other young ones as they took off in a large flock. He disappeared from her view.

"I wish I could," Avi said glumly. She suspired mournfully and picked up her basket.

"Avi!" her mother yelled from the kitchen window. "Are you working? Or just lollygagging?"

"Sorry mama," Avi called back.


	53. The Summoner of Dragons: Part 3

**Blair**

* * *

It was still raining heavily, though that did not surprise her. She was in the Storm Coasts, after all, a realm ruled by the mythical Thunder Dragons. Thanks to them constantly fighting over the Stormy Seas, thunder and lightning were as common as a gentle breeze. West. They said she was out west. But west where? Was she in Emboldor? Feldia? Riftgaard? Gardenrealm? She cursed herself for relying on rumors. The more she realized it, she was following the tale of a guy who knew a guy, who knew a guy, who knew a guy. She slapped herself on the forehead for realizing it.

Her dragon chirped.

"No! You just chased down and ate a squirrel thirty minutes ago! I am not going to an inn. We only have a few gold coins left and a handful of pennies. If I am to continue this journey, I need money. I can't keep wasting it every time you want to stuff your face! For the love of Safaani!"

Her stomach rumbled. Blair's face formed an awkward expression. "Oh...Well. I guess maybe we could stop by an inn. But if I do, I can't get you that collar you always wanted. You know, the one from the window? And thanks to your last meal, I can't purchase a horse. Man, that would have made this journey a lot easier. Too bad Jaden couldn't come with, but he's back in the capital training. I wish he came along. It feels so lonely without him."

 _Kee hee hee hee hee_ chuckled the dragon.

"What are you on about?" snapped Blair. "Just stop it!"

She heard someone laughing in front of her. Blair stopped. A man stepped out from behind the tree. He was obese and naked from the waist up, sporting buckled, leather trousers, and boots. He wore a kettle-hat helmet on his head to shield him from the rain. Judging from the emblem engraved on the side, it was stolen from a soldier of the town guard. Then, six more men came out of their hiding places, brandishing cleavers, knives, and truncheons.

" 'ello, poppet," he said. "Wot's a pretty thing like you doing in these parts all alone? Don't ya know there are bad men about?"

"Yeah," said a skinny fellow wearing rusty armor over striped pumpkin pants. "Bad men preying on helpless little girls like you. We'll be willin' to let you pass if you hand over all the goods on ya."

"O' aye," said the one in the kettle-hat helm. "Ah, and that sword of yours, too. That's a handsome weapon. Looks rather big for ya. I think it will be better if I took it off yer 'ands."

Blair felt someone tug at the hemline of her cloak. "And this here cloak looks like good material." He swiped it off her shoulders. Blair was frozen. The men stared at her masterwork leather bodice and skirt. Her boots went all the way up to her knees and they were embroidered with floral etchings. She wore a small backpack with sheaths holding daggers, maps, and health potions. She held on to her dragon tightly.

The man brought her magic cloak to his nose and sniffed it. "Mmm. She smells like a peach."

Another man yanked her sack of coins from her belt. "Seems a little light," he said. "But the more the merrier." He added Blair's money to a sack full of stolen coins from their past victims.

"Wot's that thing in yer arms, love?" asked the man in the kettle-hat helm. "Is that a dragon?"

The other bandits crowded around Blair to see the creature.

"It's a dragon alright," said a bandit wearing wooden armor. "There's a Red Priest in town who will pay good coin for it. Well, for its hide anyway."

"Take my sword if you want," Blair said helplessly, or at least she tried to sound that way. "But leave my dragon alone."

The bandit in the kettle-hat helm undid the buckle of her baldric. When he tried to take the sword, he fell straight to the ground and landed with a splash in the mud. "Bloody hell!" he shouted. "This thing weighs a ton!"

Blair wrinkled her nose and smiled. "The sword only lets me carry it. So it will do you no good."

The bandit in wooden armor hurried towards Blair. "Then we'll be taking your pet!"

The baby dragon opened its mouth and released a jet of flames at the bandit. The fire was so powerful, not even the rain could put him out. He hollered and screamed, waving his hands in the air, shouting at his comrades for help. The baby dragon flew out of Blairs arms. She reached for the daggers in her backpack. She tossed two of them at a couple of bandits, striking them directly on the neck. They both gagged, gurgling blood as they fell on their knees and fell face first in the mud.

Blair knelt down and picked up her claymore, which was as light as a feather in her grip. The blade was metallic white and the guard was dark brown. The handle was wrapped in black leather and there was a keychain dangling from the ringed pommel. She swung the massive blade with all her might, hacking the kettle-hat bandit's head off. A bandit roared, charging at her with his hammer. Blair performed a beautiful backflip, dodging his assault. The bandit was stunned. How could anyone move like that with such a large blade? That was the last thing he pondered before Blair decapitated him.

The last bandit tried to run away. Blair reached for a small crossbow holstered on her lower back. She aimed and fired, sticking the bandit in the back. He held his arms out in pain as he froze and gagged. He fell to his knees and...SPLAT! He fell on the ground.

Blair gathered her things. She sheathed her daggers back on her backpack and buckled her claymore over her shoulder before drawing the cloak over herself again. The baby dragon flew from the trees and landed on her shoulder. She thought she would loot the corpses. After all, many of them had purses full of coin and Star Chips on them. She rubbed her chin and smiled, for her dragon was a winner in this, too.

"All right, little guy. Looks like meat's back on the menu for ya. Eat up."

* * *

**Avi**

* * *

She did not want to leave her little sanctuary, but duty calls. She left the garden and joined the throng of busybodies flooding through the streets of the town.

A large pig walked about the streets sniffing the ground for an easy meal. Hens went by in large groups, looking for a way to escape the crowd that bloated the streets. A white goose led her chicks down the road. She looked at Avi, and quacked before waddling toward the river to lead her young for a swim.

Avi put on a brown riding cloak and pulled the hood over her head so as not to be seen by Ser Godfrey, an old and very perverted knight who made it a habit of harassing her. Nevertheless, she had to hide from the town anyway. As previously stated, poor Avi wasn't very well thought of, due to her knack for finding trouble when she least expected it.,

On more than one occasion, Avi found herself being locked in the pillory at the town square, punished for various mishaps such as accidentally slipping in the potions shop and breaking every bottle in the alchemist's display cases. Falling into a pond, and scaring a horse into a charge all over town when she just wanted nothing more than to pet it.

She did not want any trouble today but she was still feeling violated by her step-father's touchy behavior earlier. Avi cautiously blended with the crowd, and kept her flowers on display, hoping to sell them for one copper penny, but they were so beautiful that the patrons would be so generous as to pay her with a silver coin or even a Gold Star Chip, buying all the flowers she had.

But Avi knew the patrons who bought her flowers didn't show such generosity from the bottom of their hearts. No doubt, her immense beauty had captured their hearts. They would ask for 'favors' in return for buying her flowers, and when she refused, her flowers were tossed back at her face, and her purse was stolen. She cared not; for she made more on her shifts back in the tavern.

Roldan was too proud to admit it, but the sole reason why his business was doing so well was because of Avi. Everyone flocked from all parts of Dragon Tooth just to see her and flirt with her. This worried Avi, for she knew any moment they would pay her father just to have a night with her. Now that she was eighteen-years-old, she feared that dreadful thought was coming true. The men at the tavern touched her inappropriately often, and her father would say nothing.

"Flowers!" Avi called out as she walked into the market. "Freshly picked flowers. Sweep the love of your life off her feet with my beautiful roses, sun maidens, purple bells, and copper vines. Flowers! Get your flowers. One copper penny each!"

"Can I pluck your little flower?" asked the pig farmer as he and his brothers herded the swine to the butcher.

Avi ignored them and walked off. Their infernal laughter followed her until she reached the central fountain of the town plaza, her last stop before the bridge to the other side of town. A bell rang from one of the towers of the wall that surrounded the town. "A storm this way comes!" called the crier. "Stay dry and keep anything of value tied down!"

His news caused Avi to quicken her pace. Once she came to the bridge, she gasped and stopped dead in her tracks. Sitting next to the bridge was a large and frightening creature. A Leogai, the lion-folk from the tropical islands far across the sea. He was a giant with the head of a lion covered in a thick mane of golden hair. He was wrapped in a dirty woven cloak. Flies eagerly buzzed all around him, hoping to get a piece of the chewed bones that littered the cracked pewter bowl laying next to him.

Avi took a few steps back, hoping the creature wouldn't look at her. She breathed a sigh of relief and calmed herself when she saw that he was sleeping. The Leogai's name was Ser Gerhalos; a hedge knight as the townsfolk called him; for he served no Lord and slept outside.

He made a habit of staring at Avi and snarling at her when she passed by. He had done this for years, earning himself the title as Avi's bully. The town almost loved him for that. Someone had to keep Avi in line when she walked through town, they all thought. Avi hated him for this, but at least he kept to himself, unlike Ser Godfrey.

Avi gulped. It was Friday, and that meant that he would be coming tonight with his gang of knights. It was going to be a long night tonight. Ser Godfrey's group was the rowdiest bunch of misfit knights Avi had ever seen. All of them had touched her butt at least once since Ser Godfrey invited them for dinner every weekend.

She had no time to worry about that. It was getting dark, and the tavern regulars would be coming to eat at any moment. She needed to get the ingredients for supper or who knew what Roldan was going to do to her.

As soon as she mustered the courage to press forward on her errands, something gleaming in the window of the card shop had caught her eye.

"What's this?" she said. She approached the window and noticed that it was a new Structure Deck. **Rise of the True Dragons** was written in gold letters on the box. A dragon of great power was the ace card of the deck. A replica of the card was displayed in a plastic case below the stand holding up the deck.

* * *

****

**Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand**

**ATK/2800 DEF/2800**

**LV 8**

_**If this card is Special Summoned from the Graveyard: You can target 1 monster your opponent controls or in their Graveyard; banish it, and if you do, this card gains ATK and DEF equal to the banished monster's original Level/Rank x 100. If this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle: You can target 1 Level 7 or 8 Dragon-Type monster in the Graveyard, except "Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand"; Special Summon it to your field.** _

* * *

"Incredible beast," she breathed. "Look at the detail on it. Oh, if only I could get a deck like that. I'd be unstoppable."

A round of laughter erupted behind her. Avi turned, seeing a group of eight schoolboys standing behind her, clad in fine garments imprinted with ornamentation. Their pockets were full of gold to spend on booster packs and all the candies they could eat at the shop.

"You probably can't even play a Kuriboh," laughed a boy, very plump and freckle-faced. The shirt of his uniform was stained with orange juice and smudged with streaks of chocolate, which told Avi much about his mannerisms at the table. "A monster of such power and quality is not for you."

"Get lost, Avi! Only Duelists can play that dragon, and you are no Duelist," sneered another child, the clown of the group no doubt; for he obnoxiously wore a colorful propeller beanie on his head, and his clothes were not as extravagant as his peers.

"I am a Duelist!" she yelled. She fumbled through the pouches on her belt until she found her Dueling Deck. She held it up high for all of them to see. "See?" she asked, to which they all laughed.

Her cards were wrinkly and torn. Clearly unprofessional in their eyes. The plump boy fell on his knees. "Oh, Goddesses!" he wheezed. "That's so pathetic."

"Cards don't make one a Duelist!" said a boy with slicked gelled hair the color of gold. "You need a Duel Disk, too!" He held up a bracelet on his right wrist and morphed it into his very own customized Duel Disk. It shimmered with a brilliant gold finish and was inlaid with multi-colored jewels that glowed. Arcane circles acting as ornaments spun around the machine as the gadgets beeped and hummed upon being activated.

"Oh!" Avi said in wonder.

"You don't have one, do you?" asked a snobby boy with brown hair and glasses. "If not, then you're no Duelist."

"Duelists can still play on tabletops!" Avi said. "It matters not where you play. So long as a person has cards, he or she is a Duelist."

"Yeah, right!" said the boy with the glasses. "Nobody Duels on tabletops anymore, save for lowly serfs like you! But I bet even if, by some miracle, you did have one, then you'd still lose."

"I'd bet your Duel Disk I won't!" Avi countered.

Oooo! The boys hooted.

The plump one put his hands behind his back. His lower lip tucked under his preposterously large front tooth. He walked towards her slowly and in wide steps. "So, the little peasant thinks she has game. Fine, we accept your challenge. I happen to have a spare Duel Disk in my backpack. It's hardly used since I got five jeweled ones for my name day. I'll let you borrow it if you can Duel all of us."

"I accept!" Avi shouted. "I'm not going to let you spoiled brats push me around!"

Ser Gerhalos snored lightly from his spot at the foot of the bridge. The plump boy tossed Avi the Duel Disk. She felt her arms almost giving way to the large size of the contraption. Now she understood why many Duelists had them compacted into small items like jewelry. She attached the cumbersome machine on her wrist. Already she felt her arm's muscles wailing in agony.

"Now what?" Avi asked.

"Now put your Dueling Deck into the display drive recognizer. A Life Point counter will display your score the entire match."

**LP 2000**

"Sounds easy enough. I'll go first." Avi drew. "I summon Lightning Conger in Attack Mode!" Avi placed the card on the digital card reader. In seconds, a large serpent with teal-colored skin, yellow fins, and lightning-shaped appendages magically manifested onto the field. Avi smiled and gasped in wonder. _Impressive_! She thought. I _summoned that. I can't believe it_!

****

**ATK/350 DEF/750**

**LV 3**

She used a spell to boost its power called Electro-Whip, which increased her Lightning Conger's ATK to 650. "That ends my turn!"

"She knows how to do a combo attack," said the boy with the glasses. "This peasant does know how to play."

"Surprised?" Avi said, trying to keep her feet from hopping up and down with excitement.

"You're going to have to do better than that," said the plump boy. "I summon Shine Knight in Attack Mode!" The Duel Disk shimmered and projected the tall knight in armor that looked like light made solid, and a brilliant white cape. He wielded a white lance and a shield. A red glow shined from the center of his helmet.

****

**ATK/400 DEF/1900**

**LV 3**

Avi thought there was some kind of mistake. Perhaps the boy was not as skilled as he claimed he was. The knight was clearly 250 points lower than her Lightning Conger. For a moment, she thought she could win the round, however, the boy performed a combo of his own with a spell called Shield and Sword. The spell switches the ATK and DEF of all face-up monsters on the field. Now Shine Knight's ATK was 1900 and Lightning Conger's increased, slightly, to 1050.

Still, the arithmetic was not in favor of Lightning Conger. The Shine Knight thrust his lance into the electric serpent's forehead, and shattered it to pieces, followed by a blast of wind.

"Oh no!" Avi cried, shielding her face with her forearm.

**Avi-1150 LP**

The boys laughed at her.

"See?" her plump opponent said. "You're going to have to come up with better combos than that. Any fool can equip spells onto their monsters. Come on! Let's see what you've got. I set a card face-down and end my turn."

Lucky for Avi, Shield and Sword only lasted for the duration of his turn, so Shine Knight's ATK was back at 400. She drew her next card. "Okay, now that your knight is weak again, he is going to stand no chance against this. I summon Ray and Temperature." She summoned two creatures that resembled the Sun and the North Wind.

****

**ATK/1000 DEF/1000**

**LV 3**

Avi attacked the Shine Knight, but her opponent knew what to do to take her hopes away. "Ha! You stupid girl! I activate my Spell Card! Rush Recklessly! This will increase my Shine Knight's attack by seven hundred points!"

Shine Knight's ATK was boosted to 1100 points. A fiery white aura enveloped him. He growled, feeling his body surging with power before raising his lance and jabbing it into the face of the Sun. Ray and Temperature blew up and shattered. Avi yelped as she fell on her butt. The boys laughed at her again.

**Avi-1050 LP**

"My turn," her opponent said. He drew, and summoned another monster. Altitude Knight. A monster whose Level was 4. The boy switched Shine Knight into Defense Mode, triggering his effect. Shine Knight's Level increased to 4. When it did, a black portal opened beneath the boy's feet. It was the Overlay Network, which meant one thing.

"I will Overlay my two monsters and Xyz Summon King of the Feral Imps!"

"Xyz Summon!" Avi shrieked. "Oh no!"

The monster towered over her by more than ten feet. A reptilian creature with patches of white fur on its wrists, ankles, and back of the head flowing down to the bottom of his tail in a large cape. Black spikes protruded from its arms, head, and down its back.

**ATK/2300 DEF/2000**

**Rank 4**

The boy could have attacked her Life Points directly and ended it, but he was having so much fun bullying Avi, that he ended his turn and gave her a fighting chance that she knew she didn't have.

"Um, I summon Monster Egg in Defense Mode!"

King of the Feral Imps smashed the little egg with his foot.

"Hard Armor, defend my Life Points!"

The King of the Feral Imps smashed the living suit of armor with ease, turning it into a heap of twisted metal.

"Weather Report go!"

WHAM! King of the Feral Imps demolished the fairy resembling a snowman.

Avi was getting nervous. The boy was having fun seeing her squirm and squeal. He especially liked it when she landed on her derriere; for her legs went up, giving the boys a good view up her skirt. Poor Avi did all she could to defend herself against the King of the Feral Imps, but he was too strong, and her monsters were so weak.

"Armaill!"

BOOM!

"Root Water!"

SMASH!

Mystical Sheep Number Two!"

"Baaa!" cried the sheep when the King of the Feral Imps' claws slashed it down to size.

"You've wasted enough of my time," said the plump boy. "I summon the Illusory Gentlemen!"

****

**ATK/1500 DEF/1600**

"Attack her Beaver Warrior!" he commanded.

The strange monster he summoned, a tall phantom in orange old-fashioned clothes and a black spiked scepter leaped forward and smashed his weapon on Beaver Warrior's head. The defensive monster disappeared leaving Avi wide open. King of the Feral Imps charged forward and punched Avi in the stomach. She yelled and was launched two feet in the air. She hit the ground hard on her back, and then rolled violently to a stop as her Life Points went to 0.

She could hear their infernal laughter from her position, face down in the dirt.

"That's right, you peasant! In the dirt! That's where you belong."

"My turn!" said the boy with the glasses, morphing his signet ring into an engraved Duel Disk of platinum and myrrh. "I want to have a go with her."

"Get up, serf!" said the freckle-faced boy. "Make it fast, Winston, I want to Duel her next!"

Winston sneered, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Well? Come on now, get up! I haven't got all day!"

"B-b-but you beat m-m-me already?" Avi was on the verge of tears. Meanwhile, Ser Gehalos yawned and smacked his lips.

The plump boy laughed at her timidness. "The deal was you could have my Duel Disk if you played against all of us. I beat you, so now it's my friend's turn to give you the spanking you so rightfully deserve, you filthy peasant!"

"But..." Avi stuttered.

"DUEL!" shouted the boy. "You first, flea!"

Avi sniffled and shuffled her deck, placed it in the drive recognizer, and drew. "I summon Flame Dancer in Attack Mode!"

****

**ATK/550 DEF/450**

"How pathetic," Winston said. He chuckled drawing his card. "And here you thought you could have a deck like Rise of the True Dragons for your own. You insult the game just thinking about it. A powerful dragon such as that is only worthy of real Duelists like us."

The boys shouted and jeered in agreement.

"How dare you think you can play with us!" said Winston. "Weaklings like you insult this game of honor and power! Well, I'm about to make you pay, flea! I summon Great Angus in Attack Mode!"

He summoned an angry bellowing four-legged beast with tusks, purple ears, and molten-yellow eyes brimming with a lust for violence.

****

**ATK/1800 DEF/600 LV 4**

"No!" Avi implored them. "You've made your point. I won't play ever again, I swear it!"

"Good girl," said Winston. Great Angus puffed out steam from its nostrils and slid its frontal left claw in the dirt, ready for a charge. "I'm glad we've been able to teach you a lesson today. But the deal was that we'd let you use Jason's Duel Disk if you Dueled all of us. So that's what you're going to do. And you're going to be a good little girl and play against all of us, right?"

"Please no," Avi said bowing.

"Good," said Winston. "Take your punishment! Great Angus, attack her Flame Dancer!"

Great Angus roared. He violently charged towards the Flame Dancer, shaking the earth with each step. WHAM! Great Angus headbutted Flame Dancer, and dealt 1250 points of damage to Avi.

**Avi-750 LP**

For good measure, Great Angus headbutted Avi, too. She grunted and was knocked on her back again, legs going up to give the boys the view they so cruelly desired. Avi picked herself up and suddenly changed.

"I'm not going down without a fight," she said. She drew. "I summon Blackland Fire Dragon in Attack Mode!"

Fire rose from the ground in front of Avi, and took the form of a quadrupedal green dragon with ivory horns and claws.

****

**ATK/1500 DEF/800**

Avi held up a spell. This combo she was about to play won her a victory against a drunk at the tavern. "I activate Dragon's Gun Fire!" she shouted, feeling a rush of confidence cool her quaking body. "When I have a dragon on the field, I can activate one of the two effects on the card. And I choose the second one. I can destroy a face-up monster on the field with a defense of 800 or less."

Winston thought so lowly of Avi that he was shocked she pulled off such a combo. If she could do that, then it meant she had some skill. Maybe she wasn't as weak as he thought. Nevertheless, Blackland Fire Dragon opened its mouth and shot a powerful fireball at Great Angus. When it hit, the fireball engulfed Great Angus in white-hot flames, reducing it to ashes.

"But I am not finished!" Avi cried. "I activate the Spell, Dragon Treasure, which will increase my Blackland Fire Dragon's attack to eighteen-hundred. Attack him directly!"

Blackland Fire Dragon inhaled deeply, and released a jet of flames at Winston, burning all but 200 of his Life Points. His peers were not too pleased with this. His overconfidence got the best of him, but having played the game for so long, he remedied the situation by playing is Summoned Skull.

**ATK/2500 DEF/1200 LV 6**

Winston then combined Summoned Skull with Dark Energy, an Equip-Spell that boosted the power of Fiend-Type monsters. Avi whimpered, taking a step back when the holographic board projecting the monster's ATK displayed 2800. Summoned Skull pointed his claws toward the sky, conjuring up powerful bolts of lightning that surged into his arms to collect enough energy for his attack.

"Lightning Strike!" Winston commanded, and his Summoned Skull launched the lightning bolts at Avi's Blackland Fire Dragon. The dragon raised its head, bellowing in agony with a shaky, weak roar before it exploded. The blast launched Avi backward, and she landed on the ground with a thud on her belly. Once her Life Points hit 0, the boys began to shout and jump to see whose turn it was to humiliate Avi next.

"My turn! My turn!" said the boy with the propeller hat. "I want to Duel her!" He dashed for the path, and morphed his ring into a Duel Disk as quick as thinking, beating the other boys to Avi.

The Life Points counted back up. Avi grimaced, still face down in the dirt; her cheeks red in embarrassment.

"Play!" he said.

"Please no more," Avi begged.

"Play!" said the plump boy. "Or I will call the guard and tell him you were bothering us. Deny it all you want, you know they never believe you."

Avi was right. She would rather get pummeled at Duel Monsters than being arrested and forced to spend a week on the pillory. These boys have caused her trouble before while she was there, forcing her to be at the mercy of their mischief and morbid curiosity.

Why is this town so cruel to me? Avi wondered. Her face became a mask of defiance and she got back on her feet.

She had to tough it out. She had to show them she was not afraid. She was close to beating Winston. She just needed one, even if it meant getting beaten by the rest of them. If she could pull off a victory against this stupid-looking boy at least, she would go home content knowing one of them was going to be haunted by his loss for the rest of his days.

She wanted to beat him out of all the boys who were bullying her. He was rather goofy-looking; one eye blue and the other yellowish-green. His nose was round, his face spotted with freckles and mouth lined with dimples.

The boy, whom his friends called Kolby, thumbed his nose at Avi while wriggling his fingers. That just fueled her drive to beat him even more.

"I'll go first this time," said Kolby. "I use the Spell Card known as Ancient Telescope! This will let me see the top five cards of your deck."

Avi cried out in shock when her cards flew out of her deck and flew over Kolby's face. He laughed, both hands slapping his belly. "How pathetic is that?" he blurted out. "Goddesses, this match is going to end quick, and I don't even have to try. I summon Kotodama in Defense Mode."

He summoned a sickly-looking spirit with greenish-black skin covered in glowing orange runes. He wore a torn skirt colored dark blue. His wrists and ankles decorated with gold bands. A plume of red hair protruded from the top of his bald head. He gave an eerie wail upon being summoned to the field.

****

**ATK/0 DEF/1400**

**LV 4**

"Winged Dragon Guardian of the Fortress!" Avi shouted, summoning a great, blue dragon. It swooped over the field and landed behind Avi with a thunderous crash. With an ATK of 1400, it was too weak to take on Kotodama, until she used Dragon Treasure to boost its ATK to 1700, ridding it from the field with a powerful fireball attack.

Avi thought she had the upper hand with the match, but then Kolby summoned Mr. Volcano, a devious gentleman with the gift of pyromancy.

****

**ATK/2100 DEF/1300**

**LV 5**

Again, Avi found herself getting trounced the entire match. Her monsters were turned to ash one-by-one. On her last turn, she summoned a Petit Moth in Defense Mode. Kolby summoned another Pyro-Type monster called Fireyarou, which he used to destroy the Petit Moth and leaving Avi wide open for an attack by Mr. Volcano.

Avi was bathed in flames that burned the rest of her Life Points away. Mr. Volcano blew her a kiss and shot a ball of magma at her chest. Again, Avi was sent flying, this time landing on her butt.

Again, the boys gathered round to see who could beat her again. For the next fifteen minutes, Avi found herself being clawed by a Leogun. Slashed from the cursed blade of a Swordstalker! Punched by the heavy fist of a Stone Ogre Grotto, burned from the white-hot flames of the three-headed dragon; Yamadron, and smashed by the spiked balls of the machine Spikebot, all the while listening to the infernal melody of the boy's laughter. The found delight in making Avi suffer, despite she was their senior by ten or eleven years.

When the boys had their fun, Winston removed the Duel Disk from Avi's arm. He removed her deck from the drive recognizer and tossed them at her.

"My cards!" Avi sobbed, desperately trying to pick them up. The boys said farewell to her before marching into the shop, many of them stepping on her cards. One managed to even get her fingers. "Ouch!" she cried.

A cruel laugh responded.

Avi saw that her cards were now wet, torn and bent beyond recognition. They were useless to her now. She pouted on the ground and sniffed sadly. The bell rang five times, signifying the hour was getting late. She picked herself up and proceeded to cross the bridge to the market. But before she could take another step, she stopped and gasped with fright.

Ser Gerhalos was looking at her. The noise she and the boys made no doubt woke him. And he was very grouchy.

He wriggled his ears as he looked at Avi poisonously. Avi backed away cautiously not knowing whether to apologize for staring at him or to say nothing at all. The warrior's golden-black eyes seemed to burn with fury. He opened his mouth an roared. Avi screamed and ran away, sprinting across the bridge and toward safety.

She picked a bad time to ponder this, for she was still looking Ser Gerhalos. He was not at all pleased with her staring at him and roared. Avi yelped and ran away to the laughter of many who saw the spectacle. But their laughter increased two-fold when she slipped on an apple core and landed on the ground with a thud. Her basket fell out of her arms, and her flowers spilled all over the dirt. Some fell into a puddle of mud, ruining them.

She got up and dusted herself off, surprised she did not dirty her uniform as much as she thought she had.

"Oh well," she thought, seeing her flowers strewn all over the ground. So far, all Avi sold was one sun maiden, a beautiful flower that looked like the hair of a blonde woman. There was a commotion coming from the square as two Duelists readied themselves for a Duel. They were the Hartford brothers, the son of the town's ruler. No doubt they were taking this chance to show off the new Duel Disks they received.

"Lenard and Romulus. On their way to Duelist Academy I suppose," said the silversmith.

"That doesn't surprise me," said a fat and grouchy woman. "Comin' 'ere t' show off the new toys daddy gave 'em."

"Ah, what does it matter?" said the silversmith. "I love me a good Duel."

Lenard started first, summoning a Satellarknight Deneb, which allowed him to add a Satellarknight to his hand. He found what he needed shuffled his deck and continued. He played a spell called Ties of the Brethren and summoned two more Satellarknights and he placed two cards face down and ended his turn.

Avi beamed at how marvelous the monsters looked. The Satellarknights were a very popular archtype to use these days. She had never seen them before, only heard about them from traveling Duelists who came into town to play before the ruler Lord Roger Hartford who loved a good Duel more than wine, women, and money. And he had all of those comforts, so much that he spoiled his sons with his wealth, not having them work a day in their lives.

Romulus's turn. He played a Spell Card called Gem-Knight Fusion. He tossed three Gem Knights into the Graveyard summoning Gem-Knight Master Diamond. He was a tall and menacing figure whose armor of the purest platinum brought a presence of beauty to the playing field. With his new monster, he dominated the first three turns of the game.

Lenard struck back into the top with a vengeance when he summoned Satellarknight Altair. That triggered the summoning of Satellarknight Procyon. He flipped up a trap called Oasis of Dragon Souls, bringing back Deneb setting up for an Xyz Summon. Three of Lenard's Satellarknights stacked on top of each other and became Satellarknight Triverr who wiped the field clean by sending all of Romulus's cards back where they came from with the removal and an Xyz Material. He removed another causing Triverr to forcefully discard a card from his brother's hand.

SLASH! The Stellarknight attacked directly knocking Romulus to the ground with a great crash. The crowd around them cheered, marveled by the amazing comeback Lenard performed.

Romulus was more than ready to win back their admiration. He kept slapping down Gem-Knight Fusion and summoned Gem-Knight Citrine ( **ATK/2200** ), Gem-Knight Zirconia ( **ATK/2900** ), and Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli ( **ATK/2400** ).

The crowd oohed and ahhed. None more than Avi who was left dazzled at the beautiful knights who based a motif on precious gems. She had never seen a Duel like this before. As the crowd began to swarm to catch the action, it began to get harder to see. She had to stand on the tips of her feet to see anything. She moved to a nearby chapel and climbed to the top to watch the Duel. What a view! Even better than anyone in the square. She sat comfortably atop a gargoyle eagerly awaiting the next move.

Romulus wasn't done. Using the effects of one of his fallen Gem-Knights, he was able to bring back another Gem-Knight Fusion and summoned Gem-Knight Primsmaura ( **ATK/2450** )

BAM! BAM! BAM! Lennard was defeated. The crowd cheered. Even though he lost, Lenard stood up and bowed together with his brother. It was an excellent match.

"YOU THERE! GIRL!" cried the monk who worked in the chapel.

Avi gasped and looked down. The stern monk pointing up at her. "What are you doing up there! This is sacred ground! Climb down at once!"

Before Avi could budge, the gargoyle's neck started to crack. "Oh no!" she cried. The stone gave way, sending her tumbling down into a chicken wagon. It broke her fall, but she shattered the chicken's cages and broke a dozen of their eggs. She was covered in thick layers of yoke which stuck to hay and feathers.

The townsfolk pointed at her and laughed. To make matters worse, Avi landed in a position that left her legs wide open, giving the men a good view up her skirt. She blushed and pressed her hands between her legs to cover her panties from their view. Meanwhile, the chickens escaped flapping away into the streets in fright. Feathers flew everywhere.

"My chickens! My eggs!" called the egg farmer. "How could you!? These were for the Baron's grand banquet tonight. Now the bakers will have no eggs to make the cakes. I will lose everything for this!"

"I am so sorry sir," said a town guard, coming to the scene. "I'm sure the Baron will understand once we explain."

"Who is she!" cried the egg farmer. "Who is she to do this to me? I'm ruined!"

"A thousand apologies," said the guard. "She's Avi."

The monk joined the two men. "Aye, she's just the local idiot," he said.

"I-I'm sorry," said Avi. "Please, it was an accident. I didn't mean it."

"Come with me, young lady!" the monk said, grabbing her by the arm and dragging her back to the inn.


	54. The Summoner of Dragons: Part 4

Avi was in for a world of hurt after her father answered the door. The monk reported her mischief and demanded someone compensate his chapel to repair the broken gargoyle who was more than a hundred years old.

The chicken farmer also demanded money for the loss of most of his products and the chickens he lost. Rolden had no choice and paid the two men for their trouble. Once they were gone, he slammed the door shut. He turned to Avi and pulled one of her pigtails. Avi gasped in agony and humiliation, flinging her arms around trying to get away.

"I will deal with you after your shift you stupid bitch!" Avi's nose was blasted with his rancid breath soured with ale. "Go upstairs and clean yourself up! NOW" He turned her around and smacked her bottom three times in front of the customers. "GO ON!"

"Yes! Yes, sir!" Avi whimpered as she frightfully scrambled upstairs to clean the mess she was covered in. She could hear Javon and his friends laughing at her and hooting at her from their table, teasing Avi for being in trouble. This only made her face burn with embarrassment.

By the time she was done with her cleaning herself, the world had grown dark and the rains began to pour all over Dragon's Tooth. The band started to play their lively tunes and the tavern became full. Avi hurried downstairs before she got into even more trouble.

Her eyes darted from right to left, scanning for troublemakers. So far it was just the farmers who came to the tavern for dinner after a long day's work in the fields.

"Wench!" one of them shouted. "An ale on the double!"

"Right away sir," said Avi, taking out her notepad and pen. "What else would you like?"

"Give me a slab of Niwatori chicken meat. And some rye bread. And a slab of cheese; make it quick!"

"I will, sir," Avi said, jotting down the order.

"Well, get a move on it!" he commanded.

"Yes, sir, sorry, sir!" said Avi. She scampered away, pigtails flailing up and down with each step.

"Hey, Avi, can I get four ales here!" called the blacksmith who was treating his friends for supper.

"Right away, sir!" Avi said, writing their orders on her pad as well.

She came back with their drinks. More thirsty patrons bellowed out for Avi, using obscene language towards her.

"Wench! Where be our drinks?" shouted the shoe cobbler.

"I'll be right with you, sir!" Avi called.

"Work faster!" he shouted.

Avi ignored him and brought another customer his myrtleberry mead. "Here you are."

"Thanks, Avi," the blacksmith said, putting a gold Star Chip into her pouch.

"Oh, thank you, sir!"

"You're a hard worker, Avi. Honest pay for honest work."

"AVI!" someone shouted. "Where's my food!"

"Your roast duck is almost done, sir."

Avi scampered to another customer on the second floor. Elk antler chandeliers hanging up on the ceiling lit the evening with candles that gave off the scent of pine. The windows gave a panoramic view of the town and the majestic Cameron Falls could be still be seen in the twilight standing proudly above the town.

As she wrote down the customer's order, she felt someone tug at her skirt and lifted it up.

"Oh!" she cried.

"Nice, very nice," said the man.

He was a knight in a brown robe with a chestplate of metal painted with vintage playing card symbols, which were the red clubs of the house he was serving. He was bald and sported gray mutton chops on the sides of his head.

Ser Godfrey the Knight of Clubs. He made a habit of coming to the inn and harassing Avi with his friends who, thankfully, were not accompanying him this night.

"Please don't!" Avi said, slapping his hand away. She did it harder than she would have liked. But she was so full of rage she couldn't contain herself.

"How dare you strike an anointed knight!" Ser Godfrey shouted, getting up from his chair. The feet grinding against the maple floor. The boards underneath him groaned trying to support his weight.

Avi shook her head. Her lips tightened. She felt the sweat coming from every pore on her body, and her underwear helplessly creasing up the crack of her butt. Her heart raced so fast she thought it would give way and expire. "I've had enough, Ser Godfrey," she said, "you can't keep doing this to me!"

"Oh yeah?" Ser Godfrey challenged her.

"What is the trouble here?" Roldan asked, storming up the stairs. His massive boots causing the boards to creak and groan.

Avi's legs quivered, feeling more and more like jelly. Her teeth started chattering and her fingers were awfully numb. "He lifted up my skirt, Pa."

"It doesn't matter!" shouted Ser Godfrey. "You cannot strike a knight!"

Amidst her fright, Avi felt frustration and anger tie her chest in a knot. She balled her quivering fists and put her foot down with an unexpected defiance. She looked the fat knight in the face and said: "You are a knight! You're not supposed to be so rude! You're not supposed to touch women like this."

"He's the customer, he can do whatever he wants!" said Roldan.

"That's right," said Ser Godfrey. "Huzzah, a man of quality."

"But, Pa!"

"Would you excuse me for a minute, Ser Godfrey?" said Roldan. His veins were bulging from his temples and his face was turning beet red.

"How do you intend to compensate me for this?" Ser Godfrey asked.

"A round of drinks on the house," said Roldan.

"Very good," said Ser Godfrey.

Roldan led Avi by the wrist into a secluded hallway. He grabbed her by one of her pigtails and dragged her to the broom closet where he threw her inside. Mops, brooms, feather dusters, and buckets fell all around her.

"You listen here, Avi. Ever since we found you, you've been nothing but a pain in the ass. I give you a place to stay. A place to work. And every night you make my inn the laughingstock of the town."

"I'm sorry," Avi sobbed. "Papa, I try my best…but those men make it so hard for me."

"You make it hard on yourself fighting them back! They are the customers their lives matter to me, yours does not. You are but a tavern wench. You are nothing!"

Avi whimpered like a neglected puppy. Her pretty pink lips trembled and her eyes glistened with sorrow. She sniffed and massaged the roots of the pigtail Roldan had pulled, for it stung her scalp, but not as much as the pain in her heart.

"Rest assured, Avi. If I had to let every single one of our customers fuck you to get me gold, I would do it."

Avi hiccuped, going on her knees. She grasped her father's dirty, torn apron. "No! No, you don't mean that!"

Roldan pushed her off. "I do!" he yelled. "Now get back to work! And no more funny business or you'll find yourself sleeping with the dogs tonight."

"Yes, sir."

Avi went to the bathroom and cleaned herself up, washing away her tears, fixing her hair and reapplying her makeup. When she finished, she went back into the fray. To her dismay, Ser Godfrey's companions had arrived to join him. They asked for the round of free drinks that were promised for her striking their leader.

The band playing by the fireplace laughed at Avi, scrambling to get from one customer to the next. The drums and pipes riddled her ears with the same melody about the princess who fell in love with a Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

"Here you are My Lord," Avi said, carefully giving the knight and his companions their drinks.

"Now that's more like it," Ser Godfrey said leaning back to get a peek up Avi's skirt as she bent over the table to give them their drinks and food.

"Here, girl," Ser Godfrey said, handing Avi two silver coins and a copper penny.

"Thank you, My Lord," Avi said, taking the money. "With this, I am one step closer to purchasing that structure deck in the card shop."

"Ah, so you fancy Duel Monsters, eh?" Ser Godfrey rubbed his four chins with interest. "And what is said deck?"

"Rise of the True Dragons," said Avi, putting the money in her pouch. "I heard that the main card of the deck is based on the king in the capital city of Felgrand."

The knight and his companions laughed. Avi faked a laugh forming a crooked smile on her face. Her cheeks flushed into a pretty shade of pink.

"You believe that nonsense about the King of Normandia being some golden dragon?"

"N-no, My Lord," Avi babbled.

"Good. You're a smart girl. Now away with you, but don't go too far. We might need you again."

Avi bowed, thanking him.

"Wench!" shouted another patron. "My friend and I have been waiting for our buttered biscuits for more than fifteen minutes! Where are they!"

"Right away, sir." Avi ran to cook's quarters where her mother was urgently cooking the food for the guests and customers.

"Did you bring Ser Godfrey his drinks?" asked Roldan.

"I did, sir," Avi panted. She was clearly exhausted from being overworked. Her ankles and legs ached. Her spine jolted her with pain, causing her to wince. She let out a breath to help relieve her of her pain. Avi told Roldan: "Keep those kegs open, it seems like they'll ask for more as soon as I deliver Mr. Bostark his biscuits."

"Here they are," said her stepmother. Bertha, a sickly old hag with a crooked nose and a long tooth protruding over her bottom lip. "And don't you fucking drop them you clumsy girl. You cost us good business every time you mess up."

"I won't," Avi said taking them.

She rushed to Mr. Bostark. "Here are your buttered biscuits, gentlemen," Avi said, serving them their food and drinks.

"Can we butter your biscuit?" Mr. Bostark's friend laughed.

Avi ignored them and walked away.

"Hey Avellana!" shouted Ser Godfrey from his table, this time on the second floor so his companions could scoot the tables together for an evening tournament of Duel Monsters.

"Yes, Ser Godfrey?" Avi replied sweetly.

Ser Godfrey beamed at her. "Aint she an angel, lads? Another round if you please, sweetheart."

"Right away, Ser!"

Again, Avi picked up their empty tankards and dashed back into the kitchen to fetch them their drinks.

"Hurry up wench!" shouted Ser Godfrey's squire, a boy no more than fifteen.

Just as Avi was nearing their table, one of Ser Godfrey's companions tripped her. Avi fell forward dropping their drinks.

"You stupid girl!" shouted Ser Godfrey, though he knew her accident was no accident. He ordered his friend to trip her on purpose. "Look at this mess you made."

"It's not my fault!" pouted Avi. "He tripped me!"

"Are you accusing me!" said the fellow knight, feigning offense. "Why, I have never been so insulted!"

"I see her reading some book when she's not working," tattled the squire.

"Reading eh?" said Ser Godfrey. "Women and books should never mix, and this is the result. We get stupid, clumsy girls wasting the time of good paying customers like me by lazing about!"

"I wasn't lazing about, Ser, I tripped. I'm so sorry!"

Ser Godfrey grabbed her by the forearm in a vice-like grip and lifted her up as he got out of his seat.

"Sorry will do you no good, this time!" Ser Godfrey sat back down on his chair and shoved Avi over his knee. He lifted her skirt causing the other patrons to cheer and hold out their mugs in triumph, awaiting a good show.

"I say fifteen strokes out to teach her a lesson," Ser Godfrey said, rolling up the sleeves of his brown robe.

"Fifteen? More like fifty, Ser!" shouted another patron.

"No, My Lord!" Avi pleaded, kicking her legs up and down. "It was an accident, I'm sorry!"

"So, you admit it was not my friend's fault!" said Ser Godfrey, rubbing Avi's bottom. "You admit to being clumsy!"

"Yes! Yes!" pleaded Avi. "It wasn't his fault, it was mine! I am clumsy! I am stupid! I admit it. Just please don't hurt me!"

"Sorry my dear, but I think that it was high time someone knocked the stupid out of you. I have tolerated your behavior for long enough."

SMACK! He started hitting her.

One of the band members playing a hexagonal accordion merrily skipped towards the table. He looked down at Avi, enjoying the view. "A little song, Ser Godfrey?" he asked.

Ser Godfrey nodded and shrugged. "Aye, why not?"

The patrons began to clap as the man with the accordion started to sing and dance around the inn while his band began their tune.

"Sing along with me lads!" he cheered.

* * *

_Smack her once! Smack her twice!_

_She ruined our meal and that's not nice!_

_Hit the left and whack the right,_

_We put up with this shit every night!_

_She spilled the ale and dropped the rum,_

_And now she takes it in the bum!_

_Avi! Avi! You nincompoop,_

_You took too long now the beer is gloop!_

* * *

The band started to play much livelier as the patrons laughed and cheered at Avi's humiliation.

Tears streamed down Avi's cheeks. She held on to the back of a chair with all her might. "Stop!" she wailed. "Please!"

The hellish laughter all around her was stabbing her pride; what was left of it.

In this tavern, she was nothing more than a slab of meat to be gawked at and played with. She had been abused by many patrons before, but Ser Godfrey was the worst by far, always finding some way to humiliate Avi.

Usually, he would tug her pigtails, lift her skirt, and fondle her legs as she served him, but he reached a new low this night.

"All right boys," Ser Godfrey said, rubbing his hands together. "I think it's time we went bare bottom."

"No! Please!" Avi begged. "Mama! Papa!" she cried out to Roldan and Bertha. But they just stood where they were and watched.

 _I will kill you all!_ Avi thought to herself. _Just wait! You'll be sorry you messed with me!_

"Put the girl down!" a powerful voice shook the tavern.

The music stopped and the laughter faded. All was quiet, save for the rain that started pouring harder and pounded the roof of the tavern.

"Bless my soul!" shouted Bertha. "It's Ser Gerhalos!"

Avi gasped and looked at her savior. Ser Gerhalos looked much taller now that he wasn't sitting down. He was ten feet tall and wore leather armor colored black and embroidered with intricate designs. The sword he had sheathed on his back was larger than a man, and his two large fangs were coated in gold and sharpened like daggers. He snarled ferociously while he stepped into the inn ready for a feast. His purse was filled, all set for spending. He was draped with a brown cloak with a hood to shield his mane from the rain.

"This does not concern you, Ser Gerhalos!" snapped Ser Godfrey.

"Not as much as that tin can you call armor!" said Ser Gerhalos, standing over him, dominating the entire group with his massive presence. "It is time for my dinner, and I will not be able to get my food if the waitress is over your lap. Release her this instant so she can serve me."

"Not until she has had her punishment," Ser Godfrey said, raising a hand.

"That wasn't a request, Godfrey!" Ser Gerhalos flashed his sharp teeth. "Release her!"

"Fuck you!" shouted the squire.

Ser Gerhalos reached behind his back and unsheathed his incredibly long claymore. He held it close to Ser Godfrey's neck. The foul knight shivered, feeling the cold, rugged, steel caressing his flesh. Without any effort, Ser Gerhalos could hew his head off at any second.

"You bring such a disgrace to the name of knight," he growled. "I don't want the girl to have to clean up your blood and the guts off the floor, Godfrey. Do as I say and let her go."

"At your command, Ser Gerhalos," Ser Godfrey said, setting Avi's skirt back down. She climbed off his lap and crawled away.

"Now prepare me a plate of fish, girl," Ser Gehalos commanded Avi.

Avi stood up, then rubbed her bottom as she bowed. "Yes, yes, My Lord. And thank you."

"Hurry!" Ser Gerhalos growled and sat down by a table. "And I am not a lord."

"Aye, that he is not," said Ser Godfrey. "Just a mere hedge knight."

"A hedge knight who can slaughter you and your companions in his sleep," said Ser Gerhalos. "Do me a favor and make yourself scarce. I don't want you ruining my dinner."

Ser Godfrey, his squire, and the other knights knew better than to pick a fight with a Leogai, whose ferocity in combat was said to exceed that of a unit of well-trained soldiers. They got up and left the inn, feeling both intimidated and angry that their fun with Avi was ruined.

Avi brought Ser Gerhalos a plate of fried fish with bacon burnt to a crisp and black beer to wash it down with.

"You can just say hello when you see me," said Ser Gerhalos.

"Sorry," Avi said bashfully.

She had seen Ser Gerhalos in the streets from time to time. He always sat under the bridge at the entrance to Dragon Tooth, earning his keep as a monster hunter. Whenever he would pass her by or look at her, Avi would scream and run the opposite direction.

Now that he had saved her, Avi felt guilty for treating him like he was some sort of a monster.

"You don't have to be scared," Ser Gerhalos bit into his fish with a loud crunch. He finished chewing before he spoke again. "I don't eat people unless they bother me."

"Am I bothering you, Ser?" Avi asked.

"No," Ser Gerhalos replied calmly. "Here's your payment for tonight."

He slammed a gold box onto the table. It was the structure deck Avi was saving up for.

Her eyes widened. Avi clasped her hands together and tried to control her breathing. "Ser, how did…"

"It doesn't matter," declared Ser Gerhalos. "Take it, and use it well. Become a good Duelist and get out of here. You're too sweet a child to work in such a place."

"Thank you, My Lord."

"I am not a Lord," he reminded her. "If you need advice on how to Duel, seek Master Solomon Muto. He is staying at the castle up on the hills teaching promising young students. You can put that deck of yours to good use."

Avi's lips formed a heavenly smile which made Ser Gerhalos feel warm inside. "Thank you, sir."

Avi was about to take the deck, but Ser Gerhalos put a massive golden-furred hand over it.

"Tell me," said he, "why this deck in particular?"

"Well..." Avi pondered whether or not she should tell the knight about her dreams. She grinned, for a feeling in her gut told her the Leogai already knew something.

Avi pulled up a chair and sat down. She winced, for her flesh still burned from the beating she received earlier. She was still on the job, but she had no fear of the other patrons or their orders, for they were trembling in fear of Ser Gerhalos.

"I've been having dreams for the past few months," she explained. "They began getting more intense as news of Prince Daveed's return spread."

"And what did you see?" Ser Gerhalos asked.

"Dragons." Avi bit her lip. "There are hundreds...thousands of them swarming all over me. They are calling my name and singing for me in a language I have never heard of. Then...I see some heavenly woman."

"Safaani?" Ser Gerhalos asked again, referencing the Goddess of Dragons.

"I don't know," said Avi. "I couldn't see the figure, I could only hear her thundering voice. She told me that the dragons flying all around me represent real dragons who are said to be sleeping all over the continent across the sea. Termnnia."

"Of course," Ser Gerhalos said, ruffling her hair with his mighty hand. "Avi, I think the Dragon Goddess is saying something to you."

"What?" Avi cried out with excitement. "What do you think she could be telling me?"

"I don't know, little one. That is a mystery of which only you can solve. But have no worry. With this deck, you can unlock the secrets of your dreams."

He gave her the cards. "Take care of them, and they will take care of you," he said with a smile. His whiskers flinging with joy. "There is more to you than meets the eye, Avi. There is more to your destiny than being a simple tavern wench."

"I hate it here, Ser," Avi said glumly. "It's so awful. And Ser Godfrey..."

"Forget about him," said Ser Gerhalos. "He is not foolish enough to cross with me. You'd best go. You have other customers awaiting you."

Avi bowed and playfully skipped back to the kitchen. For the first time in her life, she felt a sense of importance. She felt a sense of being. Avi was often called The Girl from Nowhere because she was found wandering the streets of the town naked and covered with ash. There was a forest fire that day and many believed that she was part of a convoy that was trapped. The folk of Dragon Tooth supposed Avi survived and got hit with amnesia. But no one claimed her.

For years, Avi pondered about who she was and where she really came from. Tonight, she felt closer to solving that mystery.

"I know those dreams mean something," she said looking down at her new deck. "If Ser Gerhalos is to be believed, these cards are going to help me find out what they're all about."

"Wench!" someone shouted from upstairs. "Two roast ducks and a tankard of gold beer on the double!"

"Right away, sir!" Avi called out to the customer. She set her deck down and went back to work.

* * *

**The Fire Mage**

* * *

The waters of the River Grace flowed gracefully down the valley now alive with the song of Katydids, treefrogs, and crickets as the sun was slowly descending over the horizon. The cool breeze of the last summer's month caused the leaves of the oak trees surrounding both sides of the river to rustle as they danced with one another in the soothing whistle of the wind.

The stars in the skies were starting to twinkle, and the translucent shapes of the three moons were taking form in the night. But despite the serenity around her, Phoenix Lockheart was feeling a sense of tension and determination as she locked eyes with her opponent in front of her. They were standing on small platforms that went across the river. So small, that there was barely enough room to stand on them.

Her long, silky, orange hair was like fire glowing brightly in warm the glow of the sunset which also caused her fair peach-colored skin to turn a fair shade of reddish-gold. Her eyes like two emeralds were twinkling as though they were ornaments created by the finest jeweler in Termnnia.

She was a work of art, that girl. A youth of eighteen in great form with a faint bulge of muscles on her slender arms. She wore a midriff top which showed off her core displaying a well-earned set of abs. The sight of her exposed skin caused her opponent to grin from his platform. He was adorned in blue robes demasked in gold designs shaped to look like water flowers.

The opponent bowed. Phoenix bowed back and adjusted herself into a tight combat position atop her platform. Without warning, Phoenix's foe summoned a wall of water, scalding hot as though boiled for hours. The powerful surge lunged out of the river as quickly as the wind and lunged toward Phoenix.

She positioned her fingers into a magical pose that allowed her to create an aegis of fire with a thought. The flames blocked the water, creating a thick, white mist that was scathing hot, and burned Phoenix's skin. But, being a fire mage, or pyromancer, she was used to the heat, and the boiling-hot water droplets on her skin felt like nothing more than a refreshing bath.

She held out her hands. Balls of fire formed over her palms and she tossed them at the aquamancer in front of her. The flames whooshed, distorting the air as though a watery curtain followed after the flames. The aquamancer smirked then performed a backflip as he conjured cones of water that intercepted the fireballs Phoenix tossed at him.

Ssss! Ssss!

The water hissed when it was met with the scolding embrace of the flames Phoenix shot from her hands. Arrogantly, Phoenix leaped to the next platform with the greatest of elegance and care. She looked like she was dancing as she battled for supremacy against her foe. The aquamancer stopped at the last platform and clapped his hands, causing the river to tremble from his power.

A tidal wave rushed towards Phoenix. The water took the form of stampeding horses, neighing as they charged towards the girl. Phoenix gasped in mid-jump and landed on one of the platforms, summoning an aegis that looked like fire made solid with hexagon-shaped tiles. The spell she conjured shielded her from the wave. When the water smashed against her shield, a column of white smoke erupted into the air making a great hiss as though a giant serpent of mist lunged into the air.

Phoenix flipped out of the veil and conjured flaming wings, causing her to hover over the battlefield. She then threw fireballs at her cocky opponent. He dodged them and felt fear as he realized this was Phoenix's meteor shower attack.

He knew she was quickly advancing through the ranks to be master and anticipated great power from her, but nothing like this. She was so young and so new with her magical abilities, yet she wielded it like a master mage or a wizard even. Try as he could, the flames fell upon him too quickly. He created a bubble of water forming into a solid form, hoping he could hold out until Phoenix ran out of Mana. But she was far too clever for that ruse. She gathered every ounce of Mana she had and her wings left her back and forme into a screeching phoenix that flew in circles over the river before diving towards the aquamancer and his pitiful bubble shield.

He screamed when he realized it was all over and braced for impact. The phoenix smashed into the bubble shield creating a terrific explosion. The poor lad flipped helplessly through the air and fell into the river with a great splash. Meanwhile, Phoenix gently landed on her platform, balling her fists in victory. When the battle was over, all was silent again. The insects and the frogs continued singing their song.

Just then, the sound of someone clapping their hands disrupted the calm of the evening. Phoenix turned around and saw the Archmage, the headmaster of her school looking down at her and clapping his hands. He was nodding his head in approval. His long, silvery beard gleamed like fine silk. He wore white robes with gold ornamentation and a pointed hat with a matching design of his robes. His staff was made of adamantium and wrapped in gold vines with a planetary system hanging over a gleaming, white crystal. His half-moon spectacles were of gold and silver. Behind the lenses, his beady silver eyes lit up with joy.

Soon, every student in The Citadel burst with applause for the show Phoenix displayed for them. On the other side of the river, the students of an opposing magical academy stared in disbelief at the loss and hung their heads in shame.

Phoenix turned and bowed. Behind her, the aquamancer was being fished out of the river by his fellow classmates. A bald-headed man with waxed mustachios and a gold monocle grumbled at the defeat of his best student. He was the headmaster of the other school, shook his head.

"Well, Acer," said the Archmage. "It seems my students have bested yours again."

"So it seems," said Acer, wrapping the left side of his mustache around his index finger to hide his shame and embarrassment. "That girl of yours is quite the mage. She'll make a fine wizard someday."

"I think so, too," said the Archmage. "And I do believe she has surpassed you, dear boy."

Acer growled, his face turned bright red. It was one thing seeing his school be dishonored by The Citadel again, for the umpteenth time, but now the Archmage was growing to be quite overzealous.

"Come, Acer," said the Archmage. "Let us cool our heads with wine and drink. And please, allow your students to find a place to bed for the night. You've been riding for a month."

"Thank you for your hospitality, Archmage," said Acer. "It is greatly appreciated."

Phoenix hopped over the platforms and made it to shore where her friends were waiting. They crowded around her, hugging her and squealing with joy for another well-fought match. A Redborne girl with cornrows handed Phoenix with a large ration of calories, for she burned a lot of them during combat. The rations were accompanied by a can of a very sweet soda so she could bring balance to her blood sugar.

"You did good, Phoenix," said the Redborne girl, whose name was Yisinda Saish-Si. "You sure showed those East Mountain Academy scrubs what for."

"Thanks," Phoenix said, opening the can and chugging down her drink. "Oh, how sweet," she said. "You remembered to get orange-flavored. My favorite."

"Anything for my girl," said Yisinda.

"Phoenix, you're just too good!" swooned Ezra, a friend, and an admirer.

They returned to their home away from home, The Citadel, a gleaming white tower at the center of a lake that was surrounded by a bustling town known as Star Water. The white tower of limestone, myrrh, platinum, and silver was lit up by floodlights on the grounds around the tower making it stand out from the rest of the town who unfortunately was home to many intolerant radicals from the Church of Yeyu.

Every day the monks from the Chantry of Star Town would stand out on the docks preaching about the evils of magic users. The red-armored Knights of the Gray Chapel guarded him as he passed out pamphlets to bring people closer to his diety.

"Look!" the monk called out. "There they are! The blasphemous heathens who twist the world with their magics!"

"Boo!" called the believers.

They spat at the students and threw rotten produce at them. It had to take a platoon of Black Luster Soldiers to cause them to stop their violent protest. High King Antar sent an entire fighting force to Star Water to protect the students of the Citadel who were targeted by angry mobs and Witch Hunters; dastardly mercenaries in the pockets of the Blue Priests, commonly known as The Jays, high-ranking priests in the Church whose sworn duty was to target mages and eliminate them. Thanks to the presence of the Black Luster Soldiers, Star Water was clear of Witch Hunters. But that did not mean the students were safe from the prejudice of the Covenant.

After sailing across the lake on small boats and walking up the black marble stairs towards the tower, Phoenix was stopped at the entrance by the Archmage. He bowed to her, and she bowed back.

"Your Excellency," said Phoenix.

"My dear," said the Archmage. "Come, come. I have something I wish to discuss with you."

"Oooo!" said Yisinda. "Phoenix is moving up in the world. Is it a promotion, Your Excellency? It has to be a promotion. Especially for the way Phoenix kicked East Mountain Academy's butt for the hundredth time."

"Simmer down, Ms. Yisinda," the Archmage said, almost with a snap in his voice. "There are going to be no promotions to be had during our meeting. I fear this is of the gravest importance."

Yisinda's smile faded. She locked her hands together and bowed apologetically. "Forgive me, Your Excellency. I meant no disrespect."

Phoenix's thrill of her victory was put out like water to a flame. She felt a chill run through her frame seeing the grim expression on the Archmage's face. She must have overdone herself during the fight.

"Have I done something wrong, Your Excellency?"

"Come, we will discuss this matter in my chambers." He turned powerfully causing his robes to give a whirl.

Ezra gave Phoenix a pat on her shoulder. They moved out of the way of the other students to let them pass, and they stood there in the atrium. "Don't worry, maybe it's not as bad as it seems."

Phoenix chewed on her lower lip anxiously. "No," she said. "You saw the look on his face. He's upset with me. I probably used my magic in a way that displeased him."

Yisinda shook her head so hard the beads on her cornrows clicked as they smacked against one another. "Displeased him? You were awesome out there! You destroyed that guy and wiped that smug look off his face."

"I was sloppy and undisciplined, Yisinda!" said Phoenix. "I used too much Mana and tired myself out. I was lucky that water mage was just an apprentice. If he had been a master wizard or an expert mage, I would have surely lost. The Archmage constantly lectured me about my excessive use of my Mana. Time and time again, I've failed him."

"I'm sure it's going to be all right," said Ezra. "You're the Goddess of the Citadel. There is no mage more powerful than you in all the Thirteen Kingdoms; or more beautiful for that matter." She slid her fingers up her hair. "Goddesses, you're so gorgeous." She bit her lip, gathering the courage to let out one more compliment. "And sexy," she finally said. Her heart pumping her with excitement, while feeling regret at the same time.

Phoenix looked at her with a smile and placed a hand on her cheek. For a moment, Ezra thought her compliments and her admiration for Phoenix was finally paying off. "I appreciate that Ezra," she said. She planted a light kiss on her cheek. "But, I'm not looking for a girlfriend at the moment."

Ezra sighed to show her sorrow. "I know, and I completely understand. Especially after that disastrous relationship with that wretched girl."

Yisinda scoffed. "Disastrous? More like catastrophic. I can't believe she got so drunk with elixirs that she almost burned down the gardens outside."

Phoenix buried her face in her hands and groaned. "Let's not speak of her or that incident again," said Phoenix. "Not only did it get the wench to be expelled, but it cost me my reputation. I can't believe she and I were about to get married!"

"It's in the past now, darling," said Yisinda, sliding her hand up and down Phoenix's back. "Forget about her. And no more dillydally. The Archmage waits for you."

Phoenix nodded in compliance and took the stairs all the way up the tower to the thirtieth floor; the Archmage's living quarters. To get there, she had to take a short elevator ride to the top. Once the elevator stopped, she found herself in a forest with glowing vegetation. Above, a clever spell created the illusion of a starry night sky. A shooting star raced across the bluish-black background. An alchemy table was carved at the base of a large oak tree. Potions were brewing all around it. The entire workstation was lit up by white candles giving off the scent of pine and two round paper lamps hanging from the branch above the table.

Phoenix walked past the table and followed a broken path of red brick towards a set of stairs with two iron lamp posts perched atop the newel posts. Phoenix followed the stairs into a second-floor chamber towards the office where the Archmage was waiting for her.

He stood in front of a large round window that took up the entire wall. It gave him a feeling of power as he looked down upon the common and gullible people below. The windows of the buildings across the town glimmered like a thousand pieces of fiery amber. Above the mountains, the moons were up on full display.

He turned when he heard the polished oak floor creak underneath her boots. "Phoenix," he said. "Have a seat." The Archmage pointed at a comfortable armchair in front of his desk littered with papers, magical tools, mathematical instruments, and deck of cards.

"You play Duel Monsters, Your Excellency?" Phoenix asked, sitting down on the chair.

The Archmage gave a soft chuckle. "You think I'm too old?" he said.

"I meant no disrespect, sir," Phoenix said, shrinking in her chair. "I just thought you were to busy to play."

"Too busy and too mindful of my finances to do so. I can't believe how expensive it is to properly play the game. It costs a kidney just to find the right cards for my deck."

Phoenix giggled. "What kind of deck do you wish to play with?"

"A Spellbook Deck," the Archmage answered, walking towards the fireplace where he had a kettle full of water for the tea he was brewing. He used telekinesis to lift it from the fire and gently set it on a platform on his desk. Two cups and saucers flew out of the cupboard. One of them landed before Phoenix.

"Tea?" he asked.

"Oh, please," said Phoenix, brushing her hair over her ear with her fingertips.

A saucer of clotted cream flew from out of nowhere and landed beside Phoenix's teacup. A bowl of sugar then flew soared delightfully around Phoenix and proudly swooped next to her cup as well.

The saucer and the sugar bowl hopped up and down in excitement making Phoenix giggle in amusement. "What do they want?" she asked.

The Archmage chuckled at the sight. "Why it's simple, my dear, cream or sugar?"

"I'll take the cream," said Phoenix.

The sugar bowl dropped sadly at her choice. As the saucer of cream was about to lift a spoon to dump its contents into her tea, the sugar bowl picked up a spoon of its own and began whacking the saucer.

"Now, now!" said Phoenix. "Don't fight. Don't fight!"

The Archmage groaned. "Stop! Stop!" he shouted. He wagged his finger at the bowl. "Now see here sugar boy, that's enough! You're getting awfully rough. What have I told you about respecting people's decisions? The girl wanted cream and that's final! And stop hitting that poor saucer. It's cracked enough as it is!"

When he turned the sugar bowl whacked the saucer one last time with the spoon for good measure.

"I'll pick you next time, I promise," said Phoenix.

Humph! The sugar bowl crossed its handles and turned its back on her.

"Pay him no mind," said the Archmage. "They dinnerware always fight in the presence of beautiful girls."

Small plates with pumpernickel bread soared from the cupboards and then dishes with fillings for Phoenix to make a sandwich came down as well, dancing and flapping in the air eager to please her. She had a wide variety of choices from tomatoes, pimento cheese, ham with mustard, smoked salmon, fruit jam, curried chicken, fish paste, and egg salad. A plate with little cakes hovered in front of her, offering Phoenix one of the treats. Phoenix took one and ate it. The plate banked hard left and gently came to a stop on the desk.

"Thank you, sir," said Phoenix. "I've never had tea time as exquisite, or as lively, as this before."

"Well, now that you have your refreshments, I believe it's time to discuss a very important matter."

"Very well, sir," Phoenix said, making a bite-sized sandwich of egg salad. "Have I done something wrong?"

The Archmage sat down on his chair and sternly locked his hands together, resting his elbows on the surface of the desk. "My dear, Phoenix. You are my best student, and one of the finest mages I have ever seen in all my years here in The Citadel. Your match today was a chance for you to prove to me you could advance to the rank of master. Given the circumstances, I fear I cannot."

Phoenix's face twisted in an expression of sorrow, shock, and anger. "But...but...master."

"You cannot call me that anymore, either, unfortunately. And I fear you can no longer call The Citadel your home anymore."

"No! No!" Phoenix's lips trembled and she felt tears glimmer in her eyes. "After all I've done for this place! After all I've done for you, you're just letting me go?"

"You're right," said the Archmage. "Know that this was not an easy choice to make, Phoenix. Not after all we've been through, you and I. You've been in this school since you were just a girl. A small little thing running about the fields trailing mud and covered with leaves having makebelieve adventures of being a master magician raiding dungeons and ancient ruins for hidden treasure. But, alas, there must always be a change in the paths we take. Phoenix, as I said, given the circumstances, I will not be able to grant you the rank of Master here in the school."

"I will pack my things then, sir," Phoenix said, wiping away tears.

"As you should, because you've been blessed with something far greater."

"I don't understand."

"You will instead be blessed with the title of Court Magician of the High King of Termnnia."

"ME!" Phoenix cried.

"Yes, love. For your prodigious talents, You have been selected by Master Yu-Gi-Oh to be a representative in the alliance he is forming when Prince Daveed comes back and takes the throne. You'd best prepare."


	55. The Summoner of Dragons: Part 5

**Blair**

* * *

Finally free of the neverending rains of the Storm Coasts, Blair was relieved to see the sunshine again. It warmed her cheeks and her spirit, which was already lifted due in part to the money she got from killing the bandits who tried to rob her. Even her dragon found it within himself to fly around and breath the fresh air. Blair smelled sweet, but that fragrance was starting to make him sick. It felt good to sniff the free air again. In fact, he felt well enough to go hunt some birds.

Blair heard something coming from the river roaring nearby. Singing. Someone was singing.

* * *

_Our world is still. No light is seen_

_And happiness a trait unseen_

_There's nothing good. There's nothing bright,_

_Then Norman woke and walked that night._

_A mighty hero of power untold,_

_A crown was made to claim his Hold._

_But Elven-kings all mocked and laughed_

_For in their eyes, he was riffraff._

* * *

_Away they sent our hero poor_

_And behind him slammed the door._

_Our world is dark. The Light it fades,_

_The filth of Zorc Necrophades._

_No warrior stands against the beast_

_But then a light shined from the East._

_The Celtra sang and dragons roared_

_As The Conqueror on Slifer, soared,_

_To challenge the demon of the Shadow Realm_

_The light of the Goddesses shines on his helm_

* * *

_The Winged Dragon bathed dark in flames_

_The Orcs all cried when Slifer came!_

_Obelisk smashed all foes to hell_ ;

_Evil ran from Ancient Beast as well!_

_Creatures of power now at his whim_

_No force on earth could stop him!_

* * *

_A king he was of Holy Light_

_His armor fair had Goddess might!_

_His sword of sun, no man can wield_

_And runes of power upon his shield!_

_His cape contained the light of moon_

_And hordes of diamond on plate were strewn_

_No mortal had dared to claim his right,_

_For they all fell under his might!_

* * *

_Our world now shines. The light is strong_

_As Norman King rules Nelerond_

_The people dance, and Celtra sing_

_For praise of their Supreme King_

_A castle fair was built for him_

_To house his warriors and his kin_

_The dancers danced. The Nymphs they sang_

_And at his gates the trumpets rang!_

* * *

_Our world is sad. The Light is dim._

_The world now weeps and mourns for him_

_The Gods no longer hear his calls_

_The darkness dwells now in his halls_

_No light shines upon his tomb._

_Forever now in Darkness' womb._

_The Nymphs don't dance. And bells don't ring_

_Forever of his might, they'll sing!_

_There lies our King far in the deep._

_Forever in eternal sleep._

* * *

There was a girl with curled green hair and orange eyes like two sunstones. She was glad in a quilted green doublet with short white sleeves and a long tan skirt. She was picking flowers in the meadow and adding them to her basket. And there were hundreds of them exploding with color. Red, blue, and yellow clashed for dominance in the vast emerald plains. Behind them, snowcapped mountains ruled majestically over everything in their watch.

"Hello," said Blair.

The girl looked up. "Oh, hello there. I did not think I would find anyone all the way out here. How can I help you?"

"I'm Blair of House Flannigan."

"Well met, Blair. I'm Tori. Tori Meadows."

Blair's eyes widened. "Meadows? As in House Meadows? That makes you..."

"Shh!" Tori said at once. "Not around here. I'm not supposed to be all the way out in these parts."

"You run away or something?"

"Something like that. My father came all the way down here to discuss trade with the Horse Lords."

"The Horse Lords?" Blair said rubbing her chin. "That means I've walked into Aldrencourt."

Tori nodded. "Indeed. Is there any place, in particular, you're heading for?"

Blair placed her hands on her hips. "Well, I'm looking for the Summoner of Dragons."

Tori wrinkled her nose. "Oh. I've heard rumors about something like that. It's got the Covenant up in arms."

Blair couldn't help but laugh at that. "Yeah, well, someone has to teach them a lesson. Prince Yuri's return is still many seasons away. We can't wait that long for a defender."

"Yes, you're right. My father has close ties to Master Yugi. If I remember correctly, he said something about this Summoner at dinner. She's apparently in Normandia. Across the sea."

"I figured as much. The Lady must have blessed my steps if it meant running into you. So that means if I wish to find this Summoner, I have to sail."

"Don't be troubled by that news," said Tori. "I believe she's about to come here to Termnnia. So if I were you, I'd head to one of the major port towns and ask around there."

"Thanks, Tori. It's best you don't wander too far. If I were you, I'd head back to the company of your father. It's almost dark and there are monsters roaming around these parts."

"I know. And I will. Good luck on your path, Blair of House Flannigan."

"Same to you, Tori. I hope we meet again."

* * *

**Avi**

* * *

The bells! O' how she hated those bells! The tavern was so close to it. "Pox on it!" She mumbled in half-sleep. She grabbed her pillow and threw it over her head after flipping to her belly. She wasn't sure the Goddess of the Morning wanted for the people to be annoyed like this.

"I know, I know," she pouted from underneath her pillow. "Time to wake up! Let's get a move on it!"

"No indeed!" Jovan shouted from behind her bedroom door. He pounded on it to vex her. He succeeded in that venture, for Avi found herself grinding her teeth and balling her fists tightly. "Hurry up, stupid! You have to feed the chickens!" Jovan shouted again. "Get your ass out of bed before papa does it for you!"

She threw her stuffed bear at the door to shut him up. Once he was gone, and Avi started to calm herself, she realized she made a horrible mistake. She got out of bed and ran to the bear, hugging it with all her might.

That bear was handmade by Bessie, giving it to Avi on the second year anniversary of her finding. It was all she had left of her former parents. The bear was a stark reminder of what it was like to be loved; a feeling Avi did not know until a couple of nights ago when Ser Gerhalos gave her the Rise of the True Dragons structure deck so she could play.

But those dreams. How did he know about them? Perhaps Ser Gerhalos wasn't a mere hedge knight after all. Maybe there was something more. The clucking of the newly bought poultry in the pens below got her attention. She quickly bathed (And this time she made sure to close the door), then dressed in a sleeved bodice and skirt, then tied a blue ribbon in her hair to make a ponytail. She ran down the stairs. The smell of hotcakes and sausages greeted her.

"Ah, there you are," Bertha said, waddling out of the kitchen with a thick wooden plate with eggs, sausages, bacon, and a buttery biscuit. "I made a little too many eggs, so you can help yourself to them for breakfast."

"Thank you, mama," Avi said. Her mouth started watering with delight.

"Yeah, yeah," Bertha said, tossing the plate on the table. "When you're finished stuffing your face, hurry on outside and feed the chickens and the hogs. Roland just purchased a cow yesterday; see that you don't bother her."

"Yes, mama," Avi said getting ready to eat until Bertha slapped her behind the head. "Ow! What did I do?" she yelped, rubbing the back of her head.

"You didn't pray and thank the Goddesses for your meal!" she shouted. "You ungrateful twat! Say grace before eating. You don't say your blessings again, I'll sit you on the stove again, am I clear?"

"Yes, mama," Avi whimpered, not wanting to challenge her on that threat.

As a little girl, Avi's night terrors about the dragons were so fierce she would constantly wet the bed. Bertha grew fed up one night. As punishment, she warmed up the stove and sat poor Avi down on it. It smarted for two whole days before getting better, and she never wet the bed again. Avi clasped her hands together and prayed to the Goddess of the Feasts as her step-mother instructed.

The bacon was so burnt and crunchy to the point it was like putting ash in her mouth. Nevertheless, the eggs and sausages - also burned - were delicious. It would have been much better if her Bertha hadn't hit her, though.

She poured herself a cup of cold milk and doused it with cocoa powder before drinking it. When she was done, she set her plate and cutlery in the sink. She filled it with water from the pump carved to look like a fish.

She heard Jorvan sniggering behind her in the doorway to the kitchen. He leaned against the frame carved with dragons to scare evil spirits from the Shadow Realm away. The boy folded his arms over his chest and flicked his tongue between the gap in his teeth, hoping to get Avi's attention. He did, but she pretended to ignore he was even there and continued washing her plate.

"Nice tan," he commented obnoxiously, referring to what he saw when he and his friends spied on her in the bathtub the other day.

Avi slammed her plate against the bottom of the sink. She turned her head slowly with a look of furiousness on her angelic face. Her diamond-like eyes narrowed, her lips pouted, and her cheeks flushing strawberry red.

She breathed heavily, gripping a used knife under the water. _Should I do it_? She wondered, fighting the urge to lunge at him and gouge his eyes out as punishment for seeing her in the bath. She hiccupped and turned around, pumping more water into the sink. She picked up a green washcloth on the counter to the left of the sink and scrubbed bits of egg and crusts of grease from the wooden plate.

"So why did Ser Gerhalos save you, Avi?" Jorvan sneered. "Is he your newfound love or something? Is that it, Avi? Can't find a decent man around here so you resort to falling for beast folk? Not that I blame you, there isn't a man within a thousand miles who would want a girl as stupid as you."

Avi shut her eyes, taking in a deep breath to calm the knot in her chest.

"Of course, I heard Ser Godfrey has something special in store for you tonight," he said. "And don't expect Ser Gerhalos to come to your rescue. I know that papa banned him from coming to the tavern forever for threatening Ser Godfrey."

Avi put her hand over her mouth to cover the gasp that escaped her. Water dripped from between her fingers. Jovan laughed seeing her anguish. "Yeah, that's right. Don't expect a rescue, Avi. Ser Godfrey still has to make his proposition to papa. Do you wonder what it could be?"

"I never even thought about it," Avi replied in a whisper. She pumped more water into the sink. "But I could care less about what he wants."

"You should," said Jorvan. "Papa says there's going to be a lot of gold involved in Ser Godfrey's proposition is blessed. I heard it has something to do with you."

"So papa says," said Avi, still scrubbing the plate even though it was already clean.

"Yeah..." Jorvan replied. "Ser Godfrey has something in store for you, and I don't think it's another spanking."

Avi turned to look at him again. "You know about that?" she asked.

"Avi, the whole town knows about it. They talk about how you squealed while you were over his knees; your cherry-red ass in the air for all to see."

"Really?" Avi asked again, sinking her shoulders. Her cheeks flushing even pinker.

"Yeah, some say it's about time someone put you in your place. They're getting awfully tired of you, Avi. You know you've been sentenced to the pillory more than anyone else in the history of this town. How can someone be so clumsy is beyond me."

"Can you blame me?" Avi asked. "Nobody's given me the chance to learn or do anything because they fear I'm some kind of curse!"

Jorvan nodded his head. "Yeah, a curse. You are one, you know that? Girls aren't born from nothing and cause as many accidents as you do. And those dragon dreams you keep going on about. It's not normal. You're not normal. That's why no one in town, except Ser Godfrey, loves you."

"Ser Godfrey does not love me!"

"Oh yes, he does!" Jorvan said pointing at her. "I have a good guess about what his proposal is going to be. It involves a chapel. A golden ring. And you, in his bed until death do you part."

"Never!" Avi shouted. "If that's what he wants, I refuse!"

"You have no choice in the matter!" laughed Jorvan. "In fact, you have no choice period. You never have and never will."

Avi set down her plate and left the kitchen.

"Yeah, that's right!" Jorvan shouted after her. "You're nothing but cake! A little slice of cake just waiting to be eaten! You'll never be anything else!"

He laughed as Avi pushed the doors open and went outside to do her chores. She couldn't help but let a tear roll down her left cheek. She hated to admit it, but Jorvan was right. She was nothing more than some piece of meat. An accessory to be ogled and traded by those who saw worth in her; not of spirit, or heart, or good deeds, but of flesh and lust.

"Dry your tears wench!" shouted an ugly red-haired woman with missing teeth as she walked by carrying a pig in one arm. "Your not worth anyone's pity!"

Avi did not wish to argue and did as she was told. She went to the side of the tavern. The tavern had enough land to house chickens, pigs, and a mountain cow. Lockwood, her family's Normandian Westerhound, slept in his brick doghouse with its own lantern and little pool for him to drink. He woke from his nap and wagged his tail when he saw her.

"Hey boy!" Avi said, petting his head. She threw him a half-eaten biscuit as a treat. "Good boy," she said and went to a peg where she kept her apron and riding cloak. She put on the apron and used it to hold a large amount of dried corn to feed the chickens with. She made kissing sounds and whistled. "Breakfast!" she called. "Breakfast."

The animals came running towards her eagerly and pecked the dirt around her ankles, helping themselves to the corn. "Breakfast!" she called out to the pigs. "Breakfast!"

When she was done passing out their meal, she sulked to a bench and sat down. She bought herself a new deck case of leather to keep her the cards Ser Gerhalos gave her. Given her busy schedule at the tavern, she never got a chance to get acquainted with her cards. The deck case was attached to her belt, and she flicked it open to take her cards out.

She set them down on a shelf and went to a fountain to wash her hands before picking up a peach from the tree to snack on as she examined her deck and read the strategies and combos she could play on the instruction sheet.

"Interesting," she said examining the cards. "I guess the key to winning my Duels is bringing Lord Felgrand from the Graveyard. But how do I do it?"

Avi spent the last half hour playing around with her new deck, getting a feel for the combos listed in the instruction booklet. All the while, she read the rules of the game a little more carefully to never make the mistakes that cost her in those Duels against those spoiled rich boys who humiliated her not too long ago.

Just thinking about them fueled her resolve to learn her deck inside and out. Soon, it would be she who was going to get the last laugh against them. In fact, she could no longer ignore the thirst for revenge burning in her chest. She just had to find those boys and teach them a lesson they wouldn't soon forget.

Avi shuffled her cards back together after putting them in gold, protective sleeves that came with the deck. She held her cards tightly in her grip and looked at her Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand at the bottom of the deck.

The holographic foil shined in all the colors of the rainbow. His name flashed in brilliant gold above the image. She smiled and kissed her deck. "If becoming a good Duelist is the only way for this town to see my worth, then I'm going to need your help more than ever."

She put the cards in the deck case, attaching it to her belt with so much anticipation she had to fumble with the hook. After five tries, she finally got it on. She put on her brown riding cloak and headed into town with her basket full of flowers with wishful thinking that she would get a coin or two for some lunch or perhaps even a booster pack to add some more power to her deck.

Avi skipped into town looking for them, but there was no trace of them. It didn't take her long to realize it was a school day, and all the children in town were currently in their lessons. Avi felt a tad embarrassed when she realized this. She had no knowledge of the school's schedule for she had never gone to school in her life, save for last year under Ser Godfrey's expense.

He wanted Avi to get smarter, and, truth be told, if it weren't for that year, Avi would never have known how to count, much to Roland's chagrin; for he often cheated Avi of her tips thanks to her inability to count. Her lessons at school were just another scheme to get Avi to love Ser Godfrey. When she refused to accept his offer for a romantic cruise through the river, he stopped paying for her education and she was pulled from school.

It mattered not. Thanks to that one year of lessons, Avi could now multiply and divide as well as read better than most in town. She taught herself to read while in the tavern, often relying on those infatuated with her to help her with certain words.

And so, Avi waited in the town square listening anxiously for the clock tower to ring Two O'Clock, the hour which the school children went home from their lessons. Luckily, she sold a few of her flowers to a newlywed couple of nobles on holiday from the Kingdom of Red Claw. They bought a lot of her flowers earning her two gold coins.

Actually, the bride gave Avi two gold coin for her kindness and because she thought Avi was very beautiful. The infatuated groom on the other hand secretly gave Avi a giant coin known as Gold Plate. They were the size of a person's palm and were worth ten gold Star Chips. He winked at her hinting mischief and walked away with his wife.

Avi would not return the favor; her heart was too big for something like that. She smiled, knowing the noble had just duped himself, but she figured he knew that. The noble was a fool, but he was a rich fool, and people like them were as hard to find as a Ghost Rare card in a booster pack.

Avi decided to save the golden plate and tucked it in one of the pouches around her belt. With the two coins she earned, Avi could finally get food at the food court in the town's Emerald District. There, she bought herself a heavy lunch of cooked sausages, hashed browns, and a golden egg-wich; a sandwich of buttery toast with a golden egg laid by a rare species of Normandian poultry. She had never tasted anything so good in her entire life. She felt her tastebuds dancing with joy, and her belly warm with satisfaction.

When she was done with her meal, she went to the drinking fountain at the center of the food court to wash it down. She looked at the clock tower to check the time. She still had another thirty minutes before the boys got out of school and decided to do a little shopping for herself. The card shop. There was enough coin in her purse to get a few packs. She hurried to the shop outside the dirt road where the boys humiliated her. _Not today_! Avi thought with a mischievous smile.

When she pushed open the door to the shop, a little bell rang above her. The shop had a nautical theme to it; the shelves decorated with miniature anchors, ships in a bottle, model lighthouses, and given the oceanic paintings on the wall and military medals and decorations displayed in glass cases, the owner was once a sailor in the Normandian Royal Navy.

"Oh, hello there," said the card shop owner, trying to put another model ship into a bottle. "Welcome, welcome," he put the bottle down. "Well, you're a pretty one. What can I do for you, my dear?"

Avi opened the money pouch and scooped up all the coins she had. "What can I purchase with this?" she asked, spilling silver coins on the countertop.

"Oh," the owner said putting on his spectacles. He slid the coins around with his fingers. "Well, I'll say this earns you five packs."

"I'll take them," Avi said, happily. Five was more than she thought she would get.

"Hold on a minute," said the owner. "You're that girl whom Ser Gerhalos purchased that deck for are you not?"

Avi nodded her head, to which the owner grinned and laughed. "Well, I'll be," he said. "I'm glad the dragon found an owner in you, little one." He leaned forward, putting his hand next to his mouth as he whispered. "You know, it's been said that dragons prefer a woman's touch."

"Truly?" Avi asked.

"Yes. Some say this has to do with what happened to them during the Inquisition. Oh, what a horrible mess that was. Oh, not even the True Dragons of our lands were safe from the wrath of the Church."

"Well, they got what they deserved," said Avi.

"Indeed they did," said the owner. "Hmm, since you've got yourself a dragon deck, I think these packs over here will do it some good." He picked up the packs and gave them to Avi, who took swiped them as quick as a gust of wind. The owner laughed. "Well," he said, watching Avi run to a nearby booth by the window overlooking the river that flowed under Ser Gerhalos' bridge. The owner admired her eagerness to open the packs.

"Thank you," Avi said, quickly opening her first pack. "Oh!" she cried when she saw the lead monster on the front of the pack. A Secret Rare Tri-Horned Dragon.

"Bless my soul!" said the owner, scooping up the silver coins and tossing them into a burlap sack. "I have never seen such luck before in all my years." He put the coins in an iron safe underneath the counter. He looked at her as she opened more packs and smiled. When Avi was done opening her packs and added the cards that proved the most useful in her deck, the owner stopped by her booth with two cards for her to use.

"Here," he said handing her two dragons of light and darkness in clear plastic cases. "These will prove very useful for your new deck. Have you gotten a feel for it?"

"I have," said Avi. "It's not too hard to understand really. I think I can get the hang of this deck rather quickly."

"That's wonderful to hear," the owner said. The bells started to ring in the tower. He wrinkled his nose and scoffed impatiently. "Well, I best get back to my duties. School has ended and now those little monsters are going to come to pester me again." He turned and left Avi alone in her booth.

This was the moment she had been waiting for. She added the dragons to her deck, picked up her extra cards and put them in another pouch. She thanked the owner one last time before running out of the shop.

She did not have to go far; for the group of boys she was looking for were harassing the candy vendor, calling her treats garbage. The plump boy - their leader - was there. Perfect. She had no clue what his name was because his friends always called him Boss.

"That's funny," Avi said, putting her hands on her hips. "I've never seen garbage eat garbage before."

The boys heard her challenge. They turned in unison to look at her. Winston, the boy with the glasses frowned. "You get your butt kicked in five Duels and have the audacity to call _us_ garbage? Your a dumb little wench, aren't you?"

"I'll bet," Avi sneered. "Say, any of you guys know what happened to that structure deck in the window?"

"Yeah, someone bought it so we heard," said Kolby, still donning his ridiculous propeller beanie.

The plump boy teased her. "Aww, you sad someone got it before you could?" he said in a babyish voice.

Avi smiled at him. "Not quite," she said, holding out her leg with the brand new deck case of polished mahogany and gold ornamentation strapped to her thigh. The boys were impressed with its craftsmanship as well as the generous view of the leg it was strapped on.

"Big whoop," said Boss. This time his shirt stained with chocolate. "So you got a new deck case? Your deck isn't going to get any better because of it."

Avi laughed at him, turning a knob to open the deck case. "I beg to differ," she responded, pulling open the lid and showing them the brand new cards she had. Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand was shining like a gem at the bottom of the deck, much to the shock of all the boys. They babbled, yelled, stomped the ground, and ran around in circles trying to fathom what was going on.

"There is no way you could afford a deck like that!" shouted Winston. "You must have stolen it!"

"I did not!" said Avi. "Ser Gerhalos bought it for me!"

"Now I know you're lying!" sneered Kolby. "Ser Gerhalos is piss poor! He can't even afford to get real armor."

"What do you expect?" said Boss. "He's a hedge knight. And everybody knows hedge knights are just wannabes posing as real knights. I don't know how you got yourself that deck, Avi, but it's not going to be on you for long. I want it, and I intend to Duel you for it!"

"I will accept," Avi said, placing her hands on her hips defiantly. "But you have to wager your Duel Disk."

"You really think you can win it from me?" sneered Boss. "Fine, I'll let you have the Duel Disk if you win, but you have to beat all of us first in order to get it."

Avi smirked. "Sure."

The plump boy was not at all pleased with her newfound confidence. He pointed at her frowning. "But there's to be a handicap for this match. Nobody has to tribute to summon powerful monsters except you! And if you lose just one game, Avi, the deck is mine, and you have to be our servant forever. You'll do whatever we want, whenever we want. Understand?"

"I understand perfectly," said Avi.

The boy snapped his fingers, commanding his friend to get the spare Duel Disk from his backpack. He tossed it to Avi who quickly put it on. _Today is a new day._

**LP 2000**

"Let's Duel!" the boy shouted.

" _Kaizaal_ ," said Avi, accepting his challenge in Norman. "I'll let you go first this time."

"Ha, you're too kind," the boy sniggered. "I've already got everything I need to take you down. I summon Swordstalker in attack mode!"

The boy smacked his card onto the Duel Disk. It started to glow and displayed the Phantom of the monster on the field. A warrior, black as night with a sick grin on his face. He wore a blood-red cape and carried a bronze jagged sword.

**ATK/2000 DEF/1600**

**LV 6**

"One slash from his sword and your Life Points will be gone, and your life is ours," Winston boasted, feeling proud of his friend's monster.

"Don't get too cocky," said Avi. "I use the spell Graceful Charity. I draw three cards and then discard two. Next, Trade-In. With this card, I send a Level Eight monster from my hand to the Graveyard and draw another two cards."

Kolby was awed by the secret-rare foil of her new card. "Wow, her deck has improved. That Trade-In card was secret rare, boss."

"Ooo," hooted Boss. "Secret-Rare, I'm so scared. Rarity doesn't mean her deck is good, and neither does it means he's going to win the match. My Swordstalker is the strongest monster on the field, and even if she did have strong monsters, she can't summon them because she has to tribute weaker monsters in order to summon them. Not that they'll last long anyway; my Swordstalker is going to cut them to ribbons before she can even make a sacrifice."

"You really think tributing monsters is the only way to get stronger ones out?" Avi asked conceitedly. "Because if you do, you're an even weaker Duelist than I thought."

Boss pointed his finger at Avi. "How dare you insult my Dueling skills, you disgusting serf? We beat you over and over again last time, remember? You may have gotten the new structure deck, but that doesn't mean you have the know-how to use it. And you better watch how you talk to me, slave! Because as far as I'm concerned, your ass belongs to us now."

"Such foul mouths from things so young," Avi said disapprovingly. "But if you want to believe your Swordstalker is going to win you the match, I'll let you keep your delusions of grandeur. Now, to continue my turn. I banish Blackland Fire Dragon and Alexandrite Dragon from my Graveyard to Special Summon Darkflare Dragon!"

The boys' mouths fell open when they saw the shiny new card Avi held up. The ground in front of her rumbled and cracked open as a dark light shot out of the earth, acting as a beacon for Avi's new dragon monster.

It hurled through the atmosphere towards Avi's spot and opened its wings to brake to a stop fifty feet above its master. It was a beast with natural armor as black as the void with patches of soft orange flesh on the chest and legs. It had no arms and four large wings on its back; the membranes colored in indigo blue. A structure glowed bright yellow on its chest.

**ATK/2400 DEF/1200**

**LV 5**

"What! That's impossible! How and where did you get a card like that!"

"Oh! Is that fear in your voice, child?" Avi jeered. "Not exactly what you were expecting was it? You're going to pay for humiliating me the other day. Darkflare Dragon, attack his Swordstalker!"

Her beast bellowed in response. He floated a little higher into the air and then fired his signature attack; a black fireball ringed by dark red energy. The boys ran away from the impact and covered their ears as Swordstalker was reduced to nothing. Meanwhile 'Boss, for lack of a better name, lost 400 Life Points.

Avi felt as light as a feather when she saw how the boys trembled at her new dragon. It was unlike anything they had ever seen. So long had they been stuck with the vanilla monsters and playing it easy with no tributes, that they forgot about the newer monsters that were constantly being released. For once in her life, Avi felt proud of herself. She felt like the entire world was wrapped around her little finger. These hooligans who once tormented her were now the ones cowering in fear. And Darkflare Dragon was just one of the new dragons she acquired for her deck.

"I set three cards face-down and end my turn!"

The cards projected in front of her with a loud, metallic whirring noise.

"She destroyed your Swordstalker, boss!" stuttered one of the boys. "I th-th-thought you...you said you could take her. Just look at that thing!"

"Aye, Swordstalker was one of the strongest cards in your deck," cried another. "Maybe she has gotten better. You should surrender now while you have the chance!"

The boss looked at his friends. "Shut up, will you? She got lucky that's all. I'm about to show this serf what happens when she messes with us a second time. I draw!" He looked at the card. "Ah, excellent. The Ritual Spell, Resurrection of Chakra!"

He offered the monsters needed for the tribute and successfully summoned a very strange-looking creature. It had no legs; it just balanced itself on a point like a top. Four large blades formed a ring from a brown platform on its belly.

Above the platform was a decoration looking like a spike skull and crossbones. The monster had four arms. The upper sets were clawed while the lower set of arms had round black balls with purple iron fingers. It's most noticeable feature was its one big eye.

**Chakra**

**ATK/2450 DEF/2000**

**LV 7**

Kolby jumped up and down. "Well done, boss. Now her dragon is history!"

"You are so right," sneered Boss. "Chakra. Attack her..."

The creature blinked its horrendous eye and lifted its clawed appendages and gave a gurgle before hovering towards Avi's dragon. Thought fifty points was not that much, it still made him stronger, and this fact had filled both Boss and Chakra with a poisonous dose of overconfidence. The monster looked at Avi it flew towards her dragon at an even quicker pace. Avi dug the heels of her boots into the ground at the ready. She held her finger over the button of the slot containing her Trap card.

She licked her lips in eagerness and finally made her move to counter the attack. "I don't think so! I activate the Trap Card, Tyrant Wing!"

Boss was in total shock. He gasped and felt his confidence shatter like a window hit by a rock. "You?" he wondered. "You set a Trap for me?" _Is this the same girl I Dueled the other day? Or was this some doppelganger taking her place. That had to be the case. Avi is not this good or this clever!_

The Tyrant Wing card flipped up to reveal Avi was not bluffing nor that Boss was in some alternate reality where Avi had the skills to induce fear in him. The Trap Card activated and boosted Darkflare Dragon with 400 ATK and DEF. His wings burst into a blinding flare and grew to incredible size dwarfing his own body. Now at 2800 ATK, Darkflare Dragon had more than enough power to counter Chakra's attack.

The orb on the dragon's chest surged with power and sparked as if going into overload. It was too much, but Darkflare Dragon was not going down without pleasing his beautiful new master. He opened his palms and created a force field of dark energy. Chakra smacked into the force field and was knocked on its back. He wriggled his limbs and screeched in horror. He could not get back up.

Darkflare Dragon took flight, soaring in circles over the battlefield. He opened his mouth and a ball of energy formed in front of it. As he charged his strength, the ball of energy grew bigger and bigger, his neck spasming up and down from his incredible new power. He launched the ball at the squirming Charkra. The town shook from the explosion. A mushroom cloud of black-purple smoke towered over the spot where Chakra was struck. The monster was no more, and the boy lost 350 Life points.

**Boss-1650 LP**

**Avi-2000 LP**

"How can this be?" Boss began to whimper. His armpits were soaked in sweat and his hands trembled. "Is she...is she beating me?"

The turn was over and the effect of Tyrant Wing faded. Darkflare Dragon returned to his original ATK points of 2400. And poor Boss was wide open for an attack. Wasting no time, Darkflare Dragon attacked him directly, launching Boss into the air. He landed on his back with a thud that knocked the wind out of him. Darkflare Dragon roared and then vanished as the Duel was won and his presence in this world was no longer needed.

"I'll get her, Boss!" Kolby shouted, obnoxiously spinning the propellor atop his hat. "I'll beat her senseless. She's going to shine the floors of your estate once I'm done with her."

"Come on then," said Avi, glowing with a confidence unseen since her discovery. "Give me all you've got. Darkflare Dragon was just one of many new dragons I acquired for my deck."

"You won't get to summon them!" Kolby roared. "Same rules apply! You have to tribute to summon your dragons."

Avi scoffed heartedly at his remark. "Of course you'd restrict my ability to summon," she said placing her hands on her hips. "You're scared. No matter, the Duel will be over quickly."

"Oh, shut up!" shouted Kolby. "Boss is a far better Duelist than you! He must have gotten a bad draw, otherwise, you'd be in the kitchen making us lunch by now. Remember, same stakes as before. You win, you keep the Duel Disk. I win, you give Boss the deck and you become our servant forever."

Avi yawned. "Shall you go first, or I?"

"You first!" said Kolby. "Make your move."

"Very well," said Avi. "I activate the summon Kidmodo Dragon in Defense Mode."

Avi summoned a little orange dragon that caused the boys to roll on the ground in laughter. When I mean little, I mean the dragon was little. The size of a common house dog. His underbelly was cream-colored and he had stubby wings that were useless for flying. Black beady eyes adorned its head.

**ATK/100 DEF/200**

**LV 3**

"What was that she said about acquiring new 'powerful' dragons for her deck?" teased Winston.

"Shut up!" groaned Boss. "Shut up, you fools! It could be a trap."

Kolby looked back at his friend and winked while holding up a confident thumb. "No need to worry, Boss. My father bought me a new monster that will make her piss herself. Just watch as I send her dragon to oblivion with the first piece of the puzzle. Sanga of the Thunder, rise!"

A black cloud formed over the field. Bright, golden volts of mystical lightning flashed from the cloud, striking the ground around them.

A fierce wind blew around them. Avi held her skirt down with all her might to prevent the boys from looking at her. "Oh, dear!" she cried, causing the delinquents to giggle and snigger.

But soon a new monster had arrived and tore their gaze away from her comedic struggle towards a legless behemoth that slowly ascended from the black cloud. A layer of brownish-gold armor formed the chest and shoulders while a deep bronze made up the abdomen and arms. The monster's head had a golden symbol on the top. Bright yellow eyes pierced the shadows from a pit underneath the symbol.

**Sanga of the Thunder**

**ATK/2600 DEF/22000**

**LV 7**

Avi felt a chill and moaned, feeling her confidence die down like fire in a rainstorm. Still, she had confidence in her little friend. The flames may have been reduced to embers, but the fire was still going. All Sanga needed to do was to attack, and she would be set to unleash her beast upon him. And unsurprisingly, Kolby attacked with Sanga of the Thunder, completely disregarding the powers the little dragon had.

The dragon gave a heavenly screech as it let the lightning attack from Sanga destroy him. Kolby knew something was wrong because Kidmodo Dragon did not suffer as he was sent to the Graveyard. It was as though he wanted to be sent there in the first place and he was about to find out why as Avi held up the card to announce its effect.

"When Kidmodo Dragon is sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon a dragon from my hand!" she shouted, much to the chagrin of Kolby. What could the new dragon be? He wondered.

"I Special Summon Tyrant Dragon!" Avi shouted, slapping her card onto the Duel Disk. Taking Kidmodo Dragon's place was a fifty-foot dragon, brownish in color with a light tan underbelly. The membranes on his sixty-foot wings were indigo in color. His head crowned with horns and a membranous frill along the back of the jaw. His head was adorned with a jade crystal which he wore like a crown to symbolize his power.

**Tyrant Dragon**

**ATK/2900 DEF/2500**

**LV 8**

Kolby was at a loss for words when he saw the beast roaring at his Sanga of the Thunder. His long arms slammed on either side of her as if he was protecting Avi from him. Something was just not right with this picture. Kolby and his friends had Dueled with Phantoms before and they were always monotonous in movement as they should have been.

Creatures that existed, but at the same time didn't. They never show emotions or act life-like. It was not what they were programmed to do. But the dragons when summoned by Avi seemed to have a mind of their own. It felt like they were alive. They way they behaved, one would have thought that the dragons admired their new master. Maybe even loved her.

Though shocked, Kolby was angered that Avi was going to play him the fool. He bore a lot of pride and hated when it was jabbed by anyone, especially serfs like Avi.

Even though Tyrant Dragon was three-hundred points stronger than Sanga of the Thunder, Avi did not dare make an attack on her turn. The card shop had Sanga of the Thunder and his other elemental counterparts on display in a glass cabinet. Avi had studied them long enough to not take them on in a head-on attack.

Once per turn, during the opponent's turn, Sanga had the power to reduce a monster's ATK to 0. With an ATK of 2600, Sanga of the Thunder could wipe out Avi's Life Points in a single blow. Somehow Kolby knew this and activated a Spell Card called Nightmare's Steel Cage.

Kolby laughed maniacally when molten steel slithered out of the ground and formed a devious structure over Avi. The steel cooled and turned into a cage of black with sharp spikes. Tyrant Dragon roared furiously, bashing his fist on the steel cage to try and get Avi out. It was an odd sight, but nonetheless, it brought a smile to Kobly's face seeing the dragon act so lovingly towards her.

No more was he this fierce beast that struck fear into him. Now he was a concerned pet. Nothing more. Pleased with what he had done, Kolby set three cards face-down and ended his turn.

Avi drew her card and summoned a little creature called Totem Dragon in Defense Mode. She ended her turn and in an instant, Kolby drew his card. He activated a Graceful Charity of his own, drawing his three cards and discarding the two cards he needed to pay for activating it. He summoned Suijn, a water demon with a long, rectangular face and claws concealed behind a curtain that looked like water made into fabric.

**Suijin**

**ATK/2500 DEF/2400**

Avi felt a cold sensation run down her body when she saw the creature hovering next to Sanga of the Thunder. She may have been new to Duel Monsters, but she knew enough about the game to figure out what Koby was trying to do. He was going to summon Gate Guardian, arguably one of the most powerful monsters in the game.

Even if it wasn't for the Nightmare Steel Cage preventing her from doing battle, there would still be nothing she could do to stop him from summoning the creature. Suijin also had the ability to reduce a monster's ATK to 0 during the damage step of her Battle Phase. If she attacked them, she would lose.

If she didn't, she would have to contend with a creature who was almost unstoppable and most likely still lose. If she did, she would have to serve these boys for the rest of her life, and cooking and cleaning didn't seem to be the only thing they wanted to use her for.

Kolby ended his turn, it was now or never for Avi. She drew her card and sighed in disappointment. "I set a card face-down and tribute my Totem Dragon, and with his effect, he can be treated as two monsters for the Tribute Summon of a Dragon-Type monster. Behold, the mighty Felgrand Dragon!"

A heavenly light pierced through the storm cloud as a heavenly choir sung in an ancient language for the arrival of Avi's beast. Kolby didn't know if it was him, or the light erupting from the clouds but, he could have sworn Avi's eyes started glowing. He looked closely, ignoring the thundering voices of the dragon-tongue chorus that still sang their divine tune.

Like an Arva from the days of old, Felgrand Dragon slowly descended to the field in a curtain of warm light and glitter. His body from wingtip to wingtip, head-to-toe-and-tail, was covered in golden natural armor. His scales glimmered in a metallic gray coating. Burning red eyes gazed at the two monsters standing below him. He then looked at Kolby with a deadly gaze. The dragon was displeased that the boy put his master in a cage like an animal.

If only he knew who it was he was dealing with. Then again, Avi didn't even know who she was. But she would find out soon.

**Felgrand Dragon**

**ATK/2800 DEF/2800**

**LV 8**

Avi hoped her dragons would stall him from attacking. She ended her turn, but then Kolby activated his traps. He sneered, baring his teeth feeling proud of the destruction he was about to cause. The trap he activated was Windstorm of Etaqua. With this trap, he forced Felgrand Dragon and Tyrant Dragon to change their position.

Since their positions were in Attack, they were switched to Defense. Then, he used his second trap; Tragedy which destroyed Avi's dragon's when they switched to Defense. The two monsters roared and shattered to pieces leaving Avi wide open for an attack.

Boss and his friends laughed at her as she stood rooted to her spot in great shock. That was a combo she just wasn't ready for. _No. No. Not like this! I...I was so close. How could I let this happen?_

Kolby drew his card. Avi could feel her freedom and her dignity slipping away with each passing second. There was no hope now. Not even this deck could help her gain any strength. Ser Gerhalos was wrong in bringing her hopes up like this. She was truly a nobody in this town. He played the final piece; the monster known as Kazejin, a green orb-like beast with skinny clawed arms, puffy cheeks, the golden symbol of wind emblazoned on his face.

**Kazejin**

**ATK/2400 DEF/2200**

**LV 7**

And when all three of the monsters were on the field, he sacrificed them to summon Gate Guardian. As the monsters merged with one another, their limbs vanished, their spikes and body parts elongated or shortened depending what part of the body they were going to be serving as. Sanga of the Thunder did not go through any changes as he was both the head and arms of the behemoth.

Kazejin lost his arms and became the middle section of the Gate Guardian. Suijin's arms grew longer and wider. His hands turned into feet and the arms became the creature's legs. His mouth turning into the crotch. The monster had now assembled and stomped on the ground in an intimidating display to frighten poor Avi, still motionless at the sight of seeing her dragons being decimated so easily on her last turn. She lost all hope once the monster's stats were displayed in front of her.

**Gate Guardian**

**ATK/3750 DEF/3400**

**LV 11**

She fell to her knees and placed her hands on the ground landing her in a precarious position that caused the boys to laugh and jeer at her. They started calling her dog. A poor little serf who was in over her head.

"Surrender now, Avi," jeered Boss, feeling bolder now. "There isn't a creature in your deck that can destroy Kolby's Gate Guardian. Unless one of your dragons is a Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, you're nothing!"

Kolby spun the propeller hat and shouted: "Enjoy your last moments of freedom, Avi! After this attack, your ass belongs to us!"

"Wait!" Avi suddenly cried. "You can't do this to me!" Gate Guardian's body parts began to charge up a multi-elemental attack that was set to wipe out Avi's Life Points. She sighed and hung her head. It was hopeless. Unless...

"I activate the Trap Card, **Horn of Dragon's Sou** l! Now, I can Special Summon a Level Four or lower Dragon-Type monster that will change the tide of this battle. Behold, Decoy Dragon!"

Avi summoned a harmless-looking dragon who was just a foot taller than Avi was. He was baby blue in color and had a vanilla underbelly. His large brown eyes glimmering with innocence. At a mere 300 ATK, he was no threat to anyone. His summoning caused the boys to laugh and point at Avi. She had gone mad thinking that such a meager little creature such as that Decoy Dragon was going to be enough to destroy Gate Guardian.

Kolby's monster continued to charge up its attack. There was enough strength to completely wipe Decoy Dragon from existence but something grabbed the monster's right fist. A dragon. A very powerful one from the looks of it.

To the shock of all, it was Felgrand Dragon. Felgrand Dragon had returned to the field. Avi smiled; for when Decoy Dragon was attacked, it allowed her to Special Summon a monster from the Graveyard and the opponent's monster was forced to attack the revived beast instead. Her Felgrand Dragon was the chosen target. When it was revived, it allowed her to chose a target monster in the Graveyard and multiply the dragon's ATK by two hundred times the monster's level. And the monster she chose was her Tyrant Dragon.

As a level nine monster, Tyrant Dragon gave Felgrand Dragon an 1800 ATK point boost increasing its ATK to an astonishing...

"FORTY-SIX-HUNDRED ATTACK POINTS!" shouted Boss over the howling winds created by Kazejin. "HOW IS A LOWLY SERF SUCH AS HER ABLE TO CONTROL MONSTERS WITH SUCH POWER?!"

Felgrand Dragon ripped Gate Guardian's right arm out of its socket. Gate Guardian growled at the sting caused by his mutilation. Felgrand Dragon took to the air and bathed Gate Guardian in golden flames.

The monster bellowed and shattered into pieces; the attack reduced young master's Life Points to 1150 Life Points. Kolby was not going to stand for that and activated his trap Michizure which activated when one of his monsters was sent to the Graveyard. It allowed him to select one of Avi's monsters and destroy it. Felgrand Dragon groaned sadly and shattered. The look he gave Avi before he disintegrated broke her heart.

"You have no reason to be sad," she whispered. "You've given me a fighting chance."

"Some fighting chance," Kolby gibed at her. "I was kind of hoping you would destroy my Gate Guardian; even though I had my doubts. That structure deck had done wonders for you, Avi, I will not lie about that. But I fear it's all over for you. I activate the Spell Card Dark Element. This card activates when my Gate Guardian is in the Graveyard. I pay half my Life Points and summon the all-powerful Dark Guardian!"

"Dark Guardian!" Avi cried out. What now? She thought. It had to take my strongest monster to take out his Gate Guardian, now I have to contend with this Dark Guardian!

The monster summoned as a result of the Dark Element's activation was a beast from the pits of Avi's darkest dreams. A giant of a man armored in black and wielding a giant crude axe. His head covered with a spider-like helmet which fit perfectly with his legs. His legs were in the form of a colossal spider as black as night and armored in steel. His ATK was 3800 leaving Avi speechless.

"Summon whatever you want, serf. Nothing is going to save you now."

Avi took a deep breath and placed her fingers on the top card of her deck.

_What was it that Master Yu-Gi-Oh always preached about? The Heart of the Cards. Could a firm belief in my deck grant me the power I need to turn this Duel around? Or is it nothing more than some ruse for him to describe his phenomenal Dueling abilities? What choice do I have in the matter? I either place my trust in my deck, or I am to serve these boys and bend my will to their delights forever. It's a step above the inn, sure, but at least Ser Gerhalos will be there to protect me. Come on deck, I really need you to come through for me. Please, guide me to victory. Otherwise, I can kiss my freedom goodbye. You won't so cruel as to allow this happen, will you? Please. Please. Give me strength._

Avi finally drew the card. Much to the surprise of everyone, she played it immediately and did not even look at it. She slapped it onto the Duel Disk and declared the name of the card she played.

"I activate Monster Reborn and revive the Lord of the True Dragons! Come forth and spread your light upon this darkened battlefield. May your golden wings guide me to victory and may your flames cause my foe to anguish in the ashes of defeat! Lead me to freedom, Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand!"

The dragon Avi summoned from the Graveyard was the lead monster of the structure deck. It appeared as though Felgrand Dragon had gone through a transformation. His wings were longer and the membranes were a deep black that complimented his golden phalanxes. His tail was longer than his previous form. His body armor grew wider and rounder. Sparkling light shimmered all around him and his scales were now a shade of brilliant platinum.

**Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand**

**ATK/2800 DEF/2800**

**LV 8**

Before Kolby could gloat about how weak her dragon was compared to his monster, Avi activated Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand's effect. Avi could banish a monster in her opponent's Graveyard and multiplied its level x100. The monster she chose to do away with was Gate Guardian. With a 1200 point boost, Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand's ATK went up to 4000 much. Kolby could do no more. He no cards in his hands or in his back row to save his monster. He fell on his butt and watched in horror as his last hope in keeping the Duel Disk and having a beautiful slave was reduced to ashes by Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand's beautiful flames of white-gold with embers glittering like stars.

Dark Guardian growled and shattered to pieces. Then from the flames, Felgrand Dragon rose out of the ashes like a phoenix. It was another of Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand's special abilities. When he destroyed a monster in battle, he granted Avi the blessing of reviving a Level 7 or higher Dragon-Type monster from the Graveyard. Being Special Summoned this way allowed Felgrand Dragon his own ability, and Avi wanting revenge for the humiliation they put her through activated it. She chose Tyrant Dragon again and Felgrand Dragon's ATK skyrocketed to 4600 ATK points.

Both dragons soared to the sky thousands of feet above the town until they were over the clouds. They charged their breaths for one ultimate attack and fired their flames back towards the earth and blasted poor Kolby with an incredible power that not even Avi was prepared for. The blast knocked her off her feet and sent the poor boys flying away in all directions.

Needless to say, the attack did a lot of to the town as well. Windows shattered, pottery broke, and a few houses even collapsed. The shockwave from the attack sent out a fierce wind that knocked down a few trees as well.

When the dust settled, Kolby was on the ground knocked out. His propeller cap burned to cinders. Avi managed to sit up and survey the damage she had caused. She looked all around for her dragons, but they were nowhere to be seen.

They were gone and she had won the Duel, but that did not matter now; for an angry mob was fast approaching. Boss and the rest of the boys looked at Avi as though she was some sort of monster. They babbled and sobbed in fright before taking off into the city crying out for their mothers.

"MY SON! MY SON!" shouted Ser Altovoy Donohue running to the battlefield to pick up his child.

His wife screeched in horror. "He's dead!" she cried. "My baby's dead!"

"No, no, no, calm yourself, Lady Donohue," said the monk. "He's in shock." He looked at Avi, still on the ground in bewilderment. "You!" he said. "You had something to do with this didn't you!"

"No!" Avi cried. "If you'll just let me explain!"

She felt a sting on her scalp as her hair was pulled. One of the town guards lifted her to her feet and he shook her head violently as he brandished his sword over her neck.

"What happened?" he snarled. "Every time there is trouble, it always leads to you. What did you do this time, Avi?"

"We were Dueling," she sobbed. "It was an accident, I didn't mean for this to happen."

"She lies!" shouted Lady Donohue. "Phantoms are not capable of such destruction! I had always known there was something off about that girl, and those beasts she summoned have justified my suspicions!"

"Witch!" shouted the baker. "She's a witch! She must have cursed the Phantoms with more power! They seemed almost real!"

"She's too dangerous to be around here anymore. Kill her!"

"Kill her! Kill her!"

The town guard yanked her hair more. "That lion is not here to save you, bitch. Today, we relive you of life."

"Hold it, hold it, everyone!" Ser Godfrey said coming out of the throng. He was now clad in polished metal armor fresh from the forges of Felgrand capital. "You do not mean to kill my wife now, do you?"

The crowd exclaimed in shock and confusion. "Wife?"

"Yes," said Ser Godfrey. "It seems that little Avi has grown into somewhat of a handful, hasn't she?"

Murmurs of agreement.

"Oh, she has," Ser Godfrey chuckled, taking Avi away from the grip of the guard. "And that display with the dragons is somewhat impressive, albeit hardening for me." He licked Avi's chin causing her to wince and sob. "Well, then, I have been given blessings from her adoptive father, Roland, to have Avi as my wife.

What do you mean, Ser Godfrey?" asked the guard. "You mean to take this delinquent as wife? Good Ser, there is surely someone better for you. This girl is a clumsy, no good, wench. And a witch of some sort as you no doubt have seen. Avi has been nothing but trouble since the baker and his family found her all those years ago. One by one, everyone who took her in was found with ill fate. You are a hero in this town and we certainly do not want any ill will to befall you."

"No need to worry, sir," said Ser Godfrey. "I will teach Avi to harness her power, whatever it may be, and form her into a proper lady. If even I can't help her, then she is all yours. Heads on spikes, tearing, flaying, whatever you please."

Avi gasped much to Ser Godfrey's joy.

"So if you wish to live to see another day, I suggest you behave, my beautiful wife. Oh, not yet. She has not accepted my offer."

The monk approached and took tossed blessed water from a crystal-shaped bottle at Avi before getting close to her. "So, what say you, witch? Do you take this man as your betrothed and be bound together in love now and forever until the Dragonnach Anatario?"

Avi looked at the monk and then eyed the angry mob one furious person at a time. They all looked like they wanted to rip her apart. She had no choice but to accept the marriage. "I do," she sobbed. "Now and forever until the Dragonnach Antario ends the word."

"Congratulations, Ser Godfrey," said the monk. "I look forward to preaching your wedding and will watch your progress with this lost cause with great anticipation."

"I shall not disappoint you, Father," Ser Godfrey said, kissing his ring. Avi was next. She struggled for a moment before she placed her lips on the signet on the monk's finger. With that kiss, she surrendered her life to Ser Godfrey.

Ironic. Whether she won the Duel or lost, she would lose her freedom, her hopes, and her dreams forever this day.


	56. The Summoner of Dragons: Part 6

**Constantine**

* * *

Constantine Belotserkovsky drew a little too much attention while he sat on the stool in front of the musty wooden counter. Awkward looks were implanted on the patrons all around the Pewter Dragon Inn, a cozy establishment nestled in the central plaza of the town of Leia, which was cozily nestled in the peaks of the Great White Mountains in the upper region of the Kingdom of Lorin.

In the corner of the inn, by a window facing a bush with purple flowers, a lovely bard strummed on her lute and sang a song of the morning goddess to cast the sleep off farmers and workers so they could begin their daily routine. No doubt in Constantine's mind that the bard's voice was enchanted by some sort of charm spell. He noticed the glowing pendant around her neck that radiated a green light every time she caught her breath to sing another verse. And her lute seemed outlined with a brilliant green aura.

Constantine smiled; for he then saw the golden musical note on an escutcheon pinned to the right breast of her sleeved bodice corset. She was been from the Bard's Guild, and no doubt in his mind that she was a master-ranked member; for it took a true master of music to learn how to enchant songs and poems. None in the tavern seemed to care, for her enchanted music, and a hearty breakfast to warm their bellies, did a fine job in removing their tiredness.

In no time at all, laughter and merriment rang all around the establishment. They didn't even seem to mind Constantine's presence anymore. But while the air was sweet with the scent of hotcakes, biscuits, bacon, and eggs freshly collected from the hen house behind the tavern, Constantine helped himself to a very early, and very meager, supper. A pewter plate lay before him with a crust of bread and a bowl of soup to dunk it in. It was all he wanted; for he was not in the mood for such a heavy breakfast. Plus, it made the call of nature come quickly, and it was many miles to his next destination.

"They don't make beer like this where I come from," the lad said, referring to the eastern lands, for he grew up deep in the underground metropolises beneath the bustling streets and beautiful skyscrapers of Domino. He was a youth of twenty and one, and though he was deep in western territory full of traditionalists, he was clad in a stylized jacket of brown faux leather with a hood.

His jeans were pressed tightly against his legs and had zippers in unnecessary locations. A single-strap backpack was hung over his shoulder with all sorts of accessories strapped to it, despite its small size. Pouches, a water bottle, and a survival knife. He wore a black beanie, concealing his spiked, ash-white hair. His ears were pierced with silver rings, and a chain of mithril dangled from his belt over his left hip. A sword of freshly-forged steel with a black leather grip and sheathed in a belted scabbard hung diagonally on his back by a leather baldric.

Constantine gulped down what was left inside the tankard. "Hmm," he said, turning the mug upside down and shaking it. There was not a drop left.

" 'Scuse me. Can I get another refill?"

The barkeep wrinkled his round nose. His mustache wagged from left to right. He was hesitant with the request but took the tankard from him. He walked to a nearby keg on the wall and turned the knob. A rich flow of crisp black beer flowed out.

"What are those around your neck?" the barkeep asked, pointing to the lit-up headphones hung over the boy's neck.

"Oh, these?" Constantine said. "These allow me to listen to music. You Western Folk ever heard of heavy metal? Rap? Hip hop? Pop? No?"

The barkeep hadn't heard of that kind of music before, let alone knew it even existed. He poured the foaming beverage from the keg into the tankard. "This is your last one," he said. "Finish your meal and be gone. There are Witch Hunters in these parts, and I don't want any trouble from them. They have an eye out for you folks from Eredas. What's worse, is you do magic. They sure as hell don't like that."

"We're still in Upper Lorin," said Constantine. "We're thousands of leagues away from the jurisdiction of the Church. They have no say in what we do here in the South. Besides, what do I care if a few Witch Hunters come my way?"

"Jurisdictions don't matter no more, lad," said the barkeep, leaning on the counter. "With King Forrest Ungard as their messiah of sorts, them Yeyunists have grown mighty bold. They care not about what our laws say anymore. They be coming down here and taking over like they've won the war already. You know, I once had a waitress working for me. Belladonna Stark; beautiful maiden she was. And she was an aspiring mage."

"Is that so?" Constantine said, nodding his head. "I've got a thing for pretty mages. She still around?"

The barkeep looked at the boy disapprovingly. He continued with his story; for he would give Constantine his answer soon.

He tapped on the counter impatiently before he said: "She got her letter announcing her enrollment in the Citadel. Oh, sir, she and her friends, also aspiring magic users, were so proud. They began practicing their craft in the woods. Then one day, they vanished. Belladonna didn't show up for work, which was so unlike her. The town guard found her and her friends hanging from a tree near the river. Aldrantas, bless their souls." He formed a sign with his fingers over his forehead. "So no, lad. To answer your question, she is not around."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Constantine said, taking the tankard from the barkeep's grip. He took a long drink. "And my sincerest apologies. Did you find out who was responsible for such an atrocity?"

"Well," the barkeep looked around to make sure the coast was clear. He leaned forward, holding his hand over his mouth. "My money's on this goon named Marcus Hamilton. He's the leader of a group of Witch Hunters. Sons of whores named The Swords of Light."

The lad smiled. "I've heard of them," he said dunking his bread into the soup. He bit into the soggy crust and savored the rich flavor of the herbs, chicken broth, and vegetables that swam about. "Mmm," he said. "It's delicious. Your daughter's one hell of a good cook."

"Many thanks, sir," said the Barkeep.

The lad wiped his mouth. "Anyways, I've been hunting these guys down for quite some time now."

The barkeep rose upright in response to that. "You? Hunting the Swords of Light?"

"Not just the Swords of Light," he said, reaching for one of the pouches hanging from his backpack. He opened it and reached inside, taking out a handful of patches, which he threw onto the counter.

"Oh!" the barkeep exclaimed. "What's all this?"

"These are the emblems of Witch Hunters I've brought to justice," Constantine bragged. "The Concordant of Free Speech may allow them to practice their phony-baloney religion, but it does not mean they can harass us and force anyone to join out of fear."

The barkeep flipped through the pile of patches with his finger. "I've got to say, I've never heard of any of these fools before."

"Many of them were up-and-comers," said Constantine. "They never had a chance to make a name for themselves. You know, they've been on the hunt of followers of the dragon goddess?"

"I've haven't heard about that. Is that true?"

"Yeah, I've walked this road for some time now. I've seen statues and wayshrines honoring her defiled and destroyed. Temples are being ransacked by Witch Hunters, and pilgrims of the goddess have been found slaughtered, with only the women being allowed to be spared. They are then taken North to face judgment under King Forrest."

"There are hundreds of Goddesses blessing our world," said the barkeep. "Tell me, lad, why is it that the Church is going after followers of Saafani specifically?"

Constantine took another bite of his bread and answered with his mouth full. "Word on the street is that there is a girl out there who has an affinity for dragons." He swallowed. "Some within the ranks of the Church have started to call her a Summoner of Dragons. The one they fear in their tome."

The barkeep shook his head. "Summoner of Dragons," he spat. "And I'm the King of Dragonrock. Lad, Dragon Summoners have not been around since the inquisition. The Church hunted them all down."

"I know," said Constantine. "But times are a' changing. The Church is not taking any chances with the Priestesses of Saafani. They're hunting down any girl affiliated with the temple, and paying good coin for it. And let's face it, everyone has joined in on the hunt. Getting paid to hunt down girls is an ample inducement for any sicko, don't ya think?"

"There must be something going on if the Church is paranoid about a girl."

"Her coming is all but imminent," said Constantine. "This came from the mouth of Yugi Muto himself. He and his friends seem pretty sure that girl is out there. Sure enough that Ser Tristan Taylor stood outside their main cathedral in Domino City, drunk as a lord, telling them their time was coming, and that the foundations of their biggest buildings will be melted by dragon fire. There has to be a girl with that kind of power out there. This is Yugi Muto we're talking about. The boy is always right. And right before I left Domino City, I read in the papers that his grandfather, famed archeologist, Solomon Muto, made his way to Normandia about a week or two ago. I asked around, and the only bit of info I got was that there was a girl out there whom Yugi Muto seeks to bring into some sort of an Alliance." Constantine jerked his thumb at himself. "Which I will be joining soon."

"Are you a Prince?" the barkeep asked.

Constantine chuckled. "Uh, no."

"Then you can't sit there and expect me to believe that you're going to be joining the Alliance. Only boys and girls of royalty are allowed to join."

"I may not be some rich, pompous prince, but I have a means of getting what I want. Well, that's all the coin I have, so I guess my meal is finished. You wouldn't happen to know where the chapter of the Swords of Light hang out, do you?"

The barkeep stroked his beard. "Well, I did see them here earlier. They said something about going after some clerics worshiping Lucia in the woods. You didn't miss them by much. If you hurry, you can still catch them."

"I hope so," said Constantine, getting off the stool. "If I don't, huh! If what I heard about the Church's methods before, those poor Clerics are going to wish they were never born."

* * *

Constantine peered from behind two boulders on the side of the mountain, overlooking a very devious-looking gathering. He saw six – at least it looked like six – men standing and sitting around a campfire surrounded by three covered wagons forming a crooked circle. Kegs, crates, barrels, and torches dotted the perimeter of the campsite…along spikes capped with the heads of four young men and two young women.

"Damn," Constantine whispered to himself. "I'm too late."

He looked at their wide-brimmed hats of leather with a red feather plumed at the side. Pinned on the front of their caps, and studded armor of leather reinforced with armor plating, were three golden swords behind their coat-of-arms; a shield split in two and outlined in black. One side bore half the face of the Grizzly of House Ungard. The other half were Fleur-de-lises strewn over a field of yellow. Some bore ribbons, medals, and other decorations on their chests, sleeves, caps, and boots. But the sigil of their order, they wore with the greatest of pride.

"Thugs! Honorless thugs the whole lot of them!" Constantine whispered while he watched a man in a full set of steel-plate armor use a burgundy cloth to wipe clean the blood of his victims off his sword. The guard and hilt fashioned to look like the radiant swords crested on his helm.

"All right, boys!" the armored man shouted. "Pack it up. We head west."

"West?" said a Witch Hunter armed with a bow. "Why must we head west? For that matter, west where?"

"The witch of all witches has awaked in Normandia."

"The Dragon Lands?" asked another, a chubby fellow no bigger than a child. "What manner of sorceress lives there, commander?"

The armored man wiped the last of the blood away. "There's been talk amongst the Kings of the South; rumors spread by Yugi Muto himself. There's a girl with an affinity for dragons out there. One of his agents is said to be with her right now. Solomon Muto

He feverishly kissed the blade and held it up.

"Vivarenté nos Ungard reinos!" he shouted in Naralian tongue, meaning Long Live the King Ungard. "Death to the mages!" he continued.

"Holy Yeyu! Enlighten the lost and burn the sinful!"

"Death to the Duelists!" the man in the armor shouted again.

"Holy Yeyu! Enlighten the lost and burn the sinful!" The Witch Hunters began slamming their fists against their chests then holding up them up. The salute of the Church Militant.

"Death to all who sin against us! May the Holy Fires of Yeyu enlighten the lost! May the Holy Fires burn the evils of the world!"

"Holy Yeyu! Enlighten and Burn! Holy Yeyu! Enlighten and Burn!"

"Vivarenté nos Ungard reinos!" the armored one shouted again – or tried to shout again, for he was interrupted by a very large explosion. A fireball fell from the sky and struck the kegs of ale, igniting them into a column of flames that tossed many of the men in different directions.

Constantine smiled from his hiding spot. "Well, it's about time you got here," he said confidently. He slid down the mountain towards the camp, landing by the flaming wreckage of one of their wagons. Once the Witch Hunters saw him, he drew his sword and ignited it with a flaming enchantment. The flames engulfing the steel frightened them. The man in the armor walked forward, slowly, both hands occupied with a sword and a heavy tower shield.

"Was that you who did that, freak?" he asked.

"I heard of him," stuttered one of the Witch Hunters. "That's the one His Holiness calls the Sword of the Dawn. He's slain many in our order."

"The Sword of Dawn?" the man in the armor chuckled. He puffed out his chestplate to show off the Eye of Yeyu engraved in solid gold on the surface. Constantine studied the order well enough to learn that this man was a Champion of the Church. No doubt in his mind that he killed many to achieve such a title. "Your reputation precedes you, Sword of Dawn. To what do we owe the pleasure? Needless to say, your arrival is quite an honor."

"Honor?" Constantine replied with a shake of his head. "What a strange word coming from one who would claim to belong to an order of murderers."

"Murderers?" the champion retorted in complete shock. "Murderers of magic users? Those who use the fell gifts of the heathen witches in the Void to bring out world to ruin? No my boy. You are but a lost sheep herded into the wolves' den by sinners like Yugi Muto and Maximillion Pegasus. We have seen past their ways and have donned the three swords. A sigil you yourself should wear. I see great potential in you. You can use that potential to cast out the sins of the world in the name of King Forrest - "

"Do not speak his name!" Constantine shouted. "King Forrest. The Fat King! You know nothing of the hardships he has brought upon the people of the southern kingdoms! You know nothing of the genocide his followers committed. Followers like you!"

"I know - "

"You know nothing!" Constantine shouted once more. "I will not honor your king. Bah! He is no king. He's just a puppet dancing from strings controlled by the church. Once Prince Daveed comes to claim his crown and wield the Divine Beasts, there will be nothing that you can do to stop him!"

"You're delusional," said the champion. "What is that pendant around your neck?"

Constantine looked down at his precious keepsake given to him by his mother before he set off on his quest. "You of all people should know this aegis is the symbol of Norman the Conqueror."

"I will bury it," the champion said, as one of the Witch Hunters put his helmet on for him. "Once I remove your head."

"I don't think you will," laughed Constantine. "Remember that fireball that hit you guys earlier? That wasn't me. That was a present from a very dear friend of mine."

A shadow rushed over the campsite, followed by a powerful gust of wind that shook the pines all around them. What caused the disturbance caused many of the Witch Hunters to drop their weapons and flee. Even the champion felt his legs want to run out of their own will. But he stood his ground as Constantine's beast landed behind him. Its massive size caused the ground to shake, and a cloud of dust to form from beneath its feet. The wind made Constantine's jacket sway, and his jewelry to jingle.

Constantine looked back at his friend and laughed, feeling joy at the monster's presence. And he even felt a tinge of power surge in him as the beast reared its long neck and roared at the Witch Hunters brave, or foolish, enough to stay and fight. The monster that came to his aid, was a terror known as the Subterranean Trident-Tail. But in the game, he was known as Infernal Dragon.

"Perfect timing, Tartarus, as usual," Constantine said, sweeping his flaming sword in the air to intimidate his foes. He used the shimmering trail of the sword to spell F-U-C-K-U. "All right big guy, let's teach these Yeyunist nutcases a lesson they'll never forget."

Tartarus took a deep breath and roared at the Witch Hunters.

"Stand fast, men!" cried the champion, raising his sword. "The Flames of the Almighty Yeyu will protect us from all the demons of this world. Stand fast! For the Church!"

He turned. Only five of his men remained. The others took off running into the woods. His frustration turned into fear. Fear, turned into pain when he felt a fiery sensation sting his abdomen. He felt blood rushing up his throat and out his mouth. There was a loud crunch and the groan of steel. He realized that whatever it was that caused him this great discomfort, pierced right through his armor. He thought the boy took him by surprise, but then he turned and saw that it was a trident-shaped weapon at the end of the dragon's tail that had done him in.

Tartarus whipped his tail, sending the champion's body flying high, past the treetops and over the mountain.

"I like these odds," Constantine said, putting on his headphones and blasting breakbeat music as loud as he could. He charged at the Witch Hunters while they were dazed, and confused. Tartarus took flight after the Witch Hunters who fled into the forest.

As Constantine performed dazzling moves of acrobatics and swordplay, the forest was suddenly alit with flames, and the screams of the murderers echoed not to far ahead. Tartarus soared over the forest, using his thermal vision to locate and kill the Witch Hunters. Constantine danced and flipped while he swung his sword and slashed at the ones who stayed to fight him. He slit their throats and stabbed them in the hearts with terrific leaps and elegant flips.

Constantine listened once his foes were all dead. He cupped a hand over his ear. All he heard was silence. Silence and the feverish calls of the birds, the cracking of the flames, and the wingbeat of Tartarus' wings soaring over the forest.

The dragon gave another roar out of victory and flew east. Constantine knew he was headed for the pond in the clearing of the forest for a long drink. With just a thought, Constantine doused the flames of his sword and sheathed it back into its scabbard. He laughed cheerfully and headed into the forest, casting aqua spells from his hands to put out the flames his dragon created.

"Hey, hey! Tartarus wait up!" he shouted and dashed deeper into the forest, putting out more pockets of flames with jets of water which he shot out of his palms. "What's the point of casting water if the big guy isn't going to make use of it?" he wondered. He made it to the clearing. Tartarus already dunked his head into the water to take long gulps to quench his thirst and wash out the bits of men that stuck to his dagger-like teeth.

"Woo-wee!" Constantine said running up to his dragon. "You were the bomb, man! The way you just flew in and landed over me! Aw, man! I wish I could have recorded that. Hey, you were great. Gimme five!" He said holding open his palm.

Tartarus glared at his rider with utter disapproval. He held up his claw sarcastically to show Constantine he only had three fingers on his claw.

"Oh...my bad. Well then, up high!" Tartarus gently clapped his large hand with Constantine's. "Yeah, down low!" Constantine said, holding his hand down as low as he could. Tartarus went for it, but Constantine swiped it away. "Ho! Ho! Too slow! Got ya! You always fall for that, man!" Tartarus roared in fury. "Hey, hey, don't give me that shit!"

Tartarus still snarled and grunted, swaying his neck from side to side. Constantine laughed. What he was doing was really brave, or very stupid. "Come on, man. I'm just joking. You know I wouldn't leave you hangin'. Come on, fist bump!" He held out his fist. Tartarus snarled. "Aw, come on, now you're gonna leave me hangin'? Come on, man, don't do that. Truce. Come on, truce." Tartarus formed a fist with his claw. "That's it, man."

Just as Tartarus and Constantine's fists were ready to collide, Tartarus pulled it away and held out the middle finger of his claw.

"Oh, oh," Constantine groaned, slapping his arms on his sides. He shrugged, watching Tartarus make a strange noise from within his throat like he was laughing. "Real classy. Real classy, asshole."

Tartarus gave a triumphant screech into the air.

"Come on, man. Truce."

Tartarus snarled and finally connected his fist with Constantine's. "All right!" he said. "That's it. Hey, check it out. I tore a page from their White-Gold Tome."

He reached into a compartment in his jacket and took out a scroll. He unrolled it to show Tartarus the artwork of a naked girl with long, flowing, hair the color of gold going on and on for eternity. She had her arms covering her breasts, and her body skewed in a disproportionate angle to show her buttocks. She stood over a skyline of buildings glowing with fire imprinted with shimmering gold. Silhouettes of dragons were flying all around her. People were praying for her to stop the chaos.

Tartarus tilted his head to side in confusion. Constantine took off his backpack and used it as a headrest as he laid down on the grass.

"That's her, man. She's the one everybody's talking about. _La Dragonettica_ _fuegonico violenta,_ as she is dubbed by the Hierarch. The Lady Dragon of the Tyrant Flames. Or, as us sane people call her; The Summoner of Dragons." He whistled. "Isn't she a dish, big guy? I hope those proportions are right. Termnnia hasn't had any beautiful dragon-calling heroines since High Queen Evangelia. She's the one, man. She's my meal ticket to joining Yuri and the others in the Royal Termnnian Table. What do you say, big guy? Think you can help me find her?

Tartarus snorted. Constantine felt the hot air envelope him. "Come on, man. Be a good sport. I mean, you never know. This girl could have a fine-ass dragoness for you to hangout with, eh?"

Tartarus grunted happily and swung his tail left and right, knocking over a few trees.

Constantine laughed at the display. "Yeah, that's got you all excited, huh? Ya big lummox. We're gonna find her, man. Wherever she is. We're gonna find her."

* * *

**Avi**

* * *

She screamed. When she saw the darkness of her room, she slammed her head back on her pillow and took heavy gasps of air. Her body became soaked in perspiration. Tears bubbled up in her diamond-like eyes. The dream again! There were hundreds of them; thousands possibly. Dragons, True Dragons, singing mournfully for their annihilation at the hands of the Inquisition thousands and thousands of years ago.

As they sang, she could see images of the chaos. She guessed that she was looking at memories of those who were slaughtered. Their final moments; all so brutal. Nests were destroyed. Hatchlings butchered like common cattle. Wings slashed. Necks were broken by machines made by twisted, demonic minds.

"But how?" she wondered. How can creatures of such power fall at the hands of Men? What sort of devilry did the Church of Yeyu possess that allowed for such an atrocity?

The rooster outside her window crowed to announce the rising sun. But Avi felt like it was calling her back to normality. The dreams were getting worse and worse.

"Why?" she sobbed. "Why me? What can I do?" She scooted to the left side of her bed and picked up her deck. She opened the case and took out her cards. She flipped through them and until she saw Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand. The Felgrand Dragon's card was resting behind it. Their holographic backgrounds and golden lettering flashed in the dim light of dawn peeking through her window.

"What did that to your kind?" Avi asked, sliding her finger down the card. "And why are you plaguing my dreams with those horrible visions? What can I do to help you? I'm just a tavern wench. I'm just the local idiot. The village fool. You've got the wrong person, I assure you. Please, please, for the love of Safaani, and all the Goddesses, leave me alone." She put the cards back in the case and closed it shut. "I'm no hero," she whispered mournfully.

Loud repetitious banging on the other side of her door startled her. She jumped and contained herself to keep from screaming so as not to give her new 'master' any satisfaction of power of her. Well, not as much anyway.

"Are you awake in there, my little pet?" Ser Godfrey answered from behind the door.

"I-I am," Avi responded nervously. She raised her nightgown toward her face and wiped away the sweat from her face, neck, and chest. She swallowed and said: "I am, my love."

"That's what I like to hear. Now, I'll undo the bolts to let you out. My servants have drawn a bath for you; see that you take it. I will be awaiting you downstairs in the arcade to discuss today's agenda with you."

Avi's heart dropped when she heard creaking, slamming, and clicking of countless locks and chains that sealed her inside her chamber on the tallest tower of Ser Godfrey's castle near the lake beside the town.

There was no escaping the tower, Avi thought, not unless my hair grew to a certain size like that princess from the other world. The room was circular in shape with only one window. Avi didn't feel too bad about it since she got a spectacular view of the mountains and the Cameron Falls. The walls were of thick, cold, stone splashed with color by only a few tapestries depicting stories of Ser Godfrey's youth fighting hobgoblins, imps, boggarts, and other monsters.

A lone iron torch hung from the wall adding light, though it was unneeded on account of the hearth providing Avi with all the warmth and light she needed. Every hour or so, a Gnome by the name of Twingle would come into her room and add logs to the fire. He was a kind little thing, sneaking Avi pastries from the library and even books for her to read. Lastly, there was a privy near a sink concealed by a cloth, which hung from the ceiling.

The last lock clicked and the final chain rattled. The door swung open, letting in the massive body of Avi's husband-to-be. Avi, barely considering herself dressed in her nightgown of thin, white silk, concealed herself under the blankets; her face already blushing with humiliation. Ser Godfrey waddled in and sniffed the air to get a long whiff of Avi's sweet scent. "Ah," he breathed. "Delicious."

Avi whimpered.

"Well, it's time we got moving, wouldn't you say? Hurry and freshen yourself up, my dear. There is a lot to do today. And that deck of yours is going to be used overtime."

"You want me to Duel?" Avi asked.

Ser Godfrey scoffed angrily and held out his arms. "Well, you just want to stay in the tower?" he asked.

"No," Avi said.

"Then do hurry up, will you? I warn you, girl, do not test my patience. The town has had enough of you. They are thirsty for blood. Your blood. And I will give it to them if you don't behave. Now. Get out of bed. Take your bath. Choose the dress you want to wear for today and come downstairs to eat your breakfast."

"I will, My Lord. I will."

"That's a good girl," the obese knight said, stalking towards Avi slowly. He grabbed her by the cheeks with one large, beefy hand and forcefully kissed her long and good. Avi wanted to heave. It felt like an eternity before he finally let her go. He licked his lips to get savor every last bit of her flavor, then turned and left her alone.

It took a moment for Avi to force herself out of bed. Still feeling rather naked in her wet nightgown, she kept her bedsheets over her shoulders like a cape as she trekked down the halls towards the bathhouse where a hot bath awaited her with an army of servants. They bowed in respect and bid the new Lady of the Castle a good morrow before surrounding her and stripping her of her soaked clothes. Avi grew cold from the damp castle air but as soon as she stepped into the water, she felt as though she entered her own element.

Avi never admitted this to anyone; for fear of even more paranoia from the townsfolk, but she was fond of things that were hot. She never waited for the water of her baths to cool. Then again, she never blew on her meals even though they were still boiling from the stove. Hot summer days never bothered her either, and she had such an affinity for fire. She was drawn to it, the way a moth would be to a torch. She loved the sight of it. She would stare at the flames, be it from a hearth, a torch, even the flames burning a criminal at the town square, and desire it.

"Out of the tub, m'dear," one of the servants said when Avi was cleaned. Avi did as was told and rose from the bronze tub. Another servant wrapped a towel around her, and she carefully placed one foot over the tub, followed by the other; her hand, held by another one of the maids to keep her from slipping and falling.

She was patted down and then powered from head to toe to keep her skin smelling sweet and soft to the touch. Avi was led to a chair where a barber took out his tools and started cutting her beautiful golden locks into just the right size for the style Ser Godfrey desired.

He tied the back of her hair into a curled ponytail with swirled bangs going down her heart-shaped face. He specked it with tiny colorful flowers with a fluorescent blue glow called Fairy's Gift, named after the Duel Monster of the Fairy-Type. They had a certain trait that caused them to ring like silver bells whenever they brushed against the wind, therefore, every time Avi moved, the flowers would make her ring.

She was led to another room where three mannequins awaited her, basking in the light of the gridded window behind them. Avi picked a gown of blue velvet with gold threading and ornamentation, but before she could put it on, a corset had to be tied around her waist. She leaned on the top of a dresser, gasping for air as the corset pushed tighter and tighter against her waist. She could feel her ribs being compressed and her innards being crushed into mush. Ser Godfrey's newly hired chamberlain unrolled a scroll, ready to announce the day's schedule. Since Avi was still nude from the waist down, he did come from behind a screen to give her privacy.

"You are to join Ser Godfrey in the banquet hall for breakfast once your pampering is complete," he said. He walked back and forth, ear at the ready to hear a response from her.

Avi squealed as the maid doing her corset pulled even tighter. "This isn't exactly what I call pampering," she gasped, grasping the edge of the drawer with all her might. "Is this horrid thing necessary?" she asked, looking back at the maid.

"I'm sorry, m'dear," she answered sheepishly. "But these are the lord of the castle's orders."

"Why exactly does a knight like Ser Godfrey have his own castle?"

The chamberlain chuckled from behind the screen. "A stupid question," he scoffed. "But then, you are a stupid girl. I will answer the question nevertheless."

Avi's face scrunched into a scowl. She hated him already. The moment she saw him at the door after her bath, she knew he was going to be a pompous ingrate. He was of medium height and very pump, wearing black and white doublet with floral ornamentation and black slacks. A ruffled collar of white was around his neck. He was balding at the top of his head, and he bore a very obnoxious mustache, which was waxed to the point the hairs were reflective.

She paid no heed to the story of how Ser Godfrey got this castle. He was a war hero, but it was thanks to constant ass-kissing and overly bloated tales of glory that were able to give him such luxuries. They weren't well-deserved, and she knew it thanks to the stupid exaggerations of Ser Godfrey charging into a goblin den single-handedly and slaying them all. Not even Tiberius the Uniter was capable of such a feat alone. Hell, the Seven Golden Kings of Ellenanya ( **Ellen-Ah-nya** ) had to work together to destroy the Orcs of Kharem-Undzullen,

"Blah, blah, blah," the chamberlain went on and on.

Avi slipped into ruffled, flower-patterned bloomers and gasped when the farthingale was slipped over her head. She winced when she looked in the mirror and saw how much décolletage was shown. No doubt in her mind that this design was of Ser Godfrey's choosing as well.

The town jeweler came into the room after Avi was dressed. "My Lady," he said. He opened a large wooden box of polished ash. Inside in a bed of black velvet was a necklace of diamonds that glittered like the stars in the Void.

Avi stared at the necklace wide-eyed and at a loss for words. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

"Ser Godfrey has spared no expense for you," said the jeweler. "These jewels are known as the _Lalaieth fa huvvien Ehtlelneddia_. The Laugher of the Dragon Queen. These jewels were once worn by Her Majesty; High Queen Evangelia Pendragon thousands of years ago. My ancestors took them after her passing and has kept it in our household for all these years, waiting for just the right woman to wear them again. And now, we believe you are that woman, My Lady."

"Am I that woman, or did Ser Godfrey give you the right price for it?" Avi asked as the jeweler put the necklace around her thin neck.

The jeweler smiled. "A bit of both, actually," he said. "Having said that, I can' help but feel a certain...aura radiating from you, child. Do listen to anything this man has to say. You may be the village idiot, but you, my dear, are beautiful; there's no doubt in that. Now, if you please, your affianced awaits you for breakfast."

Avi took a deep breath (Wincing, for she was not accustomed to the corset) and went downstairs to the banquet hall, a room made of glass and steel with a panoramic view of the fields, mountains, and Cameron Falls, along with the river flowing by the castle grounds. Ser Godfrey was looking out the window, marveling at the beautiful scenery outside.

He heard the clopping of Avi's heels coming down the hall and turned his head immediately so he could see her. He smiled at her as she finally appeared at the entrance. She was a work of art in his eyes. A masterly crafted piece created by nature. And she was all his.

"I am not worthy," he said to himself as the girl bashfully struggled to make her entrance into the banquet hall.

"Come on, my dear," said one of the maids. "Don't be shy. Oh, we almost forgot this." She took a tiara resting on a red velvet pillow that was held by a fellow servant and placed it on her head. "Beautiful. Now, go, my dear. You mustn't keep him waiting."

At last Avi walked in. The early morning sun shone through the windows and bathed her in a radiant light as she stepped out of the shadows of the hall. The tiara and the necklace once belonging to the Star Queen twinkled a thousand times with each step she took.

Avi had no love for the man, but she couldn't help but feel proud of the beauty she was gifted with. Her face turned pink and she smiled. As she walked by, a lot of male heads turned to look at her. She heard whispers blowing all around her like a mischievous summer wind.

Ser Godfrey waddled towards his masterpiece and kissed her. "Come, come," he said, leading her to the table.

She sat down, although it proved a very delicate process thanks to the farthingale and corset. A waiter approached holding up a black tray. He served her a stack of hotcakes and a glass of milk.

"Now, tell me, Avi," Ser Godfrey said crunching on a piece of bacon. "Where did you acquire that deck. The one with the dragons you used to beat those poor boys senseless."

"A barbaric act," commented a noblewoman from Asendar. "Have you no shame, girl?"

"It wasn't my fault!" Avi cried.

Ser Godfrey raised his hand, causing Avi to flinch. "I don't think those dragons acting the way they did was of Avi's fault," he said, surprisingly coming to her defense. "Perhaps the boys were not as strong as they thought they were and cowered when they saw Avi's beasts." He looked down at Avi and grinned. "Having said that, I am quite curious as to how those dragons she summoned acted so lifelike. I have seen Phantoms be used in Duels for many years, and I have never seen them behave in such a manner."

"Bah," said the Marquis of Prelaron. He slurped his porridge before he spoke. "There is a rumor about the town that the girl is a witch of some sort. They tell me she has been complaining of dreams concerning dragons. Is this true, girl?"

"They are, sir," Avi answered, cutting one of her pancakes with her fork. "I have visions of dragons flying above me. They were singing."

"Singing!" snorted another noblewoman. She laughed and the other guests at the table followed suit.

Avi clasped both her hands together over her lap and flushed into a peachy pink color. She thought it was best not to say anything. Now, these snobbish women and men thought her even more of a fool. Deep down, even she thought the dreams of dragons singing in the heavens was pretty silly. She dared not to look up until the infernal laughter had died down. She felt so humiliated. She wanted to vanish into thin air.

Sre Godfrey broke the laughter down with a stern question. "What news of the West?"

"You mean Termnnia?" asked the noblewoman. "I have heard those involved in the Dragonheart Party have won a landslide victory against the loyalists to the crown. Antilles, King of Dragonrock somehow has convinced the senate to turn a blind eye to the pleas of Yugi Muto himself. They were having a battle to see if their heir would return sooner rather than later."

"I have heard of this squabble from traders of the East Termnnia Trading Company," said the Duke of Lothidia, adding sugar to his morning roast. He was an elderly chap, chubby of cheek, with a gray mustache. "Prince Daveed is not to return until he has acquired favorable skill in Duel Monsters."

"A very just decision," said Ser Godfrey. "I am not fond of Termnnian politics, but I must agree with this ultimatum set up by King Antilles."

"I've heard that he was able to summon of the Divine Beasts," said the Duke. "Slifer the Sky Dragon. He used it in a Duel before this who issue with Prince Daveed took place. There were rumors going about that Antilles was going to take the Heart-EartH Crown."

The Countess of Yboan chuckled. "After that fiasco at the battle of Karad-Antha, I am not surprised that the Divine Beasts had a change of heart. Think of the power the boy must have had in order to ensure their blessing at birth."

"Who is Prince Daveed again?" Avi asked.

Ser Godfrey and the guests looked at her like vultures ready to pick apart meat from a deer's carcass. Avi shrunk in her seat, wishing she hadn't said anything.

"How stupid is this girl, Ser Godfrey?" asked the Countess. "To not know of the greatest miracle of our time? How do you cope with such a small mind like hers."

"Who cares what mind she has," sneered Ser Godfrey. "It's her beauty that I've fallen for."

"You'd best be wary," said the Countess's sister. "Stupid girls like her have been known to cause trouble for many good people. Weak-minded fools, such as yourself; no offense, have fallen for dimwits such as her like moths attracted to the flame. All of them have been met with ill fates. We do not wish for anything bad to happen to a noble, hardworking, knight such as yourself, Ser Godfrey."

"She's still a young thing," said Ser Godfrey. "I assure you, she'll learn. In the meantime, I believe you've come to see her Duel, have you not?"

"I must say I am intrigued," said the Duke. "Let us see if these dragons truly are a force of their own will or witchcraft created by this girl. My son is would like to play her and her dragons with his own dragons. I say this could be an extraordinary match."

Avi gulped. Ser Godfrey ordered her to take her cards out and prepare for her Duel against the Duke's son. Little did she know, that Duel was going to mark the beginning of a long and difficult day.

* * *

She Dueled all day. Opponent after opponent, nonstop. Her dragons. Avi felt that even they were exhausted. She saw them battle against some of the fiercest monsters she had ever seen. Though proud of the fact she took on all of them, she felt sad. As if it wasn't bad enough that Ser Godfrey had her as nothing more than some sort of trophy wife, her dragons were now to be used as an exhibition for the amusement of his guests who found her skill with the deck to be amazing for a girl thought to be very stupid.

She lay face down on her bed, exhausted. Her corset felt like it was crushing her ribs, and she had not the strength to take it off. She breathed very slowly to relax her tired muscles, her legs, and right forearm the most; for she stood on them for hours, and her forearm burdened with that cumbersome Duel Disk the entire time as well. It felt heavy and ached beyond any pain she ever had.

She sniffed and let tears fall down the side of her nose and get sucked into the fabric of her sheets. This life was an improvement over the life she lived at the inn but by very little. In all honesty, she felt like things took a turn for the worse.

"Why me?" she wondered. "What did I do to deserve this? People think I'm some trinket. That I am a mindless fool. I'm not. Oh, Goddesses, answer my prayer. Help me escape this life, or so help me I will jump from that window to my death!"

She smiled. What songs would they sing if she had done that? She could imagine it now; the bards at the inns all across Keya singing of Avi the Dimwitted Dragon Girl leaping to her death from the highest tower of a gallant knight's castle. She shook her head, nuzzling her sheets. Yes, she had no doubt in her mind that the bards would play Ser Godfrey to be the gallant knight. And she was to forever to be known as the village idiot forgotten by history. Mayhaps the dreams were the goddesses playing tricks on her out of pity.

The door's locks, bolts, and chains rattled, clanked, and jingled. The door flung open and Ser Godfrey stepped inside. Avi gasped in fright. The look on his face filled her with dread. He was as red as an apple and his beard dripped with ale. He was drunk. His eyes were glazed over and his smile was so wide, Avi felt it would rip right out of his face. He growled like an angry beast behind his sick smile. He examined her from top to bottom as though she were a precious stone at the market.

"You're drunk!" Avi cried.

Ser Godfrey stepped inside. "You have made me...hic!...very proud today. All those Duelists challenging you, and not a single loss. How did you...hic!...become so proficient with those cards, my love?"

"I don't know," Avi whimpered. "Darling, please go away."

"Go away?" he said, and he laughed. "Child, you don't seem to understand. Victory makes me..." He sniggered. "Victory I find very, very pleasurable. You have...wettened my appetite for you."

"No!" Avi cried, forcing all her being to climb farther into bed. "Please don't!"

He approached her slowly; Avi did not move. When she came to grips with what was about to happen, she hurried to escape but felt the horrid knight grab her legs and pull her towards him. He grabbed her by the arms, nails digging into her exposed flesh, and pulled her up. She looked at him. The smile, still implanted on his face, but his eyes glistened with a deadly impatience. The smile was like a see-through curtain, revealing his intentions to do her harm if he did not get his way.

Not wanting to anger him and risk being hurt, or even killed by this creature, Avi submitted to his lustful wants


	57. The Summoner of Dragons: Part 7

**Avi**

* * *

The bells of the town rang loudly from the towers of Amon Drogoth, the main cathedral of Dragon's Tooth, waking the citizens of the town to begin another day and give thanks to Belloch, Goddess of the Morning for waking up with their health and their blessings. Some lit candles of pine offering thanks to her. Others tossed coins into the fountain with a statue depicting the goddess in a divine pose with her firebirds.

Avi stirred in her bed and lifted herself up. When her eyes looked out the window, they were almost blinded by the morning sun. She blinked rapidly; her long eyelashes fluttered like the wings of a black butterfly. The sweet scent of apple pancakes from the kitchen downstairs greeted her. She took a long whiff of the enticing smell and licked her lips. A rooster began to crow from Mr. Maggot's house across the fields. But as wonderful as breakfast sounded, she was not going to take any part of it.

No, how could she? The festival of the Dragon Flowers was taking place. Naturally, Ser Godfrey prevented her from going, but she was too determined to take no for an answer.

She threw her blankets off her body and got out of bed. She rushed to the bathroom to wash and dress. Wasting not an ounce of time, she grabbed her new deck and put it in a leather deck box Ser Gerhalos bought for her. She attached the deck to a matching strap, which she tied around her bicep.

She tied her sheets together as fast as she could to avoid being caught by the servants, who were quickly on their way up to prepare her for the day. She threw the rope of sheets out the window, secured them to the post of her bed, and climbed out. Halfway down, she realized she did not have enough rope.

"Perfect," she groaned. She gasped when the knot above her started undoing itself. "Oh no!" she cried. "Help!"

But it was too late. The sheet undid itself and she plummeted the rest of the way down, smacking into the trees. She hit branches big and small during her fall, and tumbled to the ground, landing on her butt.

"Oh, ow!" she wept, massing her posterior. "That hurt," she whimpered. She put on her brown riding cloak. She tried to fight the pain in her rump, but she fell on it very hard. She sat down and rested, but it did not last long.

"She's escaped!" she heard someone cry out from the tower. "Bloody hell! She's escaped!"

Avi's fright seemed to dull the pain and she ran from the estate as fast as she could.

* * *

"Made it," she sighed with relief. "Now, she had to enjoy the festival and win the tournament. Hopefully, then, Ser Godfrey and his ilk would show her some respect. As mentioned before, today was the annual Dragon Flower Festival which celebrated the blooming of the flaming flowers of Rhúndul Fields outside the town. It splashed the endless green landscape in an explosion of a warm yellow, red, and orange making the fields look like they were being bathed in dragon fire.

The fields looked like an enchanted dream in Avi's eyes. These flowers were said to have been blessed onto the world by Safaani the Dragon Goddess when she blessed the Norman people with an alliance with the True Dragons.

There was going to be Duels taking place at the festival honoring their blooming. Avi wanted nothing more than to be part of the games. She joined the crowd while holding onto her basket of flowers to sell. The air was perfumed with the enticing scent of candied meats, freshly baked treats, platinum ale, and strawberries being coated with sweet cream.

Avi jumped for joy when she saw one of the vendors selling them on the bridge over the river. They were only one Silver Tooth which she found a reasonable price. She opened one of the pouches around her belt where she kept her money and paid the vendor who was Daisy the daughter of the strawberry farmer who lived near the top of one of the mountains overlooking the town.

"Staying out of trouble, Avi?" Daisy asked, spraying cream over the strawberries which she piled into a metal cup.

"Trying to," Avi said, trying to keep her skirt from fluttering in the wind. "How have things been with you? I haven't seen you since school ended."

"I can't complain," said Daisy. "With all the gold Crowns father's been making with his strawberries, he's saved enough money to purchase land in the fields of Buttersalt. We'll be getting our own castle."

"Oh!" said Avi. "So your family has what it needs to form its own House? I envy you, Daisy. Good luck living the royal life."

Daisy rolled her eyes. "Aye, here come the suitors looking to marry the new Lady of the Strawberry House. Lovely."

Avi laughed and took her mug of strawberries. She sat at the edge of the fountain in the plaza to eat her snack. She was already making a mess despite just digging into the treat. Her lips were coated with a thick, sticky blanket of cream, mixing into a pink tinge from the strawberry juice that got blended into it.

She looked like a baby angel in the sunlight. It looked like she had a beautiful golden aura around her as the sunlight touched her and bathed her in a soothing warmth that took away all her anxieties and sorrow. She had a new deck, it was a new day, she found a friend in Ser Gerhalos. Today was a new day. She scooped up strawberries with her spoon and shoved them hungrily into her mouth. She chewed loudly, her lips smacking against one another to shovel the cream into her mouth.

"Eat properly will you!" snapped the town guard.

"Sorry," Avi said, wiping her mouth with her riding cloak.

"I won't be expecting any trouble from you, will I, Avi?"

Avi shook her head. "No, no, no," she said in a sugary-sweet whimper. "I promise. I just want to enjoy the festival, sir. Please."

"Well, I'll be keeping two eyes on you, girl. Now I'm warning you. Any funny business. Any at all. And you'll find yourself locked in the dungeons. Believe me, Avi, you'll be in for an even worse punishment than what Ser Godfrey put you through the other night."

"Yes, sir," said Avi. "I swear to you; not a peep."

"Humph," said the guard, sternly walking away.

Any joy Avi felt was doused away by the guard's sternness. She was disheartened by the experience but not upset; for she had no choice but to accept that half the town hated her. If it wasn't for the fact that she was a beautiful, young girl, Avi had no doubt the town would have killed her long ago.

Village idiots were often disposed of for being menaces to society. She recalled the local drunk, Talfen Woller, who was executed after the town was fed up with his antics and his yelling late in the night.

Daisy often told Avi that she was lucky to be blessed with so much beauty because the men of the world enjoyed flaunting their power over beautiful fools like her.

That did nothing to make her feel better. In fact, it made her angrier.

Avi wasn't smart or gifted with a rich House like the other girls of Dragon Tooth, but she refused to be acknowledged as stupid. She paused and began to think about that for a second. Perhaps that's why she always found herself getting into trouble.

She was determined to show the people of the town that she was just as important as any of them. Every time she did, she found out the task was biting more than she could chew, and she wound up getting into trouble by breaking something or causing a series of chaotic events like dominos falling on one another.

But not today. Today was a new day. With her new deck, she was going to prove it.

"Is that a new deck, Avi?" asked Kyle, the son of the town's blacksmith.

By the look of him, he was recently vacated from the forge. His face was black with soot and trails of sweat streaked through the mess.

"It sure is," said Avi. "I take it you want to play?"

"Of course I do," said Kyle. "There has been talk around town that Ser Gerhalos bought you that structure deck in the window. Please, let's try it out."

He held up his wrist. A D-Pad, a newer version of the Duel Disk was strapped to it.

Avi gasped with delight, covering her open mouth with both her hands. "Where did you get that, Kyle?"

"I bought it," he answered, still holding it up. "I worked three years to get this. Let's try it!"

"I wish I could," said Avi. "But I fear you can't use that against me. I don't have a Duel Disk."

Kyle still brandished his cheerful grin. He set down his wrist and reached into the brown leather bag over his shoulder.

"That's okay," he said. He took one out and tossed it at Avi who caught it with ease.

"I've got another one. I bought it just for you."

"You…you did?" Avi said, admiring her D-Pad. It was colored white and decorated with filigree engravings and floral designs. "Why would you do this for me?"

Kyle went red. "Because I think you're beautiful, Avi. I know half the town doesn't think well of you but rest assured that I do. I tried for many years to get your affection, but, I never had to courage to try. You may be the town fool, but that never stopped me from loving you."

"Kyle," said Avi.

"The D-Pad," Kyle said. "You can have it. On the condition that you be my date in the festival today."

Avi's smiled widened. "Kyle, after today, I'll do more than be just your date."

She got up from her seat and kissed his cheek. Kyle felt weak in the knees. He felt his stomach juices bubbling inside and his blood flowed at a quickened pace.

"No one but Ser Gerhalos has ever shown me kindness before. And that was recent. Kyle, I don't know how else to thank you for this."

"Be mine," said Kyle. "Once I take over the forge, I'll make enough money to move us out of this forsaken place. We can go anywhere you want to. Westermont, Lochsea, Dragonbarrow, possibly even Felgrand where I'll learn to be a master blacksmith just like my great-great-grandfather, Kron. Once I do, we will probably live in the castle with Grand-King Felgrand himself. I heard that his castle is as big as a city and reaches high into the sky."

Avi laughed with excitement. "I know you can do it, Kyle! You'll be a blacksmith of legend."

"I'm glad to hear you say that," said Kyle. "Come, let us see that deck of yours in action. We can use a bit of practice before the games begin."

"Féyin no Drenyath, Kyle!" Avi said, holding up her new D-Pad and sliding her deck into the machine.

"Khan Krennoth!" said Kyle.

**LP 4000**

"I'll start first," said Kyle. "I set a card face-down and summon Battle Ox in attack mode!" ( **ATK/1700** )

"Oh dear!" Avi said, almost falling backward when she saw the beast standing in front of her. "I forgot how life-like these Phantoms can be."

"You have no need to fear, love," said Kyle. "They may look real, but they're not. They won't hurt you. Well, not a lot anyway."

"I'll take your word for it," said Avi. "I draw! I play the spell-card Dragon Shrine. I send a dragon-type monster from my deck to the Graveyard. Now, I summon Dragon Knight of Creation!"

Avi's warrior came into the field through a display of sparkling light. She summoned a champion of Safaani the Dragon Goddess. He wore nothing on his upper torso save for a chestplate, gauntlets, and a helmet of finely polished steel from a forgotten age. His skin was a rich shade of apricot and his muscles were like rocks. He had a tasset of torn white cloth around his waist that went down to his feet.

His lower body armored in the same steel as his chestplate. On his right hand, he wielded a giant sword with a bladed, ringed guard. Long dark red hair protruded from under his helmet, waving in the breeze.

The Duel started to gather a crowd, all of them dumbstruck that Avi was one of the Duelists. She heard whispers amongst them, mostly spiteful words and bets that she was going to lose the match despite summoning her impressive monster who was one hundred points stronger than Kyle's Battle Ox.

Avi commanded her dragon warrior to attack. "Rrrow!" growled Dragon Knight of Creation, grasping his large sword. He gave a mighty bound into the air, holding up his massive blade. He sliced Battle Ox in half.

KABOOM!

Battle Ox exploded, blasting Kyle with 100 points of damage.

"Now to use his effect," said Avi. "When Dragon Knight of Creation battles a monster and destroys it, I can send a Level 7 or 8 dragon-type monster from my deck to the Graveyard."

"Why are you sending all those powerful dragons to the Graveyard, Avi?" asked Kyle. "Don't you need them?"

"What a stupid girl!" someone shouted from the crowd.

"Aye, she's just tossing away powerful monsters like they were nothing."

"Boo!"

"Boo!"

"She doesn't know how to Duel!" a little boy sitting on a fence called out, cupping his hands over his mouth to amplify the sound of his voice.

Avi felt disheartened, but she was not upset. In fact, she was happy that they were doubting her. Today, she was going to prove all these fools wrong. The monster she discarded with her Dragon Knight of Creation's effect was going to leave them speechless. She set a Trap and ended her turn.

"Draw!" said Kyle. "I use my Trap Card, Call of the Haunted to bring back my Battle Ox!"

The ground beneath him quaked as Battle Ox crawled out of the dirt, battle-scarred and bloody. He looked like a zombie.

"But my Ox won't stay around for long. Because I sacrifice him to summon the all-powerful Ushi Oni!"

Out of nowhere, a golden jar appeared behind Battle Ox. The lid slid open by itself letting out an ominous purple mist that sucked Battle Ox in its grasp. Battle Ox growled in agony as his body was flung around like mist before he was sucked into the jar. The lid slid back into place and the jar then jumped around violently.

Avi braced herself; for she knew that whatever was going to come out of that jar was going to be a very formidable monster. Even though she was getting used to the game, and had the upper hand, for now, Avi was still new to Duel Monsters. She did not know any of the monsters, save but a few. But she had seen enough Duels to know that when a Duelist sacrificed his monsters, it meant a more powerful one was going to take his place.

Once again, the lid gently slid off the jar.

All was silent.

The birds chirped in the trees. The crowd murmured, wondering what monster was going to emerge from that little jar. Just when they were about to get impatient…

_Weeeeee!_

Blue smoke spewed from out of the jar and formed into a cloud. It hovered ominously over the field before it formed into a fiendish bull-like genie with a misshapen body. His upper torso was colored blue, with only his head, right, hand and his left bicep; which had a monstrous face snarling on it, was colored brown. Three rows of gold rib-like appendages came from either side of his body. And pink reptilic tails whipped around on his back.

His ATK displayed 2150 which caused Avi to worry. She prayed her face-down card would be enough to keep her safe.

As soon as Ushi Oni appeared on the field, Kyle attacked. Ushi Oni bellowed a battle cry and lunged for Dragon Knight of Creation. He held out his claws ready to slice the dragon knight to ribbons.

"I don't think so!" Avi shouted. "I activate my Trap Card! Waboku!"

A trio of blue priestesses magically appeared from a vortex surrounded by arcane designs. The lead priestess held out a wand with a winged jewel to create a barrier that blocked Ushi Oni's attack. His claws smashed into the barrier creating a loud metallic ping that caused many in the crowd to cover their ears.

Ushi Oni tried with all his might to break through the barrier, but he was too powerless to stop it. The lead priestess held the staff even higher, effortlessly adding more power to the barrier. Eventually, Ushi Oni was pushed back as though he was hit by a catapult's projectile.

"As you can see," Avi said, positioning herself in a very vexing pose by putting her hand on her hip. "This trap card not only reduces all damage to 0 this turn, but it saves my monster."

Kyle smirked. "For a beginner, you sure know how to play your cards well, Avi. You can color me impressed. But remember, my Ushi Oni has enough power to tear your monsters to shreds. I'll wipe out your defenses before you can play anything strong. I'll beat you yet!"

"Oh really," Avi giggled, drawing a card with her teeth.

The crowd, usually thinking Avi was some sort of idiot, began to grow infatuated with her. She saw this, looking around at the spectators one by one with her diamond-like eyes. Yes, there were still many doubting Thomas's, but their numbers were growing fewer by the second.

Avi could not believe Ser Gerhalos was right. With her new deck, she was beginning to gain a little more respect from the townsfolk who once treated her like an annoying pest, tossing her out like a mouse at the mere sight of her.

Now, it seemed that there was a few cheering for her. She felt a rush of excitement surging through her body like the rapids flowing beside the town. She clasped her hands together, looking like a child finding a pile of presents on her birthday.

Avi began to perform combos that began to revive her discarded dragons from the Graveyard much to the shock of both Kyle and the crowd.

Using a spell called Revival of the Dragon Lords, Avi brought back her signature monster. The ground behind her cracked. A beast was underneath her roaring with an ancient fury. The crowd stepped back in both fright and amazement as the divine monster, one of the most powerful of the True Dragons rose out of the ground. The claw, which had the power to revive dragons from the dead, burst out of the ground, towering over Avi.

The ground shook violently as the dragon at last rose from the ground. He towered over the town, standing fifty-feet-tall. His wings creating a powerful wind. The dragon's scales glimmered in brilliant gold and his layered underbelly was a brilliant shade of polished platinum. Long, jagged blades protruded from his knees and his eyes were like the sun. Bright and powerful.

Once his appearance was made, he spread his wings and gave a thunderous roar to announce his coming into the world and to be wary of his new master.

**Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand**

**ATK/2800 DEF/2800**

**LV 8**

"Avi summoned that?" said the tavern keeper. "Avi summoned THAT!?"

But that was not all Avi was going to summon. She used her Dragon Knight of Creation's effect to discard a dragon card to her Graveyard and then sacrificed him to summon the discarded dragon from the Graveyard. A geyser of lava shot out next to Avi, and from it emerged a creature that resembled a volcano that took the shape of a dragon.

**Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos**

**ATK/2800 DEF/1800**

**LV 7**

Then, Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand's effect activated. He banished Kyle's Battle Ox from the Graveyard and then add 100 ATK times the LV of the monster which was 4 giving Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand an ATK of 3200 points.

That was it.

For all his talk of being a strong Duelist and boasting of the strength of his Ushi Oni, Kyle was finished. Blaster used his magma breath to melt Ushi Oni's lamp. Without his enchanted item, Ushi Oni could no longer live in the physical world. He groaned and then disappeared into nothing.

Finally, Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand attacked his Life Points directly.

The match was over.

When the dust cleared, Kyle was on his back on the ground. His Life Point meter dropped to 0. Avi walked to him and helped him up.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," said Kyle. "I've got to admit that was one good move. You know, I think you have what it takes to win this tournament, Avi."

"You really think so?" Avi asked.

Trumpets began to play loudly from the clocktower. She knew what that meant. It was time for the Duel Monsters competition to begin.

"You'd best get to registration," said Kyle.

Avi nodded in agreement.

This was her chance to prove herself. She broke her legs into a run, dashing for the nearest registration table. After waiting in line for over an hour, she came face to face with the town's shoe cobbler who was working at the desk. His face was hard and blackened. His chin and neck covered by a thick, bushy beard.

"Get lost Avi," said the cobbler. "Duel Monsters aint a game for the likes of you."

"No, no, no!" said Avi. "Sign me up."

"Do you even have a deck on you, girl?"

Avi nodded. "Yes, I do." She pointed at the deck box on her arm. She opened it with a flick of her fingers and showed him the cards, crisp and new.

"You stole those cards, didn't you, Avi?"

"Huh?" Avi said, dumbfounded by his question.

"Look at how new those cards are. There is no way a girl who makes as little as you could have gotten a brand-new deck."

"I didn't steal this deck, sir!" Avi snapped. "Ser Gerhalos the Hedge Knight gave it to me."

"Watch how you speak to me, girl!" said the cobbler.

"You're nothing important!" Avi shouted, taking a stand for herself. "All you do is make shoes! Not even quality shoes! That's why the baron looks elsewhere for them. Now if I'm not mistaken, it's your job to allow any Duelist with a deck to enter the games. Now I demand you let me in, or I'll call the guard!"

"Argh, very well," said the cobbler. "Not that you will last long anyway. Sign your name and be done with it."

Avi took the white feather quill and scribbled her name. She was given a promo card, Queen of Fate-Eternia, and found her place with the other Duelists. Avi became excited. She was going to play and show the crowd that she was not some village idiot.

What better way than winning with a tournament of Duel Monsters? They were already impressed with her match against Kyle, and no doubt they were itching to see her play in the next few games, possibly even win the whole caboodle.

"Avi," said Kyle. He approached her with a wide grin planted on his face.

"Kyle," said Avi. "Looking forward to getting your butt kicked again?"

Kyle laughed and kissed her. Avi, feeling such joy for her victory, allowed him to do so. When their lips released, they looked at each other and smiled.

"So, it's true?" Avi asked. "Are we really going to get married and live in the Capital one day?"

Kyle smiled and said. "No."

He punched her hard in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her. Avi grunted from the agony of both the blow and the sudden betrayal. Kyle's friends came out of their hiding places and grabbed Avi by her arms and legs. Kyle quickly unstrapped the D-Pad on Avi's wrist, still containing her beloved Dragon Deck.

When he got his prize, they dropped her on the floor and ran away.

It took a moment for Avi to recover from the blow. She massaged her stomach and coughed, looking for the nearest guard to report the crime.

"Captain!" Avi cried when she spotted the captain of the guard. "Captain Marco!"

The captain's face turned into a scowl when she got closer.

"What do you want, Avi?"

"I wish to report a crime!" Avi cried.

Captain Marco rolled his eyes. "You? Report a crime? Funny. Usually, the only one causing a ruckus around here is you. Get lost, little mouse. You're wasting my time."

"But Captain!" said Avi. "I've been robbed. Kyle, the son of the blacksmith. He punched my stomach. And when I was without breath, his companions came out of nowhere and grabbed me. As they held me, Kyle took my Dueling Deck and ran away!"

"Then you should be a little more careful with your belongings, Avi!" shouted Captain Marco. "I have much more important matters to deal with than a little girl losing her cards. Away with you, Avi!"

Avi's face burned bright red. She grabbed Captain Marco by the scruff of his cape. "You are the captain of the guard! It's your duty to protect the citizens of Dragon Tooth no matter how big or small the problem. I have been robbed, Captain! I demand action! NOW DO IT!"

* * *

Moments later, Avi found herself being carried out of the fairgrounds where the tournament was being held. Her arms and legs were clutched in the heavy grasp of four guardsmen. She squirmed like a worm caught on a hook. They tossed her unceremoniously into a puddle in the pigpen. Face first. Everyone pointed and laughed at her misfortune. The guards dusted their hands triumphantly and walked back to the grounds.

"That Avi," one of them said. "Crazy little Avi."

Another chuckled cruelly at his deed. "She's always good for a laugh."

Avi lifted herself up. The pigs snorted and oinked at the sight of her. Avi looked one in the face. It sniffed her and snorted before trotting off. Avi's chest quivered and she coughed in sorrow. She spat out the mud that slithered into her mouth. She crawled out of the pigpen, ignoring the infernal laughter of the townsfolk as she got back on her feet. She was reeking of pig filth.

"Little Avi thinks herself a Duelist?" said the shoe cobbler from his desk.

More laughter erupted from all around her.

"Here, Avi, let's Duel!" shouted one of the guards. "Here's a Mystic Tomato!"

With all his might, he tossed a rotten tomato at Avi's face. It hit her with incredible force, splattering it against her cheekbone and knocking her down. Soon, in a horrible act of cruelty, the townsfolk joined in and started throwing more vegetables at Avi. She shielded her face with her riding cloak and ran away. More vegetables were tossed from the crowd. Avi was peppered by them until she was knocked down to the ground.

She drew her putrid cloak over her head to shield her face. She could feel the crowd rushing towards her. She heard their feet slipping and stomping closer and closer. She felt someone grab her cloak and yank it with all their might. The bronze clasps attached to the straps of her bodice held on for as long as they could before they were torn. Her bodice ripped from the back, exposing hers. It drooped down from the front revealing her breasts, which she quickly covered from their view as she sat on her knees.

"She can't go back to Ser Godfrey like this!" shouted Captain Marco, with a bucket of water. He poured the water over her head. Avi gasped and squealed and shivered. The crowd laughed even harder, joining in on the cruelty.

They parted to let her run away. She struggled to get on her feet and hurried to escape, but she felt a rope coil around her neck. She heaved, feeling the air get pushed out as her throat was clogged. She struggled for a moment before she was dragged to the ground, hitting the back of her head. More ropes flung out of the crowd and coiled around her. She realized they were lassoing her like a runaway bull.

The crowd swarmed in and tightened the ropes around her legs to keep her from escaping. Avi screamed as an indestructible cage of callused fingers fell down on top of her, ripping and pulling on her clothes until she was as bare as the day she was born.

She felt a thousand eyes burn her flesh. She wept and coughed sorrowfully on the cobbled streets, helpless as her body was on display for all to see. More and more buckets of water were poured on her. Someone pushed her forward until she was on her hands on knees. She yelped, feeling the rough bristles of scrubs get rubbed on her delicate skin.

"HELP!" she cried in vain. "HELP!"

She felt a group of men pick her up and parade her towards a wagon that was pushed to its side. They set her on the wheel and tied her down. More people from the crowd joined in. They threw buckets of water at her and poured scented oils down her head. It slithered into her eyes, stinging them like flames. She screamed for help. It did not come. The world started to spin. She realized someone had cruelly spun the wheel to torture her further. She saw laughing faces as she whirred by. Horrid faces. Evil faces.

The wheel began to slow down. She could see her mother and father standing in the crowd. "Mama!" Avi cried.

A man spun the wheel again. "Mama! Papa!" Avi wailed. They did not move. She saw Peter laughing at her, his friends by his side jeering at her nakedness and her humiliating position on the wheel. She cried out again: "Mama! Papa! Please! Help me!"

But her cries fell upon death ears. They did not come for her. No doubt they were going to join in on the fun before Ser Godfrey came to claim her and take her back into the prison. "No!" Avi sobbed. "I'd rather die. Oh, just kill me!" she thought. "Someone kill me."

"Ser Godfrey approaches," called the town crier. "You'd best get that thing down so he can take it back."

"No!" Avi wailed. "No...no...NO!" She shouted with all her might, but something came out of the shout. A shockwave! It sent people reeling back from her in fear.

"It's witchcraft!" shouted Captain Marcos. "Kill her!"

He drew his sword and skidded towards her. Before he got a chance to drop his stroke...Whoosh! A shadow streaked by, and he vanished in an instant. The people began to murmur in horror. They looked in all directions, wondering what it was that snatched their beloved captain away. A bloodcurdling scream rang out from the sky. Everyone looked up. They saw shadowy, membranous wings, a whip-like tail. They couldn't see the head, but they saw Captain Marco's legs dangling from the mouth of the creature. They heard cries for help, followed by a loud crunch and a gurgle of death.

Avi could not see anything, having been hogtied to the wagon's wheel, but she recognized the flapping of the wings and the screeching cry. It was a Gray Wing.

The people cried out in fright. The Gray Wings normally kept to themselves. They never harmed anyone. But this one, why did this one feel the need to snatch Captain Marco. Another screech rang out from the sky. Another Gray WIng swooped by and grabbed Captain Marco's leg, ripping him in half. His blood and entrails rained down from the sky.

"Look!" someone shouted.

Avi couldn't move her head to see what horror was approaching, but judging by how badly the townsfolk started screaming and dashing for the nearest shelter, she knew it must have been a dreadful sight. Unbeknownst to her, the sky was blackened as a swarm of Gray WIngs screeched and bellowed from the mountains.

They were joined by Winged Dragon Guardian of the Fortress, Koumori Dragon, and a mountain dragon known as Blackland Fire Dragon, a sightless beast that normally kept to its caves and hunted at night. But something drew it to the swarm heading straight for the town.

"Oh?" Avi wondered. The bells began to toll.

The dragon swarm had arrived. Twenty Gray Wings leading the charge released jets of blue flame, igniting the town. Avi could feel a wave of searing heat bite her flesh. Explosions burst all around her from fireball attacks launched by the Winged Dragon Guardian of the Fortress. Koumori Dragons swooped from the skies and grabbed townsfolk with their two massive claws.

They tossed the poor people around in the sky like a child would a ball, before eventually eviscerating them in the air. Arrows were fired by the archers patrolling the ramparts and by citizens with a bow, but the dragons were swift and as quick as the wind, dodging the incoming missiles with the greatest of ease.

The Winged Dragon Guardian of the Fortress blasted the guard towers with their fireballs. Debris and bodies fell from where they once stood, smashing into the streets below. Smoke fogged the entire town. A thick veil of it. Avi started to cough. She felt embers burn her skin as the flames were drawing closer and closer to her. She felt like a pig, ready to be roasted in the oven. The heat, she thought, at least I can die in peace.

The ground around her shook as the Blackland Fire Dragon landed in front of her. She screamed in fright. In her position, she was an easy meal for the beast. But the dragon had no interest in her. It was attacking the soldiers of the town guard. They were putting up a valiant fight against the dragon. They threw spears at him and jabbed their javelins at his flesh, which was tougher than iron. The dragon bathed them in a wall of flames and snapped at the burning town as if demanding a challenge.

Suddenly, someone came running out of the smoke. It was her father. He was black all over, his clothes were seared, and he was covered in ash. He brandished a knife in his hand. "You!" he coughed. "You! I should have let you starve in the streets. Calamity follows you everywhere you go! You are a curse! A curse on this family! A curse on this town! You have brought ruin to as all!"

He was followed by a mob of angry villagers. They were burned, injured, and bleeding, but they all shared the same bloodlust in their eyes. They wanted blood. Avi's blood. If their town was going to be reduced to ashes, then they were going to make sure the curse who brought this chaos was going to go down with it. They were ready to tear her apart. The shuffled towards her like the undead.

A loud roar caused them to step back. Avi turned her head and saw Ser Gerhalos jumping from the flames. "Avi!" he shouted.

"Ser Gerhalos!" Avi sobbed, wriggling in her bindings. "Ser Gerhalos! Help me!"

"Kill him!" shouted Roland.

He and the other killers charged with spears, pitchforks, scythes, and dull iron swords. Ser Gerhalos drew his claymore and sliced out the intestines of one of the attackers. The man's guts slithered to the ground as waterfalls of thick, warm blood oozed onto the cobbled street. He fell to his knees, sobbing and yelling as he tried his best to keep in innards inside.

Ser Gerhalos put the poor man out of his misery by cutting off his head. Another man charged with his pitchfork. Ser Gerhalos dodged to the left and slashed the man's face with his claws, creating gashes so deep, the white of his skull was gleaming from within the wounds. His right eye was slashed out. He fell to his knees. Ser Gerhalos lifted his claymore and smashed the man into a gooey pulp. Ser Gerhalos, satisfied with the carnage snarled victoriously. "ARRRGH!"

Another challenger. Ser Gerhalos spun to the left, avoiding the large hammer he wielded. He grabbed the man by the shoulders, lifted him up, and brought his head into his mouth. The man screamed for mercy when he realized what Ser Gerhalos was about to do. But his pleas fell upon deaf ears. Ser Gerhalos' golden canines dove into the man's head.

The man let out with a high-pitched scream as he felt Ser Gerhalos' mouth clamp tighter around his skull. Ser Gerhalos pulled with all his might and ripped the man's head off his shoulders. He tossed the body away and spit out the head. He swung his towering blade and killed three men with one swift stroke. Then, he finally pounced on Roland and clawed him to death.

Avi sobbed. The only man she called father was now gone. Ser Gerhalos dodged the tail of the Blackland Fire Dragon as it fought off the guards. "Avi!" Ser Gerhalos shouted over the flames. "I'm going to get you out!" he said. He pulled and pulled, but the ropes were too tight. He roared in frustration, then ripped the ropes off the poor girl's body with his claws and his teeth.

When she was free, he hugged her. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I left you," he said, holding her close and letting her sob against his leather chestplate. "There was an urgent matter concerning Master Yu-Gi-Oh from Termnnia. Forgive me, Avi. Had I known this would happen, I never would have left you."

"Ser Gerhalos!" Avi sobbed.

Ser Gerhalos' ear twitched. He heard more people coming. He removed his tattered cloak and wrapped it around Avi's naked body before carrying her out of the town. He held her over his left shoulder. He slashed away at the guardsman and mad townsfolk who wanted to get to Avi and kill her.

"Why are they doing this?" Avi sobbed, looking up at four Gray Wings as they soared the smoldering ruins of her home. "Why are they attacking the town?"

"Because they've come to save you!" shouted Ser Gerhalos, cutting down a guardsman. "They're here for you! Those dreams of yours weren't just dreams, Avi. They were telling you something. You have a connection with the Dragon Goddess. I know it, and they know it. This town and its people are no longer your concern."

When Ser Gerhalos made it out of the town, he dashed into the mountains for his cabin The town of Dragon's Tooth was burning like a torch down below.

"They did that because of me?" Avi whimpered. "All that death because of..."

"Do not show them sympathy," Ser Gerhalos said, when he finally reached his cabin. "For they have shown you none."

He burst through the doors and sat Avi by the fire. Avi sniffed and hiccupped as Ser Gerhalos scrubbed her arm with a wet sponge to clean the ash from her skin.

"There, there," he said.

"I just wanted to play, Ser Gerhalos," said Avi. "I just wanted to play. But no one in this town will let me do anything."

"You will no longer have to worry about this place anymore," said Ser Gerhalos. "I'm taking you out of here."

"You are?" said Avi.

"Yes," said Ser Gerhalos. "I am taking you to Bluesummer. The port town that leads you to Termnnia."

"Termnnia?" Avi asked with a sorrowful sniff. "What for?"

"To begin your quest. There is nothing for you in this town. My Lady, I promise you, when this quest is complete. These fools will bow to you as a queen. But first, I must take you to Solomon Muto. He's a Duel Monsters Grandmaster. He will teach you how to master your dragons."

"Ser Gerhalos, I can't," Avi said. Tears rolled down her heart-shaped face. "Someone stole my deck."

Ser Gerhalos looked at her with an angry look. "Who?" he asked.

"A boy named Kyle. The son of the blacksmith."

Ser Gerhalos stood up, growling in anger. He furiously strapped his claymore on his back and headed out the door.

"What are you doing?" Avi asked.

"I'm going to make him regret the day he was born," Ser Gerhalos said, walking out of the hut.


	58. The Summoner of Dragons: Part 8

* * *

**Avi**

* * *

The vast green countryside rolled by the window of her carriage stealing any thoughts of going back to sleep. All her life, Avi had been confined to Dragon Tooth. She never set foot outside the town walls.

The farthest she's ever gone was to Old Douglas' farm to get milk for her breakfast; he lived a short walk from the walls of the town. His comfortable cottage surrounded by healthy, happy cows grazing in the fields near the waterfall of Cameron which she was going to miss terribly. Every night for as long as she could remember, she would stare at the towering waterfall and make-believe she was on the back of a Blue-Eyes White Dragon chasing down Orcs who were raiding the village.

She thought perhaps the town would change their views about her. That she was not just some stupid girl after all. Or Nandíel, meaning little mouse, which was their favorite insult towards her. But she smiled, knowing that she was no longer going to be called that. No, the people who humiliated her and abused her all her life were either homeless or blowing in the wind like ash.

Thanks to the dragons that attacked the town she had lived in for years, they had gotten what was coming to them for many, many years. The way the townsfolk of Dragon's Tooth screamed and yelled and screeched and begged for mercy from the dragons was like music to her ears. And the flames kissing her skin gave her more relief than agony. But as pleased as she was of the town's destruction, Avi was going to miss the more beautiful aspects of the town.

"I'm going to miss Cameron Falls," Avi said, resting her chin on her palm. Her elbow resting on the sill of the window.

She smiled, admiring the fields of infinite green being dashed with pastels of blazing red and heavenly blue from the flowers of the Normandian spring which came in full force. Its warm embrace knocking away the last grasps of winter's chill.

Outlining the fields were vast forests of tall pine, standing hundreds of feet high, almost blocking out the snowcapped mountains of Armen. A horsetail waterfall fell down a mountain of the bluest rocks Avi had ever seen. The water thundered into a pool surrounded by flowers of red, yellow, and blue, and royal purple. Even in the early light of dawn, Avi could see butterflies, who looked like tiny specks of color over the flowers.

"All this beauty," the girl said with a heavy sigh. "Denied from me after all these years. Now, I will never see it again. I am witnessing all that my land has to offer for the first and last time."

"You will see things far greater in comparison," Ser Gerhalos said, sharpening his claymore with a whetstone on the seat in front of her. "The land of Termnnia is not called the Heart of the World for nothing. Why are you not sleeping? Did you get any rest during the night, young one?"

"I can't," Avi replied. "Not after all that's happened. And not now that I've learned I'll be going to Termnnia. Have you ever been there before, Ser Gerhalos?" she asked, wrapping her arms around her knees, barely covered by her nightgown.

"I have," the warrior answered, tilting his blade back and forth to see if it was sharp enough to decide if his work was done. He saw his eyes on the reflection of the polished steel. Still, he saw a few tiny serrations along the blade and continued working before he continued to tell Avi of his business in Termnnia. "I was a veteran of the Wallcroft Rebellion," said Ser Gerhalos. "The war that signaled the last days of House Dragonheart."

Avi laid back down on the seat and pulled a blanket over herself, hoping to find sleep before they reached the city. She rested her head on purple pillows outlined in threaded gold. Ser Gerhalos spared no expense purchasing them a luxury ride to Bluesummer. It was no ordinary coach. It was a wheelhouse with a second floor where Ser Gerhalos slept. Avi thought it was a bit much, but it was a long ride from Dragon Tooth to the harbor town. They had been riding for days now, stopping only when Avi wanted to take a walk or relieve herself.

"Can we stop for a while, Ser Gerhalos?" Avi asked, pressing her hands against the window. She could contain her curiosity no more. She just had to see the falls, and she wanted to pick some of the flowers to bring along for the journey.

"Whatever for?" Ser Gerhalos asked, his ear twitched. His snout shivered, revealing his golden fangs and the white of the rest of his sharp teeth.

"I would like to wash in the falls if you please. I haven't had a decent bath since we left Dragon's Tooth."

Ser Gerhalos let out a low, but a very stern growl from his throat. "There will be plenty of time to groom yourself in Bluesummer," he said. "Besides, we cannot stop, My Lady. It's too dangerous. There are men scouring the countryside on the lookout for you.

And there are many who have survived the assault on Dragon's Tooth. They have no doubts in their mind that you had something to do with the dragons attacking the town. They blame you for their misery, and they will be looking for justice. Not to mention Ser Godfrey was said to have survived the attack. He and his men have the fastest steeds in Normandia. They could be close."

But Avi was growing impatient. She had been confined in this coach for far too long. She wanted to go out and run across the fields of tempting green. She wanted to smell the flowers and cool herself with a long bath in the falls rushing down from the blue mountain. And she was quite comfortable with how far they have gone since leaving the last town on their way to Bluesummer. They had been on the road for days now, and no doubt the ruins of Dragon's Tooth - and the ones hunting her - were many leagues behind them.

She felt confident that no one had followed them this far. "Oh, just for a little while? Please? Please? I promise I won't take long."

"We cannot stop," Ser Gerhalos insisted.

"But I-"

"I SAID-" he shouted but stopped when he saw Avi gasp and hide behind her blanket. He could see tears of hurt glistening in her eyes, making them look like actual diamonds. "Ahem," he said, calming down. "We cannot stop. But I promise you, when we get to Termnnia, there will be waterfalls ten times as majestic as the one over there."

Avi lowered the blanket, revealing a smile that relieved Ser Gerhalos of his guilt. He smiled back at her and continued sharpening his blade.

"Could I trouble you for some milk?" Avi asked.

"Of course, My Lady," Ser Gerhalos responded politely. He got up from his seat and went to the kitchen area of the coach, which was concealed behind a red velvet curtain. He opened the icebox, chilled with snow and ice collected from the top of a mountain, and took out a glass bottle of milk, which he tossed to Avi. She caught it with ease and unscrewed the cap. She gulped half the bottle down with one helping.

"Your thirst is great," Ser Gerhalos said, sitting back down on the ottoman and picking up his sword.

"It's been a while since my last meal," Avi said, popping the cap back on. "Not to mention it feels good to be drinking something other than beer, ale, and river water for once."

"I've seen you milking cows behind the tavern," said Ser Gerhalos. "Your family, for lack of a better word, did not let you have some?"

Avi shook her head, grasping the milk bottle even tighter. The chill of the glassy surface cooled her palms, and the drops of moisture seeped between her fingers, giving her a brisk sensation. She wiped the wetness on her nightgown and said: "No. They would not let me have any. Milk was to great a gift to waste of a stupid girl like me."

Ser Gerhalos bellowed in his throat. "You no longer have to worry about them, My Lady. A whole new life awaits you in Termnnia."

Avi rocked herself back and forth, arms around her knees again. "Termnnia," she whispered. "Oh, what's it like traveling through that land?"

"You will like it. There are mountains that can touch the sky. White shores that meet with an ocean so blue you can't tell where the sky begins and ends if it wasn't for the clouds. Ancient ruins telling tales of the days of old from a forgotten age. An age when the Goddesses once fought for our very existence. The castles that dot the lands are so vast and so grand, they are almost cities. Ah, that brings me to the great city of Domino. There, people live in large towers of glass and steel with signs made of colorful light."

Avi looked at Ser Gerhalos with a twinkle in her eye and a divine smile. Her breathing grew heavy with excitement.

"And when the sun goes down, little Avi, the city lights up. The towers looking like the stars in the sky. And beyond that, lands with even more beauty. They won't know who you are when you land, my sweet. But when all is said and done. When you discover your destiny. They will sing about you. Your name will go down in the annals of history."

"You really think so?" the girl asked. Her cheeks blushing bright red with amazement, giving them the appearance of two little strawberries.

Ser Gerhalos chuckled and ruffled her hair. "I do," he answered.

Avi beamed for a moment and fell back in her seat. She played with the braid she formed earlier when she retired for the night. Or tried to. "Us Normans aren't too keen on the Termnnians," she replied. "We speak little of them because of what Tiberius the Uniter did to our ancestors long ago. Feeding the cruel kings to Obelisk before the eyes of their wives, sons, and daughters."

"You know its history well," said Ser Gerhalos.

Avi shrugged. "I only know about it because of my books."

Ser Gerhalos sheathed his claymore back into it's belted scabbard and looked at Avi with a surprised look on his face. "I've never met a tavern wench who could read."

Avi took offense to that. Her darling face creasing in annoyance. "I'll have you know, I've been reading since I was a little girl."

"With a father like yours, that baffles me," said Ser Gerhalos.

"I had a father before him!" Avi replied spitefully. "He was a baker, as was his wife. They are the ones who taught me how to read first."

"What happened to them?"

"They died when I was just a little girl," Avi answered somberly. She looked back out the window.

"The baker worked for the Dragon King?" Ser Gerhalos asked.

"Oh yes," said Avi. "He was the best baker in Normandia. A few coins more, and he would have had what he needed to make his family into a House. But, life has been very cruel to me. One thing led to another, and the next thing I knew, I was living with Roland in the tavern." She stretched and gave a whiny groan of boredom. "How long till we reach the city?" she asked.

"Nine more hours. Tops." The Leogai answered sharply, for he had grown tired of Avi asking that question.

"I'm sorry," Avi said shrinking timorously in her seat.

Ser Gerhalos snarled in disapproval. The girl was so timid, so petite, so sweet, and innocent. It was sickening.

"Enough!" he said rather loudly. "You have to be strong now! You have been chosen by Safaani. Act like it. If you keep acting like a frightened little child all your days, the people will always walk all over you."

"What does it mean to be chosen by Safaani?" Avi asked. "None of this makes any sense. What does she want with me?"

"Even I do not know," said Ser Gerhalos. "My only job was to come seek you out when the time came."

Avi looked at him. She wrapped her blanket over her shoulders. "So all that time you were begging in the streets. You were just looking after me? You knew who I was the whole time. Even without knowing about my dreams. How?"

"Master Yu-Gi-Oh is one of great power, Avi. A power very few understand."

Avi's eyes widened. She put a hand over her open mouth, covering her shock. "M-m-master Y-Yu-Gi-Oh? He knows about me?"

Ser Gerhalos crossed his arms. "He has a powerful connection to the goddesses. No doubt in my mind, someone in the Void told him about you. Otherwise, I would have never made it to Dragon Tooth. Yugi told me to be on the lookout for someone…out of the ordinary.

Believe me, there I figured there was something special about you the moment I saw you. I overheard you talking to your father about your dreams as I was passing by. That made me curious. Then, the day I saw you Dueling against those boys, I noticed you were drawn to that dragon deck in the window. I felt a connection, so to speak, when you looked at it. As if the cards themselves called out to you."

"The Heart of the Cards?" Avi said with a gasp. "Just like Master Yugi says! Do you think that's what it was, Ser Gerhalos?"

"I know that's what it was, Little Avi," Ser Gerhalos replied. "So, I took the liberty of buying the deck for you. And you exceeded all expectations when you first used it. Those dragons had something. knows far more about you than even you do, my child. If there's anyone out there who can aid you in uncovering the mysteries of your destiny and your dreams, it is him."

" _O' Méyava_ Saffani," Avi whispered. "What am I?"

"We will know soon," said Ser Gerhalos. "Look, Bluesummer draws near."

"How do you know?" Avi asked.

"Look to the skies," he answered.

Avi looked out the window, spotting flocks of seagulls.

"We grow near to the sea," said Ser Gerhalos. "I will find us lodging as we wait for Grandmaster Solomon to arrive."

"You mean he hasn't come yet?"

Ser Gerhalos's ear twitched and he shook his head. "No, my dear. Termnnia is still a long way from here. And you must tabulate the journey the poor man must make getting to the harbor. It is the largest continent in the world."

"Oh, I cannot wait to see it," said Avi. "How long do you think it will take for him to arrive?"

"I cannot say, dearheart," said Ser Gerhalos. "I have used the gold Master Yu-Gi-Oh sent me to buy us a room in the luxury palace by the sea. It's well-fortified and has all that you need to be comfortable until Solomon arrives for your training."

"Training? What training?"

"Your training in Duel Monsters, of course," said Ser Gerhalos. "Avi, Master Yu-Gi-Oh has found a deck for you to use. A deck of dragons, unseen since the last days of the High Queens of Termnnia. They were calling out for you in the tomb of their former master, Evangelia Pendragon. The Queen of the Stars. Now, these monsters were here long before the game was even created, so Pegasus made them into cards just for you. Whether or not you are worthy to use them, remains to be seen. That is why I implore you to please mature and stand up for yourself. I don't want anyone taking advantage of you, Avi. It is my sworn duty to protect you."

"Protect me you say?" Avi grinned, rubbing her chin. "Well, I've never thought I'd live to see the day I would be so important as to have my own knight."

Again, Ser Gerhalos ruffled her hair with his massive hand. "Avi, if you are who I think you are, then one day, you're going to have armies follow you into battle."

Those words excited Avi, but they also confused her. "Just who do you think I am, Ser Gerhalos?"

"That will be revealed in time, Avi." He stood up from his seat and stood over her bed. He grasped the ends of two curtains hanging over her sleeping area. "You must dress into your new clothes. We are going to meet the High Priest of the Bluesummer Temple of Safaani. He will inform you of your duties until Grandmaster Solomon arrives."

He closed the curtains shut.

By the time the coach had stopped, Avi had dressed into a velvet gown decorated with stylized ornamentation. The fabric felt soft and smooth against her skin, making her feel quite content; for the fabric was a relief from the itchy cotton and rough leather she once wore when serving the tavern. It felt expensive. The gold threading that made the ornamentation cost more than what her father made in the tavern in two years. The boots she wore underneath had comfortable padding of had a clever enchantment that could cool her feet and relieve them of discomfort.

She looked at herself in the mirror, admiring her new look before Ser Gerhalos called her from the doorway to the coach.

"Avi, come! The High Priest awaits us."

"Coming!" she called back and she hurried to her knight.

"You look radiant in that dress," Ser Gerhalos complimented her. "I must fix my attire if I am to guard one with so much beauty."

Avi hunched her shoulders and blushed. Nobody had ever complimented her that way before. The door flung open. Rays of sunlight rushed right in, almost blinding the poor girl. She shrieked and held her forearm over her eyes until her eyes adjusted to the light.

"Come on," she heard Ser Gerhalos say urgently. "The High Priest is eager to make your acquaintance."

Avi squinted and blinked rapidly before she finally made for the doorway and walked down metal steps with a red velvet rope railing. She heard waves crashing against the stone walls of the pier and the rocky shores. Seagulls called out in the morning light. A sweet, salty scent filled Avi's nostrils.

"The ocean!" she gasped. "I've never seen it before, Ser Gerhalos."

"I promise you will see a great deal many things here, My Lady," said a chubby High Priest in blue robes with a layer of armor plating of silvery steel. The pauldrons were crafted to look like the upper half of a Felgrand Dragon's head. His cape of gold and thin black fabric resembled the dragon's wings. His mitre was made of gold silk and studded with aquamarines, sapphires, emeralds, and diamonds.

Avi felt timid in his presence, and behind him was a platoon of temple guards in incredibly stylish black armor with the helms crafted to look like dragons sticking out their forked tongues. They held up halberds that doubled as flagpoles bearing the insignia of the Temple of Safaani.

"Avellana Lofnmagni Ethelfleda!" the High Priest called. "I am Albrecht Rohrig. High Priest of the Temple of Safaani. Welcome to Bluesummer. We have been expecting you for quite some time."

"Thank you," said Avi.

Ser Gerhalos finally stepped out. His hair looking like beaten gold in the bright sunlight.

"Ser Gerhalos," said the High Priest. "Good to see you again. I trust your journey was a safe one."

"It was anything but, I assure you," the Leogai said, walking down the steps. "Avi has endured many hardships before learning of my mission to find her."

"Yes, yes, I read your report with the raven you sent me. My dear, is it true? The town mobbed you? Stripped you and humiliated you?"

"They…they did," Avi grimaced, ashamed to reveal that unfortunate truth. "I'd rather not talk about it."

The High Priest bowed and blessed her with a warm smile. "Now, now, my dear. No need to worry about them anymore. You're safe now. And I am to understand that a horde of dragons flew down from the mountains and burned the town, did they not?"

"You are correct," Avi said with a nod. "Ser Gerhalos claims that it has something to do with my dreams."

"Of course," said the High Priest. "Come, come. We have much to discuss with you concerning this… ' _Destiny_ ' with the Mother of Dragons. Ser Gerhalos, there is new armor awaiting you in your quarters inside the temple. Courtesy of Lady Mai Valentine."

"Mai Valentine!?" Avi cried, clasping her hands together. "THE Mai Valentine?"

"Why yes," said the High Priest. "Ser Gerhalos is a warrior who is honor-bound to Master Yu-Gi-Oh and his companions. He was the one guarding the future High King that fateful night when Anubis killed his family."

Avi slid her hands over her mouth to cover her shock. She turned to look at Ser Gerhalos who seemed rather said. "Is it true?" Avi asked. "Is what he says true? You were once a guardian to Prince Daveed?"

"I am," Ser Gerhalos said with a sorrowful bellow in his throat. "I was to be one of his knights in the Royal Termnnian Table, but that is no longer a title I can hold. I could have done more to save his family, Lady Avi, but I failed. I will no longer speak of that night; for it is my greatest dishonor."

"There is no need to feel such shame, Ser Gerhalos," said the High Priest, holding up his hand as if to soothe his sorrow. "No hero, no matter how great his strength, would have ever stood against a chance against the fell powers of the Lord of the Dead. None except Daveed, of course. But enough about that. This is a day for you, Lady Avi. Come with me." He bowed his head at the Leogai. "Ser Gerhalos," he said.

"Your Reverence," Ser Gerhalos said, lumbering to the temple.

When he was gone, Albrecht led Avi for a walk through the town. "You must be famished from your journey," he said. "Would you care for something to eat?"

"I would, thank you," said Avi.

"I know just the place," said Albrecht. "Tell me about these dreams of yours."

Avi bit her bottom lip. "I cannot say for certain what they are or what they mean," Avi said, squinting as some of her golden hair brushed against her face in the salty sea wind.

Albrecht stopped, and brushed it off her face, tucking the hair behind her ear. "Please continue," he said.

"I see them circling above me. They sing in a language I've never heard of before."

"No surprise, it's dragonic," said Albrecht. "The dragon tongues. The oldest language in all the world. I'll tell you what it was they were singing about. You've heard of the Great Dragon Purge of the Second Age?"

"Dreadful," said Avi. "I hate the Church of Yeyu for doing such a thing."

"As do many," said Albrecht. "Well, during the last day of that horrible genocide of the True Dragons, Safaani made a vow against the Church. That one day her children would sing of a great hero that will lead them in a bloody and catastrophic war against the Church. She tells us: The foundations of your greatest buildings will crumble! The flaming eye of the false one will be doused by True Fire from the mouths of beasts you slay so gleefully. The smiles you bear for this treachery will melt from your faces like ice bubbling in the summer spring. And the flames of a thousand wyrms will bring ruin to all that you know. The death of five kings and a song of divinity will mark the return of my children."

"And what does that have to do with me?" Avi asked. "Where do I come in all of this? I'm sorry Your Reverence but none of this makes any sense."

"I do not blame you for thinking that way, my dear. I imagine all of this must be quite difficult to fathom. In truth, all of us here in the temple were confused when Ser Gerhalos walked in and spoke of visions Master Yu-Gi-Oh had of a girl he claims is the Herald of Safaani. A Harbinger of the True Dragons. A Summoner of Dragons."

"I don't possess anything like that," Avi said humbly. "I admit, I have some skill using dragons in Duel Monsters, but I don't I can summon them the way people did long ago."

"I don't think you can either, my dear. Truthfully, I was rather skeptical of this claim that a Summoner of Dragons was in our midst. Had this news came from someone other than Master Yu-Gi-Oh, I would have dismissed it as rubbish. But I've known Master Yu-Gi-Oh for quite some time now, and he does not strike me as a liar. I have no word but to take his word. The visions, he said, showed him images of a large waterfall, and a dragon with wings of dull gray."

"Gray Wings," Avi said. "And the waterfall in his vision must have been Cameron Falls."

"Indubitably," said the High Priest. "But as for determining who in that town of thousands the girl from his dreams was, well, that was Ser Gerhalos' task. I thought it would take a lot of time, but surprisingly, it took but two short months to find you."

"Luckily I'm not one who keeps my dreams to myself," Avi said with a chuckle. "He said he overheard me talking about my dreams to my…well 'father' for lack of a better word. Then he bought a dragon deck for me to test my 'connection' with the dragons."

"Ah yes," Albrecht said with a nod. "Tell me how that went, my dear."

"It was an experience I will never forget. When Duelists play, they use devices to create the images of monsters called Phantoms; a combination of magic and technology from Eastern Termnnia. The Phantoms act very synthetically and lifeless, but the dragons I summoned…I don't know. I felt they obeyed me more out of love than of duty. They punished my opponents as if they knew about all the things they have done for me."

Albrecht rubbed his chin. He pointed toward a restaurant overlooking the sea. "Interesting," he said. "And you don't think this 'affection' the dragons displayed for you had anything to do with the attack on the town?"

"No," said Avi. "I feel that they attacked the town in retaliation for a hunting party led by a knight named Ser Godfrey. He boasted a dinner one night that he smashed dozens and dozens of their eggs to show the beasts not to mess with the town. But I've learned that anytime you try to pull a fast one on dragons, you're going to lose."

"Indeed," said Albrecht. "Well, we're just going to see for ourselves if that dragon attack was an act of divinity from the Goddesses or sheer dumb luck. While you're here, we're going to test your faith to the Goddess Safaani, with my help of course. Master Solomon will teach you how to improve your skills in Duel Monsters to use this 'special deck' I've heard so much about. And my people here at the temple are going to make you a Priestess of Safaani."

Avi stopped in her tracks. She bowed respectfully. "I am honored."

"It will not be easy, my dear. The road to becoming a priestess of the dragon goddess will be a long and arduous task."

"I am ready," said Avi.

"I am happy to hear you say that," Albrecht said, stopping outside the restaurant. His temple guard opened the door for them. Albrecht gestured for Avi to go in first. "Now, My Lady, I do hope you're hungry."

* * *

The rooster crowed outside her window, followed by the bells in the clock tower on the town square.

Avi immediately jumped out of bed and stripped out of her nightgown, quickly dressing into a bodice and brown leather breeches to make use of her free time before being called into the chantry for her temple duties. She looped a heavy brown belt around her waist. The embroidery shimmered when it touched the morning light. She then walked to the mirror to preen herself afterward tying a black ribbon in her hair which resembled gold silk.

Avi put her new cards in a deck box and attached it to her belt before she put on her laced boots and ran out of the temple towards the pier was Grandmaster Solomon was said to be arriving. Word around the temple was that he was holding tryouts for a scholarship at Duelist Academy. Avi had read much about the school. It's been often called The School of Kings, for only the youths of royalty and nobility could enter.

"Morning, Avi!" said the town guard.

"Morning, Jason," said Avi, bowing her head while running by. She smelled the enticing scent of sausages being cooked by the stone bridge that arched over the bay to the market district of Bluesummer. She paid ten copper pennies for it and a silver sword for a bottle of water.

Avi sat under the shade of a willow tree on a cliff overlooking the ocean so she could cool herself from the hot sun. Avi gave a heavy sigh while she ate her meal. Some of the local children on a nearby beach stripped naked and jumped into the water for a morning swim.

From her spot, Avi could hear vendors calling out for customers and shouting their goods. As the hour went by, the quiet of the morning was polluted by the sound of constant chatter. There was a woman singing by the water as she played her harp.

_The moons rose high. The ocean gleamed,_

_With light of stars so bright and fair,_

_'Top lonely hill, a beauty unseen_

_In radiant moonlight gleaming._

_Dear Evangelia was dancing there_

_Under the light of radiant stars,_

_Which shined so brightly in her hair,_

_And in her dragon, smiling._

* * *

_Her smile fair caused flowers to bloom._

_Like radiant sun on golden spring,_

_A wave red cast 'way the gloom_

_Her voice rang across the fields and trees,_

_Like a summer wind through mountain flowing._

_Her dragon-friend kept her close to heart,_

_As brother strong and loving._

* * *

_She danced alone under the stars,_

_And leaves so old and withering._

_Her mantle sparkled in the moon_

_As frosty sky above her, twinkling,_

_A song of life flowed from her darling lips_

_Like winds of changes blowing_

* * *

_A queen she was of radiant star,_

_and dragons of power from the void._

_Who sang to her from the endless dark,_

_Within the infinite starling glistening._

_A maiden of beauty and heart so pure,_

_With a voice like rivers flowing._

* * *

_A knight appeared from lands untold,_

_And weak he was with death's embrace._

_Past Elven-rivers and ruins old,_

_He walked and saw light shimmering._

_He sighed and saw the maiden's face,_

_Under the glow of dragon bold,_

_And in the radiance of her face,_

_With endless starlight glimmering._

* * *

_'Twas love that healed his aching heart,_

_His life relieved of stolen throne,_

_He came to her with song of lark,_

_And took her soft hand shivering._

_Her beast spread wings_ _and then she fled,_

_Leaving him there all alone,_

_In the lone and tall hill, sorrowing._

* * *

_He sought for her for years and years_

_Longing for her to dance and sing,_

_To heal his heart and dry his tears._

_He walked the hills tortured and weeping_

_And he called for her to no reply,_

_Save for the songbirds singing._

When she was done with her song, Avi picked up her mess and went for the nearest trash bin. Just as she was about to make a corner towards the castle, she was stopped by Ser Godfrey and his gang of hedge knights.

She gasped in disbelief. "No," she whispered.

"Goin' somewhere, Avi?" Ser Godfrey asked.

"I don't have time for this, Ser Godfrey," Avi responded sharply. "There is much I have to do."

Ser Godfrey's squire smirked and scoffed. "By the looks of that pouch on her belt, I say she's going to be doing a bit of Dueling."

"And what of it?" said Avi.

"Watch it girl!" snapped the squire. "Or my master might put you over his knee again."

"Let me by," Avi said softly.

"Let you by?" laughed Ser Godfrey, finding her courage humorous. "Child, you are my wife. And not only that, you have some explaining to do. There is word going 'round that you have an affinity for dragons. I thought it was just in Duel Monsters, but that attack on the town. All those people; dead and homeless." He stood over her. Avi whimpered like a frightened dog, much to Ser Godfrey's glee. "So how did you do it? Huh? How did you manage to call those dragons to save you?"

Avi said nothing. Ser Godfrey did not care. Not one bit.

"Never mind that, then. You're coming back with me, and you will answer for your crimes, witch! Ser Gerhalos isn't here to protect you. I heard he went into the mountains on a contract to kill a monster hiding in the caves."

"What do you want?" Avi shivered, as the horrid knight approached her and began undoing the laces of her bodice. "Ser, no. Please stop."

"I want you back, Avi. That's all I want. Come back with me, and we will forget all about this. I will make sure no one knows you even exist."

"Please, no," Avi sobbed.

"Are you hard of hearing?" Solomon Muto shouted. "Or do you need me to knock your senses back?" He pulled back his cloak to reveal a sword. The handle was wrapped in black leather and the ringed pommel had an orange gem in the center.

"You think you can take us?" the squire said, drawing his blade. "Come on then, old man, we can take you!"

"Put your sword down you stupid boy!" said Ser Godfrey. "He's a powerful mage. After the battle's done, they'll be sweeping your ashes off the ground."

"I can take him!" shouted the squire.

Solomon stared at the squire's sword until it started to burn white-hot. The squire yelped and let go of the blade mourning for his seared hand.

"Fool," Solomon sneered. "You'd best watch yourself, Ser Godfrey. Many in my company have not yet forgiven you for your role in hunting down Lady Luthia."

"A fine piece of ass she was," said Ser Godfrey. "If it wasn't for that damn Diabound that Bakura summoned, she would have satisfied me."

"Speak ill of Lady Luthia again, and you're going to wind up in worse shape than your squire," said Solomon. "And if I catch you bothering this girl again, it's the chopping block for you!"

"As you say, Master Solomon," said Ser Godfrey. He and his group walked away, two of them aiding the squire and his hand which was blistering and bleeding.

"Are you okay?" Solomon asked.

"I'm fine, thank you," Avi said as she tied her bodice back up.

"That is no way for a knight to be acting," said Solomon. "It angers me to know that anyone can be a knight these days."

"I wish the knights I met were like the heroes of old," said Avi. "Ser Titus the Strong, Ser Maxwell Gardner the Knight of Roses, and Ser Tybalt the Dragonknight are among my favorites."

"Ah, you sure know your history, Miss…."

"Avellana Lofnmagni Ethelfleda," Avi said with a bow. "My friends call me Avi, at least they would if I had any friends."

"Avi!" Master Solomon said with a joyful look widening his face. "So you're the one everyone is talking about. My, my, my, what a lovely young thing you are. I had a feeling there was something special about you the moment I saw you. The Goddesses must have led me to this spot, no doubt." He took her hand and kissed it. "Hmm, Avellana Lofnmagni Ethelfleda. That's an unusual name. It's Old Norman if I'm not mistaken. How did you come about that name?"

"Many people I know say they saw the name inscribed on the trunk of a burned tree, destroyed by the fire I was said to emerge from. The people of the town I grew up in just assumed that was my name. But I know that it's my true name. I heard it muttered by the woman in my dreams."

"Dreams?" Solomon asked. "Hmm, just like Yugi said. I think there might be more to your destiny than I thought." He looked at the deck box on her belt. "What kind of deck is that, my dear?" he asked.

"A dragon deck, Master. One of the best from what the other priestesses in the temple have told me."

"Is it?" said Solomon. "Let's find out."

"You wish to Duel me, Master? I-I can't. I'm only a beginner."

"I have some cards which were recently forged by Maximillion Pegasus. Something tells me they belong to you. If you can prove to me in my training camp that you are who I think you are, then they'll be yours. I'll give you more information after that."

For many hours, Avi trained hard under the strict lessons of Solomon Muto. She had to learn to use combos with her new cards. As the sun began to set, Solomon boosted Avi's deck with more cards from various booster packs and forced her to come up with more combos and strategies. Then came time to put her deck to the test in a Duel against another pupil, one of the few remaining in Solomon's Duelist training camp.

Before she began her duel in the courtyard, Solomon took the special cards from his vest pocket and put it in Avi's deck.

"I think you're ready, Avi," said Solomon. "Show him what you've got."

The friendly opponent was named Albert, son of Darrion of House Julius. He adjusted his glasses and bowed.

"My Lady," he said. "I expect a good match."

Avi bowed, too. She raised her wrist and morphed her silver bracelet into a Duel Pad, a smaller, more compact version of the Duel Disk. The monster card zone was located on an arm blade made of energy. Avi's had a golden hue to it. "I expect a good match as well, Albert. You may go first."

"Thank you, Avi," Albert drew the first card of the game.

**LP-8000**

He examined his deck and smiled. He had a good hand.

"For my first move! I summon Denkou-Sekka in attack mode ( **ATK/1700 DEF/1000 LV 4** ). Then I pay 2000 of my Life Points to activate Ties of the Brethren. I summon Hirajin ( **ATK/1800 DEF/100 LV 4** ) and Electrifying Mastagun! ( **ATK/1600 DEF/1500 LV 4** ). And that shall end my turn, Avi."

Avi drew. "I summon Paladin of Felgrand! (ATK/1700 DEF/300 LV 4). Now to activate his effect. When my paladin is summoned to the field, I can equip him with one level seven or eight dragon-type monsters. After eons of slumber, an ancient creature from the heavens rises to unleash his fury. Former guardian to a queen from a time long forgotten, answer my call: Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!"

Albert took a few steps backward upon seeing the monster come to the field. A colossal dragon with a glowing turquoise body and armored in purple plating.

Solomon nodded his head, watching the duel from the balcony overlooking the courtyard.

 _I went through a lot trying to convince Pegasus to give me those cards. This girl says she has dreams of a woman being surrounded by dragons. I think she's referring to the dragon goddess, Safaani_.

****

**Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon**

**ATK/3000 DEF/2500**

"So it's true what they said," Albert said in shock. "The dragons used by the last daughter of Tiberius Pendragon has been revived. But how do you have it?"

"Master Yu-Gi-Oh said they were bound for me," said Avi, "but we shall see. I will attack your Denkou-Sekka!"

"But they'll destroy each other!" shouted Albert.

The monsters battled and then shattered. Galaxy-Eyes withered away.

"I set a card face down, and end my turn."

"This is a huge honor," said Albert. "The Galaxy-Eyes Dragons have not been seen since the passing of High Queen Evangelia in the Second Age. And the honor of taking it down will be me! My turn!"

He drew eagerly.

"Your standby phase begins!" said Avi. "Activate my trap, Call of the Haunted, which allows me to revive a monster from my grave. Return Galaxy-Eyes…"

"I don't think so, Avi. I activate the Spell-Card, Twin Twisters. So say goodbye to your Call of the Haunted."

"Damnation!" said Avi. "Now I'm wide open!"

"Indeed," Albert said, pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "I summon another Denkou-Sekka! Prepare for a direct assault, Avi!"

Avi braced herself for the oncoming attacks from Denkou-Sekka and Hirajin. Both monsters walloped her violently, sending her flying through the air and landing hard on her back with a thud.

**Avi-4500 LP**

**Albert-6000 LP**

"You okay, Avi?" Albert asked.

Avi got up from the ground and massaged her sore tailbone. "Fine. Just fine."

"It's your turn."

"Yeah, I know." Avi drew her card and examined her options. I summon Galaxy-Eyes Cloud Dragon ( **ATK/300 DEF/250 LV 1** )."

Avi summoned an infant version of the Galaxy-Eyes Dragon. Albert laughed at it, but he was foolish to think one so small was very weak. She attacked his electric horse, Mastagun and lost 1200 Life Points. Albert was confused, but the infant dragon transformed into its adult form. The Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon was back.

Avi ended her turn.

Albert drew his card nervously. He switched his monster to defense mode and ended his turn. To begin her move, Avi summoned a Galaxy Wizard (ATK/0 DEF/1800 LV 4). Avi activated its effect, increasing its level by 4. Then, she attacked Denkou-Sekka with Galaxy-Eyes Dragon followed by a strike to Hirajin with her Galaxy Wizard taking 100 damage, which was what she wanted.

From her hand, she activated a Spell-Card called Galaxy Expedition allowing her to summon, Galaxy Knight ( **ATK/2800 DEF/2600 LV 8** ).

"And now for an Xyz Summon!" Avi declared.

"Xyz!" cried Albert. "But those cards can only be used by high-ranking duelists from Duelist Academy! How can she control them so easily?"

He prepared for the worst, as Galaxy Wizard and Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon vanished. Taking their place was a new beast. Number 62: Galaxy-Eyes Prime Photon Dragon."

"A Number Monster!" Solomon cried. "Yugi gave her a Number Monster!" He grinned, rubbing his gray beard.

_It was destiny that brought Avi and those dragons together. I was expecting her to make use of her Felgrand Dragon, but…that girl was able to control the legendary Galaxy-Eyes Dragons on her first Duel._

Not wanting to continue, Albert placed his hand on his deck and surrendered.

"You win! You win!" he shouted. "I give up! Uncle! Uncle! Uncle!"

The monsters vanished. The damage they caused during the duel faded away and everything was restored.

Solomon clapped slowly from the balcony.

"Well done, Avi. Well done."

Avi and Albert waited for him to come down to the courtyard to speak with them.

"So, does this mean I'm going to Duelist Academy, Master Yu-Gi-Oh?" Avi asked.

"No, my dear, that honor goes to Albert."

"Huh?" said Avi.

"What?" said Albert.

Solomon handed him his letter of approval and sent him away. Though he was confused, Albert was still very joyful and ran out of the castle to find his steed and ride home to tell his lord father the good news.

"But, I won the match, master," said Avi. "What happened? Did I do something wrong?"

"No, my dear," said Solomon. "You did beautifully. You performed beyond my expectation. Xyz monsters are normally used by high-ranking students from the most elite schools in Termnnia. Yet you managed to use them so well and you didn't know a thing about them. Avi, the prophecy has come true."

"What prophesy?"

"The return of the True Dragons," said Solomon. "Avi, this day you must embark on a quest to Termnnia and find the ancient temples of Safaani and wake the dragons who sleep there."

"Master…" Avi began to protest.

"I know this is a lot to sink in, Avi," said Solomon, placing his hands on her shoulders. "But you are the one Yugi has been searching for. Go forth on this quest and you might find the answers to your past."

"I don't have any gold. And I can't go on this adventure alone. I've never been to Termnnia."

"Let me take care of finances," said Solomon.

"And you will not go on this quest alone," Ser Gerhalos said, stomping into the courtyard. "My Lady, allow me to be your guardian as you quest for the True Dragons."

"True Dragons? What are you talking about? Look, gentlemen, this is all very mystic, but I have not the slightest clue what this is all about."

"Your dreams, Avi," said Ser Gerhalos. "Don't you think they mean something?"

"Yes, but, Safaani? Summoning True Dragons? True Dragons haven't been seen since they departed our world at the peak of the Inquisition."

"And now it's their time to come back," said Solomon. "They require a harbinger, and that means you."

"I can't!" said Avi. "This is all too sudden, I can't."

"Then I have wasted my time!" Solomon shouted while turning away. "I expect those Galaxy-Eyes cards in my quarters before you leave. Mayhaps they'll go to someone worthier than you."

"And I shall be gone as well," said Ser Gerhalos. "I will not come back here anymore, Avi. Meaning you're going to spending the rest of your days in the inn at the mercy of Ser Godfrey."

Avi grimaced and rubbed her bottom, already feeling herself getting spanked by Ser Godfrey's thick and wide hand.

"Wait, master!"

Solomon turned.

"I'll do this, but don't expect any miracles."

"So be it," said Solomon. "But, having skills with cards proves nothing to us yet. There are many duties you have to take care of here at the temple. And there is still much I have to teach you about your Galaxy-Eyes Dragons. But you must cast aside your doubt, Avi. If you are to learn these lessons, you must be willing to do so with an open heart."

"Yes, master," Avi bowed.

"Good girl," said Ser Gerhalos. "Grandmaster Muto, the High Priest wishes to speak with you, and Avi, in his chambers at once."

"Then let us be on our way," said Solomon. "This is going to be a very long three weeks, and this girl has a lot to learn."


	59. The Summoner of Dragons: Part 9

* * *

**Constantine**

* * *

He bit savagely into the squirrel he just hunted. He smiled, his eyes narrowing in a dream-like trance, and his head bobbing up and down as his tastebuds sang with glee at the flavor of the meat. The herbs and spices he added to the animal took away that bitter gamey flavor he so heavily despised. "Can I cook or what?" he said to Tartarus. "I'm telling you right now, big guy, when this Dragon Summoning girl begins her quest, she's not only going to need a dashing warrior but a good cook to serve her some well-made grub. What say you?"

The dragon did not care to answer, for he, too, was an enjoying a choice feast. Tartarus was eating an elk he just brought over from the fields outside of the forest. Tartarus snarled, pulling a large string of meat from the elk's carcass. He threw his head up, chomping down on the morsel with three quick bites.

"You're just jealous," Constantine said, taking another bite out of the squirrel. "Mmm, you know what we need right about now, big guy? A few good taters."

Tartarus looked up from his meal to snarl at Constantine. His teeth, stained with blood, flashed in the sunlight.

Constantine laughed, waving his hands to calm the dragon down. "All right, all right, I won't start with that. Geez, you need to control your temper, big guy. But you've got to admit a few potatoes will do nicely right about now. It will go nicely with this squirrel I caught, don't you think so?" Tartarus grumbled, burying his snout in the carcass to pick at the organs. "All right, ignore me," Constantine said, finishing the last of his meal. "It's no wonder you can't find yourself a mate. Now I know why they call you Infernal Dragon in the game. You're so strung up. Just what in the hell happened to make you so grouchy?"

Tartarus shot Constantine an angry look. He looked away from him, glaring sadly at the rays of the sun peeking through the leaves above him. He grunted, releasing a puff of steam from his nostrils. He looked back down at the carcass, picked it up with his mouth, and walked away. His heavy footsteps shook the ground, creating thunderous banging. The trees in his way creaked and groaned as they collapsed.

"Oh, come on!" Constantine called for him to come back. "Was it something I said?" he wondered. Tartarus disappeared into the trees. Constantine spat out a bone as he scoffed. "What a baby," he said, unsheathing his dagger, which he used to pick his teeth with.

He opened his backpack to pull out the map. The image of the Dragon Summoner was paperclipped to it, to remind Constantine of why he was going on this long journey. He kissed the image, then looked at the map to see where he was. "Let's see here," he whispered, sliding his finger across the red line he created since leaving Lorin.

"The Milkwalk Forest," he said. From behind the trees, Constantine saw a vast field of green, splashed with purple, yellow, and red from the wildflowers that bloomed as far as the eye could see. There was a lone mountain beyond the field; blue and white-capped with snow. The Virgin Mountain it was called by many, for it was all by its lonesome in the middle of the forest. "Hmm, if we're here in the Milkwalk Forest; and the Mammoth Sea is to the east of here; that must mean we're just about a few miles past the Emboldorian border."

He laughed triumphantly. "Tartarus and I are making good time. Hey, Tartarus!" he called to tell the dragon the good news. No reply. "Tartarus!" Constantine called again.

Again, Tartarus did not respond. The scream of a woman did. Constantine got up from the log he was sitting on. He cast a water spell to put out the flames and listened for her. A terrible roar shook the forest causing many of the animals to grow restless. The woman's scream followed. Someone was in trouble out there. Constantine buckled his sword belt around his waist and whistled for Tartarus. The dragon did not answer to that either; it was unresponsive.

"Fine!" Constantine shouted. "I don't need you."

He dashed into the forest, following the roar until he made it to a clearing surrounding a pool trimmed by large ferns and cattails, and a waterfall standing twenty feet high. Just then, Constantine heard quickened footsteps and heavy panting. And then he saw her.

Her hair was long, curled, and bright orange in color with blood-red highlights. From underneath her hair, long, pointed ears poked out giving off her elven heritage. A pair of bronzed goggles with ruby-red lenses rested on her forehead. Her right arm was armored in engraved steel outlined in red, while the left had merely an elbow pad and a fingerless glove. The girl donned a midriff corset made of cloth and armor plating, mostly over the chest, fitting snugly over her bust. Constantine's eyes widened when he saw her long legs revealed by very short pants of dark brown leather that stopped at her thighs. Her knees were protected by black pads enchanted with to give her a boost in agility. Black, thin straps hugged her hips, smooth and curved as though sculpted by a master artist.

"She's beautiful!" Constantine breathed. But then he saw what the girl was running from. The trees behind her fell to the ground, pushed by a violent force. A monster had appeared behind the girl.

Man-Eater Bug. And it was hungry.

Just as Constantine was about to intervene, the girl turned to face the monster. She held out her arms, then her hands were engulfed in flames. Constantine gasped in wonder at the sight of her. The flames were tall and fierce as though hot from the mouth of an angry dragon. Her hair had also turned to flames. No doubt in Constantine's mind, the girl was no beginner in the arcane arts. She had skill with her flames. She screamed, charging up all the Mana in her body. She jumped and spun elegantly in the air, then thrust her armored arm. From her palm, a fireball rocketed towards the Man-Eater Bug. The spell exploded in the creature's face, but it seemed well-armored.

"Why won't you die!?" she shouted.

Man-Eater Bug snapped his pincers. It snarled as it stalked her, brimming with confidence that the girl in front of him would make a good meal.

"I warn you!" shouted the girl. "I'm going to do more than warm your belly. You ever hear of heartburn? I'm going to take it to the next level if you eat me. Don't you do it, bug brain!"

Man-Eater Bug howled victoriously and raised his claw. Just as he swiped, Constantine jumped from his hiding place, raising his sword as quick as thinking. He landed on the ground in front of the girl and held out his sword, using it as a barrier to shield her from the Man-Eater Bug's attack. The claws finally struck the blade. Constantine grunted from the impact. His wrist burned in agony as the bones vibrated from the impact.

The Man-Eater Bug grunted in confusion. Constantine smirked and swung his blade in an arch to throw the monster's claws away.

"What in Untolia's name!" the girl cursed. "Man-Eater Bug's claws can rip through a well-armored knight. How were you able to deflect his attack?"

Constantine turned to look at her, smiling confidently. "Hey, babe, it's nothing to worry about." He pointed at the mirrored steel. Blue runes magically appeared down the length of his sword blade. Then, just as quickly as they appeared, they faded away. "See? This sword was forged by a Berjan smith in ancient times. These magical runes can protect it from shattering no matter how powerful my opponent's attack may be."

"You might want to use it again," the girl said, stepping back.

Constantine turned around just in time to see Man-Eater Bug's claws coming down at him. Constantine laughed, and then backflipped out of the way. The claws slammed into the dirt where he once stood sending a cloud of dust and pebbles into the air.

"I like this," Constantine said, putting on his headphones.

He blasted the volume as loud as he could until the techno music was all he could hear. He seemed to dance as he battled the creature, leaving his new mage friend completely perplexed. He flipped, spun, and even moonwalked on the grass as he dodged Man-Eater Bug's moves.

The girl called at Constantine to make some kind of plan to bring down the monster, but Constantine was just lost in his own world. Even though he was handling the Man-Eater Bug rather well, she knew that they could not keep dodging it forever. She had to find a way to take this monster down and without Constantine's help, for it seemed he was too busy showboating to care about a plan.

She charged her flames until they had enough power for her to launch as fireballs. She tossed them at Man-Eater Bug's face, back, and legs. Her Mana allowed only four shots before she eventually had to stop and recharge. As Man-Eater Bug recovered from the blasts, he charged after her, getting down on all fours. Constantine swooped out of nowhere, grabbing her and pulling her out of the way before Man-Eater Bug could chomp down on her.

Constantine and the girl landed with a hard thud. "You okay?" Constantine asked.

"Get off! Get off!" the girl shouted, scurrying away from his arms.

Man-Eater Bug scurried towards them but was blasted by a large fireball. The monster yelped as it flipped for a yard and landed on its back. Tartarus landed beside the insect monster and jabbed his golden blades into the monster's stomach. Man-Eater Bug gargled a roar as spring-green liquid foamed out of its mouth. Its legs squirmed for but a moment before staying still. It was finally dead. Tartarus spread his wings, put his foot on the chest of his fallen foe, and roared into the air in victory.

"Run! Run!" the girl shouted, grabbing Constantine by the wrist. "We won't last a second against that dragon!"

"Hold it, hold it!" said Constantine. "It's all right. He's not gonna hurt you."

"Are you crazy? That's a dragon!"

"He's more than just a dragon," said Constantine. "He's my friend. Tartarus. That's enough."

Tartarus did not move. He snarled at the girl disapprovingly. The girl stood her ground, not moving a muscle, and mentally preparing a fireball to launch at the beast to hopefully buy her enough time to run into the woods. Her hair was still in flames and embers sparked around her fists.

"Tartarus," Constantine said again. "Relax, she's cool. She's with us. We saved her."

The girl did not approve of that. She felt emboldened enough to casually put a hand to her hip. "Excuse me, but I didn't need saving. I could have handled bug boy alone."

"That's not what I saw," said Constantine, sheathing his sword. "He was about ready to chomp on those nice legs of yours."

"Very funny," said the girl, walking past him to the water's edge. She went on her knees and cupped her hands together to splash water over her face. All the while, Tartarus snapped his jaws at her stealthfully.

"Hey, come on, lighten up will you?" Constantine whispered to his dragon. "She could help us." Tartarus made a rumbling noise in his throat to show he disapproved of the idea. "She's got skills with fire magic. How can you say no to that?" He leaned forward, holding a hand to his mouth. "And just between you and me, I think our journey to the Dragon Summoner could use a hot chick. Huh? What do you say?"

"I appreciate you calling me hot, though chick I can do without," the girl said, splashing more water on her face.

Constantine smirked, for he knew he was really bad a keeping things quiet. He walked towards the girl, but Tartarus slammed his tail on the ground as a barrier to keep him from getting to her. He growled, shaking his head to show he did not want her around.

"Lighten up, will you?" Constantine said, walking over the dragon's tail. He approached the girl and cleared his throat. "Ahem, excuse me, miss? Uh, sorry about that big lummox there. His name is Tartarus; he's been a buddy of mine for quite a long time. My name is Constantine Belotserkovsky of Rivernnia. What's yours?"

The girl stood up. She opened a pouch strapped to her left thigh and took out a rice square wrapped in silver foil. She bit into it without a thought. "Trish," the girl responded chewing. "Formerly of the House Godiva."

"Formerly?" Constantine asked.

"Yyyeah!" Trish mockingly, swirling her head around. "As in, not a member anymore?"

"What happened?"

"Let's just say my family did not approve of me being a mage. They believed in some hocus-pocus higher being with a flaming eye. As soon as they discovered I had magic, they sent the Templars after me."

"Your parents were Yeyunists?" Constantine asked in shock.

"New members anyway," Trish replied with a shrug. "They were converted not too long ago. Bad enough I have elf-genes inside of me, but to be a mage? Nope," she said with a pop, "they would not allow it."

"You're a half-elf then?"

"Yup. Now, look. I'd like to sit here and go on and on about my tragic life, but I really have to get going."

"Where you headed?" asked Constantine.

"Nowhere in particular," Trish said with a yawn. "But I need to stop by the town of Eriflower to stock up on my supplies. Well, Constantine, it's been real." She saluted him. "See ya around."

Constantine went after her. "Hey, Trish. Wait, wait!" He held both arms up at Tartarus. "Can we give you a ride?"

Tartarus looked at Constantine, giving off a confused grunt. He then snarled at the boy, spread his wings, and took off into the air. He handed at the top of the waterfall, stomping his feet before giving off a thunderous roar.

Trish folded her arms and giggled, taking a few light steps forward. "Uh…I don't think your dragon likes me very much."

Constantine chuckled in embarrassment. "Tartarus? Naw, he's really sweet once you get to know him."

Tartarus challenged that statement with a snap of his jaws. He beat his wings fiercely, causing the trees to shiver and their leaves to scatter into the air. His tail ferociously whipped back and forth, knocking down three trees standing behind him.

Trish blew the dragon a kiss and shook her head. "Yeah, your boy doesn't want to get to know me better. I appreciate the offer, but I can make it on my own. Man-Eater Bugs are fiercely territorial, so there won't be any for miles and miles. Plus, the town's not that far away, so I should be fine on my own." Trish adjusted the straps of her backpack and walked into the woods, disappearing behind the foliage.

Constantine whistled. "I hate seeing her go. But I love watching her leave." He turned to look at Tartarus. "Way to go, asshole!" he shouted. "We're never going to get laid with that attitude of yours! Look, we've walked a great deal of the way. Well, I did anyway. So cut the crap and give me a lift, will ya?"

Tartarus spit out a ball of molten mucus, then flew away. There was Constantine's response. "Asshole!" he shouted again.

* * *

**Trish**

* * *

She watched from the side of a dirt path as Tartarus soared over the treetops. Her pointed ears twitched as they picked up the sound of Constantine shouting for him to come back. Trish chuckled at the desperate cries for the dragon to come back down. She reached into her pocket and took out a cellphone. Quickly, she dialed a number and waited for the reply. She heard a click, followed by "Hello," in a soft and sultry voice.

"Yeah, it's me," said Trish. "The plan worked. Not only am I able to cash in on the bounty of that Man-Eater Bug, but I found that guy you want to meet so badly. She paused, listening as her contact started asking questions. "There's no doubt about it. Believe me, this is who you're looking for. He's perfect." She listened again. "No, he's flying away, but I know a good way to lure him in town. One way or another, we're gonna get him to join your cause. You're absolutely right. He's perfect...Yes. I'll see to it right away. He's all yours."

* * *

**Avi**

* * *

A gentle choir standing on a balcony over the main chamber of the temple began to sing their soothing song of prayer to the Dragon Goddess. The people stood up from their pews and locked their hands in prayer as Avi walked down the path in between the seats, holding up a white banner on a staff of gold decorated with little red lanterns and bells that jingled with each step she took. The people in the church bowed and muttered: "My Lady." As Avi walked by.

She was adorned in a white hooded gown slit at the sides to show off her frame, and white gloves crusted with crystals reflecting fire from the many candles, torches, and the golden chandelier hanging above the chamber. Beside Avi walked seven little boys armored in a white-enameled scaled plate with intricate carvings, and white cloth-of-gold capes clasped to their breastplates by brooches of gold and ruby crafted in the sigil of the Oracle of Safaani, which was an honor bestowed upon Avi after many long days in the temple. The boys held white candles and sang along with the choir as Avi walked about the temple displaying the colors of their Goddess.

She felt so cool and calm, and most of all, relieved to have so much attention drawn to her not out of lust for her beauty, but out of respect. She had nothing to fear anymore now that Ser Gerhalos was crowned as Avi's official Knight-Champion. He was leaning against a pillar carved with dragons coiling around it. Their eyes made of diamond and bodies of milky white limestone. Grandmaster Solomon was standing beside him. He nodded at Avi to let her know she was doing a good job.

She smiled back at him and continued parading the sigil of Safaani. Avi heard people muttering out of respect for her presence. When she was done circling around the temple, she stepped up on the dais and planted the banner on a golden slot on the ground. She walked to the top step of the stairs and awaited a long line of people coming to kiss the hand of Normandia's first oracle since the passing of Evangelia Pendragon.

"Honor and Dragon Fire," the people said as they bowed and kissed her hand.

"May the flames of Bahamut grant you strength," Avi said, touching their foreheads with her fingertips. "The Wings of Alshadar blow all evil away. And the love of Saffira bless your household."

She then handed them a small sack with enough gold so they could purchase bread, cheese, and milk for their household.

"Safaani bless you, My Lady," they would say, taking the gold and leaving with tears in their eyes.

One the last one approached, Avi felt cold. Ser Godfrey approached dressed in his best, hands locked in prayer, and a sinister smile implanted on his face crinkled like stretched leather.

"Honor and Dragon Fire," he said, getting on his knees.

"What are you doing here?" Avi demanded. "This is no place for the likes of you! This is a sacred temple."

"The temple is home to all who seek the blessings of the Dragon Goddess," the High Priest reminded Avi, as he sat atop his jeweled throne. "See to it that this man is given his blessings so that we may conclude our session."

Avi gulped and looked back down at Ser Godfrey. She looked to where Ser Gerhalos was. He was ready to draw his blade and strike the man down, but he could not. To spill blood in the Temples of the Goddesses meant eternal damnation in the darkest planes of the Shadow Realm. And the Temple Guard would be quick in sending the offender there as well. He dared not to move, for a few knights of the temple surrounded him to make sure he would not cause trouble. Even Grandmaster Solomon had to contain himself.

"Honor and Dragon Fire," Ser Godfrey repeated.

Avi put her shaking fingers atop his forehead. He grinned cruelly admiring the skin her gown exposed. "Feels to good to have you touching me again," he whispered.

Avi felt her left hand form into a fist. "May the flames of Bahamut grant you strength," she said, feeling sick to her stomach at the thought of blessing the man who had made her life miserable since she was a little girl. All the things he had done to her. Touching her. Kissing her in her forbidden parts. Humiliating her. Hurting her. And she was about to bless him in Safaani's name.

"Safaani, forgive me," she whispered. She cleared her throat. "The Wings of Alshadar blow all evil away. And may the love of Saffira bless your household."

Now, all that was left was for him to take her hand and kiss it. She had to fight herself for a moment, but eventually, she had to submit and held her hand before Ser Godfrey's lips. He grasped her delicate hand and squeezed it with all his might.

"So soft. So warm. You have chosen a magnificent place to call your home, Avi. But know that not even the stone walls of the Dragon Goddess can save you from our matrimony. You belong to me. You are my property. And one way or another, I will get you back."

He kissed her hand, and he kissed it long and good. Avi stood completely still, mortified that no one was coming to her rescue, for Ser Godfrey was kissing her hand as though he were making love to a woman of great beauty. A few awkward looks from the crowd came her way. Even the High Priest was clearing his throat to get Ser Godfrey's attention. But Ser Godfrey was oblivious to all this. He felt himself grow hot as his lips climbed up to her wrist and up her arm. Ser Godfrey's eyes peered up at Avi. He wanted nothing more than to tear her dress off and take her back home to finish what he started. Ser Gerhalos growled but was stopped by a wall of shining spears.

The High Priest stood up and slammed his staff on the ground. "That's enough!" he shouted. "Get your hands off The Oracle!"

Ser Godfrey did as he was told. He stood up and looked around. "Does the Temple of Safaani wish to burden itself with the charges of theft?" he declared for all to hear. He pointed at Avi. "This woman is my wife! She is mine by matrimony. I demand to have her back at once."

The High Priest approached. "Avi. Is this true?"

Avi shivered. Her lips trembled and tears bubbled in her eyes. "Your Reverence!" she cried, grasping his hands tightly. "Please. Please don't make me go back to him. Please, don't send me back. I beg of you. Please have mercy."

"Ser Godfrey!" shouted Ser Gerhalos. "Get away from her!"

Ser Godfrey sniggered at the display. He looked at Avi, feeling quite confident that she would return home with him this night. "Tell your animal to stand down, Avi" he sneered. "Your Reverence, it is true. Avi is bound to me by matrimony. Here is the deed of marriage the abbey bestowed upon us the day we were wed."

The High Priest took the scroll from Ser Godfrey's grasp and unrolled it. His eyes scaled left to right as he read every word. He shook his head, rolling the scroll back up. "It is true. The Oracle is wed to this man. Avi, I am sorry, but the law is law. I cannot separate you from this man."

"No!" she shouted. "You know nothing of the things he has done to me! I refuse to be locked up in that cold tower. Being fed whenever you cared to remember! And how you just stood and did nothing as the crowd stripped me and humiliated me!"

"Oh, that's it!" Solomon said, searching for his dagger. "I'm glad I brought this with me."

"Save a piece for me, Grandmaster!" Ser Gerhalos growled.

The people in the temple started shouting, commanding Ser Godfrey to stand down and leave the temple at once. They cursed him for his treatment of her. Some strong men even hopped out of the pews and formed a line, rolling up their sleeves, getting ready for a fight in case Ser Godfrey would prove to be a nuisance.

Even the knights of the temple focused their attention away from him and marched towards the dais to confront Ser Godfrey. The High Priest walked in front of Avi to protect her and said: "If there is a price we must pay to keep this woman away from you, we will gladly pay it. The Dragon King of Felgrand is an astute follower of the Dragon Goddess, Ser Godfrey. He will not be pleased to know that we have allowed a brute-of-a-man to take the first Oracle of Safaani away from the temple."

"I will never go back to you. I am above you! I am the Oracle of Safaani! You have no power over me!"

Grandmaster Solomon stepped forward. "Are you accustomed to the game of Duel Monsters, Ser Godfrey?" he asked.

"Stay out of this old man!" Ser Godfrey shouted. "This is between me and the girl. She is mine, by right. I demand her back at once."

"Then be all means, take her back," said Solomon, waving his hand in circles. "But the High Priest is right. The Dragon King of Felgrand is a devoted follower of Safaani. Believe me, he will burn your Hold to the ground coming to find her. He is the King. Your marriage will mean nothing to him. He created the law that allows you to hold claim over this young woman. But he will not falter to break it in the name of his temple. You and your gang of hedge knights will stand no chance against the ferocity of the royal army. You will not leave without Avi. And she will not leave with you. We have reached an impasse. The best thing to do in situations like these is to Duel under the Dueling Pact. Ser Godfrey. If you win, Avi goes home with you. This will be an oath that even the Dragon King must follow. The Dueling Pact is the law above all laws. But if Avi should win, you will not only leave the temple but you must also denounce the title of knight once and for all."

"Aye!" "Aye!" "Aye!" shouted the people.

Solomon looked at Avi. "Avi, is this fair for you?" he asked.

"I don't have much of a choice," she replied.

Ser Godfrey laughed, no, wheezed at the thought of Dueling Avi. "This girl can't even Duel her way out of her monthly rag. This match will be easy. And if the Dragon King fails to uphold this, I can challenge him for the crown. But Avi is all the treasure I'll ever need." He held out his middle finger which was adorned with a ring. It shined brightly and morphed in a Duel Disk that was shaped like a shield.

"It's time to Duel, Avi!" he shouted. "Hurry and take out your cards. The sooner I win this, the sooner I can take you back to my keep and punish you for leaving me the way you did."

One of the little boys in white armor ran towards Avi holding her D-Pad. He bowed once she took it from his grasp and ran away. Avi slipped the D-Pad onto her wrist and activated it. The holographic blade materialized.

"Duel!" she shouted. "I summon Photon Thrasher. Then I activate the effect of my Photon Orbital, equipping it to my Thrasher. Next, I will send him to the grave and add a card to my hand. Now I Special Summon, Photon Vanisher. I will activate his effect to add another card to my hand. My Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon. But I will discard him to the Graveyard and Special Summon, Galaxy Soldier in defense mode!"

"She has learned much under you, Grandmaster," said Ser Gerhalos, as Avi activated her Soldier's effect and then Summon Galaxy Knight to the field. "It seems those Galaxy Cards, High Chancellor Pegasus sent us have proven wonders for Avi's deck."

Solomon proudly crossed his arms and nodded. "Those Galaxy-Eyes Dragons of hers are very impressive." As Solomon said this, Avi activated her Galaxy Knight's effect and Special Summoned the monster to the field in defense mode. Ser Godfrey was surprised, but he wasn't scared. For the moment. "In fact," Solomon continued, "they have been implemented to the game thanks to Seto Kaiba's ongoing research on other dimensions."

"Another Dimension?" Ser Gerhalos asked in confusion. "I'm not sure I want to know. There is still much about this word that confuses me."

Solomon chuckled. He was about to say something but remained quiet when he saw Avi's field was ready for a new form of summoning. Would Avi be smart enough to take advantage of her field? He would know soon.

"I will send Galaxy Soldier and Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon to Link Summon, Galaxy-Eyes Sol Flare Dragon."

Solomon jumped for joy, but his cheer was short-lived, for a loud crack erupted out of his back. His face formed an odd expression. "Ow!" he cried. "Oh, oh, dear, my back."

"Are you all right, Grandmaster," Ser Gerhalos said, coming to his aid.

"Never better," Solomon chuckled through the pain. "Avi has done it. Avi has learned how to Link Summon!"

"Link Summon," Ser Gerhalos said, watching as Avi's newest dragon appeared out of a small sun and burst onto the field in a gallant display of fire. "I don't think I want to know about that, either."

"She is a quick study, just like my grandson," Solomon said over the loud roar of the monster. He smiled while standing straight up. He put both hands on his back and pushed with all his might until another loud crack snapped from his spine. "Link Summoning is a brand new art that has been added to Duel Monsters. Only the most elite Duelists in the Eastern Cities know how to use them. It takes a great deal of skill to know how to use these monsters to the best of their abilities which activate if their arrows are pointing at just the right target on the field."

"If you say so," said Ser Gerhalos. "I am not much of Duelist myself, so I don't know much about Dueling."

"It never hurts to be educated about things you don't know," said Solomon.

Ser Gerhalos lightly patted Solomon's back. "Nevertheless, I don't need to know about the rules of the game to see how this is going. There I see a powerful dragon. That is enough for me to know that Avi has what she needs to keep Ser Godfrey on the ropes and win this match."

Avi continued with her turn, using her Galaxy-Eyes Sol Flare Dragon to return her Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon to her hand. Then she announced that she would be performing an Xyz Summoning, much to the delight of the children in the crowd, who were more than pleased that mass was cut short thanks to the Duel. She searched her Extra Deck and slapped her Starliege Photon Blast Dragon in defense mode, which allowed Avi to Special Summon the Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon she got back to the field.

Ser Godfrey was getting nervous. The people in the temple clapped. Even the High Priest was enjoying himself.

"There," Ser Gerhalos said confidently. "Now she has three powerful dragons on the field."

"Rubbish!" said Solomon. "Strong monsters don't always win the game, Ser Gerhalos. Why, my grandson, Yugi, defeated Seto Kaiba's Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon with a Kuriboh."

Ser Gerhalos rolled his black-gold eyes. "Grandmaster. Avi is not Yugi Muto."

"Very good," said Ser Godfrey. "Your dragons are impressive, Avi. You seemed to have not only gained advanced status amongst these people but in your Dueling skills. You are able to conjure dragons not seen in this world since the Star Queen. Those Galaxy-Eyes Dragons compliment your beauty well. You and those beasts are magnificent together."

He scoffed.

"But sparkling dragons alone will not save you from our marriage. In fact, I feel more determined to take you back. Those dragons will be the sigil of my new House once I get things started with you as my wife."

Avi narrowed her eyes. Her cheeks flushed into the color of a ripe peach. "Your fantasies bore me, Ser Godfrey?" She shouted, placing one foot forward. "But once I'm done with you, it's just going to be Godfrey from here on out."

"And you've gotten bold, too," Ser Godfrey complimented her. The sight of her standing there in her gown with three powerful dragons from the Void made him evermore lustful.

Avi would not stand for his ignorance any longer. Too long had she been cast aside by society. Too long had she been labeled as some beautiful fool to be mocked and humiliated. To be treated like some toy only to be discarded when her usefulness had ended. No more. From henceforth, she would be in charge of her own life. And these Galaxy-Eyes Dragons would be her key to achieving freedom from men like Roland. People like the monk who called the crowd to abuse her. People like Ser Roland.

_The power of Evangelia Pendragon at my fingertips. The love of the Dragon Goddess in my heart. Goddesses, and great spirit of the Star Queen. Under the heat of this battle, come! Unsex me here. Fill me with the strength to quell all evil from my life. Starting with this man._

Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon and Galaxy Knight began to glow as if telling Avi to open the Overlay Network and unlock more power to use in this Duel. She stacked the cards together and summoned a new monster. "I Overlay my two monsters to Xyz Summon Number Ninety: Galaxy-Eyes Photon Lord!"

The temple was bathed in warm radiant light as a powerful warrior slowly glided to the ground to stand beside Avi and aid her. Galaxy-Eyes Photon Lord slashed his lance through the air to intimidate Ser Godfrey.

"I set a card face down and end my turn," Avi declared. "You're up!"

"Very well," said Ser Godfrey. He drew. "I will teach you a lesson you won't ever forget, Avi. And this Duel is just the beginning. "I activate the Spell Card Allure of Darkness! I draw two cards and banish a DARK monster from my hand." He pocketed the banished monster. "Now let's see what I've drawn with my small sacrifice." He pushed the cards off the top of his deck one by one with his fingers, then drew them to his hand. "Excellent," he said.

"For me as well," said Avi. Her Galaxy-Eyes Photon Lord started to glow.

"What is the meaning of this?" Ser Godfrey shouted.

"Once during your turn, my Photon Lord's effect activates, allowing me to add a Galaxy card to my hand, or adding to him an Xyz Material. I chose a Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon and add it to my hand."

"Humph," Ser Godfrey went, trying to look unimpressed. "May I continue? Or are there any more surprises you have in store?"

Avi laughed. "No," she said vexingly. "Not at the moment. Please, try and take my monsters down."

"I will wipe that smirk off your face once I have you over my knee like the bad, bad child you are! I activate Foolish Burial to send a monster from my Deck to the Graveyard. The effect of Graff, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss activates! When he's sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon a Burning Abyss monster to the field."

"I don't think so!" Avi shouted. "My Photon Lord's effect activates. I removed an Xyz Material and cancel your monster's effect. Now, you summon nothing!"

"Damn your Photon Lord!" growled Ser Godfrey. "But no matter. Since I have no Spells or Traps, I will Special Summon Rubic, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss in defense mode."

The demonic monster rose out of the ground behind Ser Godfrey. The very sight of the beast frightened the children, as well as many of the adults. The High Priest was most definitely not pleased with this. This temple was a sacred and holy place. To see it defiled by the presence of such an evil-looking monster made his blood boil.

"I will also Special Summon Fiendish Rhino Warrior in defense mode," Ser Godfrey continued. He grinned. Lightning flashed outside the stained glass windows. The candles in the temple dimmed until they were nothing but a faint glow dominated by darkness. The temple rumbled as fell whispers flew about the air like the wind.

"You did not think you were the only one who could summon such things as Link Monsters, did you? I send Fiendish Rhino Warrior and Rubic, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss to the Graveyard. Come forth! I Link Summon, Cherubini, Ebon Angel of the Burning Abyss!"

 

Lightning flashed. Thunder rumbled, shaking the foundation of the temple. The chandeliers swung back and forth from their stands violently. A portal to the Burning Abyss, one of the Ten Hells of the Shadow Realm, opened and released Ser Godfrey's foulest monsters.

"Oh!" Grandpa exclaimed. "He...he can Link Summon, too!"

"Oh, yes," Ser Godfrey chuckled standing proudly before the Black Angel. "I've had many voyages across this world. My travels even leading me to the tall, glistening skyscrapers of Domino City."

"Seems a little out of place or a traditionalist westerner like yourself," said Ser Gerhalos. "What business are you involved in to take you that far east?"

"I do not answer to you, animal!" Ser Godfrey yelled. "And my business is my own. I will activate my Fiendish Rhino Warrior's effect."

"And I will activate my Galaxy-Eyes Sol Dragon's effect," Avi countered. "I send Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon from my hand to the Graveyard and negate the Special Summoning of your monster."

Ser Godfrey stomped his foot on the ground impatiently upon hearing that. Galaxy-Eyes Sol Flare Dragon rose to the ceiling of the temple and summoned a small artificial sun that gave power to the five wings on a halo hovering over his back. Ser Godfrey shouted in dismay as Avi's monster fired a white-hot beam of solar energy at his Black Angel. The monster screamed and disintegrated.

"Very well played, Avi," he said. "But not good enough. Ser Godfrey sent cards to his Graveyard as he activated effect after effect. And to everyone's horror, Cherubini, Black Angel of the Burning Abyss returned to the field. Ser Godfrey activated her effect and sent Cir, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss to the Graveyard to increase her attack to 2100.

"I set two cards face-down and end my turn!" said Ser Godfrey. "As impressive as your dragon is, Avi, it is weak against my Black Angel."

"By a mere hundred points," Avi said. "Don't think you've beaten it yet. I activate Starliege Photon Blast Dragon's effect and Special Summon, Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon to the field. Now, my turn begins. Draw! I switch Galaxy-Eyes Photon Lord and Starliege Photon Blast Dragon to attack mode. Now, I activate Photon Sanctuary. This Spell Card allows me to summon two Photon Tokens to the field."

Avi then sacrificed her Galaxy-Eyes Sol Flare Dragon to summon another one to the Left Extra Monster Zone. Then she added a Photon Orbital monster to her hand. She equipped it to her Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon and then sent it to the Graveyard to add a Galaxy Knight to her hand.

"I'm confused," Ser Gerhalos said, scratching his head. "Just what in the world is Avi doing."

"We shall see," said Solomon. "Duel Monsters is a very complex game, Ser Gerhalos. It takes a sharp mind to understand how the cards work."

"I see monsters, Grandmaster. I see Life Points. At this point, those two things are all that matter to me. So far, despite all the cards they've tossed to summon their best monsters, Avi and Ser Godfrey haven't lost any Life Points."

"Ser Gerhalos, my young fellow, that might change with Avi's next move."

"I now offer my Galaxy-Eyes Sol Flare Dragon to Link Summon Hip Hoshinigen!"

A bright star monster made its presence on the field after a dazzling display of light and an aura of rainbows. Ser Godfrey laughed at the sight of the monster. Actually, so did many in the temple who found its design rather funny.

"Laugh it up, all of you!" said Solomon. "There's more to Avi's monster than meets the eye. Avi, show them what I mean."

"Yes, Grandmaster," Avi happily obliged. "First, I special summon Galaxy Knight to the field. Now, I'll decrease his attack by a thousand points to Special Summon a Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon to the field in Defense Mode. Now, Hip Hoshinigen's effect comes into play. It increases the attack of all Light monsters by five hundred points."

"What?" Ser Godfrey gasped, stepping backward in shock. "No. No. That's just unfair!"

Avi crossed her arms. "Oh, like it was fair keeping me as your personal slave. Do you think it was fair the way you overpowered me and mounted me every night like I was some beast? Do you think it was fair when you just stood there and did nothing as the townsfolk of Dragon's Tooth stripped me and did everything they wanted with me? Don't you dare tell me what's fair and what's not Ser Godfrey! Whether by my hand or not, I'm glad the dragons flew in from the mountains and destroyed that horrible place and turned all those monsters to ash. All my life Roland and you kept lecturing me that the world was a horrible cruel place. But it was on that day that I knew that the only thing that's horrible and cruel about the world is people like you! This night, you will pay for your sins, Ser Godfrey, by relinquishing your title as a Knight of Normandia. I overlay Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon and Galaxy Knight to Xyz Summon Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon!"

Ser Godfrey fell on his butt. "No! Not another one!"'

"And it's about to get worse," Solomon cackled cruelly for poor Ser Godfrey. "Avi's Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon has another form."

"More than one, Grandmaster," Avi confirmed. "First, I will overlay my Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon for Galaxy-Eyes Full Armor Photon Dragon. Then Overlay him for the all-powerful monster who once served as The High Queen's Blade of Justice. Behold, Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Blade Dragon!"

The bladed beast emerged from an orb of light that slowly came out of one of the gems on Avi's tiara. The dragon from the deep reaches of space swung his massive arm blades, creating waves of light. It gave off a heavenly roar that sounded like great music from the divines. The light once again radiated across the temple, saving all from the fell monsters of Ser Godfrey's Burning Abyss deck.

"Imagine that," Avi said coldly, as she watched Ser Godfrey laying on the ground trembling and sweating profusely when the realization that his knightlihood would be terminated with this one attack. All that talk. All his boasting that Avi was all his would have been all for naught, and that was like salt against a nasty war wound.

"How fitting," Avi continued. "How fitting that the very beast whom High Queen Evangelia used to unleash justice upon her enemies will be the monster who will grant me justice. Too long have you treated me like your pet, Ser Godfrey. My monster's attack points are at the top of the charts. Your Black Angel is no match for my beasts. And an attack from my Cipher Blade Dragon will severely damage your Life Points. With this attack, my dragon sets me free from your hold. Forever."

"Honor and Dragon Fire!" shouted Ser Gerhalos.

"Honor and Dragon Fire!" shouted everyone in the temple.

"My Lady, please," Ser Godfrey muttered. "Don't do this."

But his pleas fell upon deaf ears. Avi commanded her Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Blade Dragon to attack the Black Angel of the Burning Abyss. It took a mighty leap forward and then raised its glowing photon blades. The first strike slashed the Black Angel on the chest. The other beheaded her. Finally, Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Blade Dragon took to the air and shot a photon beam at the foul creature. The attack created a violent explosion that sent pieces of the foul monster flying in all directions. The force of the blast knocked Ser Godfrey back as though he had been hit by a charging horse. He flew many feet down the path and rolled to a stop, grunting and whimpering pathetically. He was dealt with 3600 points of damage, knocking his Life Points to 4400.

Avi stepped down from the dais and walked down the path towards him. Her monsters followed close behind her. She was clearly not the same Avi he had taken advantage over many months ago. This was not the same Avi who would cry when she was yelled at or whimper like a dog when she was scorned. This...this creature coming towards him was a horrible monster. A succubus from the deepest planes of the Shadow Realm. Something far worse and more foul than the Burning Abyss monsters lurking in his deck.

"Galaxy-Eyes Photon Lord!" Avi cried out. "Attack his Life Points directly!"

The soldier bowed at her command and raised his lance in the air, charging it with photonic energy. When it was fully charged, he pointed the lance at Ser Godfrey, blasting him with more damage, bringing his Life Points down to their last 1400.

Avi marched ever closer to Ser Godfrey. Her dragons and the Photon Lord marched with her ominously, giving her a powerful presence. He crawled back away from Avi and her monsters, each step they took caused the temple to quiver. Ser Godfrey stopped when he felt two massive foot slam down from behind him. Ser Gerhalos looked down at him and snarled, baring his teeth at him. Avi came closer.

"She's not scared of you anymore, Ser Godfrey," growled Ser Gerhalos. "Enjoy your last few seconds as a knight."

Avi raised her arm in the air and shouted: "And now, Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon! Rid my life of this man and take away the noble title of knight, which he never deserved in the first place!"

Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon reared its head as it gave off a mighty roar, shaking the temple. The chandeliers swayed to and fro, and dust fell from the ceiling. Ser Godfrey got on his knees and placed his hands together.

"My Lady, please, don't!"

Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon closed his mouth, canceling his beam of photon energy. The failed attack slithered from between his teeth and out his nostrils.

"Mercy! Mercy!" he cried.

Avi stood over him and crossed her arms. Now she was standing tall and, he, on the ground sniveling.

"I've worked for this title since I was a boy. Please, don't take it away from me. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I really am. You and I can rule together, and I will treat you with the utmost respect. I will shower you with a love that a woman of great power and beauty such as yourself so rightfully deserves. We will rule the Hold of Azurana Mountain together. King and Queen. What say you, my love?"

Avi wrinkled her nose.

The doors to the temple burst open as a ray of photon energy shot out into the night. Ser Godfrey screamed as he was tossed and turned in the air. He fell down the steps of the temple, rolling all the way to the ground. His gang of knights hurried towards him, trying to help him up. "No! No! No!" he shouted, shoving them away. "Get off me!"

Ser Gerhalos and Solomon walked out of the temple and stood at the top of the steps. Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon's roar could be heard from within. Ser Gerhalos proudly crossed his arms over his chest and snarled at the now ex-knight.

"Ser Godfrey!" shouted Solomon. "By the terms wagered on the holy oath of the Dueling Pact. The Oracle is no longer yours by matrimony. And from henceforth, your status as a Knight of Normandia is permanently revoked."

Ser...er...Godfrey stood up and eyed both men with a poisonous glare. "I will have Avi for my wife!" he shouted, jerking his finger at them. "Make no mistake of that!" He turned and pushed a few townsfolk aside. "GET OUT OF MY WAY!" he shouted.

Back in the temple, the Galaxy monsters vanished. The High Priest stood up from his throne and clapped. Soon, all in the temple gave Avi a standing ovation for her incredible skill during the Duel. She looked around in confusion. _The sound of applause? For me?_

Ser Gerhalos and Solomon walked back into the temple, clapping for her too. "Well done, Avi!" cheered Solomon. "Dearheart, take a bow. You have won the game. It's customary for the victor of every Duel to bow."

"Bravo!" cheered the High Priest.

"Bravo!" cheered the Temple Knights.

"Untra!" cheered the Normandians in the temple.

"Untra!"

"Untra!"

"Bravo!"

"Bravo!"

And that's what Avi did. For once in her life, she felt a sence of importance. A sence of great accomplishment. And why wouldn't she? No more would she have to fear living under the shadow of a brute like Ser Godfrey again. The Temple ofSafaani was behind her, as were Ser Gerhalos and Grandmaster Solomon. She looked at her deck, realizing that her new dragons were going to be with her for the long run. She kissed the deck and then thanked the heavens for her blessing.


	60. The Summoner of Dragons: Part 10

**Constantine**

* * *

Having smelled the food from the other side of the hills, Constantine couldn't help but stop at the town, sneak into the festival and take a few baked goods for the road. He peered through the trees down below a steep slope. The fireworks launching into the air from the ramparts of the castle, the paper lanterns hanging over the streets and the music was just so inviting to pass up.

He sniffed the air picking up the sweet smells of pies, cakes, and candied bacon. Perched on a clifftop and supported with stilts along the rocks was a quaint little inn. The walls were painted white, the roof tiles blue, and a brick chimney smoked in the moonlight. Three floors with windows lit up with an inviting orange glow and shadowed by shutters and curtains. Outside by a fountain, a few wenches were showing off their curves hoping to seduce potential customers for business.

"Now, that's what I'm talking about," Constantine said. "Food, drink, and a nice tavern wench for the night massaging my aching back and feet." He laughed, nudging Tartarus in the stomach with his elbow. "That's not all they're going to be massaging, eh, big guy?"

Tartarus snorted in disgust.

"Aw, come on, man. Lighten up a bit. If you ever find a foxy dragoness in the future, you'll know what I mean. All right, it's time for me to go down into town and mingle."

Tartarus wagged his tail Constantine looked at him blankly and wagged his finger. "No, no, no, Tartarus. This is a town full of simple folk. Not to mention dragons haven't been seen in these parts for thousands of years. And let's face it, buddy, you're not exactly the friendliest-looking dragon in Termnnia. I mean, does _Infernal_ Dragon ring the bell?"

Poor Tartarus whined. He started to snarl, disapproving Constantine's decision to leave him behind. He snapped his jaws and swiped his tail to the left, knocking down a tree.

"No! No! No!" Constantine shouted again, waving his hands. "You. Stay. HERE! Got it!?"

Tartarus snarled, turned, and walked into the dark forest, pushing trees out of the way. Constantine placed six of his fingers over his lips, blew Tartarus a kiss, and stuck both middle fingers up before he made his descent down the slope to the town. Even from where he was, he could see Castle Muto's power generators in a cave on the side of the cliff. This relieved him, for he guessed no one would care too much for his attire. He saw a Duel going on in the field just outside the town. A Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon blasted a Mist Valley Thunderlord into oblivion.

"Nice!" He thought. He could use a little Duel Monsters right about now. He wanted to proceed towards the match, but his stomach rumbled and his mouth watered when his nose was smacked by the smell of food, no more potent than when he was standing on the hill. He walked up the path toward the town when he spotted a familiar face strolling through an alley between two apartment buildings. It was Trish!

Constantine hurried after her. His gear clinked and jingled. He finally caught up with her. She was leaning against a brick was, biting down into a pastry. She looked at Constantine and smiled.

"Well, well, well," she said. "The Great Bug Destroyer is back again. Is this is a coincidence or do I have myself a stalker?"

"Hey, now, I was just strolling down the road when I spotted this quaint little town. Not bad in my book. A tad traditionalist with a touch of modern from my Eredas. I think I can settle here for the night. Or maybe a few days. So what about you? Why are you here?"

"I have my reasons," Trish replied, finishing her pastry. She chewed before she continued talking. "But as for you, well, I think it just makes coming here a little more worth it. See, there's a little someone I know that could use your services. Someone with a lot of money, power, and good looks to boot."

Constantine leaned against the wall. "I'm listening." At least, he thought he was until he saw Serenity dancing on the table not too far ahead. Constantine raised his eyebrows up and down when he saw her. "Well, who is this adorable little morsel?"

Trish turned to look at Serenity. "Stay away from here, Constantine, she's nothing but trouble. She's guarded by two dumbass knights who are infatuated with her, and her brother -also a knight- who doesn't take kindly to those who perve against his baby sister. Speaking of which, she's my client's 'Baby Bird.' "

She heard Constantine walk past her, straightening his jacket and sword belt.

"What are you doing!?" she shouted.

"I just want to talk to her is all. She's really cute. I need her digits in my phone, pronto."

"You'll get a sword to the gut if you go any further. Constantine! Constantine! Ugh. Men!"

Constantine approached the table, making his way through the throng of men ogling at the girl. He threw a silver shield at her feet. She looked down at him as she spun and lifted her dress to show him her diamond-encrusted garter around her thigh. He threw her a Star Chip, hoping that she would reveal a little more. Nevertheless, he was hypnotized by the diamonds glittering around her thigh.

"How did you get that?" he asked. "It looks like it cost a fortune? Are they real?"

"As real as me," Serenity replied with a twirl. "Enjoying the show so far?"

"So far," Constantine replied. "How much would it take for you to show off more than your garter?"

Serenity giggled. "A king's ransom in diamonds and in gold," she replied, briefly throwing her skirt up to wow the drooling men. She had them wrapped around her little finger, earning enough coin to aid her and her companions in traveling from here to Domino without spending a ha'penny from their own coffers.

"You're an expensive little creature, aren't you?" Constantine said. "But that doesn't appear to be a ransom one can pay at the moment to see you. There must be something in this town you'd want in exchange for showing us that buttermilk body of yours."

Serenity laughed. "You aren't going to leave without seeing me, aren't you?"

"I'm not the only one, I'd wager," Constantine chuckled. Many of the men howled, raising their tankards up and cheering.

"I don't think that's going to be happening," Mai said, standing up from her seat. "Serenity. Come on, my little baby bird. I think these men have had their fill of you tonight."

Constantine whistled at Mai. "Well, I sure have stumbled into a town full of beauty haven't I?"

Meanwhile, down in the fields, an opponent to Ser Joey the Black Dragonknight summoned his mightiest monster.

"I tribute these three monsters to summon Legendary Maju Garzette!" he shouted, summoning the fiend. He attacked Joey's defensive Rocket Warrior. But Joey's Life Points weren't safe, for Legendary Maju Garzette had the ability to inflict Piercing Damage, meaning Joey lost a good chunk of his Life Points anyway from the attack. Legendary Maju Garzette dissolved Rocket Warrior with a stomach-churning sludge attack from its mouth.

"Ey!" Joey shouted. "Didn't anybody teach ya to say it not spray it!? Some manners." He drew. "Hey, dat's what I'm talking about! I sacrifice Little Winguard, Swordsman of Landstar, and Battle Warrior to summon Gilford the Lightning! Now he destroys all your monsters on the field, leaving you wide open for an attack!"

Gilford the Lightning, raised his massive sword in the air, conjuring a lightning storm that formed over the town. How fitting that the reason these lands were called the Storm Coasts was that somewhere out there, the blade of the real Gilford the Lightning, a mighty warrior from the Age of Legends, was resting. Some say it because of that sword that the lightning storms never cease. Legendary Maju Garzette was destroyed as were the rest of the boy's Life Points.

"Aw, nuts!" the boy grunted, falling on one knee, groveling in defeat.

Joey flexed his arm muscle. "Yeah, dey don't call me Joey Wheeler, Duelist Extraordinaire fer nothin'. Huh?"

He noticed the commotion coming from the center of the town where Serenity was dancing. He saw Constantine, rub his hand up and down Serenity's leg, much to Mai's disapproval. She started yelling at him, but he did not care!

"What the hell's goin' on?" Joey shouted, drawing his sword. He charged up the hill. Duke, Tristan, and a young knight followed him. Joey made it to the hill and raised his sword at Constantine. "Just what in the hell do ya think yer doin' touchin' my sista like dat!?" he shouted. "Explain yerself b'fore I gut ya right here, right now!"

"Joey, will you calm down!" Serenity said, jumping off the table.

"Calm down!? How can I calm down when yer lettin' slimy, pathetic, sleazeballs like dis jerk put dere hands on ya?"

"She let me, sir," Constantine said. He backflipped away and drew his own sword. He held up high in a falcon guard, ready to intercept Joey if he intended to strike. "I am not guilty of touching her without her consent."

"I don't care!" Joey shouted.

Duke, Tristan, and the knight drew their own swords and stood behind Joey. Joey looked at his sister furiously. "I expected better from ya, sis. Only stupid whores let men touch dem however dey want! Is dat what you are?"

Serenity shook her head. "No, Joey! How can you say that?"

Suddenly, a roar shook the entire town. Tartarus flew down from the hills and landed behind Ser Damien. He spread his wings and raised his tail, brandishing the weapon at the end of its tail.

"DRAGON!" someone shouted.

But before, Tartarus could make a move, something massive landed behind him. Something with a body made of the purest of emerald. A Luster Dragon. It stood higher than Tartarus, completely dwarfing him. It roared at him, Tartarus roared back. Though he was smaller than Luster Dragon, he was not going to let anyone hurt his best friend.

"NO! NO! NO!" cried Constantine. "It's okay! It's okay! He's with me!"

The knight in jeweled armor whistled. "Luster Dragon! Stand down! Stand down! I take it our friend here has some explaining to do about this dragon."

"Please. He's my friend!" Constantine shouted, backing himself closer to Tartarus. He swallowed, hoping not to get too emotional. "And he's the only one I got."

Mai scoffed. "So, a handsy type of guy with a dragon for a friend. Just who in the hell are you?"

"My Lady! My Lady!" Trish called, rushing towards her. "He's Constantine Belotserkovsky. The Sword of Dawn."

The crowd began to murmur amongst one another. Joey lowered his weapon. "Da Sword of Dawn? Ya mean yer da one hunting down Witch Hunters."

"That can't be!" Mai exploded. "I was told The Sword of Dawn was a gallant knight. Not some pervert looking for tail at every town. This must be some mistake."

"There is no mistake, My Lady!" said Trish, trying to calm her. "I've seen this boy in battle and his combat skills are the best I've ever seen."

"Hey, thanks," said Constantine.

"Shut up!" Trish snapped immediately.

Mai looked at Constantine with a puzzled look. "If you say so," she said. She looked around and clapped her hands. "Okay, folks, show's over."

The townsfolk, though shaken from seeing two dragons almost fight, calmly went back to their homes. Joey and the others sheathed their swords back in their scabbards.

Mai walked toward Constantine to inspect him. "So," she said, "you're the one slaying those bloodthirsty psychopaths from the Church Militant. Well, I've got to say I'm impressed. The name's Mai of House Valentine."

"Mai?" Constantine stammered. "Mai Valentine? Termnnia's Delight?"

"And I'm Serenity Wheeler," Serenity introduced herself.

Constantine felt like even more of a fool. "Wh-Wh-Wheeler? That must mean that you..."

"Yeah, dat's right, I'm Ser Joey Wheeler, Da Black Dragon Knight."

"My apologies," Constantine said, rubbing the back of his head. "Oh, man. This was a huge mistake. Damn, Trish, why didn't you say so?"

"I did say so!" Trish cried. "You were so tranced by Serenity's looks that you were deaf to my warning."

Constantine looked at the Heroes of Rasaay one by one. "Oh, Goddesses. I am so sorry. I have made a huge mistake."

"Don't worry about it," said Mai. "The reason I sent Trish out into the field was so she could find someone to accompany our new Summoner of Dragons to her first temple when she arrives in Termnnia."

"You guys know where she is?" Constantine asked in excitement.

"We know where she is," Mai responded, smiling. "We're also paying for her training. She's almost ready to begin her journey but recent developments have complicated things. Our ongoing war with Naralia and the sudden rebellion going on in Southern Emboldor have made the roads unsafe for our girl. She's going to need someone with a bit of skill to see her through her quest to find the temples of Safaani and acquire their dragons. So long as you learn to keep your hands to yourself, you got the job."

"I am honored," Constantine said, bowing. Tartarus roared in agreement.

"Good," said Mai. "Y'all rest up. It's going to be a long and dangerous journey to North Point." She felt a tap on her shoulder. Mai turned and gasped when she saw a girl hooded and cloaked standing behind her.

"Excuse me," the hooded girl said timidly. "But by chance do you know Master Yugi Muto? I have been told by him to come here and seek his companions."

"And just who might you be, honey?" Mai asked.

The girl removed her hood. Long, flaming orange hair with neon red highlights flowed down to her waist. Her eyes lit up like lime-green flames in the glow of the paper lanterns above her head.

"Phoenix!" Téa cried, running up the road to the town. "Phoenix is that you?"

"Oh!" Phoenix crew. "Master Téa!" She ran to her old teacher and hugged her.

"Master?" Duke asked. "Téa just who in the world is she?"

"This is Phoenix Lockheart," Téa answered, rubbing the back of Phoenix's head. She kissed the top of it. "She was my brightest student when I taught White Magic in the Citadel a few summers ago."

She let Phoenix go and took a step back to examine her. "Look at you! Look how much you've grown. You're so beautiful, Phoenix. So, how's the archmage doing?"

"Sad, knowing that he lost his best pupil in the Citadel. Honestly, he believed his son would get the job as, but I showed enough promise to get Master Yu-Gi-Oh to notice me."

"Wow, talk about power," said Duke. "Your skills in healing magic must be at their peak."

Téa laughed. "Oh, my girl may know how to heal a wound, but she knows how to inflict them as well. She's quite possibly the only mage in hundreds of years to master both elemental magic and healing magic. Hands down, you're looking at the best Pyromancer in the land. It's for that reason that Yugi and Pegasus chose her to be Yuri's Court Magician."

"Oh, very impressive," said Mai.

"I can't think of anyone better for the job," said Téa. "It's great to see you again, honey. I've missed you so much!"

"And I missed you," said Phoenix. She turned and covered her mouth with her hands. "Oh, forgive me for not introducing myself to you all. It's just that I'm starstruck. I mean...it's you. It's really you. Yugi Muto's friends. The Heroes of Rasaay! You're the legends I've admired since I was a little girl."

"Aw, shucks, it's nothing," laughed Joey.

Phoenix looked at the dragons standing over the town. "What's going on here?" she asked.

The jeweled-armored knight laughed. "Forgive me," he said. "That glittering green one right there is mine. He's a Luster Dragon. And I am his rider and dear friend. My name is Ser Damien. The Knight of Kisses."

"Why do they call you that?" Constantine asked. "It's nice to meet you, by the way, Phoenix. I'm Constantine. The Sword of Dawn."

"Ah, you're the one the Witch Hunters have been very cautious about," said Phoenix. She bowed. "It's an honor Sword of Dawn." She looked at Ser Damien. "But why do they call you the Knight of Kisses, Ser Damien?"

"Because I've made it my mission to kiss all the beautiful girls in Termnnia." He placed both his hands on hers. "And you, my dear, are beautiful. Would you allow me the honor of blessing you with a kiss from Termnnia's most sought after knight?"

"A smoothie," said Joey with a roll of his eyes. "We've got us a smoothie."

"I would if I could," said Phoenix. "But, I am not interested in being kissed by men."

"Oh!" everyone cried out.

"Hey, hey, hey!" said Mai, waving her hands up to pacify them. "It's no big deal."

"Ah," said Ser Damien. "You are a lover of flowers. Very well, a kiss to your hand, then?"

"I shall allow it, Ser Damien," Phoenix said, letting him kiss her hand.

"So, why did Yugi bring you all the way down here so soon, honey?" Mai asked. "Yuri won't be back for many months."

Phoenix bowed when she was spoken to by Mai; for she was a huge role model for her. "Since it will be a while before Prince Daveed returns to Termnnia, he asked me to accompany the Summoner of Dragons on her quest."

"Not bad," said Trish. "I could use some help dealing with this guy."

"Wow," said Constantine. "I'm going on a journey with two beautiful girls to seek the Summoner of Dragons, another beautiful girl. I've died and gone to paradise."

"What about you, Ser Damien?" Serenity asked. "Will you be joining them?"

"I will not, sadly," Ser Damien responded with a sigh. "I am needed in the Emerald Marches. Seems King Forrest has made his move upon the Ebony Kingdom. Luster Dragon and I are called to the front lines. Hopefully, I can join the Summoner of Dragons one day. I heard her beauty is unlike anything this world has ever seen. Some say she rivals you in looks, Lady Mai. Maybe even surpasses you."

"Ha!" laughed Mai. "I'll believe it when I see it." She clapped her hands. "All right, boys and girls. The storms are coming back to us. Let's get back inside before it starts raining. We've got a lot of work to do in the morning."


	61. The Summoner of Dragons: Part 11

**The Loremaster**

* * *

"Yes!" cried Colette. "That was amazing! Avi really showed that perverted knight what-for, huh?"

"Yes, and it was a warning to all who thought she was a worthless, scared little girl. Word of Avi's use of the Galaxy-Eyes spread across Normandia and all across Termnnia. And, thanks to approval from Maximillion Pegasus, the cards have been printed in large quantities for all to use. Needless to say, they don't wield the power that Avi's dragons have. Her cards are special, for they actually contain the spirits of the dragons High Queen Evangelia used long ago. A little piece of her now rests with Avi."

"Great! That'll show men like Ser Godfrey that we girls are more than just trinkets to be sold and owned or pretty faces to be gawked at. Ever since the fall of Evangelia and the Noble Knights of the Round Table, chivalry has died in these lands. But I'm glad it's coming back in the forms of great heroes like Avi and Yuri. You tell the story so well, Loremaster. Please, continue."

"Very well." He paused to gather his thoughts and flipped through his large tome. "Ah, now I remember. Avi had to undergo training and then..."

* * *

**Avi**

* * *

**July 5th**

**Year 18 4AOS**

A year had passed since Avi was brought up as the Oracle of the Temple. Kings and Queens from lands near and far traveled for miles and miles to see her and be blessed by her. The fact that even royals were bending the knee to her was such a delighting thought. It made her hair stand on end.

Now, her foes knew better than to go anywhere near her for fear of both Ser Gerhalos and her powers, which were quickly growing. During her time at the temple, powerful wizards and mages came from almost every magical school of high renown (even the Citadel) to teach Avi the basics of using magic as a form of self-defense.

Needless to say, she was not very good at it. On more than one occasion, Avi almost burned down the temple (Quickly leading to the decision of Avi having her lessons outside). She almost seared Ser Gerhalos' mane with a fireball she misfired. A few days ago, she accidentally shot bolts of lightning at the sky and conjured a lightning storm when she was supposed to be shooting a few bolts at the straw dummy. It took hours and hours of practice, but Avi had become a decent mage of novice level.

"Think I can be a wizard someday, Ser Gerhalos?" Avi examined a fireball she created with her fingertips while walking down the halls of the temple towards the High Priest's office where he would inform her of her final task.

"If it means me losing my hair, I hope not," Ser Gerhalos replied with a low grumble.

Avi tried to hide her giggling with her hand but the memory of Ser Gerhalos running around in circles in the courtyard with his hair on fire and then dunking his head into a water barrel was the funniest thing she had seen in such a long time. It was frightening at first, for she worried she had hurt her friend. But after realizing no harm was done, it became one of those moments where you would just laugh at. And laugh she did. All through the night. At dinner, when Ser Gerhalos would sit in front of her before the light of the candelabra, the memory returned to her, and she laughed so hard her soup came out of her nose.

During evening mass, she snickered and twittered until her ribs ached.

"You're laughing again," Ser Gerhalos scolded her. "How about I light that Golden Fleece you call hair on fire? Let's see you laugh then."

Avi turned her head and looked up at him, smiling. "Don't take it so personally, Ser Gerhalos. It was an accident. No one was harmed because of my mistake. And when last I checked, you were told to stand back, but instead, you grew defensive because you hated seeing those young journeymen magicians put their hands on me."

"Is there a need for a teacher to place his hands on your hips the way that arrogant instructor did?"

"I wasn't executing the position properly."

"Bah! I've encountered master wizards, legendary mages, and mythical magicians in my time, little one, and none of them had to extend their legs, bend their knees, or arch their rumps the way they told you to do."

Avi looked up at her knight and shook her head. "Ser Gerhalos, for a man of such stature and size, you sure are a worrywart."

Ser Gerhalos' eyebrows stretched downward and his golden eyes flashed in the sunlight. "Indeed," he replied drolly. "If you'd take better care of yourself, maybe I won't have to. How Safaani chose someone like you to be her Oracle is beyond me. Nevertheless, I have a job to do. Master Yu-Gi-Oh entrusted me with your care and I will see to it that I protect you from all the evils of the world. Be it monsters, magic. Or worse…Boys."

They finally approached the tall green doors of the High Priest's office. A temple guard bowed for his Oracle and then opened the door. The golden hinges moaned as they slowly slid open to let Avi and her knight-champion through. The High Priests was having supper at the end of a long table lined with polished wooden chairs with purple velvet cushioning and gold knobs. He was carving a steak with a fork and knife made of silver and gold. Avi thought it was utter pomposity seeing him eat with such an unnecessary luxury, especially when she had to walk the streets of the city slums passing out crusts of bread and small jugs of water to the needy every Sunday.

"Ah, Oracle!" the High Priest called as he stuffed a chunk of meat into his mouth. "Please. Have a seat."

Avi looked at Ser Gerhalos. He nodded. She led the way down to the end of the table. The chamber was dark, lit only by the stained glass window that made up the entirety of the wall to the left, tinging the room with a magenta-colored filter with splotches of blues, greens, and yellows here and there. Dust particles hovered heavenly in the rays of light over Avi's head. She sat down on the third chair to the left of the High Priest.

"Care for some refreshments?" the High Priest asked.

Avi nodded timidly.

The High Priest clapped his hands. "Beer!" he called to the Chamberlain outside the door. "And a glass of milk for the Oracle, please. Ser Gerhalos, would you care for anything?"

"None, your reverence," Ser Gerhalos responded.

The chamberlain arrived moments late with a tray of black beer for the High Priest and Avi's milk complemented with some chocolate chip cookies provided by the chef. The milk was ice cold when she drank it and it bubbled around her lips. She set the glass down. The High Priest tapped his upper lip and said: "Ahem," signaling her to wipe herself. Avi scrambled for the nearest napkin and cleaned off her mustache of milk.

"You've done well, little Avi," the High Priest said, setting down his tankard. "Very well. You've exceeded our expectations. Even that of Master Yu-Gi-Oh. I have been sending him my reports throughout your time here and he is most impressed."

Avi's face lit up and she clasped her hands together. "Will I get to meet him?"

"No. Now pay attention, my dear, for it is time for you to take the first step in your journey as the Oracle of the Temple. Beneath the foundations of this magnificent establishment lies the ruins of an Ancient Norman city. Araxullia. The Heart of the Land. There you must travel and acquire a stone of great power which was promised only to the Dragon Summoners of the old times. I have heard a great voice in my head the night before I first learned about you, Avi. It told me that the owner of the stone would soon walk through my halls. And I have a feeling that you, my dear, are that owner."

"What kind of power does that stone hold?" Avi asked.

"I don't know," the High Priest responded after another gulp of beer. He belched softly and thumped his chest with the side of his fist. "That is something we must find out for ourselves."

Once their meal was finished, the High Priest stood up and led Avi deep in the underbelly of the temple. It got so dark down there that he ordered Ser Gerhalos to light a torch. The spiral stairs where they walked seemed to go on forever. For a moment, Avi feared the High Priest was eventually going to lead her to the underworld until the came across a great, blue door covered in gold carvings and statues.

"This is it," he said. "Avi. Good luck. Ser Gerhalos. I am sorry, but this is a task Avi must complete herself."

"What?" Ser Gerhalos cried out. "Inconceivable. I am her knight-champion. It is my duty to watch over her. This is a request I cannot follow."

The High Priest shook his head, waving his hand to silence Ser Gerhalos. "I am afraid it is, whether you like it or not."

"By whose authority must I follow this order?" Ser Gerhalos snapped, placing a foot forward.

"The Dragon Goddess herself," said the High Priest. "By all means, go in there if you wish, Ser Gerhalos. But I warn you, your mission will end in disaster. Safaani is a just Goddess, but she will never turn a blind eye to insubordination. Your honor -or stubbornness- is more than likely going to get our Oracle killed."

Avi stepped toward Ser Gerhalos and placed a hand on his gauntlet to comfort him. She traced her finger over the gold scrollwork. "Ser Gerhalos. Please. I think its best that I do this myself. I can't have you protecting me forever, can't I?"

Ser Gerhalos lowered his shoulders and gave a sorrowful bellow from deep within his throat. "But…but, Avi. There are worse things than orcs and rotten knights in the underbelly of the world. Especially when that underbelly is Normandia's. This land holds many dark secrets. We don't know what's beyond those doors."

"Which is why she will not be going in empty-handed," the High Priest said, removing something from underneath the folds of his elegant robes. A sword! The blade was wrapped in white silk and was topped with a bouquet of white flowers with a tinge of gold on some of the petals. The hilt was engraved silver and the pommel was shaped like a dragon's head with diamonds inlaid into its head acting as eyes. The sword was polished a hundred times and shone like a mirror. Intricate curved moldings slithered over the blade.

Avi was breathless. She gently took the sword from him and examined it before she unwrapped the silk.

"Well, by Merranak's grace!" said Ser Gerhalos. "That blade! The metal! Is that…"

"Yes," answered the High Priest. "It's Ellanni Steel. Crafted by the master smiths of the lost continent of Ellenanya. This is a virgin blade. Since the day it was forged, never has it seen combat, for it was eagerly waiting for someone worthy to wield it. And now, it has found you, Avi. Hold it firmly in your hand, just as your instructors showed you."

Avi did as she was told and the blade illuminated brighter than the torch Ser Gerhalos was carrying.

"A weapon as well as a light source," Ser Gerhalos commented. "Not bad. Not bad at all."

"But use your weapon as well as your mind," added the High Priest. "A sword will not always save from the dangers of the world. Be mindful of your surroundings, dear Avi. Use your wits. You have the knowledge to use magic now. See to it that you use it. Good luck, and we will see you when you get back."

He kissed her forehead and walked to the door. He placed the crystal of his staff into the magical locking mechanism. Avi heard the click of a thousand locks springing to life before the door slid open, revealing a bridge that led to an ancient city still illuminated by crystals hanging from the ceiling that shrouded the subterranean metropolis it in an eerie blue light.

"Amazing!" Ser Gerhalos said, admiring the tall buildings, domed temples, and the arena down below. "An entire world underneath our feet. Why has no one come here?"

The High Priest stared at the city. "This city was once home to the Aeyonnar. The Great Golden Elves of Vanna. Here, they ruled and aided the Dragon Kings for ages and ages. But then, Anubis corrupted their hearts. And the city fell to darkness." He pointed to a tower at the center of the city. "Avi. That is where you will find the stone. Tread carefully, Avi. This magical door was built for a reason."

The High Priest gathered them for prayer and then pushed Avi past the gates where he shut them behind her.

"Oh!" Avi cried, feeling the gust push her forward. Once she realized she was alone, she ran to the door and started banging on it. "Let me out! Let me out!" she cried. No one answered. It seemed the only way for her to get out of this place was to tread deep into the dark of Aruxullia. The crystals, standing as tall as skyscrapers, lit up the underground world but it was still as dark as twilight.

She gripped her magical sword tightly in her hands. She traversed through old plazas, empty parks with dead trees and moldy benches covered in vines. Many of the buildings were in such disrepair that they were crumbling. Avi found it odd and even sorrowful to think this place was once bustling with people, walking around and doing their business. To think there would be children playing in the deserted parks now overgrown with weeds and tall grass. The markets were people once sold their wares were deserted and the stalls bare of any goods or produce.

A few colorful banners hung over the streets and even more unsettling were the lamps which were still illuminating the darkness.

She hurried toward the tall doors of the tower hoping to just walk up the stairs and take the stone that was in there and get out, back into the sunlight. She was only thirty minutes into this awful place and already she wanted to get out. She missed the warm rays of the sun. The smell of incense in the church. The heavenly choir singing in the chapel. The seagulls in the air over the ocean waters. If she could just complete this task, she could go home.

She felt like she was being watched and felt the foul deeds of Anubis' treachery still lingering in the damp air. Nevertheless, her venture was unlike the tales she read in her books where heroes would encounter dangerous monsters and overcome horrid obstacles to achieve their happy ending.

Mayhaps, she thought, the High Priest was only trying to scare her into thinking there was some evil beast lurking in the shadows of this place to make her feel scared. Or, what if perhaps there was no difficulty to this quest at all and claiming the stone was the only task she needed. Wishful thinking, even she had to admit that. The High Priest would not have gone through the trouble of finding her a sword of Ellenani Steel if there were truly no need to use it.

"Okay," she whispered to herself. "All I need to do is get the stone, and I'll be out of here in no time. The High Priest owes me a plate of chocolate chip cookies for this."

She took one step forward and a powerful voice boomed from behind the doors of the tower. Avi screamed and fell backward, landing on the ground on her backside. She yelped and crawled behind a stone bench. The voice. It called out her name. It sounded ancient and powerful. But something in her gut told her that there was no evil in it.

The doors creaked open revealing only darkness.

 _Step inside my house._ The voice said coldly, but very welcoming at the same time.

Avi's teeth chattered. She shivered as though she was standing naked in the cold and whimpered.

The city was silent.

 _Step inside or go away!_ The voice shouted impatiently. _I have been expecting you for many years now. Do not keep me waiting any longer, child._

Avi knew better than to keep whoever it was that was beckoning her waiting any longer. She said a little prayer and timidly walked toward the door.

_Hurry up now! Before they come out of hiding and find you._

Avi stopped dead in her tracks when she heard that. They? Who's they? A ferocious growl answered her question. She looked toward an old elven pastry shop and saw burning red eyes glowing in the darkness. Another pair had blue eyes and another was glowing bright yellow.

Avi felt her whole body quiver when she saw the creatures reveal themselves. Monsters, horrible monsters.

Barox. Dark Chimera, and a Ryu-Kishin.

Avi crawled backward on her hands. A lock of her hair fell over her eyes, shielding her gaze from the monsters approaching her. Barox stood nine feet tall and had a slender body, colored in blue flesh with patches of brownish-gold fur on its shoulders, arms, and legs. Two very small and useless wings flapped on its back. It opened its wide mouth barked like an enormous dog. Its red eyes glowing with a need to ravish on Avi's tender meat.

Dark Chimera made a shrieking sound like an eagle crying over the scream of a woman being murdered. It slashed its claws menacingly in the air. The creature was reptilian, birdlike, and even dragon-like in appearance. Drool that gave off the scent of oil oozed from its mandibles. It breathed a small jet of fire. Avi dodged the flames, rolling to the left. She felt the heat burn her arms, neck, and delicate cheeks. A few locks of her hair on the back of her head were seared off leaving behind smoldering cinders. She patted the embers with her hands to keep the fire from spreading.

She got up and attempted to run, but Ryu-Kishin flew in front of her and growled. Behind the monster, the doors to the tower shut.

 _Fight them!_ Urged the voice. _Fight them and I will let you in._

Avi didn't know what to do. By the sound of the voice, she guessed it didn't care what happened to her. It didn't care if she lived or died. All that mattered to it was the fact that the gates were closed and the monsters could not get in.

The monsters were slowly approaching her. She had no choice but to do as the voice commanded her. Ser Gerhalos once told her: "If you are to die, do so fighting! Go down without giving your foe the satisfaction you surrendered to them. Maim them. Cut them. Leave your mark on them forever. For even if they defeat you, they will not boast that their victory was an easy one. They will remember you forever. You have made yourself a part of them."

He was right. As Ryu-Kishin lowered its claw towards her, Avi swung her glowing sword. The steel made a beautiful arch in the air and gave off a beautiful metallic ringing noise. It happened so fast, Avi did not know what she had done. It took a moment of watching Ryu-Kishin howling in pain for her to realize that she had cut off the creature's claw. Dark purple blood oozed from the stump and puddled on the cold stone.

A voice in Avi's head said: _Well, what are you waiting for? Finish it. You didn't spend hours and hours of swordcraft just to dance around, did you?_

Avi's mind was soon rushing with passages from all the books she read in her entire life. Heroic scenes where the hero stood up against the monster and brought ruin to its life and spreading happiness and joy throughout the land.

Soon, her fearful expression morphed into that of confidence. Of bravery. Bravery she did not know she had. Seeing the monster cry out in agony before her made her realize that this scary creature was just flesh and blood like she was. They could be hurt. And if they could be hurt, they could be killed. She put her legs to her chest, placed her hands on the ground next to the sides of her head, rolled all her weight to her shoulders and kicked her legs up, standing herself back up to her feet. With one loud, powerful cry, she exhaled all her doubts, her worries, and her fears. She swung the blade with all her might and chopped off Ryu-Kishin's head.

The body flailed its arms in the air in a macabre dance before it fell to the ground and twitched. The wings jerking up and down awkwardly.

Barox thumped its chest and sprinted toward Avi. As quickly as it came, Avi's courage was gone. She saw the horrid creature approaching her and ran out of the way before it could ram her and turn her into paste. The creature smashed into a statue, knocking it down. Dark Chimera flapped its wings and flew over her, swinging its claws at her. Avi dodged, whimpering with fright, wondering how she could get out of this.

She heard a grunt and saw that Barox got back on its feet. He shook his head, brushed the rubble from his fur and thumped his chest again. He screeched and charged toward Avi.

"Ooooh!" she groaned, trying to keep her eyes on both Barox and Dark Chimera.

An idea came to her head. She had no time to think about how to execute it, she just dodged the next slash from Dark Chimera, but barely; for the monster was able to slash at her side. Avi cried out from the burning sting as she flew through the air, nevertheless content. Her plan worked. Barox was so lost in its own momentum that it failed to brake to a stop and smashed into Dark Chimera.

The monster screeched in shock and at the horrid impact of the charge that struck it. Barox grunted in confusion, realizing in mid-flight that it just tacked its companion. They both flew into a building. The ancient architecture could not withstand the might of the impact and collapsed, burying Barox and Dark Chimera under rubble, ending their lives.

Avi coughed as a cloud of dust and debris flew towards her and shrouded her world. Rubble bounced and clomped around on the ground around her. She felt pebbles rocket on her hands, covering her head. The dust had settled, revealing the ruin of the two monsters. At that moment, she pondered whether or not she had something to do with that? No, she sadly thought, taking a fierce jab at her confidence. Barox killed himself and the Dark Chimera. I merely ducked out of the way.

Whether she killed them or not, it did not matter. She had no time to savor her victory; for as soon as she stood she winced in agony, grasped her side, and collapsed on the ground. She sobbed. The pain was like being burned by the fire. She looked at her corset. It was ripped from where the Dark Chimera's claws had struck her. She also saw that they cut deep into her flesh. She started wheezing and panicking when she saw her ribs. The white of the bone was as clear as day, peeking through the torn pink flesh.

As she lay there on the ground, the ancient city stood quietly. There was not a sound, save for the unnerving howling of the subterranean winds. Avi tried to sit up. That alone proved a difficult task. Every movement she made agitated her wounds, causing them to bite her with horrible pain. She winced and sobbed, grasping her wound with her hand. She felt the warmth of her blood blanket her palm and sip through her fingers.

"Oh, Goddesses," she cried. "Why me? Why couldn't I just be back home? Back at the inn. I should be eating table scraps right now. Feeding my chickens."

 _And getting taken advantage of._ The voice had returned. _Get up!_ It commanded her. The doors to the tower opened. _Do hurry up! Those two creatures aren't the only foul beasts lurking here. The battle certainly has attracted more. Hurry! They are coming. I can feel them. I can hear them. They thirst for your blood. They hunger for your meat. They smell it. Your fear. You are a virgin. Their feast will be all the sweeter because of this._

Those words sent a horrible chill through Avi's body. For a moment, she could hear them, too. The monsters. They were getting closer. They were marching, marching. Running through the shadows smelling her. They were going to devour her.

Avi's fear was so great, that it numbed the pain on her side. She picked up her sword and hobbled for the door. She heard them roaring, snarling, screeching behind her. More Barox. More Dark Chimeras. More Ryu-Kishins. More horrible beasts. She heard their clawed feet stamping on the ground. She could already feel their claws upon her. Their mouths, wet with an insatiable hunger for virgin flesh, snapping eagerly for a tender clump of her sweet meat.

Avi fell to the ground. The fear provided a temporary anesthetic from the pain. Avi turned her head. Her eyes burst into tears when she saw the creatures' eyes glowing in the shadows. They were coming!  
Avi stood. She ran for the doors. They were closing. No!

She dropped her sword. She gasped, turned, and hobbled towards it. The monsters! They were getting closer. They were in the plaza. She could see their horrible bodies illuminated by the street lamps. A parade of horrible Fiend-Type monsters was coming straight at her.

She tried to bend down, but the pain struck her with a powerful blow, knocking her down. She heard the doors creaking slowly behind her.

Avi screamed. This could not be happening. This is not the way heroes are supposed to begin their quests. Why? Why? Why?

Why must this always happen to me?

Why must I always suffer?

Why does this horrible world hate me so?

She looked to the skies, or tried to, seeing as there were hundreds of feet of rock and dirt blocking her view.

"You were fooling me all this time, weren't you?" She cursed at Safaani. "You put me on this quest to kill me! To put me out of my miserable existence. I serve no purpose here. Instead of doing me in quickly, you fill my hopes and dreams with thoughts that I'm some hero! And now you serve me as a treat to these foul creatures. Well, damn you! Damn you! Damn you! Damn you!"

 _RUN YOU FOOL!_ The voice shouted.

Avi gritted her teeth. She pushed herself back up, sword in hand. She turned and dashed for the doors. They were almost fully closed. She put all her energy into a mighty leap. She dived through the doors and landed on a cold, green, marble floor. The doors finally slammed shut.

She heard them roaring, snarling, banging, and clawing at the door. But it was magical and well-built. They were not getting through.

She was safe. She was safe.

Avi rolled to her back and stared at a beautiful crystal chandelier hanging above her. The light was so warm. So comforting. She felt her eyes growing heavy. Darkness took her, but not for long. She soon saw herself floating in a world of pure, white, light. It was warm, comforting.

She saw Yami Yugi looking down at her.

_Aras enthellium val holtra, muerta, Avi._

* * *

She opened her eyes. A loud thumping disrupted her slumber. She had hoped for a moment that she was waking from a bad dream. As consciousness took her, she felt a familiar sting on her left side. She realized that she was still in the tower deep in the underground city beneath the foot of the temple. The door was still thumping madly. There were monsters out there. Hungry monsters trying to get dibs on her flesh.

Avi screamed and rolled around on the ground. She calmed herself and took heavy breaths. Behind her was a spiral staircase that traversed all the way to the top of the tower. She had to hurry. The door may have been magical, but it looked like it was giving way. Her rest had eased her pain. It still hurt when she moved, but it wasn't burning like it was before. Avi had to drag herself up the stairs. She was sore and tired. Her ribs were stinging her awfully and she felt woozy from the loss of blood. She was leaving behind pools of it as she walked upstairs.

Almost there, she thought. Almost there.

Her legs could barely keep her up. Her bones felt like rubber and her flesh weighed her down like a heavy burden. She had to use her sword as a crutch to climb the stairs. It was certainly long enough for it.

She missed her step and fell, smacking her face on one of the steps and rolling down five steps. She wailed, feeling her mouth. She felt trickles of blood running down her nose. Her mouth was washed with the iron taste of her blood. Tears ran down her cheeks, washing away grime.

"I must go," she tried cheering herself on. "All my friends are counting on me. I must go!"

She made it to the top of the tower at last. She only got a glimpse of the pedestal where her treasure was awaiting her. But so tired was she from the climb up the stairs that she fell and collapsed. Her golden hair gracefully wrapped around her shoulders and face like a blanket of the finest silk.

She rested for a few minutes until she felt she could stand again. She made it back to her feet. Her knees wobbled and her arms shook. But when she saw the stone, she felt as though all her fatigue, her pain, her self-doubt, and her fears just washed away. A beam of silvery-blue light shined down on the pedestal standing at the top of a dais. Hovering over the pedestal was the most beautiful necklace Avi had ever seen. The chain was made of platinum and encrusted with tiny diamonds the size of dew drops. Hanging from the chain was an ornament of silvery steel shaped like a Blue-Eyes White Dragon's wings twisted into brilliant ornamentation inlaid with scrollwork, and the head stretching out into a mighty roar. Its eyes were glowing with illuminated crystals. At the heart of the pendant was a mighty stone carved perfectly into an oval with thousands of facets and illuminated from within by a radiant light like sunlight upon a gentle river.

The necklace spun slowly over the pedestal. The diamonds on the chains sparkled radiantly almost as if beckoning Avi to pick it up. Avi slowly walked toward the necklace. It was so beautiful, so perfect, and so magnificent, that Avi could not bear to touch it. She just wanted to stand there forever and watch is spin and glitter.

 _Take it…_ The voice urged her. _Take it and set me free. On this day, I am yours to command, My Lady._

"Who are you?" Avi asked. "Where are you?"

"I am Arvas," the voice responded. "You are the one whom my mother spoke of. Please, step forward and accept this gift."

Avi whimpered with fright. She did not know if the voice in the darkness was benign or luring her to her doom.

"Step forward," Arvas said again. "I mean you no harm."

Avi swallowed and prayed for good luck before setting foot in the temple

But just as she was about to touch it, she heard the sound of claws scratching against metal and stone. She turned around in time to see the monsters had climbed up to the top of the tower. They screeched and howled at the sight of her. Suddenly, a blast of wind whooshed from the vastness of the chamber followed by a load roar. Avi fell on her derriere and crawled away from the beast that was coming. The creature came into the light. Its wings were as long as the vast chamber, half the length of a football field. It towered several meters above her. Burning red eyes looked down at her. Another, more powerful monster had made its presence known in the tower. A monster the world had not seen since the Inquisition.

A dragon! A True Dragon!

The behemoth reared his long head, puffed out his chest, and released a jet of flames that burned a few Dark Chimeras, Barox, Ryu-Kishin, and other Fiends into cinders within a fraction of a second. Those still climbing were not as fortunate, for the dragon animated his flames to become a giant firebird. It screeched and flew in circles around the tower as if cleansing it of the filth that was climbing it. Once it reached the bottom of the tower, the firebird flew up into the air, spread its wings, screeched and dispersed into beautiful embers.

Such power! Avi thought. They are all gone! All of them. All…gone.

She heard an angry snort behind her.

Avi whimpered and shivered awfully, hands to her face and nails digging into her cheeks.

"You!" said the beast. "At last you have come."

Avi wailed and hid in her arms. She had never seen such a beast in her life.

The dragon snorted. "Do not fear me, child. You are safe."

Avi sobbed, finding the dragon's kindness hard to fathom. She hiccupped and wiped tears from her eyes. The dragon grasped the sides of the tower's two ears with the claws at the end of his wings to keep him in place. "Forgive me, child. I did not mean to frighten you."

"Who?" Avi sniveled. "Who are you?"

"I am known in the game of Duel Monsters as Ancient Dragon! ( **ATK/1400 DEF/1300 LV 4** ) But, as I stated before, my name is Arvas!" announced the dragon, full of pride. "I will have the honor of being your first dragon."

"Why me?" Avi puled, wiping tears away from her eyes.

"That is unknown to me," said Arvas, and he said it so brashly. He leaned down to examine her. Avi ducked. She shivered and whimpered feeling Arvas sniff her. Arvas snarled and nudged her back to her feet with his snout. "Hmm, is this really who my mother has chosen to be our Summoner? A fair face, yes, and wonderful figure. But scared and confused. You are full of self-doubt which is something I will not tolerate."

Avi hung her head. "Then you will not have me?"

"Nothing would please me more than to say no," said Arvas. "But, you are the one my mother wants. So it will be my duty to see to it that you mature on your quest and become stronger. I will not have a weak little girl become a Summoner of Dragons. I forbid it! I will only teach you if you are willing to go forth on this quest and learn. Am I understood?"

"Y-yes," said Avi. "I swear it. Anything is better than being a tavern wench."

Arvas laughed. "Indeed. Approach that necklace."

Avi did as was instructed and put it on. When she did Arvas commanded her to get on his back.

"You want me to ride you?" she asked timidly.

Arvas scoffed impatiently. "What do you want to stay here in the tower? Walk out?"

"No, no, of course not."

"Then get on and stop asking questions, you stupid girl."

Avi felt hurt when he called her that. It was one thing being called stupid by drunkards, perverts, and showoffs, but by a True Dragon. Creatures whom she was told were going to serve her and obey her. She did not want to keep the dragon waiting, nor make it angry. At first glance, the dragon had already decided that he did not like Avi. She could not blame him. She was weak. She was timid. She was…stupid. But as put her leg over Arvas' neck, she suddenly felt a determination to prove him wrong.

"I'm not stupid!" she said, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Arvas looked back at her.

"Don't you dare perceive me as a stupid girl," she said, her voice trembling. "I have had to put up with being called that for many years. But I will not tolerate it any longer. Not by anyone, especially not by you! Your mother told you to obey me and honor me. So see to it that you do."

Arvas narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth, each of them longer and sharper than any sword Avi had ever seen.

She shrunk back and whimpered. "Please," she squeaked.

Arvas shook his head and leapt off the tower. Avi gasped, feeling her insides drop. Soon, all the fear and all the pain she had to endure on this quest was washed away by wonder and disbelief. She…she was actually doing it. She was riding on the back of a dragon just like she had always dreamed.

Arvas, flew through a series of tunnels that crisscrossed deeper and deeper into the underground world. Avi saw temples and citadels carved onto the walls. Ancient marketplaces, plazas, and a castle standing alone and forgotten in the center of a lake. Finally, Arvas found the way out of the underground world and flew into the daylight.

Avi squeezed her eyes shut and held out her hand to shield them from the bright sunlight. She finally opened them, looking around the world in wonder. She let out a joyful sob. "The sun!" she whispered. "The sun!"

Avi felt the wind blowing through her hair and caressing her face. Below her, the ocean sparkled. The sky above her a brilliant shade of turquoise.

She had no idea what came over her, but she sat up straight, extended her arms and let out a triumphant scream.

Arvas looked back at her and smiled. He flew her toward the city. People pointed up at the sky in horror. "Dragon! Dragon!" they all cried. The guards readied themselves at their posts, but as Arvas got closer, they could see he had a rider on him.

"It's The Oracle!" someone shouted. "The Oracle is riding a dragon!"

People flocked out of their houses. Confetti and rice were tossed out of windows. People cheered, wept, and some fell on their knees giving thanks to Safaani. Giving thanks for being alive to see such a miracle unfold before their eyes. With this deed done, Avi was no doubt in their minds, the harbinger of the True Dragons. She was the sign of their return.

Arvas landed on the pier right by the temple. Ser Gerhalos was the first to run out. He sprinted toward Avi, grabbed her and spun her around in a loving embrace. He held up by her arms and tossed her up and down. Despite her wound, Avi laughed. She was too happy to feel any discomfort.

"Hail Avi! The Oracle of Safaani!" shouted the High Priest from the stairs of the temple. "Hail Avi! The Summoner of Dragons!"

Hail Avi! The Oracle of Safaani! Hail Avi! The Summoner of Dragons! Hail Avi! Hail Avi!"

"Hail, My Lady," Ser Gerhalos said, bowing.

Arvas suddenly disappeared into a million orbs of light. The people cried out in shock. Avi looked around for him, yelling his name desperately. "Arvas! Arvas!" she cried.

"I am in here," the dragon said from within the necklace.

"Oh!" she cried. "How did..."

"I cannot remain in this world for long, as I am just a Summon. Only by the grace of Saafani, was I able to visit you the way I did. I have returned to my world, Avi. But you and I can communicate via this necklace. It is a gift from my mother. Use it well. If you should have any questions or desire my aid. I will not be far away."

"This is incredible!" Avi said, rubbing the symbol of the dragon goddess inlaid on the necklace. "I-I really am doing this."

When the crowd had dispersed, and the plaza outside the temple was free at last, Avi was taken to the medical wing to have her wounds cleaned and stitched up. She got a dose of medicine from a needle and was given a clean bill of health. Everyone then left her in her chambers so she could rest.

Ser Gerhalos, and the High Priest stood together for one last meeting.

"This is big, Ser Gerhalos," the High Priest said, rubbing his chin. "Avi is going to need a crew. A ship. Supplies."

"You let me worry about that crew, Your Reverence," said Ser Gerhalos. "Master Yu-Gi-Oh has assured me that he has the best warriors in all of Termnnia awaiting Avi in the town of Pinehold where a temple holding another dragon has been reported by our scouts. It is ready for her, as are her new traveling companions."

"Very well," said the High Priest. He looked at Avi, sleeping peacefully in her bed. A smile still formed on her lips and she yawned and nuzzled her pillow. The necklace was shining brightly over her chest. "It pains me to see her go. She would have lived peacefully here."

"She must go," said Ser Gerhalos. "It is her duty." He offered the High Priest his hand. "Thank you for everything, Your Reverence." He kissed the High Priest's ring. "You have taught Avi well, but I fear this is goodbye. She has completed her first step. But there are still thousands more for her to climb."

"Travel well, Ser Gerhalos," said the High Priest. "Honor and Dragon Fire."

"Honor and Dragon Fire," repeated Ser Gerhalos.


	62. The Summoner of Dragons: Part 12

* * *

**Avi**

* * *

After many days at sea, Avi saw the silhouette of the continent Termnnia. She stood at the bow of the ship, stating at the port city ahead which was bustling with activity. Though the sky was turning into a pale shade of orange tined with blood red, it was dark enough for the buildings to twinkle light little stars.

The countless vessels sailing the waters of the port had turned their lanterns on and there was a warm glow coming from the windows of the captain's quarters on the back of the ships. And in the sky, Avi gasped in delight as she spotted flying ships soaring in the starry skies above. A large one, the flagship of the city's Navy, hovered over the town, held up by a blimp and dozens of giant propellers to keep it afloat in the air with ease.

Buoy bells slowly rang all around her and seagulls cried out for their evening feast. Something had sprayed Avi with a mist of seawater that cooled her skin, causing her to form goose prickles.

She peered over the rail and saw humpback whales swimming by the ship. Avi's angelic face formed a curious grin and she waved at the sea creatures as they gracefully made their way to the depths. Their flukes were like a friendly welcome into Termnnia and the sight lifted Avi's spirits.

Mayhaps this land isn't so bad after all, she thought. The setting sun cast a warm orange hue on her face and made her diamond-like eyes twinkle with excitement and wonder seeing the legendary continent get closer and closer. Her heart danced delightfully in her bosom and the feeling of a thousand butterflies tickling her stomach made her feet go up and down in a dance of uncontainable curiosity.

Termnnia, the land of Norman the Conqueror, Tiberius the Uniter, Evangelia the Star Queen, and Master Yugi Muto. She hoped with all her being that her adventures to find the shrines of Saafani would take her to the Great White Mountains, the longest mountain range in Termnnia rolling more than 8000 miles from the borders of Emboldor to the bustling cities of the City-State of Eredas. She only saw pictures of the mountains in her books, the few she had, for Roland denied her from reading.

As the sun had set behind the Azure Ocean, the sky began to turn inky black with the stars forming overhead. The galaxy could be seen and the three moons Luvia and the twins, Nova and Nyx, rose overhead to shed their soft light into the night. Luvia's golden glow and the silvery magnificence of Nova merged with the fiery red anger of Nyx, creating strange pastels of color over the world.

Ser Gerhalos stomped towards Avi, happily leaning over the rail. The chainmail suit under the boiled armor jingled with each step. His mane waved in the salty wind and the gold braids flashed when Luvia shed her light on them.

"We are here." He crossed his arms, standing behind her. "Aafi smiled on our voyage. Never had I traveled the seas so smoothly before."

"I agree," Avi said, looking back at Ser Gerhalos. "Thank you for giving me that deck, Ser Gerhalos. If it wasn't for you, I probably wouldn't even be here."

"It is Saafani you must thank for this adventure," said Ser Gerhalos, forming a toothy grin and showing off his golden fangs. "If you are who we believe you are, Avi, then Prince Daveed's return is not the only beacon of hope for our future."

"Do you really believe I have the means to summon dragons, Ser?" Avi asked this while turning her gaze back into the port, now coming ever closer. "The notion just seems...impossible."

A soft chuckled came from Ser Gerhalos's mouth. "Tiberius the Uniter thought his destiny was impossible. He was merely a fisherman who thought it best to lead freedom seekers to Termnnia and escape Balodrum. Then, he summoned the Divine Beasts and became the first High-King of Termnnia. The first noble ruler since Norman the Conqueror in the Dawn Age."

Avi smiled, leaning her head to the left as she pondered her knight-guardian's words.

"So you see, My Lady, there is more to us than we perceive to be. It's up to us to find out if we can be more than we truly are. Are you ready to find out?"

"Mmm," Avi nodded.

At last the boat docked. The passengers waited for the crew to tie the ropes to the dock cleats. A ramp with a rope rail was lowered at last. The passengers got out one by one and had to wait in line to show their papers to the dock officers, who were Buster Bladers in nautical-themed armor. Avi and Ser Gerhalos showed their documentation to the guards and they were allowed in.

"Welcome to Termnnia, My Lady," the Buster Blader said, handing Avi back her papers.

Avi bowed thankfully and stepped into the bustling port city of King's Harbor the chief hub of trade in Emboldor, due in part to the many routes merchants used to get to the capital city of Rassay.

Tall black iron lamp posts lit up the town in hues of gold-orange. Fireplaces flickered from windows in every apartment and townhouse in the city. Avi smelled mince pies being baked in the inns. Vendors were rolling their carts with built-in stoves to cook their sweet buns and candied meats. Outside of the candy shop, a crowd gathered around a piper playing his wooden pipe. In the center of the crowd, a gnome and a Kuriboh were dancing to the music.

"Oh, Ser Gerhalos can we have some candied meat?" Avi pleaded, running in circles around her giant beast-knight.

"We need a place to sleep for the night," said Ser Gerhalos.

"Oh come on, Ser Gerhalos! I want to see the town."

"There is much we have to do, Avi! We don't have time for sightseeing. You're here to find dragons."

Avi hunched her shoulders and crossed her arms followed by a loud "Humph!"

"Such a child," Ser Gerhalos grumbled with a shake of his head. His gold braids jingling.

Ser Gerhalos asked around town for an inn worth the money they had. Ser Gerhalos would have turned in the letter of credit, but the banks were closed. The baker led the two companions to a four-floored building in the center of a cul-de-sac that was perched on a cliff overlooking the sea. The inn's walls were painted in brilliant white and the shutters and roof were colored dark blue. A vegetable garden with a scarecrow was next to the inn and there were chickens and pigs walking about in the moonlight seeking spots to sleep for the night.

As the two got closer to the inn, they could hear loud music and laughter erupting from behind the door, almost drowned by the surf below the cliff and the howling salty, sea wind. Ser Gerhalos moved forward first, putting his massive hand on the knob and turning it. The music was amplified tenfold when he opened the door. The laughter too. It was certainly a lively atmosphere in there.

The fireplaces on the bottom floor all the way to the top floors lit the tavern and inn with a warm glow of yellow and orange. Shadows danced on the walls in the fire's light. A waterfall slid down a stone wall into a pool where eels and fish swam about. A river snaked from the pool and flowed around the tavern. The went down the edges of the booths which had little bridges to cross over the water. The booths to sit in were separated by iron grates with vines coiling around them. Each booth lit up by an orange lantern hanging above and a candle in a glass flickering at the center of the table.

"Find a place to sit," commanded Ser Gerhalos. "I will take care of our lodgings. If you desire something to eat, point the servers in my direction."

Avi nodded and found a booth perched right beside a window with a view of the black ocean and the twinkling stars. She carefully sat down and looked around the inn. The smell of sweetmeat on the fire and delicious pastries swirled about the inn to entice the customers to pay for food. A smart move on the innkeeper's part in terms of business. It worked on Avi. Her tummy rumbled and mouth began to wet. Avi looked out the window and saw the ships sailing in the night. They looked like tiny glowing dots from where she sat. Then it dawned on her that thousands of miles away was Normandia. Normally, she would have felt homesick, but when she thought about it, her life was mostly hell over there.

If she ever became famous, she thought about returning to Normandia and settling back in Dragon's Tooth, perhaps on the Red Knight Hills, a neighborhood for the rich and powerful. Maybe then she could teach Ser Godfrey a lesson.

A friendly red-headed girl with curly long hair and a spray of freckles on her face arrived at the booth and handed Avi a basket of freshly baked biscuits wrapped in a red linen cloth.

"Here, you are milady," she said. She had a high and scratchy voice.

"Oh," Avi said in surprise. "But I haven't ordered anything yet."

The girl laughed. She had a baby-blue ribbon in her hair giving her a cute look. "I see yer knew around these parts," she said. "Here at the Three Moons Inn, we always serve our customers with free biscuits. It's a gesture of thanks fer comin' into our inn." She crossed her arms and tapped a finger on her bottom lip, glistening with gloss. "Hmm," she said, inspecting Avi from top to bottom. "Blonde hair. Eyes like silver. You must be a Norman girl. Come from Normandia have ya?"

Avi nodded.

"Well, you've certainly come a long way then, milady. The Azure Ocean is not an easy trip. In any case, welcome to Termnnia."

"Thank you," Avi took a biscuit and bit into it. "Your accent is different."

"O' aye," said the waitress. "I hail from the Isles of Ironblade, just north of Riftgaard. Born and raised in the shores of Loch Tarth, I was. There's a sea monster in the Loch. It protects us from those Naralians coming into our land to take our iron mines."

"The Naralians trouble you?" Avi asked, taking another bite into the fluffy garlic crusted biscuit.

"O aye, that they do milady. We're at war with them. Forrest Ungard III, The Fat King, has gone on a power trip as of late and started attacking neighboring countries. It's those damn Yeyunists, a bunch of migrants from Balodrum. They are ruled by this organization of religious nut-cases called The Covenant."

Avi nodded, she didn't need lecturing about them. "I've heard of them. Their goal is to wipe out everything that is magic related. But this isn't their homeland. Who are they to just come in and enforce their own rules?"

"That's the thing, milady. We have a lot of spineless politicians who think the world will be a better place if nobody's feelings get hurt. They did nothing as the Yeyunists destroyed our historical landmarks, outlawed Duel Monsters, oppressed us women, and set up their Divine Law in villages all over the North. It got so bad, Naralia became a central hub of power for the Church in Termnnia. In a way, we got invaded and didn't even fight back. King Forrest is the only one dumb enough to get seduced by the Church. They're using him as a tool to take over Termnnia. Word on the street is, they want Forrest to reach the Diamond Throne b' fore Prince Daveed returns to power. Luckily, our people are strong, and we've kept those bastards back."

"Well, that's a relief," said Avi. "So you've won."

The waitress shook her head. "Aye, we may have won the battle, but not the war. King Forrest and his friends, The Church, are crafty. It would be unwise to let our guard down. If your travels take ya North, be very wary, milady. The Church has influence in many villages around those parts. They'll kill you just on the suspicion that you're magical."

"Thank you for the warning," said Avi.

"Not a problem, milady. Well, I best get back to work. Got more customers comin' in. If you need anythin' just holler. The name's Jeannie Millbuie."

Avellana nodded. "Avi," she introduced herself.

They shook hands.

"A pleasure, Avi. You take care along the road. I'm not afraid to say it, but yer a pretty one. It would be horrible if something happened to ya. I'll let you finished yer biscuits. They're not good if they're cold."

Jeannie bowed and left Avi in peace.

Avi still kept a smile on her face, feeling rather warm inside, knowing that she had met a new friend on her first night in Termnnia. She picked up another biscuit and bit into it, slowly, savoring the fluffy texture and the buttery goodness that made her mouth feel heavenly. As she swallowed, she felt the warmth go down her throat and into her belly. She was about to reach for another and gasped when she realized they were all gone. There were at least five of them in there. Avi felt guilt when she realized she had eaten all those biscuits herself.

But then, she began to worry. She had a long conversation with a complete stranger and had eaten all the appetizers, yet Ser Gehalos had not come back. She peered curiously out of her booth, eyes darting from one customer to the next. Nothing. Panic slowly burst into her gut, and thoughts of Ser Gerhalos leaving her behind in this alien country began invading her thoughts. It didn't take long for her to let out a sigh of relief when she spotted the knight talking with the innkeeper at the door right next to an aquarium full of tropical fish.

"Phew," she said, and she sat back on her seat.

Jeannie came back with a fresh batch of biscuits. "A little welcome gift from the chef," she said.

Avi's face lit up. Her mouth began to water again. "Oh, thank you!" she said.

"Milady," Jeannie bowed and left her alone.

Before she could bite into her next biscuit, two men approached her. They were in their late teens and dressed in leather gear with steel armor plates on different parts of their bodies.

One was tall with curly brown hair and a long nose. The other short, a Dwarf with a curled black beard, pleated with gold ornaments. He carried an ornate blunderbuss on his back. A clockwork flint rifle, also decorated with gold ornamentation was holstered there, too, forming an X on the Dwarf's back.

"You the one called Avi?" the tall one asked.

Avi bit into her biscuit and nodded her head. Her mouth, crusted with flakes and greasy globs of butter.

The Dwarf tossed her a napkin and told her to clean up before he placed a hand to his mouth and hollered: "Master Bryon, this is her."

Avi was expecting a tall man to join her, what she got was a small boy of the Redborne, a dark-skinned, golden-eyed race of Men from the wild continent of Kalunga. His hair was shaved to be given tribal patterns and his ears pierced with gold rings.

"My Lady," he said bowing.

He climbed up into the booth and sat down in front of her.

"Yes?" said Avi.

"I am Bryon of the House Alesius. And the esteemed leader of the Number Hunter's Guild."

Avi raised an eyebrow. "Number...Hunters?"

"Yes, have you heard of them? Of course, you have. Word on the street is, you played one. And I want it."

"What do you need my Number for?" Avi asked.

"Simple, I have collected more Number Cards than anyone else in Termnnia."

He slammed his small black leather book down on the table and flipped it open to reveal sleeves. The pages did contain an impressive collection of Numbers. Avi spotted cards such as Number 49: Fortune Tune. Number 63: Shamoji Soldier. Number 22: Zombestein, and so many more.

"That's an impressive collection, My Lord," Avi said flipping through the pages.

Without warning, Bryon closed the book, pinching Avi's finger and pulled it away. "Let me see your Number Card," he commanded sternly.

"I can't show you all of them, but..."

"All of them, eh?" said the tall guard. "Did you hear that master? She has more than one."

Bryon nodded with a wide grin creasing across his face. "I heard," he said, bobbing his head up and down greedily. "So, are you going to show me your card?"

Avi nodded and opened her deck box. She flipped through her cards until she found Number 62: Galaxy-Eyes Prime Photon Dragon."

"Oh!" said Bryon's two guards.

"The Galaxy-Eyes with a girl like you?" He began to laugh. "Look at you! You can't even duel your way out of a paper bag!"

Avi creased her face into an angry scowl and put her card away. "Well, I don't care what you say. You can't have it!"

"What's your price?" Bryon asked.

"They're not for sale!" Ser Gerhalos said while stomping towards the booth.

The Dwarf and the tall guard back away in fright. They had never seen a Leogai before, and they certainly did not want to battle with one. Not tonight.

"Nice muscle you got there," said Bryon. "But just so you know," he scooted out of the booth. "No one ever says no to me. I always get what I want. You better hope that lion man of yours can fight."

"Is that a threat?" said Ser Gerhalos.

"We'll see," said Bryon. "Come on, men!"

The two guards sighed with relief and followed their little master away.

Ser Gerhalos looked down at Avi. "Finish your meal, and let's head upstairs. The Number Hunters Guild are not the only ones who know you are here."

Avi quickly scarfed down her biscuits and followed Ser Gerhalos to the top floor of the inn. He opened the door to the room, holding it open so Avi could go inside. She really enjoyed the sight of the accommodations. There was a sitting room, a balcony with iron chairs fitted with red cushions, a small iron stove and a bathroom.

"Get undressed," Ser Gerhalos said, shutting the door.

Avi gazed up at him with a surprised look on her face. "What? Why?"

"I have here a parcel from Prince Duke Devlin, a companion of Yugi Muto and his grandfather. Solomon. It's new clothing. Lady Mai Valentine rented the room for you to stay in as well."

"He brought clothes for me?" Avi asked. "But why?"

"You don't intend to walk around Termnnia dressed as a wench do you?"

Avi went red in the face as she suppressed a laugh. She admitted the voyage gave her a strong scent of seawater and her hair was terribly tangled and dry. Ser Gerhalos prepared the bath in a pool overlooking the sea. Meanwhile, Avi removed her outfit and wrapped a pink towel around herself. She entered the bathhouse and saw the knight had scented oils and bars of soap ready near the edge of blue mosaic tile.

"Well, come on," he said.

Avi stepped back, bashfully. "You don't intend for me to go with you watching do you?"

"Now you're making a fuss?" growled the knight. "Hurry up now."

Avi walked to the edge of the pool.

"Is it warm?" she asked.

"Why don' you find out?" Ser Gerhalos pushed her in.

Avi let out an adorable yelp and fell into the bubbly water with a great splash. Ser Gerhalos took the towel off her while she was in midair with lightning reflexes and folded it neatly near the corner. He rolled up the sleeves of his white-linen shirt as he waited for Avi to show herself.

Avi swam back up, spitting out water and pulling wet hair out of her eyes. "Oh, you're horrible!" she coughed.

Ser Gerhalos laughed at Avi, causing her to yell impatiently. She swam to the edge of the bathing pool to escape, but Ser Gerhalos started snatching for her.

"Ah, ah, ah!" he said.

"I can do it myself!" Avi pouted, avoiding his massive grasp multiple times before she dove underwater.

Ser Gerhalos chuckled and waited for Avi to come back for air. He reached into the water, feeling around for her. Avi rose out of the water and attempted to climb out of the other side, but Ser Gerhalos got on all fours and reached the other end with a mighty bound. Avi squeaked at his freakish speed and dove to hide underwater.

"Playing games with me now, ah?" Ser Gerhalos said with an amused laugh.

He stared at the water looking for signs of movement. He heard nothing but the surf and the seagulls outside and the popping of the suds.

"You've got iron lungs, I'll give you that!" Ser Gerhalos called out.

Avi poked her head from out of the water.

"Ah, there you are!"

He lunged for her, but missed, for she dove under the bubbles as quickly as a fish. He reached deeper into the pool feeling for her, only to get the sensation of her toes brushing against his knuckles.

"Come on now," he said playfully. "Where are you? Where are you?"

Avi peered out of the water again but was snatched by her knight's mighty arms.

"Got you!" he cried out, followed by a triumphant laugh.

"No!" Avi started splashing frantically.

"Sit still!" Ser Gerhalos said, holding her to the stone bench submerged underwater. She splashed and struggled to be free from his grip, but he was far stronger than she was.

"There," he said, pouring a sweet-scented oil in her golden hair. "Now, stop squirming. I don't want to scratch you now."

"Oh!" Avi groaned in defeat.

She just sat on the bench and let Ser Gerhalos clean her up. She felt like pouting more and giving him a nasty attitude, but, she thought better of it. Ser Gerhalos had pretty gentle hands for such a fierce beast. In no time at all, Avi smiled and relaxed as she enjoyed her bath.

They remained quiet for a moment before Avi decided to speak.

"Do you have a family, Ser Gerhalos?"

"I do," the knight replied, massaging her shoulders. "My mother and my lord father who is chief of the Anak Islands. My brothers were killed in a great battle against the Aurelians hundreds of years ago, and my two cub-sisters were taken from us when pirates working for the Termnnian Trading Company raided our village."

"I am sorry," said Avi. "I don't have much in terms of a family either."

"The Girl from Nowhere," Ser Gerhalos said with a slow nod. "Yes, I've heard about your tale. Came walking out of a forest fire they say. Shame that of all the people to take you in, it had to be that innkeeper."

Avi grunted mournfully, trying not to remember her sorry years in the tavern being humiliated and harassed by all those drunken reprobates that made her life a living hell.

She grinned happily when the sudden realization that she had more power than them now hit her. If she really was meant for such an incredible destiny as a Summoner of Dragons, then she could easily make Ser Godfrey and his gang of hedge knights regret messing with her. She prayed to the Goddess Saafani that her dreams were true. That it really was her she was seeing haunting her dreams.

Ser Gerhalos walked away and came back with a towel, holding it high enough that he could not see Avi when she got out of the pool to wrap herself in it.

"Thank you, Ser Gerhalos," Avi said, walking slowly into the other room as she rang her hair dry of wetness.

Ser Gerhalos followed Avi as she left the bathhouse. "I left your new clothing on your bed. See that you try them on. That way if they don't fit, we can go to the tailor's tomorrow and buy you new ones."

Avi looked back at her knight and smiled divinely, warming Ser Gerhalos's heart. "Of course," said she, before going to her bedroom to change. Meanwhile, Ser Gerhalos slowly stalked towards the balcony overlook the ocean and gaze at the three moons in the heavens above. Four Winged-Dragon Guardian of the Fortress flew over the sea giving gentle roars while they flew with the current heading east towards the mountains. The wind caused his mane to sway slowly like a golden wheat field being caressed by a gentle summer breeze.

"Summoner of Dragons," he muttered to himself, gently poking his bottom lip with one of his talons. "A girl as tiny and fragile as her calling True Dragons to do battle? Hmm. It sounds almost unbelievable. Well, this world certainly never ceases to amaze me."

Meanwhile, a drone was flying outside her window. Its rotors were specially tinkered to be muffled. It was so quiet while up in the air, Ser Gerhalos could not hear it.

"Did you hear that, master?" said a member of the Number Hunters Guild, speaking to his little master via headpiece. "She's the Summoner of Dragons. No doubt they're going to look in the old temples to find the Eidolons. I...I can't believe it. A Dragon Summoner. She could be worth a fortune, boss."

"I don't care if she's a Summoner of Exodia. And I don't care if they're going to the Black Continent," the arrogant Bryon said while he strolled the beaches below. "I want her Number Cards. One way or another they are going to be mine!"


	63. The Summoner of Dragons: Part 13

**Avi**

* * *

Avi opened the blue shutters of her room and inhaled the fresh, cool, morning air; and then gazed at the beautiful town one last time. She was already dressed and ready to set forth on her adventure after a few days of rest and collecting supplies, though Ser Gerhalos did that. Avi mostly ran through the town going far out of his sight so she could visit the stalls at the marketplace, watch the smiths at work crafting swords that far and away surpassed the quality of the smiths of Dragon Tooth. She would get a scolding or get her hair pulled for running off without him, but she was so overcome with wonder for this new land that what was a little chastisement every now and then?

She looked to the sky and saw the airships hovering over the town. Some were kept up high with powerful engines. Others with multiple propellers and some were kept afloat with magic. She heard music coming from the other side of the inn across the street. An animal pen was built in the backyard housing pigs, chickens, and two large cows. She shook her hips to the beat of the tambourines, the lively pipes, and cheery drums.

"You seem in a lively mood this morning, My Lady," Arvas said from within the stone around her neck. "I sense your thirst for adventure deep inside you despite the danger in the ruins."

Avi looked down at the stone and held it in between her thumb and index finger. She sighed heavenly as she examined the facets on the globe. It flashed with tiny sparks of light and gave of hues like the rainbow which shined on Avi's face and made her eyes twinkle. "I am," she said. "It was scary at first, but now I realize it was a most excellent adventure. I feel like the great warriors in my books. I felt like Tiberius Pendragon traveling to the Pillar of Termnnia ready to claim the God Cards and his right to the Diamond Throne. Will we get to see it, Arvas? I've read so much about it. But it's so beautiful, not even the words of the best writers can describe its beauty."

"Nothing can," chuckled Arvas. "Not even your eyes will be able to comprehend what you're seeing. When the first kingdoms of Termnnia were made, Horakhty gifted the new kings with beautiful diamonds as a reward for their work in bringing order to the world. But, sadly, not even she could foresee the greed of men. The kings began to fight one another for their diamonds in the Great Diamond War of the Second Age. It was a war that almost destroyed the world. The God Cards were so angered, that not even they wished to follow any of the kings, even though it was their sworn duty to both Norman the Conqueror and Horakhty to aid the Lords of Termnnia. But they would rather be in eternal sleep than fight in a conflict started out of pure greed. So they returned to the place where their cards were forged, and put themselves to sleep until a rightful king worthy enough to use them could wake them."

"And that king was Tiberius the Uniter, right?" Avi asked.

"You are a smart girl," said Arvas. "Yes, he sailed to Termnnia from the land of Balodrum to aid the Norman King in securing his hold over Termnnia. His dream was to become a legendary knight. But, he had a much greater destiny. He found the God Cards and killed the vile kings with his them. And finally, he took the Normans out of power, and exiled them to the flaming lands of Dragon Rock. Tiberius ordered the diamonds that started that meaningless war be brought to him. And so, he crafted a throne made from those diamonds and became the first High King of Termnnia. He gave power to the lesser kings, for Termnnia is too great a land to rule for one man. But they would all, ultimately, answer to him. Only one man in this continent has real power. The High King."

"And this Yuri is going to be our new one soon. I am to be his Summoner!" Avi examined the stone from back to front. "I never thought I would be a Summoner for the High King. Let alone one that can summon dragons." She ran her fingers over the facets and admired the sparkles it made when the light shined on it. Rainbows exploded on its magnificent surface. "It's so beautiful," Avi said dreamily. "And it's mine. So this stone was once inlaid into the armor of one of the Seven Golden Kings?"

"It's true," said Arvas. "I saw them with my own two eyes hundreds of thousands of years ago. But their tale is long," he laughed, "and for me to tell it would take all morning."

"Well," said Avi, "perhaps at the end of the day when we stop to rest from the road, you could tell me their story. Would you do that for me, Arvas?"

"It's a deal, My Lady," said the dragon. "You will be a great Summoner one day, I feel it in my bones."

That made Avi very happy. She started to tap her feet against the floor along with the music coming from the inn. Her heavy boots made the floor creak, giving her off to Ser Gerhalos, who pushed the door open after a quick knock. "Well, I see you're wide awake," he said, eyes squinting from the sunlight coming through the window. "Come, we have some final business with the bank, and then we must away to the nearest temple. But first, we go to Oak Town to meet with your new companions."

"Companions?" Avi asked, turning to look at him. Her golden hair flowed with each movement. Ser Gerhalos smiled at the glowing gem around her neck. "I have heroes coming to look after me?"

"Yes," said Ser Gerhalos. "Master Yu-Gi-Oh spared no expense in finding only the best warriors to travel with you. There are many dangers along the road. Dangers that are far worse than those beasts you encountered in the ruins back in Normandia."

"Oh, boy!" she cried. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Ser Gerhalos held up his paw. "Easy there, young lady. You still have to eat breakfast, and I must go to the bank to withdraw our traveling funds. A generous offer from Kaiba Corp."

"Kaiba Corp?" Avi gasped. "Kaiba? As in Seto Kaiba? I've read so much about him! He's funding my journey?"

"I would be lying if I said he wasn't," Ser Gerhalos replied. "The man has an obsession with dragons, especially that Blue-Eyes White Dragon of his. Needless to say, he has had quite an obsession with you."

"The Blue-Eyes White Dragon," Avi said, giving a twirl before she ran back to the window. Her gear and weapons jingled and clanked. "Do you think I can summon that legendary beast?"

"I fear that will not be a possibility," said Arvas. "The Blue-Eyes White Dragon only obeys the commands of the descendants of House Rosenkruz. And you are not from that House, Avi. Even if you are a Summoner of Dragons, I fear the Blue-Eyes is a dragon that will elude you. He is not a very trusting beast. He has a great love for those the blood of the House that once commanded him."

"I see," Avi said sadly, for the Blue-Eyes White Dragon was her favorite dragon in all the world. She almost felt some tears bubbling in her eyes, but she blinked rapidly to quell them. This was a happy day. She heard her stomach rumbling. Avi gasped and wrapped her arms around her belly. She looked at Ser Gerhalos and nodded. "Uh, yes, I think I'll have some breakfast first."

Ser Gerhalos brought Avi to table next to a railing that had a grand view of the ocean and all the ships sailing to and from the port. She stared at the scenery of infinite blue mixed with the turquoise of the ocean. The sun's rays heated her cheeks and made her glow radiantly, her beauty caught the eye of many passersby. A thump snapped her out of her dream-like state. She looked in front of her and saw gooey scrambled eggs, two strips of bacon, and a stack of pancakes. The steam that rose off their surfaces carried their sweet, enticing smells to her nose. She closed her eyes and sniffed them, then licked her lips. A waitress arrived with two more plates of pancakes, already coated with maple syrup and a dab of butter.

"Compliments of the chef," said the waitress. "The chef says if you want any more, just holler. It's on the house."

"Oh, thank you," Avi said, placing a handkerchief over her lap.

The waitress bowed and walked back to the kitchens. Ser Gerhalos sat down on a large barrel, for the luxury chairs could not support his weight. He made do with a meager breakfast of burnt bacon, fried fish, and black beer. He picked up one of the fish, holding it with both paws by the end of the tail and the head. He bit into the crunchy center. He grumbled hungrily as he chewed, and then he took another bite, finishing the morsel. Avi was quite petrified with the way he ate. Even though he was of the beast folk, Ser Gerhalos was a knight. She thought he would have learned to eat like a gentleman right about now.

Ser Gerhalos devoured a strip of bacon then took out a map of the region he just bought from a troublesome gnome. He looked up at Avi with angry gold eyes. "Well," he said. "Are you going to eat? It's going to get cold, Avi."

Avi gasped timidly. Ser Gerhalos hated it when she did that. It made her look so frail and weak. She dug into her eggs with her fork and wolfed them down. Her eyes widened. She started coughing and thumping her chest.

"Stupid girl, why do you eat so quickly?" Ser Gerhalos said, handing Avi a glass of ice-cold chocolate milk, a treat she was growing rather fond of. She gulped it down and sighed with relief. Ser Gerhalos shook his head. "How on Keya are you the Summoner of Dragons?"

Avi didn't like that and looked away so she could not see him. She picked up a piece of bacon with her fingers and bit into it. "I am whether you like it or not," she said. "So just deal with it! And the next time you call me a stupid girl, I'm retiring you from my service. I don't need you. I have a dragon by my side now."

Ser Gerhalos was flabbergasted by her threat. She was right. Arvas was now in her company. He had more power in the tip of his tail than Ser Gerhalos did in his entire body. Nevertheless, he was proud of her for standing up for herself. "Good girl," he said. "Now you're learning. Of course, I wonder if you have what it takes to summon it so easily."

"You're saying I don't?" Avi asked.

"To summon Eidolons, such as your dragon, it requires Summoners to offer great deals of Mana, the magical force that binds our world with the arcane dimensions. Everyone has Mana in their bodies. Some, a great deal more than others. As for you, well, I cannot say. You can conjure fireballs and lightning strikes, but can you summon a dragon?"

Avi crossed her arms over her chest and gave a cheeky smirk. "Ha! Want me to show you?"

"Not here," said Ser Gerhalos. His eyes rolled upward and he tilted his head up and down.

Avi turned around. She saw priests in red robes holding gold staves with caged lanterns containing an orange flame. They muttered their prayers under their breaths as they marched down the cobbled streets beside them.

"Yeyunists," Ser Gerhalos bellowed. He kept a firm grip on his sword. "Liars and murderers disguised in a practice that promises tolerance and peace. After almost an age of bloodshed under their rule, I cannot believe there are fools who believe them and preach to tolerate them. They despise magic and were responsible for the death of the True Dragons, their Summoners, and a great deal many wonders including the Arva, the winged folk. If they can practice their religion here in King's Port, it means that King Forrest's lackeys are not far. They'll be looking for you, Avi. And they'll be wanting to kill you. Or worse."

Avi gulped. What could have been worse than death?

Ser Gerhalos kept an eye on the priests until they were gone from sight. He looked back at Avi and said: "Finish your meal and let's be on our way."

All of a sudden, Avi was not so hungry anymore. She ate one last piece of bacon, scooped up the rest of her eggs, and left the pancakes for a little beggar boy who was eyeing her food for quite some time. Ser Gerhalos commanded Avi to stay close to him. Very close. But her beauty and revealing traveling gear made it difficult for anyone not to notice her. In fact, people were coming toward her with flowers, chocolates, cards, and gift baskets. Ser Gerhalos shooed them all away. Eventually, he had to draw his sword and held it high so no one could get close to her. "Make way!" he cried. "Make way! Keep away from the girl or you'll deal with me! Move!"

Avi didn't feel so safe anymore. Now she would feel even worse, for she saw something that made her shiver with fear. A man in leather robes and steel plating, wearing a black that covered his eyes. Ser Gerhalos noticed the burning rose emblem emblazoned on the pauldron. Witch Hunters. He unrolled a scroll and hammered it to the notice board. He turned and crossed his arms. At once, the notice board drew quite a crowd.

 

_**By order of his Royal Majesty, King Forrest III of House Ungard, Ruler of the North, heir to the dynasty of the great bear, and Champion of the Church** _

_**A bounty of 100,000,000 in gold, wide lands with a castle, and title of Marquis will be given to the noble hero who captures Avellana Lofnmagni Ethelfleda also known as Avi or The Summoner of Dragons.** _

_**This evil witch has been chosen by the heretics of the south to be used as a weapon against both the king and the Church of Yeyu. If rumors about her are true, she has the power to call upon True Dragons, foul beasts whom our noble order purged from our world in the name of His Holiness during the second age. This is something we cannot hold to chance. If the stories about this girl are true, she will cause great destruction to both the kingdom and the followers of the almighty Yeyu. Even if these tales of her summoning are pure speculation, she must be captured at once and brought to Naralia to face justice for her crimes of witchcraft and conspiracy against a King of Termnnia.** _

_**The Magnificent King Forrest calls upon all warriors to take arms and find this demon at once.** _

"One hundred million in gold?" said a wandering mercenary. "What other information is there on this witch?"

"We do not know for sure," said the witch hunter. "All we know is that she is some pretty Norman girl with the power to summon dragons. She has hair like glistening gold, a face of radiant beauty (Avi hid her face under Ser Gerhalos' cloak), and has cards with beast's that haven't been seen since the reign of Evangelia. Galaxy-Eyes Dragons. A load of rubbish if you ask me, but with all the happenings that have been going on, I suppose anything is possible."

"Hey!" called a boy from within the crowd. He approached the witch hunter. Ser Gerhalos felt anger and fear when he saw it was Bryon Alesius and his crew from the Number Hunters Guild. "I've seen this girl."

"Have you?" said the witch hunter.

"Yes. I saw her at the inn not too long ago. She had those Galaxy-Eyes Dragons you're looking for. I know; I've seen them. She has a few cards that my guild is searching for. She proved to be rather stubborn, but I assure you my men have been hard at work searching for her. We got word that she and some Leogia knight checked out of the inn just this morning."

"Curses!" Ser Gerhalos said, taking Avi slowly into an alleyway. Thankfully the crowd was large, but many of them began murmuring and looking at Ser Gerhalos and Avi, who was hiding under his cloak. Thankfully, many of the citizens of King's Port were enemies of the Church of Yeyu, and they told Ser Gerhalos to keep going as they stalled the fools in the crowd who entertained the thought of capturing her. When they were in the alley, they started running for their lives. "Go! Go!" shouted Ser Gerhalos.

"What's happening?" Avi cried. "Why do they think I'm some demon. I'm not here to hurt anyone."

"The Church does not care what your intent is," shouted Ser Gerhalos, smashing his forearm into a line of laundry, tossing the clothing into the air. "You are a Dragon Summoner. That is enough reason for them to hate you and kill you."

"Kill me?"

"Your dragons aren't petty wyverns or cave-dwelling drakes. You have True Dragons! Dragons who are infused with divine power. If you have just one in your arsenal, you can destroy an entire army. Wield more, and kingdoms all over Termnnia will bend the knee to you, save for the High King, of course. The Church will not take its chances with you while you still draw breath, Avi!" They turned a corner, past a fountain where children played and women washed clothing.

"Where are we going?" Avi cried.

"I'm going to try to find a way to get us out of here. A bounty as steep as that is going to attract mercenaries, bounty hunters, and all form of scum from all around to come and hunt you down."

"Oh, Ser Gerhalos, this is horrible. What are we going to - AAAAUGH!" Avi's ankle was caught in a snare trap. The rope hissed and the wheels whirred as the trap worked to pull Avi up in the air. "Help! Help!" she cried. "Ser Gerhalos! Ser Gerhalos help me!"

"Avi!" Ser Gerhalos shouted, skidding to a halt. "I'm coming!"

"Yeeeaaaw!" a little voice cried out. A streak of black whirred from here to there in the blink of an eye. Sling! Sling! Sling! Something began cutting off Avi's belts. Her dueling deck, sword belt, holster, and dagger came crashing down to the ground where a burlap sack was meticulously placed to capture her gear. Finally, Avi's gemstone was cut from her neck.

"Oh!" she cried.

A little creature then rested on top of Avi's boots, standing proudly as though he had captured and killed a powerful beast. A black cat with a white underbelly a white spot over his right eye, and the tip of his tail was also bright white. He wore a wide-brimmed hat plumed with a large red Crimson Sunbird feather. On his feet, he wore little leather boots engraved with silver and enchanted to boost his speed.

His wide gloves also had a similar enchantment. A cloak whipped behind him, and he wore a dashing red gentleman's coat embroidered with gold thread and artistry. His eyes were lime green and burning with pride; for he was exhilarated with the thrill of his catch. He held up Avi's necklace, admiring the facets of the jewel and the craftsmanship of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon encasing it.

"Aha!" he shouted, holding up the jewel as high as his little arms could reach. His tail swung left and right. "The great bounty hunter, Santiago de las Rosas has captured another evil-doer. The bounty on your head will finally allow me to retire!"

"You will be dead before you take another step!" shouted Ser Gerhalos holding up his massive sword which made Santiago's jeweled rapier look like a little children's toy.

"Um, excuse me," Avi said gently, hoping to quell his anger. "Mister kitty cat, sir,"

"Kitty cat!" Santiago shouted, clearly offended by her remark. "Why you! I am of the Meowri! You insolent little racist! Take this!" He started poking Avi's butt with his sword. "This'll teach you to call me a kitty! You like that? You like that?"

"Ouch! Ouch!" Avi shouted. "Ow, stop that! That hurts!"

"Enough!" Ser Gerhalos shouted. "You hurt her again and I'll rip you limb from limb!"

"Let's see you try!" Santiago said, sliding his gloved paw across the brim of his hat. Whoosh! He turned into a black blur. The blur twisted around and around Ser Gerhalos. He felt his neck being jabbed. Santiago hollered and shouted as he flew all around the massive Leogai with great speed. "Hoo! Hoo! Ha-ha!" he cried out, shaving bits of Ser Gerhalos' mane off with his little rapier.

Ser Gerhalos tried to catch the Meowri bounty hunter, but he was so small and so fast. Ser Gerhalos swung his blade, a move that he was advised to never do when he first learned to wield a sword as a cub, but he was so desperate, all the discipline he learned was tossed out the window. He did not care for fighting off his foe with honor, he just wanted to kill him. He felt the cat zooming up his back, and with a quick thought, he smashed his back against the wall behind him. He heard an agonized 'Omph!' followed by the sound of a small body being flattened. He got off the wall and looked to see if he had gotten him.

Santiago was flat against the wall, his arms and legs stretched outward, his tail ragged and undone. His eyes were wide and his tongue hung out of his mouth. Ser Gerhalos snarled and grabbed him by the throat. Then, he released Avi from her trap. She rubbed her bottom to quell her flesh from the irritating stings she still felt when he jabbed her, then grabbed Santiago by the scruff of his neck. Ser Gerhalos removed his boots and gloves. The pads of his paws were bright pink. Even though Avi thought he looked pretty cute, she was still agitated by his shenanigans.

"What do you reckon we should do with him, My Lady?" Ser Gerhalos asked. He could see the anger in her eyes.

Avi glared at the little creature. "How's about we cut off his tail for punishment."

Santiago hollered and placed his paws together. "No! No! Mercy! Mercy! Please, I implore you! Do not inflict such a fate upon me. We Meowris need our tails."

"And I need my jewel," Avi scolded him. "But I didn't see you asking nicely for it."

"I say we skin him alive," said Ser Gerhalos. "I know an old man who will pay well for cat meat for his soup."

"No! No! Please!" cried Santiago. "Please, have mercy on me, please!"

Avi could no longer take his groveling and let him go. Meow! He cried falling to the ground. "Go!" she commanded him. "Get out of my sight before I change my mind."

"You're letting me go?" Santiago gasped. He fell to his knees and started kissing Avi's boots. "My Lady! Oh, my gracious lady, I am thankful to you. I...I am forever in your debt."

"Sorry chum, but I don't need your services," said Avi as she knelt down and gathered her things from the burlap sack. "I've got my own problems right now and I don't need them to include you."

"But, dear lady," said Santiago. "At least let me show you out of the city. It is the least I can do for sparing my life."

"Very well," grumbled Ser Gerhalos. "But once we're out of the city, we throw the book at you!"

"Ser Gerhalos, wait," Avi said calmly. "I mean, he is pretty fast. Maybe we could use someone with his talents."

"Avi don't even think about it! I forbid it!"

"When last I checked, this was MY adventure. And Master Yu-Gi-Oh specifically ordered you to not only protect me but to do what I say. I say we bring him along." She looked at Santiago and petted his head. Santiago purred, he hated doing that, but he realized his adorableness had captured Avi's heart by the strings, and he was not about to let go. "Besides, I think he's kind of cute. Welcome to the team, um, what was your name again?"

"Ah, My Lady, thank you," Santiago removed his hat and bowed. "I am Santiago de las Rosas, the great thief of Feldia and world-renowned bounty hunter. Well, ex-bounty hunter."

"I am Avellana Lofnmagni Ethelfleda," Avi replied. "But I am called Avi for short. It means beauty in Dragon Tongue."

"And it is a name so rightfully deserved," Santiago said, taking her hand and kissing it.

"Oh, brother," Ser Gerhalos grumbled. "What have I gotten myself into?"

* * *

Ser Gerhalos heavily sniffed the air for members of the Number Hunters Guild. He slowly walked behind Avi who was innocently admiring the Naralian countryside. Santiago was on her shoulder telling her stories of his past endeavors. He looked at Ser Gerhalos, and gave him a cocky grin. "See?" he said. "I have led you and Lady Avi out of the city. And the Number Hunters Guild doesn't know the wiser."

Ser Gerhalos ignored him. Then he growled at Avi. She stopped to pick up a pair of white flowers that added a red to the dusty highway called the Martin Road. It amazed Ser Gerhalos that Avi could see the flowers despite the sun barely rising into the sky. Luvia and the twins were fading away but were still visible from their perch in the pinkish-blue sky. Ser Gerhalos felt chilled from the cold mountain air of dawn, but little Avi still paraded in her raunchy traveling attire.

"Lady Avi! We cannot delay!" Ser Gerhalos barked when he saw that Avi wanted to pick more flowers.

"Just for a little bit, Ser?" Avi asked. "I haven't seen these before." Ser Gerhalos grumbled and stormed up to her and yanked her up by the arm. "Ow, stop!" she whimpered.

"Hey, give her a chance, you brute!" snapped Santiago. "Let the lady go, or I'll shave your mane clean off your head!"

"You stay out of this, cat!" snarled Ser Gerhalos. "As for you. This is not a game, young lady. The sun has almost risen and we have enemies are everywhere. There are worse things than The Number Hunters Guild, Avi. Far worse!"

"Ow, let me go!" Avi shouted, pounding Ser Gerhalos hard on the vambrace.

He released her arm all the while barring his sharp teeth with a cheeky smile. Avi whimpered, trying to maintain her balance. She tumbled backward and fell hard on her rump. "Damn you!" she said, rubbing her derriere.

"My lady!" Santiago cried out dramatically. He patted the back of her hand. "Are you okay." He glared at Ser Gerhalos. "What is your problem? I thought you were a knight!"

"You said ' _let go_ '," Ser Gerhalos mocked while proudly marching past Avi.

Avi got back up on her feet and followed him down the trail leading deeper into the wilderness. "Doesn't anyone care what I think? What I want?" She cried out to the heavens and slammed her back to the ground, groaning in agitation.

"Another of your temper tantrums, I suppose?" Ser Gerhalos growled. He continued without her.

They walked and walked. The sun began to rise high over the mountains, and the sky began to turn light blue. All the while Avi groaned and moaned about how tired she was. Later on, she saw that her fuss was not going to work with him, and it only got her madder. She sat back up and sprinted after him. "Please, Ser, can we just rest? We've been walking for such a long time. I only got three hours of sleep. And my legs and back ache!"

Santigo hopped off her shoulder. He landed on the ground as light as a feather, then started to walk. "Avi, I love you and all, but you are starting to get on my nerves. You should know these quests are going to be long and strenuous."

Ser Gerhalos laughed, finally agreeing with the little Meowri. "There are hundreds of capable women for Saafani to choose to be her Summoner, and yet she picks you! A whiny, stuck-up, thumb-sucking, little crybaby!"

Avi's cheeks blushed in anger. "There are so many miles before the shrine!"

Ser Gerhalos' ear twitched. He was losing his patience. "Yes, and we've got the Number Hunters chasing you down for your Galaxy-Eyes Dragons. Those cards are important, for the beasts they are based on were once the allies of a very noble queen. The last thing I want is for those monsters to be in the hands of a spoiled brat. Oh wait, what am I saying? They already are."

Avi narrowed her eyes, shooting Ser Gerhalos a rather nasty look. "Why you no good son of a..."

"Ah, ah, ah!" said Ser Gerhalos. "You're going to be a Summoner, and Summoners need to have proper etiquette; for you represent the goddesses with your power."

"But don't Summoners need to be master-level mages first?" Avi asked. "I haven't practiced magic in all my life. I am a Norman, we don't use magic!"

"True," said Ser Gerhalos. "Summoning is an art that can take years to master; however, it has been known to come naturally for a few gifted individuals."

Avi's face lit up with the dawn. "And I'm one of them?" She ran anxiously to get closer to Ser Gerhalos. "You really think so?"

"Goddesses, the more time I spend with you I hope not."

"Oh, you're horrible!" Avi declared.

They went silent for a moment. Then they tried to force back grins, making their mouths squiggle. They burst out laughing.

Ser Gerhalos stopped.

"What is it?" Avi asked.

"Hush!" Ser Gerhalos shouted.

He heard a soft humming sound in the distance. Upon closer inspection, the sound started becoming more and more mechanical. He shielded Avi under his arm and drew his sword.

Members from the Number Hunters Guild were speeding towards them with Duel Runners, machines used in Turbo Duels in the far eastern lands of Termnnia where advanced technology reigned supreme.

"Damn!" said Ser Gerhalos. "We will never outrun them in those machines."

Four more Duel Runners were speeding towards them from the road in front of them, but the riders stood out from the thugs of the Number Hunters Guild. Still, Ser Gerhalos had his weapon ready in case these riders meant ill intent on Avi, too.

The strangers stopped in front of them. One of them, in a white Duel Runner with a monowheel design, removed his helmet to reveal an Eldori with spiked blond hair. He was fair-skinned and had dark purple eyes which Avi found quite endearing. She felt as though the Goddess of Love sent one of her cherubs down and shot her with the arrows of love. She went red in the face and tried to stop smiling when she looked at him. Ser Gerhalos saw this and gave an impatient growl.

"Lady Avi!" said the blonde Eldori.

"Yes," Avi responded.

"I am Jack Atlas. Master Yu-Gi-Oh thought it best we find you and escort you to the temple."

"Jack Atlas you say," said Ser Gerhalos. He felt a surge of relief wash over him. Allies at last and in such impeccable timing. "You lot must be the Knights of the Crimson Dragon."

"Ser Gerhalos," said Jack "I've heard so much about you when I was a kid. I've got to say this is quite the treat."

The other riders removed their helmets as well. Their leader, riding a red Duel Runner, grinned at Avi. His hair was black and spiked with gold highlights, and he had eyes colored royal blue. His was called Ser Yusei Fudo the Knight of Stardust.

The third rider was a fair-faced young woman with beautiful skin, brown eyes and dark burgundy hair. She bowed her head respectfully at Avi. "Your Grace," she said softly.

Avi blushed, for she had never been addressed as Your Grace before. To be called so was a thrill for her and to have her called so by a Dame no less was a tremendous honor.

"My Lady, I am not a queen," Avi said bowing back. "But thank you so much."

"You are Summoner of Dragons so I've been told," said Akiza. "To me, that is a prestige much higher than any queen. I am Dame Akiza Izinski the Knight of the Black Rose."

And the fourth was a college-aged young lady with long green hair. "My name's Luna," said she. "I'm no knight, but I've come in my brother's place as he's participating in a tournament right now."

Avi clasped her hands together. During her early years, she often heard stories of the Knights of the Crimson Dragon and their battle against Rex Goodwin, a mad sorcerer who almost opened the gates of the Shadow Realm many years ago. Their presence caused the riders of the Number Hunters Guild to slow down and stop.

"Well, this is all well and good," said Jack, " but we must be on our way. Those blokes over there look ready for a fight."

"That they are," said Ser Gerhalos. "You youngsters take Lady Avi to the shrine. I will hold them back."

Yusei advised against it. "Ser Gerhalos, it's a long way to Naralia. You'd never reach us in time."

"But, I am heavy," said Ser Gerhalos. "And your Duel Runners don't look like they can hold me."

"Oh, mine can!" Luna said immediately. A support system whirred behind her, forming a platform and handlebars. "Hop in!"

"Come on, Ser Gerhalos!" Avi said, running for Ser Jack's Duel Runner. It was a tight squeeze since the Duel Runner was meant to seat only him, but Avi did not mind. She wanted to be as close to Jack as possible. And by the smile on Jack's face, he didn't seem to care either. Avi fixed her hair and she snuggled behind him and wrapped her arms around his chest. "Nice to meet you, Ser?"

Jack chuckled and gave her a helmet. "No need to call me Ser because I'm an anointed knight, My Lady."

Ser Gerhalos stepped onto the support system of Luna's Duel Runner and held on tight. She was going slower because of the added weight.

"You'd best make of Oak Wood," said Jack. "We'll meet you there as soon as we get these guys to bugger off. Aki, watch Luna and Ser Gerhalos."

"Understood," Akiza said, putting on her helmet. They all zoomed away. In the distance, the riders from the Number Hunters Guild revved up their engines and sped after Jack and Yusei. There was a fork on the road. One path led into the Skyline Ridge and the other was the safest pass to Oak Town. Luna, Akiza, and Ser Gerhalos went down the easy path, while Jack and Yusei zoomed up into the ridge.

"Blast!" said Jack, for only two of the five riders went after Luna and Akiza. "You ever been in a Turbo Duel before Lady Avi?"

"I don't think she's even heard about them, Jack!" said Yusei.

"Well then, I will have the honor of showing Avi her first one. Yusei, keep in front and make sure we don't run into any troublemakers ahead."

"Copy that!" Yusei sped forward carefully, for the road was getting narrower as they rode up the mountain road.

Jack looked back and saw his first challenger. He sped in front of the others and a Duel Disk merged in his cockpit.

**8000 LP**

The Number Hunter started first. He summoned Superheavy Samurai Magnet ( **ATK/900 DEF/1900 LV 4** )

"All right," said Jack. "I will discard Maxx "C" which will let me draw 1 card when you special summon, which I guess you're going to do with the effect of your magnet."

"Catch on quick!" said the Number Hunter.

He special summoned another Superheavy Samurai Magnet and allowed Jack to draw his card. Then, the Number Hunter then equipped his first Magnet with a machine-monster called Superheavy Samurai Soulpiercer, which was a giant blue crossbow. The Number Hunter explained that the crossbow allowed his Magnet to do piercing damage.

Jack didn't care. It was now his turn. The rolled over a rickety natural bridge that led towards a spiraling waterfall. Avi held on tightly to Jack.

"I summon, Primitive Butterfly in defense mode!" ( **ATK/1200 DEF/900 LV 5** )

"Don't you have to make a sacrifice for that?" Avi asked, to which Jack shook his head.

"On the contrary, love, the butterfly can be summoned if I have no monsters on the field. Now, I summon Creation Resonator and because he's a Resonator monster, I can special summon Red Warg. And with these monsters, I will conduct Synchro Summoning!"

The three creatures took to the air and digitized, leaving only their souls which were in the shape of stars. Jack held his fist to his heart and chanted.

"The heaven and earth shall tremble before the king's might. Let the power of the one and only supreme ruler be carved into your soul! Synchro Summon! The savage soul, Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend!"

Avi gasped with amazement as a giant ball of fire erupted beside her. The flames were so close that the heat bit her flesh. A roar erupted from the fireball. The flames dispersed and revealed the dragon at last. Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend gave a tremendous roar which caused the bikers to back off.

The dragon looked at Avi and gave a gracious bow. The sight of such a ferocious beast bowing to her brought a smile to her face brighter than a thousand suns. Her eyes twinkled like the stars in the heavens. For once in her life, she felt like her existence had meaning. A happy tear rolled down her snowy-white cheeks, now turning a flush of pink from joy and modesty. Even now, she felt like the dragon bowing to her was too much. All her life she was nothing more than a lowly tavern wench. She was abused and humiliated by her father's chauvinistic customers who dominated her because they had titles of lord, nobleman, and knight. But now, she stood taller than any of them, for dragons were bowing down to her.

"Even my Red Dragon Archfiend knows who she is," said Jack. "I've never seen him do that."

"She's the definitely the one we've been waiting for," Yusei said, admiring the sight. "Master Yu-Gi-Oh was right."

"Well that's all and good," Jack said as he activated the dragon's effect. "But I've got a duel to win."

Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend roared and destroyed the Number Hunter's magnets dealing 1000 points of damage to his Life Points. He attacked directly , bathing the Number Hunter in a shower of neon orange flames. Hack smiled, taking a heavy lead against his opponent. Avi cheered, bouncing in her seat and taunting the Number Hunters.

But the Number Hunter fought back. He summoned his Superheavy Samurai Flutist, sacrificed it and summoned Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei and then summoned Superheavy Samurai Trumpeter. He then used them to Synchro Summon Superheavy Samurai Warlord Susanowo in defense mode. ( **ATK/2400 DEF/3800 LV 10** )

The Number Hunter laughed villainously and used a card called Superheavy Samurai Soulbuster Gauntlet. He dramatically holding out his hand to explain the devastating effect of his new monster. It doubled a selected Superheavy Samurai Monster's defense points and there was a special ability every Superheavy Samurai had. They could attack while in defense mode. Avi braced herself for impact when the samurai's stats flashed next to him. The defense points went up to 7600.

The samurai raised his yellow sword and slashed Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend. The dragon exploded, blasting Jack with 4600 damage. The Duel Runner started swerving awfully. Avi screeched and held on tightly to Jack, squeezing his thorax and causing him to groan.

"Jack, make it stop!" shouted Avi.

"Hey, get off my back woman, I'm driving!"

They could hear the hollering of the Number Hunters behind them.

"You've almost got him!" "Yeah, man, beat him!" "Jack Atlas isn't so tough!"

**Number Hunter-5000 LP**

**Jack Atlas-3400 LP**

Jack got control of the Duel Runner and resumed a steady course around the mountain. Yusei lowered his speed so he could ride side by side with Jack and Avi.

"Are you guys okay?!" he called.

Avi nodded her head and Jack gave a thumbs up before he drew his next card. Yusei gave a nod and zoomed in front of them. Jack glared angrily at the Number Hunters.

"So that's the way you want to play it, eh?" Jack sneered. "I play the Spell Card known as Instant Fusion. I pay 1000 life points to add a fusion monster from my Extra Deck to the field. Come forth, Elder Eternity Norden!" ( **ATK/2000 DEF/2200 LV 4)**

Lightning flashed all around them as black clouds engulfed the mountain. An angry sea god on a shell chariot raised his golden trident while being pulled by an aquatic horse.

"Now I'll use his effect to bring back Creation Resonator to my field! However, his effects are negated because of this. But, from my hand, I summon another Creation Resonator to begin Synchro Summon."

The Number Hunter gulped nervously, but he had confidence in his Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei.

The three monsters had digitized and turned into stars that swirled overhead into a ball of black/red fire.

" _Ruler and Devil, they cross now and here! Touch the soul of the Archfiend Dragon, and raise up the cry of creation! Synchro Summon! Appear! Level 10, Tyrant Red Dragon Archfiend_!" ( **ATK/3500 DEF/3000 LV 10** )

The new beast stood over ten meters tall and had a fifty-foot wingspan. Flames danced around the beast, holding up his mighty arms and looking down at his next victim. With his special ability, Jack destroyed the Big Benkei. Tyrant Red Dragon Archfiend held out his palms and summoned two fireballs the size of a wrecking ball. He flew higher into the air and tossed the fireballs at Big Benkei. The giant samurai grunted and was blasted away. Now that his field was empty, Tyrant Red Dragon Archfiend heaved and exhumed a jet of neon orange at the Number Hunter.

There was nothing he could do. Accepting his fate, he put a monster in defense mode and ended his turn. Jack laughed and used his dragon's effect to destroy the defensive monster. And he attacked directly, ending the duel. The Number Hunter's Duel Runner started billowing smoke and malfunctioned. He crashed into a formation of boulders and slammed into the side of the mountain.

"All right, who's next!" shouted Jack. "I could do this all day!"

The next Number Hunter rode up to him and held out his Duel Disk.

"I hope you provide more of a challenge than the last bloke!" Jack taunted. The orange glow of dawn tinged his face into a red color like his Dragon Archfiend. Unfortunately for Jack, this opponent was all talk just like the last one. He summoned a strong Synchro monster called Goyo King, a towering warrior with 2800 ATK points. Avi gasped, marveling at the monster behind her. He looked tough and was beautifully designed as a swordsman from the far eastern lands of Uzume. The Number Hunter laughed when he saw the fear in Avi's eyes. He taunted her awfully, filling him with enough confidence to make him feel like Goyo King could destroy him in one turn. Avi was shivering in her seat, but all Goyo King's presence did was leave Jack feeling disappointed.

"I'll show you a real monster," he boasted. "I summon Red Resonator, then I use his effect to Special Summon Wandering King Wildwind! Now, I use my Red Resonator to synch it with Wandering King Wildwind and Synchro Summon, Red Rising Dragon!"

Avi watched the two monsters become engulfed in fiery hot flames, then take off into the sky like comets. The digitized into green outlines and stars formed from the empty shells they left behind. They spun faster and faster until they merged as one, forming a horned dragon that appeared to be made from flames. Avi gasped in wonder as she stared at the frightening creature. It roared, then its stats appeared beside him, displaying an attack of 2100.

The Number Hunter laughed. "You're just bluffing! I knew you were. That puny dragon's attack can't match up to my Goyo King's power. Surrender now, and I'll spare you the humiliation of losing in front of the girl!"

"I'm not done yet, you idiot!" shouted Jack. "I activate Red Rising Dragon's effect to Special Summon my Red Resonator to the field in defense mode. And his effect activates. When Special Summoned, my Life Points increase by the attack points of a monster I choose. Next, I'll perform another Synchro Summoning! You like my Red Dragon Archfiends, Avi?"

"I think they're wonderful!" Avi cried out in delight. "Show me more."

"Ha! The lady will get what she wants," Jack boasted, followed by a laugh. "I tune my two monsters together for another Synchro come forth, Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend! Now, say goodbye to your Goyo King and five hundred of your Life Points!"

Avi cheered, watching as Scarlight Red Dragon flew over the Duel Runner. He flew towards Goyo King. He did not want to go down without a fight. He raised his sword and battled with the monster. They rolled across the mountainside. Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend whipped his tail, smacking Goyo King in the face. He stumbled but recovered quickly. He charged for Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend, who dodged and missed the sword. Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend bathed Goyo King in flames. Goyo King cried out as the flames turned his body to cinders.

"I am not through yet," said Jack. "Because my Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend is on the field, I can Special Summon Synkron Resonator, which allows me to Special Summon another Wildwind to the field. You guessed it, mate. It's time for another Synchro Summoning, thereby making my dragon even stronger. Avi, watch as my Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend becomes the mighty Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Abyss!"

Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend began to undergo an intense transformation. Avi's heart was beating wilder and wilder and she felt...satisfied. As though she was being nourished by watching the dragon become more human-like with longer, muscular arms with axe blades growing out of the forearms. His horns grew longer and curved. A demonic face on his chest grinning at Jack's foe.

"Thirty-two hundred attack points!" Avi gasped. "Incredible power!"

"Attack him directly and finish him off!" Jack commanded his dragon. Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Abyss pumped up both his fists and gave a mighty shout, spreading both his wings. He took a deep breath then released a geyser of dark red flames tinged with black. The Number Hunter screamed, feeling the intense heat envelop him. His Duel Runner burst into flames and crashed on a boulder, sending him flying off the cliff to the trees below.

The next opponent rolled up. He was nervous, but still felt he had the cards he needed to take out both Jack, and even Yusei if need be. On his first turn, he Xyz Summoned a powerful monster known as Cairngorgon Antiluminescent Knight, a warrior almost as stall as the mountain on which they rode. With an attack of 2450, he seemed a worthy foe. But again, Jack was able to quickly called upon Hot Red Dragon Archfiend to the field and gave it another transformation, turning it into Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Bane. He came more humanoid, but still had his dragon-like features like his head, claws, tail, and wings; once membranous now almost raven-like. The axe blades on his forearms grew longer. To make matters worse - for Jack's opponent, that is - was that Bane had an effect which allowed Jack to revive Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Abyss from the Graveyard back to the field.

Jack then used a spell called Return of the Dragon Lords, allowing him to bring back his Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend. Two more of his Resonator monsters were Special Summoned to the field, allowing Jack to turn Red Dragon Archfiend into his ultimate form. Hot Red Dragon Archfiend King Calamity. The dragon's body became even more human-like in from, still with its distinct dragonic features. It now had six wings, four arms, a sleek, black body with glowing red patterns, and a mane of ragged reddish-white hair around his neck. Molten spikes protruded from its arms, legs, tail, and shoulder.

****

**Hot Red Dragon Archfiend King Calamity**

**ATK/4000 DEF/3500**

**LV 12**

"Four-thousand attack points!" Avi cried. "Jack, it's beautiful!"

With one mighty attack, King Calamity destroyed Cairngorgon and his master. The rider crashed into a rock and would trouble them no more. Jack looked behind and saw that there were no more riders left chasing them.

"All right, I think we're clear!" Jack announced.

"Oh, Ser Jack, you were amazing!" Avi proclaimed and hugging him tightly.

"Ah, you see Yusei, my charm even works with the Summoner of Dragons."

"I didn't figure you for a ladies man, Jack," Yusei said cracking a grin. "Well, those thugs chased us pretty far up the mountain. I don't think we're going to make back into town until dark."

"So be it," said Jack. "Get comfortable, Summoner, we're going to have a long ride ahead of us.

Jack and Yusei revved up their engines and sped farther into the mountain pass, hoping to make it back to Oak Town before sundown.


	64. The Summoner of Dragons: Part 14

**Yusei**

* * *

Luvia and the Twins rose into the sky and bathed the world in their heavenly glow of silver and red. The stars began to dot the heavens in the blood-red of the sunset mixed with the infinite blackness of the Void. It was starting to get very cold since they were high up in the mountain. Avi shivered in the back of Jack's Duel Runner, forcing him to stop.

"Yusei, it's getting dark and Avi's freezing. I don't think we're going to make it back to Oak Town before sunrise. We need to make camp for the night."

"Roger that!" Yusei responded on his earpiece.

Yusei made an about-face with his Duel Runner and joined them in a patch of grass in a small clearing in the woods beside the road. Jack gave Avi his jacket while she sat on a boulder, shivering wildly. Her raunchy attire was not fit to be up in the mountain. "Remind me to punch the lights out of whoever made you dress in that sort of way," Jack said crossing his arms, now feeling a little cold himself. He rubbed his hands up and down his biceps.

Avi looked up at him, giving a weak smile as she forced her jaws shut to keep her teeth from chattering. Jack dug his hand into the deep pocket of his white and indigo trousers, and tossed Avi a granola bar. Avi thanked him for the treat. She unwrapped the bar and bit into it. While she sat on the boulder snacking, Yusei brought an armful of branches and piled them in the center of their camp. Jack snapped his fingers, creating a small flame which he used to light the fire to warm Avi. He shook his hand, dousing the flames on his fingers.

"Ah, fuck!" he said, seeing a gash he got on the back of his hand during the duel.

"Do you require aid?" Avi asked timidly.

"I'll be fine," Jack responded immediately, taking a healing potion from one of the pouches on his utility belt. He poured the glowing red liquid on his wound and cringed from the pain. The blood dried and the wound closed, turning fleshy pink.

"Thank you for aiding me," Avi said, her teeth still chattering.

"You're welcome," Yusei said, examining a holographic map displaying from his wrist-mounted computer. "According to this, the Number Hunters chased us pretty far into the mountains. If you continue heading north, we will find your temple in the morning, Avi."

Avi pondered about that and shook her head. "Oh, that's great news, Ser Yusei, but I would appreciate it if Ser Gerhalos was here with me."

"We cannot go back to Oak Town," said Jack, sitting down on a rock opposite of her. "We're too far into the countryside of Naralia to turn back now. "If we do, that will take days seeing as how the town is many miles from here. Yusei and I were not anticipating being chased by the Guild for so long."

"I see," said Avi. "I was hoping not to go into the temple alone."

Jack slowly shook his head. "Even if Ser Gerhalos was here with you, Avi, it's still a venture you must do alone. This is your task. We're merely here to guide you."

"I am very thankful for that," said Avi. She exhaled and quivered from the chill again, wrapping the jacket tightly over herself.

"Damn," said Yusei. "Aki had all the food and the tent in her Duel Runner."

"Yeah, pity she didn't come along," said Jack, injecting a vaccine into his arm, in case he got any infections from his cut. "Alone in the mountains with two lovely women."

A loud screech startled Avi before she could respond to Jack's comment. Something caused a great wind that violently rustled the trees. She ducked and cowered inside the jacket.

"It's okay," Yusei laughed. "He's harmless."

Avi peered from the jacket and saw a magnificent white dragon soaring into the sunset. It was too divine to be a lesser dragon. "How is that possible!?" she cried. "I thought True Dragons were gone."

"Not all of them," said Yusei. "That's my Stardust Dragon."

"He's beautiful!" Avi said, running toward the road to get a better look at it. "And I take it the Red Dragon Archfiend that bowed to me was real too?"

"No," said Jack. "That was Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend that was watching you. Red Dragon Archfiend, my dragon, is flying around somewhere. He likes to keep to himself mostly. But Stardust Dragon never misses a chance to show off. As Yusei said, not all the True Dragons left the earth during the Inquisition. Many remained here because they would risk their lives to aid Men. Without their power, Anubis and his orcs would take over eons ago. There are some out there, deep in the underbelly of the world. Some say they run things in the shadows as politicians or crime lords."

"What's the difference?" asked Yusei, to which he and Jack both burst out laughing. Avi looked back at them and couldn't help but to crack a smile, too.

_Vroom! Vroom! Vroom!_

Headlights pierced the darkness of the road behind them. More duelists from the Number Hunters Guild were fast approaching them.

"Aw, shit!" said Yusei. "That Bryon doesn't know when to quit does he?"

"More contestants?" said Jack. "Bring them on, I'll take 'em all out like I did last time."

"No, you're hurt!" said Avi.

Jack bellowed distastefully. "I can handle them, Avi. Quit making a fuss!"

"You take the lead," said Yusei. "I'll take them on!"

Jack eyed them both with a cold stare. It felt like forever before he said: "Very well. Avi, get on!"

As Avi climbed back on the Duel Runner, Yusei shuffled his deck and mounted it into the Duel Disk on his Duel Runner. They both took off into the night, hoping to lose the Number Hunters, but they were gaining ground quickly. The first challenger sneered.

"We just want the girl and her Numbers!" said he. "Make this easy on yourselves and surrender her now!"

"You wish!" said Yusei. "You want those Number cards, well then you're going to have to get through me!"

"That's going to be easy!" said the hunter. "Let's do this!"

"I'll start things off!" said Yusei. "I discard one card from my hand to Special Summon The Tricky! And now I summon Tune Warrior, a Tuner monster who I will use to perform a Synchro Summon!"

The two monsters took to the air and turned into stars.

" _Clustering wishes will become a new shining star! Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Take flight, Stardust Dragon_!" ( **ATK/2500 DEF/2000 LV 8** )

Avi marveled with delight at the dragon hovering above them. It was spreading stardust from its wings, glittering all around them. She clutched onto Jack even tighter, as her head followed the flight of Yusei's dragon.

"Then I lay a card face down and end my turn."

The Number Hunter began his turn. He played Pot of Duality, set a monster in defense mode and ended his turn. Then Yusei brought forth the pain on the Number Hunter. He activated his face-down card called Assault Mode Activate. The dragon was then encased in bladed armor. Its attack points raising to 3000. He defeated the Number Hunter effortlessly. More contenders rode forward, itching for a fight with Yusei and the legendary Stardust Dragon. Throughout his duels, he summoned mechanical warriors known as Synchrons. To the skies flew his finest warriors. Junk Warrior, Road Warrior, Jet Synchron, Formula Synchron, Accel Synchron. But they were not the stars of his deck.

Yusei always finished the duels with his Stardust Dragon. Like Jack before him, Yusei summoned various forms of the dragon. Shooting Star Dragon. Shooting Quasar Dragon, and Avi's favorite, Stardust Sifr Divine Dragon, quite possibly the most majestic creature she had ever seen and with a whopping 4000 ATK and DEF, its presence caused the other hunters to back off and turn tail, disappearing into the night.

"You were amazing, Ser Yusei," said Avi. "And your dragon," she looked up at Stardust Dragon, flying high above them. "He is truly magnificent."

"Hey, you hear that, Jack?" said Yusei. "She doesn't favor you anymore."

Jack scoffed at Yusei's humor. "Ha! She's just being nice. We all know she enjoyed my duels better."

"You both were incredible," said Avi. "I thank the Goddesses that we have met."

"Thank Master Yugi," said Jack. "He's the one who arranged all this. Ah, the temple is directly ahead."


	65. The Summoner of Dragons: Part 15

**Avi**

* * *

Yusei pointed at a tall and forbidding ruin atop the mountain. Avi could feel dread taking over her. The ruins were no doubt of Old Norman architecture built after the Norman Conquest at the beginning of the Second Age. The pillars were in the shape of knights holding down their swords. Old statues of dragons were carved into the top of the mountain. Some stood tall and strong, still in good form. Others had fallen long ago and littered the ground with their ruin.

"Do I truly have to go in there?" Avi asked timidly.

Jack was displeased by her tone. "Ha!" he taunted her. "It seems to me like Saafani's found the wrong person to be Summoner of Dragons."

Avi looked back at him and pouted. "I am not!" she declared fiercely.

"Then prove it!" said Yusei. "We can't go in there with you, Avi. This is a task meant for you!"

Avi froze, hoping her friends would insist on joining her. But she eventually nodded, for she knew they were right. She mustered her courage and said: "Okay, I'm going in."

"Good girl," said Jack. "Yusei and I will remain out here in case any troublemakers come to find ya."

"Go!" said Yusei. "We've got your back."

Avi turned and ran up the steps of the ruins. She stopped when she came to the entrance of the cave. A gust of wind flew out, as though the spirits of the ancients themselves were telling her to go back and leave their secrets alone. Avi stood her ground though. Many have sacrificed a lot and battle for her to get here safely. She was not about to give up now. Avi held her head high, squared her shoulders, and marched inside where she entered a dark and gloomy atrium. The doorway was large enough to let in most of the sunlight outside.

The green from the trees outside bathed the washed-out gray of the old ruin with a very pale emerald shade. A dried-up pool was in the center. The marble foundation was cracked and many of the tiles were grayed and worn or missing. No doubt they must have shined something beautiful back in the days of their prime. Her boots crushed the pebbles underneath and kicked a few off her path, causing them to roll noisily away from her. Avi's gear and jewelry jingled with every step.

Stone statues of dragon knights guarded the way. Avi paused and reached behind her belt for a pouch containing extra cards. She searched through them and found the monster she was looking for. It turned out that the statues guarding the atrium were ancient Duel Monsters called Dragon Statue ( **ATK/1100 DEF/900 LV 3** ). She prayed that the creatures would not come to life and let her through. As she took steps farther and farther into the temple she noticed a glow at the end of the hall. Curiously, Avi walked towards it. She noticed that it was a fire, and sitting behind it was Bryon, the leader and founder of the Number Hunters Guild.

"You!" Avi cried out.

"Yeah, it's me," he said. "You're really hard to keep up with, Summoner. I knew there was something special about you when we first met at the inn. Those Galaxy-Eyes Dragons once belonged to one of the most powerful queens in Termnnia. Evangelia the Star Queen. Not just anyone can get a hold of those cards. At first, I figured princess, baroness, dame. Hell, maybe even a queen. But a Summoner of Dragons? Now, color me surprised. And surprised I was when I heard about a hefty bounty that King Forrest has placed on your head."

"He knows I'm here?" Avi gasped.

"Yeah, he was quite shocked when I told him."

"How could you!?" Avi shouted, stomping her foot on the ground. "Do you have any idea how much danger you've put me in?"

"Not greater than the danger you're in now!" shouted Bryon after he drew a jeweled dagger with a powerful enchantment that could suck out the life force of the user's foe and heal the wielder. "I was hoping King Forrest and his men would have found you by now, but they're so slow and preoccupied with their campaign with Elleria and Akuuda. Whatever, you're here and I'm here. Now, give me your Number Cards now! You have no idea of the power that will be unlocked when they are all found!"

"You're exactly right," said Avi. "You have no idea! Sometimes it's best to leave some legends alone. Maybe the cards were scattered for a reason."

"Bah, I hate it when fools like you always fear power and treasure!" shouted Bryon. "The magic they contain could be enough to make one more powerful than the High King!"

"Then it's good reason they're scattered and lost," said Avi. "You're still young, Bryon. Put this quest behind you and live your life. You'll never find them all. Not even with a thousand lifetimes."

"I don't want to get lectured by you, Summoner. If you're not going to give them to me, then perhaps the only way to get them is to duel you. As a Termnnian, you must accept my challenge!"

"So be it," Avi said, morphing her bracelet into a D-Pad. The holographic blade came out."

"Nice D-Pad," said Bryon. "Pales in comparison to mine. I got it tricked out with gold and all the gems I could find. Now let's duel!"

**LP 8000**

"I'll go first," said Bryon. "Yeah, check out my sleeves, too!" he said, showing off his gold sleeves with filigree design on the back. "I set a monster in defense mode. Okay, Summoner, you go. Remember, your dragons are a stake here."

"Oh, I'll beat you all right," said Avi. "Draw! I play the Spell, Photon Sanctuary, which allows me to Special Summon two Photon Tokens to the field ( **ATK/2000 DEF/0 LV 4** ). And now I tribute them to summon Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!" ( **ATK/3000 DEF/2500 LV 8** )

"On your first turn!?" Bryon yelped and stepped back, shocked that Avi was able to call her Galaxy-Eyes so quickly. He stared in awe of the colorful monster. It's glowing blue body illuminated the room. But, the creature was not going to stay long.

Avi continued with her turn. "Because I have a Level 8 monster on the field, I can summon Parsec the Interstellar Dragon!" ( **ATK/800 DEF/800 LV 8)** Another dragon flew out from a swirling purple vortex and joined Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon. It was very insect-like with a body of gray with green tips on its sharp appendages. "Next I activate, Galaxy Expedition and bring another Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon to the field. Now I'll Overlay my three dragons to Xyz Summon. Come forth and lend me your strength, mighty beast of the Void! Unleash thy fury on my foolish foe! Xyz Summon! Rank 8! Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!"

**Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon**

**ATK/4500 DEF/3000**

**Rank 8**

Bryon ran a Chronomaly deck, and he did so poorly. For two turns, Avi devastated the boy's defenses with her Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon. A few turns later, Avi used Melody of Awakening Dragon, discarding her Galaxy Tyranno to add her third, and final, Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon to her hand. She then used a Spell called Photon Stream of Destruction, destroying Bryon's face-down defense monster and attacked him directly for 4500, reducing his Life Points by more than half. He was knocked back by half a yard and he rolled to a stop.

**Avi-8000 LP**

**Bryon-3500 LP**

He drew and played the field spell, Chronomaly City Babylon, and before long, he had a defensive wall of three face-down monsters in defense. But Avi didn't care. Defensive was all the boy could do with her Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon on the field.

"Draw!" she said, announcing her turn. She set a card face-down, summoned a Galaxy Wizard in defense, and attacked one of the monsters before ending her turn.

Bryon could do nothing and set a monster to end his turn. He prayed for some way to get out of this mess. But there wasn't any way to escape the ferocity of the Galaxy-Eyes monsters. The final turns of the game began. She played Pot of Greed which allowed her to draw two cards. One of them was a Swarzschild Limit Dragon ( **LV 8** ) which she Special Summoned immediately. She then Flip Summoned her Galaxy Wizard and used its effect to raise the level to 8. Following the monster's effect, Avi played Galaxy Expedition to Special Summon her Galaxy Knight ( **LV 8** ).

"You want to see my Number Cards!" Avi shouted. "Well, here they are you little brat! I overlay my Swarzschild Limit Dragon and Galaxy Wizard to Xyz Summon, Number 62: Galaxy-Eyes Prime Photon Dragon! And then I will rank him up to Xyz Summon, Galaxy-Eyes Full Armor Photon Dragon! ( **ATK/4000 DEF/3500 Rank 8** ) Now I'll use his effect, and remove Prime Photon Dragon as the Xyz Material to destroy your face-down card.

Poor, Bryon. He lost his Mirror Force, which would have aided him greatly. Avi wasn't finished punishing him yet.

"Next I use my face-down card Xyz Reborn to bring back my Prime Photon Dragon!" Avi shouted.

Bryon at this point was begging for mercy. But his whimpers fell on deaf ears. Avi wanted to teach this boy a lesson he would never forget. After she attacked all three of his defense monsters and left his field bare, she ended her turn, giving him one more play to come back. Using his Babylon field card, he was able to summon to monsters at the defensive before ending his turn.

Avi's turn. "Draw!" she shouted and played Graceful Charity. She drew three cards and discarded two, one of which was her Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon. She summoned a Galaxy-Eyes Cloud Dragon and used it as a tribute to Special Summon the Galaxy-Eyes Dragon she discarded. It was now time to introduce Bryon to her second Number Card. She Overlayed her Galaxy Wizard and Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon to Xyz Summon Number 107: Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon ( **ATK/3000 DEF/2500 Rank 8** ).

Bryon went to his knees and stared at all four of her massive dragons. Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon. Number 62: Galaxy-Eyes Prime Photon Dragon. Number 107: Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon, and Galaxy-Eyes Full Armor Photon Dragon stared at him, snarling, growling, bellowing. It felt like an eternity for the boy as all of the beasts decimated his last defensive line and took on his Life Points ending the game.

The multiple blasts from the dragons caused the poor boy to faint. Avi picked him up and sat him against a pillar. She put a blanket over him as her dragons watched. She turned to look at them and bowed. They roared one final time as if thanking her before they vanished. As soon as they did, a powerful, spine-tingling voice bellowed from inside the temple. Avi shivered with fright as a fierce wind blew from down the tunnels.

She mustered her courage and charged into the darkness. She dashed through a tunnel that led into a grand chamber lit by sunlight that came through an oculus in the rotunda above. Avi had a loss for words at the sight of the chamber. Statues of ancient Norman knights lined around the base of the rotunda carrying mirrors shaped into swords which reflected the sun's light and adding more light to the chamber. Bridges and platforms of green marble veined with gold were neatly rowed in a beautiful lake below where towering waterfalls fell from the mouths of Blue-Eyes White Dragons.

Avi got on her knees and prayed to the dragon goddess for luck. She got up and kept a firm grip on the hilt of her sword. She stopped for a moment to ask the goddess to bless the High Priest who gave her so many tools to keep her safe and successful on her adventures. She reached into the big pouch strapped to her right thigh and took out one last gift she received from the priestesses of the temple, who became such good friends to her. A crystal.

Avi blew into it. The crystal started to glow brighter than any torch. She squinted to shield her eyes from the flash but quickly grew used to the warm, radiant light. She proceeded to follow the bridges over the lake. So far, it was very uneventful. She started to grow calm and felt there was nothing to worry about in this place. It was so calm and peaceful in here. The bridges led her down to what looked like an arena with a floor of painted glass illuminated by a bright light beneath it. Across the arena was a path lit with torches that led to a dragon's mouth where the dragon who slept here awaited her.

"This was too easy," Avi said.

Upon saying that, a shadow swooped over her. She ducked, feeling a cold breeze blow over her. She heard the flapping of wings. She looked up and saw what looked like a flying humanoid soaring around the rotunda. She couldn't believe it. She had seen that creature before. The dragon-shaped helmet revealed a feminine face. She wore a chestplate of yellow leather made of dragon skin and green pauldrons over a blue shirt and black trousers bloused into brown boots with green knee guards. She had dragon-like wings on her back and carried two jagged swords. Avi drew her own sword and prepared herself. Oh, yes. She knew the game of Duel Monsters well enough to know who this monster was.

**Dragoness the Wicked Knight**

**ATK/1200 DEF/900**

"Ya!" Avi cried out, attempting to slash Dragoness across the chest.

"Hooo!" Dragoness grunted, almost in a tease as she dodged the attack. She attempted to slash Avi across the back, but Avi rolled out of the way just before the cursed swords could touch.

Avi felt the stone around her neck glowing. She could feel a power surge through her and heard a voice that told her to trust it. It was no Arvas, that's for sure. Avi tried to summon him for aid, but he did not answer her. She was alone in mortal combat with the Wicked Knight. Dragoness held out her swords and spun until she looked like a tornado. The swords wooshed and whistled as they slashed through the air. Avi used her magical sword to dodge the attacks. She was quite shocked, wondering how in the world was she able to perform such a feat.

The swordsman the High Priest had summoned trained her well. Avi jumped to the right and rolled to safety. She held out her palm until a red glyph spun over it. "FIRE!" she shouted. A fireball launched from the glyph and into the twister. The flames were sucked into it and then they engulfed the knight. She screamed in agony and stopped spinning. She knelt on the ground, her body glowing with embers and steam billowing into the air.

Avi saw her chance and charged for it. Dragoness was stunted, but not weakened. She saw Avi running towards her and soared back into the air where she assaulted Avi with aerial attacks. She slashed, clawed, and even tried to kick her. Dragoness missed but saw her chance as Avi tried to spin out of the way. WHACK! She punted Avi in the back. Avi howled in pain as she was launched across the field of painted glass. She smacked on the ground and rolled to a stop. She tried to get up, but the wind was knocked out of her. The stone glowed frantically. Avi gasped, feeling her injury be healed.

Dragoness saw this at once. She knew the stone around Avi's neck was giving her strange powers. Throughout their fight, she tried to take the stone from Avi. But Avi would not allow this. She knew if the stone was taken from her, it would mean certain death. Dragoness screeched as she rocketed towards Avi with great speed. Avi backflipped - mid-flip she wondered how she did that - dodging the attempted theft. As she got back to her feet, she used the momentum to perform a mighty swing that slashed Dragoness in the arm. Dragonness screamed and fell to the ground, rolling to a stop.

"Why are you doing this?" Avi shouted. "I have to find the dragon so I can help the king."

Dragoness did not listen. Someone placed her here to guard the sleeping dragon with her life. And she would obey that order, even if it meant having to kill the Summoner of Dragons. Dragoness raised her legs up, kicking herself back up to her feet. She was mad now. Avi had drawn her blood. She took a deep breath. Avi saw the hellish-red glow inside Dragoness' puffed cheeks. Avi rolled out of the way in time to avoid the jet of red-hot flames that shot out of Dragoness' mouth.

Dragoness flew back up into the air as she continued to breathe fire, dousing the almost half of the field in flames. The flaming jet neared Avi. She held out her palm and cast a spell that created a barrier in the form of an arcane circle that not only blocked the attack but put out the flames with a huge gust of wind that sent Dragoness flying backward, tumbling head over heels through the air. She held out her wings, braking to a stop.

She stared at Avi poisonously, wondering what it was going to take to bring the girl down. Meanwhile, Avi was wondering the same thing. Dragoness blew fire on her swords to make awesome flaming weapons. She posed with them dramatically and flew towards Avi, who pirouetted out of the way. Avi saw her chance and slashed Dragoness in the back with her sword. Dragoness yelped. She flapped her wings and flew over the field again. She held out her palms and launched fireballs down at Avi. Avi dodged a few as best she could, but one exploded next to her, burning her legs and right arm. Avi sobbed. The pain was horrid. She saw her flesh blistering and black.

Dragoness chuckled cruelly and flew back to the field to finish the job. Her overconfidence cost her dearly. As soon as she got close to Avi, it was over. She grabbed Avi by the air to lift her head up so she could expose her neck to find the right place to decapitate her. Avi, with all her might, fought through her agony and pushed herself up from the ground with her sword in hand.

Her flesh wailed, begging her not to move; for it had not recovered from the burns - but her will to survive and win this fight was stronger than the pain, which she endured just enough to jab her sword into Dragoness' stomach. The Wicked Knight gasped - she then gurgled purple blood. Her body was engulfed in blue flames - then she turned to ash, leaving Avi all alone in the temple.

Avi slumped on the ground and sobbed. She was sore, exhausted, and in agony. The stone was glowing.

_Avi...Avi...Please. Get up._

"Arvas?" Avi mumbled. "Where were you?"

"This was not my fight. In order to find the dragons you seek, there are going to be trials you must undergo to see if you are worthy of their power. You won the fight, love. You did it. Now go into the next chamber and claim your prize. The Sanctity of Dragons awaits you."

"I hurt, Arvas. I...I can't move."

"Pain is weakness leaving the body, Avi. You will become stronger for this. I know you will. You will become someone worthy of your gift. Now go. Get up."

So she did. It took a great effort on her part, though. She fell a few times. Eventually, she managed to gather enough strength to limp toward the dragon's mouth ahead. She entered an atrium with a beautiful lake glowing blue with bioluminescent flowers and trees that gave off a heavenly ringing sound. Avi whimpered and dumped her sword and other gear to the ground. She heard something. Wingbeats. Powerful wingbeats. Strong enough to make fluster the trees and cause them to sway and jingle even frantically.

"You are hurt," a thundering voice said to her.

Avi looked around, wondering where the voice was coming from. There was nothing. Not even the wingbeats could be heard again. All was still. Perhaps the owner of the wings had landed somewhere and was watching her.

"Do you wish for your pain to go?" the voice asked.

Avi, too frightened to say anything, just nodded her head.

"Take a bath in my lake," the voice said calmly. "Rest."

Avi bit her lip and chewed on it. She stared at the water. While it did look refreshing, she found the glowing flora very odd. Was it safe? Was this just another test? What if she went into the water and failed the test? Would the voice reveal itself and kill her?

"Well?" the voice said. "Do you wish for your pain to heal? Or are you going to endure your burns?"

The voice was right. Even though she was awed by the beauty of this lake and the gardens around it, and frightened of the voice, she was still in terrible pain. She saw her skin blistering off her thighs and her forearms were black. She looked and the water again and gave in. Carefully, she undressed and laid her clothing and gear in a pile beside a rock glowing with blue moss.

She stood by the water's edge, searching for the voice. There was no sign that anyone was here. She looked up at the stone rotunda with crenellations. There was not so much as a bird sitting up there. A gentle breeze came from the trees and caressed her. It was cool and very refreshing and for a moment, she had forgotten about her pain. When the breeze was gone, her wounds started to sting again.

Avi let out a timid sigh and tapped the water with her toe. It was cold. The ripples she created when she touched the glassy surface had a neon blue glow to them as well. She took a deep breath and slowly waded into the water. She grimaced for a moment as she got used to the coolness of the water. She made it deep enough for her waist to be underwater. She noticed something. The stinging on her legs was gone. She felt nothing. She looked for a place to sit. A boulder by the water's edge looked like just the place. She sat down against it and raised her leg.

She gasped in wonder and delight. The burns were gone. The skin that was burned off, dripped away and left behind a layer of soft, smooth, flesh as pure as a newborn's. Avi dipped her arms in the water. She moaned in pleasure as the briskness of the lake, and whatever magical healing properties it had, soothed the painful burns. The seared flesh melted away like wax and, just like her leg, left behind a soft layer of new skin. She was good as new. She felt her spirits lift as well. The water healed her both physically and mentally. She laughed and splashed herself with more water before eventually diving in and swimming underneath the surface. She saw glowing seaweeds and mushrooms and even bubbles all around her.

Avi swam back up to the surface, rearing her head up and tossing her hair back. She drank the water. It was the sweetest, cleanest, water she had ever tasted. She cupped her hands together and slurped some more until her thirst was quenched.

She laughed and fell backward so she could float in the water and stare at the architecture above. There she lay, and she fell asleep for a minute but to her, it felt like she had a good night's sleep. She swam to a nearby waterfall and showered underneath so she could bless her weary body with the magical water for an even longer amount of time.

She felt like she could swim in the lake forever. The water seemed to have washed all her worries, her fears, and all her cares away. She sniffed the air and picked up a wonderful scent like a thousand sweet-smelling flowers blooming at once. She looked around and found the sweet-smelling flowers hanging on what looked like a willow tree that stood by the pool where waterfall poured. Avi picked as many as she could and rubbed them all over her skin so she could smell just like them. She washed over and over again, smiling and laughing in delight.

She dove back into the lake to swim underwater some more. There, underneath the surface, she twirled and flipped and tumbled gracefully, pretending to be a beautiful mermaid. When she rose back up for air, she sighed and rubbed her arms. The wingbeats returned followed by a loud crash on the hill overlooking the lake. Avi gasped. A colossal golden dragon landed on the hill.

His red membranous wings, outlined along with the fingers with fiery red neon, stretched far across the lake. His tail seemed boneless, for it spiraled behind him like a whip in the wind. It was capped with a sharp spike, which could be used as a weapon. He had four horns adorning his head like a crown. They were colored black and decorated with gold ornaments. The two horns closest to the jaw had long jeweled chains dangling from them.

His belly was blocked with rows of abdominal muscles and the center of his chest looked like the opening of a volcano.

****

**Sanctity of Dragon**

**ATK/3000**

**LINK-5**

Avi bowed. "M-m-my, My Lord."

The dragon chuckled and sat down on his perch. "I am not a Lord, Lady Avi. Therefore, you shall not address me as such. You have passed the test the ancients have placed here thousands and thousands of years ago. You have braved many obstacles to get to me, so I am told. But I still wonder if you could possibly be the one to summon me."

Avi's stone started to glow. From it emerged Arvas, spreading his mighty wings and showering the lake with a rain of light. "Brother!" he said loudly. Avi crossed her arms over her chest and stared at her dragon in wonder, still finding it hard to fathom that he was hers. "Brother, listen to me. I sense much doubt in you. I can almost read your disappointment in seeing this girl. Is she not what you expected?"

"No," Sanctity of Dragon said with a yawn. "She is not. You say you see doubt in me. Well, I can sense a great doubt in her heart that rivals mine tenfold. Despite all she has accomplished to come here - despite all she has seen and learned, she still doubts herself. I cannot allow myself to be summoned by someone like her."

Avi felt a great deal disappointed when she heard him say that. She tried her best to muster the right words, but they just couldn't come out. Sanctity of Dragon was right. She did harbor much doubt in herself. Even fear. Even though she conquered the Wicked Knight, she did so with barely any life in her. She looked at Sanctity of Dragon's bright, red eyes. Even though it was for but a second, her soul seemed burned by his disappointment. She looked away in shame.

"Brother," Arvas pleaded. "She has suffered so much to be here. The least you can do is give her a chance."

"A chance?" Sanctity of Dragon said, almost in a laugh. "How can I give her a chance when she cannot even give herself or this quest a chance. I felt it the moment she stepped into my lake. I could feel her urge to go home. To go back to the simple life. To go back to being a wench."

"You know about that?" Avi asked timidly.

Sanctity of Dragon laughed. "Ha! The moment you were destined to locate us by our holy mother, you were connected to us. Believe me, even the dragons that await you know of your previous endeavors."

"Really?" Avi groaned. She sunk into the water, grumbling until her lips were submerged and bubbles boiled under her nose.

"That's in the past now," Arvas pressed on. "She is more than that now. She is the one Mother Safaani has chosen. She's the one - why do you not see that?"

"I told you before," Sanctity of Dragon answered, leaning his head closer to get a good look at Avi. "There is great fear in her. She has a heart full of shame. You may be weak enough to give these humans chance after chance, Arvas, but not I. My power is only for great warriors. Not scared little mice."

"TAKE THAT BACK!" Avi said, standing up.

She was called a little mouse all her life. By her father, her mother, her brother and his friends, Ser Godfrey, the townsfolk even - but being called that by monsters who were ordered by the dragon goddess to obey her - that was the last straw.

"I am worthy of your power! I have conquered the darkness in Arvas' resting place. I acquired that legendary stone which is the key to unlocking your brethren from sleep and summoning them at my will. I have traveled through enemy territory to get here. I was chased by foes at every corner. I stepped foot into this goddess-forsaken temple and battled a wicked knight just for the hope of meeting you."

She stopped and breathed before she collected herself for the next portion of her rant.

"You are right, Sanctity of Dragon. There is a lot of fear in me. Even with all the power I've acquired. All the friends I've made - "

She looked back at Arvas and smiled.

"I still feel fear in my heart. But you know something. With each adventure I go on, it dwindles. I found the courage to walk in here and brave the challenge that awaited me. Even though I barely survived, I won. No. I do not want to go through something like that again - and I know there are going to be worse challenges along the way, but I will face them. To prove that not only am I capable of being the Summoner of Dragons, but to prove all those who humiliated me, harmed me and abused me wrong. I can take care of myself. I am stronger than them. And at this very moment, I am. Look! I have a dragon standing behind me and right now I look at one in the face! That alone is something neither of them can ever do. They'll run away at the mere sound of your wingbeats let alone stand up to two of them. But not I. Here I stand. Ready to prove the world that this little mouse has some bite in her. And I will not hesitate to prove you wrong either!"

Sanctity of Dragons nodded. "Impressive," he said. "Very Impressive. Your determination has shadowed that doubt, but it is just a mere drop of water on a burning fire. We shall see if you are ready to use me. But I will go with you nonetheless; for my mother has instructed me so. But just because she has, does not force me to stay with you in the event that you will most likely disappoint me. If I see you unworthy of my gifts, I will fly away from you and return to this place until Mother can find a Summoner worthy to call my name. Am I clear?"

"That won't be happening anytime soon," Avi assured him. It won't!"

"Then I am all yours, My Lady," Sanctity of Dragons said, bowing.

* * *

**Ser Gerhalos**

* * *

"Lookie! Lookie!" cried Santigo, hopping up and down Ser Gerhalos' shoulder. "There they are! I told you I'd find the way." He pointed to the temple where Yusei and Jack were leaning against their Duel Runners waiting for Avi to come out - if she was coming out at all. "You see, my friends?" Santiago continued to boast. "You see? I told you we would find them." He looked at Akiza and Luna. He licked his paw and slid it down his head, folding his ears back to make them look slick. "See, my dears. I told you they would be up this way. No one should ever doubt the innate sense of direction of the great thief, Santiago de..."

Ser Gerhalos snorted disdainfully and bumped his shoulder up to make Santiago lose his balance. "When last I checked," he said, shutting up the little Meowri. "It was Aki's GPS that helped us find the temple."

"Well, I helped," Santiago added quietly, to which Ser Gerhalos rolled his eyes. He heard a distant rumbling in the distance.

"Oh, no," Luna grumbled. "Santiago, you didn't!"

"What?" yelled Ser Gerhalos. "What? What did he do? Did you spread the word about this?"

Santiago laughed. "Well, when they asked me at the tavern what my profession was, I said: Guardian. When the folks asked 'Guardian to who?' I replied with the Guardian and Champion of Lady Avi the Summoner of Dragons. Naturally, nobody in town believed Avi is the Summoner of Dragons. So, I made a bet with the lot of them. Well...a great deal more than a lot if you don't me saying."

"How could you?" Luna cried, scratching both sides of her head. "You...you told everyone in town about Lady Avi just so you could win bets?"

"Why you..." shouted Ser Gerhalos, trying to reach for the Meowri and grab him. But he was too fast.

"Now, now, now," said Santiago. "It's fine! It's fine! These people are on our side. They want to see the Summoner and they support her, too. After all, Master Yugi's castle is just down that way in the Storm Coasts. And they are all supporters of Prince Yuri's succession to the throne, too."

"I don't care if they have their lips firmly planted on their asses," Ser Gerhalos growled. "Lady Avi is not to garner any kind of fame. This is Emboldor. There are many here who support the Dragonheart Party."

"But they don't in this place," Santiago tried to assure him while dodging his large paws. "Please, Ser Gerhalos, these people are friends to Avi. Whoa!" His swiped his tail away before Ser Gerhalos caught it. "They already know of her coming. Master Yugi and his friends already speak highly of her. There are a group of travelers there who were looking for her."

Ser Gerhalos stopped. He looked at the two girls. "Is what he says true?"

"Yes," Akiza replied as Santiago jumped from Ser Gerhalos' shoulder to hers. "At the tavern, there were these two mages and a swordsman with a modern look to him. I would have told you sooner had it not been for this loudmouth, but this warrior had a dragon with him."

"A dragon?"

Luna nodded. "Yeah. A True Dragon of all things. They've been sent by Lady Mai who's at Yugi's castle in the Storm Coasts and are under orders to accompany her."

Ser Gerhalos rubbed his chin. He heard the crowd coming closer. "So, Avi's got her first companions, I see. Well, two mages and a warrior would sure make the journey a lot easier for me. And no doubt make better company than this fool."

"Oy!" said Santiago.

The people now gathered at the entrance of the temple. Some of them were holding banners. The baker had arrived with a freshly made cake flickering with candles and decorated with sugar flowers and white icing trimmed with green. They heard loud roars coming from the cave and backed away screaming. Some children began to wail and embrace their parents, screaming to go back to the village. Avi walked out of the temple entrance at last - her dragon stone was glowing in radiant light. From the sky swooped her two dragons. Arvas the Ancient Dragon and now Sanctity of Dragon. The townsfolk cheered. They threw rice and confetti into the air and waved their banners. Avi's cheeks flushed

"Behold!" Akiza shouted before kneeling. "Avellana Lofnmagni Ethelfleda. The Summoner of Dragons!"


	66. The Summoner of Dragons: Part 17

**Avi**

* * *

Citrus Island. A garden paradise on the farthest reaches of Southern Termnnia. Thanks to the wayshrines, Avi nor her group had to worry about traveling to them by foot, save for Constantine who had to travel with his dragon, who could not fit.

The modern culture of Domino had found its place here. Tall buildings and luxury hotels and towers dotted the coastline with green mountains looming behind them. The blissful waters of the Singing Sea crashed against the white sand beaches were bathers from all corners of the world came to relax and escape the stress of their homes.

Avellana Lofnmagni Ethelfleda came dancing out of her room to the song _Beyond the Sea_ by Bobby Darin which played loudly on the stereo of her hotel room suite. She had never heard music before, let alone Earth music due to living her life with Western culture. Her maidens watched her twirl on the atrium of her room while they drew her a hot bath in the bathing house across the hall. It had been many weeks since she escaped from Naralia, and the clutches of King Forrest and the Church. To keep her safe, Yami had Avi sent to the island paradise to relax until further notice.

Ever since coming to the island, she had been treated as a guest of honor by the Temple of Saafani. She had become their oracle and would parade out of the temple in white robes with a white veil while holding up a golden scepter. Thousands flocked to the streets, pushing and shoving just to see her for a second. Her room was being littered with gifts from fruit baskets, dresses, purses full of Chips, and Duel Monster cards.

Many knew she would be safe here. Safe from the Church and the Number Hunters Guild until she could rest and recover for her journey, and train with a master summoner said to reside in the mountains of one of the islands far away. She was told she would spend money months there training, but so long as she had her companions here and Ser Gerhalos, she felt she could take on anything.

When she walked out of the balcony to breathe in the fresh morning air, she was greeted by thunderous applause from below. Avi gasped and then laughed upon seeing the crowd of hundreds outside the walls of the castle lent to her by Mai, who used it as a summer home from time to time.

Magicians cast colorful spells, which exploded like firecrackers. Children begged for their fathers to put them on their shoulders so they could the Summoner of Dragons at the balcony, even it was just a glimpse of her gleaming white nightgown.

Avi waved at the spectators below. They all shouted for her to summoner her dragons even it was just for a second.

"You've drawn quite a crowd," Phoenix said. She squeezed minty paste on her toothbrush and started to brush her teeth over a golden sink with faucets shaped like fish heads.

"She's Termnnia's new celebrity," Trish said, brushing her reddish-orange hair over the sink beside Phoenix's. "I think she's even outshined, Prince Yuri."

"Celebrity?" Avi said, blowing kisses at the crowd for the sake of showmanship. A few knights in painted armor held up bouquets of roses and other exotic flowers, hoping to get her attention. "Don't be silly. I'm not a celebrity."

Phoenix chuckled, jerking her toothbrush behind her. "You got to love her modesty," she said. She spat into the sink. "The first Dragon Summoner in thousands of years, and she thinks she's no celebrity. Avi, I love you."

"I wish for no fame," Avi said, looking back at her two new Guardians. "And there is no way I can more important than Prince Yuri. I have dragons. But he...he had Gods."

The doors to Avi's chambers slowly opened. The hinges creaking. Akiza walked in holding her helmet under her arm. She bowed as Avi turned and walked away from the balcony. She closed the thin white drapes behind her. "Dame Akiza," she said. "Good morning."

Akiza went on one knee. "Good morning, My Lady." She got back up. "Sleep well?"

"The best sleep I've had in years," Avi said, stretching. "I take it you and the others will be leaving us?"

"So we must," Akiza said with a nod. "We cannot linger, I'm afraid. Lady Mai and Master Yugi paid us to get you out of the mountains safely. And we did. Our mission, though brief, is complete. As you know, this is Lady Mai's summer home. She said you could stay as long as you like. But keep an eye out. I'm sure it's not the last you've heard of the Number Hunters Guild."

"We can deal with them ourselves," said Phoenix. She opened her palm and conjured a fireball. "I'd like to see them get within an inch of Lady Avi."

"Oh, indeed," said Akiza. "And you've got Constantine now. The fellow with the dragon, correct?"

"Yes, yes, you are," Trish said, spraying a sweet-smelling perfume on her hair. "He's a skilled warrior with a powerful bond to his dragon, but he's a womanizer. A very bad one at that. You'd best keep both eyes open, Lady Avi. One for our enemies, and another for Constantine's hand; it has a mind of its own. I felt it on my rump once in a while as we journeyed here from Thara. The only reason I haven't burned him to cinders is A) Lady Mai of House Valentine wanted me to find him. B) I may be a skilled pyromancer, but I cannot hold my own against a full-grown dragon born from shadow. He's an Infernal Dragon, and Goddesses have mercy on your soul if you piss one of those off. They will never stop hunting you if you have wronged them. You will never sleep. You will never stop running. If I killed Constantine, his dragon would be on my beautiful ass like a witch's curse. And Avi, you better hope we don't find one of those on our travels."

"Oh, yes, you don't," laughed Akiza. "I recall us going into the Bullhorn Bog where a hag was hiding and terrorizing the local village. Ser Yusei tried to get the drop on her, but she was too quick for him. Turned him into a frog just as he was about to swing his sword and cut off her head."

"Oh, dear!" Avi cried out. "What happened? How did you turn him back into a human?"

"I gave him a kiss," Akiza said with a wink.

Avi smiled. "I see. Are you two..."

"No, that was a joke," Akiza replied with another laugh. "We found him some help later on in a nearby town. But for you, I'd say she'd cast a spell on you to get rid of all your beauty."

"My beauty?"

"Yes," said Trish. "Witches are foul, spiteful creatures. If they think you've got more looks than they do, they get rid of it in a snap. You'd look so hideous, even your dragons will refuse to let you summon them."

"Do not frighten the poor girl!" Arvas shouted from within the stone around Avi's neck. "Lay off her, if you please."

"Oh, yes, sir!" said Trish. She gasped, slapping her hand against her cheek. "Oh, wow! I never thought anything like this would happen. I'm talking to a dragon! How crazy is that?"

"I still find it hard to believe?" Phoenix said, walking towards Avi. She leaned forward, invading Avi's personal space to inspect the beautiful stone. "How is this accomplished? Why was this stone made for? Could it be one of the thirteen stones used by the Seven Golden Kings?"

"That is none of your concern!" Arvas snapped at her. "There are some things in this world better left unstudied. You stick your nose in too deep, and you will find things you'll regret uncovering."

Phoenix stood back up. "Touchy, touchy."

"Nonetheless, it was a pretty funny experience. Well, I best be off on my journey back east. Avi, do take care of yourself, please. These are dangerous times, and the roads are filled with many dangers."

"I will don't worry. And please, thank Ser Yusei and Ser Jack for helping me escape the clutches of the Number Hunters Guild and for introducing me to their dragons. I heard yours was quite beautiful. Perhaps I could see it one day."

"Perhaps," Akiza said, taking Avi's hand and kissing it. "Take care. _Eoveth_."

" _Eoveth_ ," Avi said, saying farewell in Norman.

Akiza turned and left, closing the door behind her.

"I haven't gotten to know Constantine very well," said Avi. "Ser Gerhalos kept him away from me all too well during the banquet last night."

Trish shrugged. "Well, as I said, he's a womanizer. Constantine was more interested in bedding you than guarding you. I don't know about the rest of you, but Ser Gerhalos looks like a Leogai who can smell lust a mile away."

"Oh, he can," said Avi. "It's thanks to him that I was able to escape a most horrible marriage. Well, actually, my Galaxy-Eyes Dragons did the work, but he gave me the courage to stand up to my enemies. I think I feel a little braver now. Especially after what I went through to get Arvas and Sanctity of Dragon."

"Those were only small tests compared to what you have to face next time," said Phoenix. "I wish I could journey with you forever, but I must leave you once we reach Elleria."

"Elleria?"

"The Ebony Kingdom," said Trish, pulling on both ends of the towel that hung over her neck. "They've run into a problem up there. You've heard of King Forrest, correct?"

"Many times," Avi answered, sitting on a red couch. "He's supposed to be a radical Yeyunist, hell-bent on conquering all of Termnnia and making Yeyunism the only religion. No matter what the cost. I promise you, I will stop him."

"Lunch is almost ready, My Lady," one of the maids said. "And the water is just about cool enough for you."

"All right," Avi said making another twirl, "be there in a minute."

She went stare at the wonderful scenery from her balcony with a bright smile on her face. A plane flew overhead with a banner advertising a tournament taking place at a restaurant in town. She closed her silver eyes and sniffed the fresh air of the morning. Her golden hair fluttered in the oceanic breeze. She wore a short, slim, white dress. Her pendant jingled with each movement.

"Avi," called Ser Gerhalos. "Another package has come for you," he said, holding a white box.

Avi walked to her knight and took it from him. She opened it and showed him her new white dress adorned with tiny diamonds and silk flowers. She held it close to herself and looked at it in the mirror.

"Isn't it beautiful?" she asked. "It's the dress from the mannequin I saw in the clothing shop's window. I'm going to use it during my adventure."

"You used up all of our gold buying that," said Ser Gerhalos.

"Master Yu-Gi-Oh gave us enough gold to live well during our time here," said Avi, setting down the dress on a couch. Her slippers squeaked on the black and white tiled floor. "Don't worry."

Ser Gerhalos gave a heavy sigh. He walked towards her, his chainmail clinking with each step. He picked up the dress which looked like a bridal gown for a wedding.

"It's good fabric," he said.

"Isn't it something?" said Avi, giving her knight a look full of wonder. "Cost me a hundred gold stars."

"By the Goddesses, Avi!" said Ser Gerhalos, shooting her a nasty look with his black-gold eyes. "That's a lot of money."

"Yes, but I was treated by the Lord of the Islands," she assured him. "He gave me the gold to purchase the dress. And some new armor for you."

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing now?" He beat his chest. "This is good, sturdy steel."

"It was good sturdy steel, Ser Gerhalos, now it's a bucket of rust."

"Bah," said Ser Gerhalos. "If you insist."

"We're going to be meeting the royal family of Domino. You need to look your best, especially today. I'm going to be visited by someone very special."

"Your bath is ready, My Lady," said another maid.

"If you'll excuse me, Ser Gerhalos."

"Who is this guest of yours?" the knight-champion asked.

"All right you," said a maid, getting a broom. "Shoo! Shoo!"

Avi couldn't help but get a laugh as the big beast knight was forced out by an army of pretty handmaidens.

"All right! All right!" he shouted. "I get the point!"

When he was gone, Avi went to the bathing house and beheld a pool with dark blue water surrounded by an aquatic garden with an indoor river, grotto, and waterfall coming down from the stone walls.

A maid slipped her dress over her head and led her into the pool so as to wash her.

"Summoner of Dragons," a maid said, rubbing a sponge on Avi's arm. "You must be very honored to bear such a title."

"Aye," said another maid. "Dragon Summoners were thought to be long gone since the departure of the True Dragons after the Battle of Flames and Tears."

"Truly the Church's most heinous crime," said Avi. A pretty Elvish maid beside her stripped down to go into the water and massage her legs. "The True Dragons were what kept the Orcs out of our lands. After Saafani called them home, she left our fate to them."

"She was a real bitch for doing that," said a maid with green hair. "My mother and father had to live in fear for many years under the rule of Anubis."

"Well you can't blame her, dear," said the maid washing Avi's arm. "Dragons are her children, and the most precious gift given to Termnnia aside from the Divine Beasts and the High King. To see them, and the Dragon Summoners, slaughtered by the people they swore to protect broke her heart."

"So why does she suddenly grace us with a Summoner after all this time?" asked another maid.

"Mayhaps it had something to do with the song in the sky."

"You're out of your mind, Saki. That song was the announcement of Prince Daveed Wallcroft, the Slayer of Anubis. Goddesses bless his name."

"I thought he was of House Delgado," said Avi. "Was his father not Gabriel the heir to the Fossil Throne of Feldia?"

"That may be so," said Saki, "but House Delgado is a very stubborn and selfish House. Gabriel had Daveed out of adultery with the Celtra woman, Luthia. If I remember correctly, he was supposed to marry Princess Hannah of House Knox, daughter of Gerald the King of the Arctic."

"So what happened?" Avi asked.

Another maid began to wash Avi's long hair.

"The beauty of the Celtra must have gotten to him," said Saki. "Because he instead fell in love with her at the School of Kings and married her before they fled to Emboldor to live with Master Yu-Gi-Oh and the High King after they had defeated the Dragonhearts with their rebellion. The Delgados were not pleased and declared their son a bastard."

"Hah!" said Avi. "And I suppose they're regretting that decision now, aren't they?"

"Oh, that they are," said Saki. "After High King Antar, Rest his Soul, adopted him and declared him the new heir to the Diamond Throne, they did all they could to bring him back. But these are the words of Master Yu-Gi-Oh, and I quote."

They all went silent to hear what Saki was going to say.

"Fuck off!"

A round of laughter and clapping.

"Serves them right," said Avi. "They wanted him back for power, not for love. They got what they deserved."

After Avi was done with her bath, she put on her new dress and went to the dining hall where Ser Gerhalos and her special guest were waiting.

"Seto Kaiba!" said Avi.

"Summoner," Kaiba said, getting up from his seat.

He kissed Avi's hand before they sat down to eat.

"To what does My Lady owe the pleasure of Seto Kaiba's visit?" Ser Gerhalos asked, standing over Avi while she sipped the broth of her soup out of a golden spoon.

Kaiba took a sip of wine. "I understand you will be going on a quest to search for the ancient temples of Saafani to acquire more of the True Dragons."

"I am, sir," said Avi.

"Tell me, did you find this?" Kaiba wiped his chin with a burgundy handkerchief before sliding her a photo of an ancient Celtran carving.

"A Blue-Eyes White Dragon?" said Ser Gerhalos. "Can't say that we have. Avi has a special power that can let her hear the cries of every dragon sleeping in Termnnia. She heard no music from such a beast."

"Damn," said Kaiba, settling back down. "I guess you are not who I'm looking for after all."

* * *

Kaiba and Avi went to walk off their lunch at the gardens of the hotel. Ser Gerhalos trailed behind them. Over the trees, they could hear the waves and seagulls.

"I am looking for a protege," said Kaiba, "An heir, if you will, to take control of the Blue-Eyes should the day come that I leave this world. I would have given them to my brother Mokuba, but the Blue-Eyes almost killed him when he tried to summon them."

"Oh dear!" said Avi. "They are very picky dragons, aren't they?"

"They are," said Kaiba. "I have been having dreams concerning them."

"About what?" Avi asked, picking a peach out of the lowest branch of a tree.

"I see...a woman. An Eldori woman with long white hair and glowing blue-eyes. I see her clutching a child in her arms. She walks towards me as she carries it. A baby girl by the looks of it. When the child opens her eyes, they pierce my soul. She has the eyes of my dragons."

"Maybe that's your heir."

"It was just a dream," said Kaiba. "And I'm sure it can't be her."

"Her who?"

"Forget it, it was just a dream."

"Dreams say a lot," said Avi. "Sometimes they foresee our destinies."

"I don't believe in that hocus pocus," said Kaiba. "Since the dragons have been in my mind for so long, I guess my mind birthed these dreams out of stress."

"Those dragons seem to be the only thing on your mind," said Ser Gerhalos. "You built a theme park based off the damn things just over the mountain."

"Well, I don't want to make it seem like I came here for nothing," Kaiba said, ignoring Ser Gerhalos' remark. "I am a faithful follower of the Dragon Goddess, and to see a Summoner of Dragons be blessed into the world after thousands of years is a tremendous honor for me. So, I will hand you these letters of credit for your journey. If you are ever short on gold just write down what you need and turn it into a bank, which should be found in each great city. I also want to give you this."

He reached into his pocket and took out a gold chain anklet with a tiny diamond in the shape of a teardrop.

Avi smiled and leaned back on an iron rail and lifted her leg so Kaiba could put it around her left ankle.

"It's from the Domino City temple of Saafani," said Kaiba. "It should bring you blessings of the Dragon Goddess and a boost in your mana to make summoning them easier."

"Thank you, Mister Kaiba," said Avi. "I promise, I won't let you down."

"You are the last Dragon Summoner left in the world," said Kaiba. "So you'd better not."

* * *

**Ser Gerhalos**

* * *

Ser Gerhalos watched the waves shining in the moonlight from his balcony. The salty sea air brushed against his mane. He nodded, praising the Goddesses for so much good fortune on their quest. He grew to like his new companions, even Constantine was beginning to rub off on him.

"Ser!" Avi called with disdain from her room.

"My Lady?" Ser Gerhalos called back while turning around to go back inside.

"Could I have your opinion on something?"

"Of course, my lady," Ser Gerhalos answered getting close to the room. "Why? Oh!" he exclaimed when he saw through the doorway.

He saw Avi's new attire. A modified corset of exquisite leather colored dark brown with filigree embroidery and two dragon emblems on the side and a black hood clipped on with silver engraved brooches, and denim short, shorts. A belt with leather pouches was clipped around her waist (one specially made for her dueling deck) and laced knee-high boots with engraved steel armor plating.

Her left arm was clad in black armbands that spanned from her bicep to her elbow. Her right arm had a black wristband with an ancient escutcheon belonging to the first order of Dragon Summoners from the beginning of the Age of Dragons.

"What do you think?" she asked. "Constantine bought it for me."

Ser Gerhalos began to stutter. Earlier, he sternly asked if Avi wanted to continue dressing like a wench. This new outfit of hers certainly did not help with that aspect.

_Constantine!_

"Well, it's certainly not what I would have picked for you," he said. "What do you think?"

Avi looked at herself in the mirror. "It certainly shows off my curves," she commented happily.

Ser Gerhalos puffed out frustration from his furry lips. "If it troubles you we can get you something new."

Avi grinned. "No, I kind of like it.

"If you say you, My Lady," said Ser Gerhalos. "We still have those letters of credit. We could get you some new armor."

Avi laughed and gave a twirl in front of the mirror. Ser Gerhalos mumbled in shock. She certainly grew on her new traveling raiment quite quickly.

"Nonsense," Avi said. "It shows off my beauty, which will throw my opponents off guard. I recall you saying earlier that it was hard to believe someone like me could be summoning dragons. Well, I may look beautiful and timid at first, but when they underestimate me, I will call my beasts and show them what for."

"That's the spirit," said Ser Gerhalos. "So, does everything fit you well? Is everything comfortable?"

"And how," said Avi. "I'm all set."

"Then you'd best get some rest. I will keep standing watch."

"All night?"

A nod from the knight. "All night," he replied.


	67. The Summoner of Dragons: Part 18

* * *

**Avi**

* * *

It was the start of her journey. At last with all the training behind her and a Fellowship of warriors and mages at her side, Avi felt like there was nothing in the whole world that could stop her. The Citrus Islands were long behind them and ahead lay the Vermillion Road, which led to the United Vederan Estates in the country of Thara. There, a dragon was said to be sleeping. Avi almost jumped with excitement at the thought of encountering her newest beast. What could it be? What power did it have? And what would be guarding it to make sure Avi did not acquire it. Those were daunting questions, but they troubled her not. All around her was wild country as far as the eye could see. They passed a herd of white stags with glowing green antlers grazing on the endless supply of red flowers blooming in the meadow below the hill where the trail was. An endless sea of red, clashing beautifully with the sky and a forest of white trees with ruby red leaves. Behind them was a long lake that mirrored the sky and the mountains of Felegost behind them.

She looked over her shoulder to marvel at her group. Ser Gerhalos, the Leogai knight. Constantine Belotserkovsky the dashing mercenary known as the Sword of Dawn, and his Infernal Dragon, Tartarus, who was swooping over the countryside looking for danger. Santiago de las Rosas, the adorable swashbuckling Meowri and cunning burglar. Trish and Phoenix, two powerful master pyromancers.

Avi could not believe that mere weeks ago she was being bossed around by a band of renegade knights in the tavern, being paid mere pennies for her service. Now, she was quite possibly the most important person in the world behind Prince Yuri and Yugi Muto. A Summoner of Dragons. She thanked the stars above for such a blessing. Safaani most of all. The Dragon Goddess chose her of all people to go forth on this quest to find ancient True Dragons.

"What can I do with them?" Avi asked, skipping ahead of the party.

"The question is what can't you do with them, my dear," Santiago said, resting on Trish's shoulder. "You are a Summoner of True Dragons. People gifted with your power have not been seen for thousands and thousands of years. Safaani wanted no one to call upon her children after the True Dragon's genocide. But now it seems she's showing faith in us mortals again."

Avi stopped and turned. "Could this have anything to do with Prince Yuri?" she asked.

"Perhaps," said Constantine. "A lot of miraculous things have been happening since he was born. But I did not think anything this miraculous. Or beautiful."

Ser Gerhalos growled at him as a warning to stop perving on Avi. "Master Yugi personally sent you on this quest, Avi. He sees things about people. It's a skill that he has. He knows someone's worth before even meeting them."

"He is an Eyar after all," said Phoenix. She bit into a green apple. "Those wizards are gifted with powers beyond our wildest dreams. Such a shame four of them chose to side with darkness."

"Bah," spat Ser Gerhalos. "They are weak. And Yuri proved we do not need to fear them when he destroyed Anubis as a mere infant. And now we have Avi, who will safeguard us from the likes of them with dragon fire."

Avi jumped with joy upon hearing that. She breathed the sweet air and hurried on ahead. "Come on!" she cried out. "I want to find my next dragon!"

"Avi!" cried Trish. "Come on, dear, don't you wander too far."

"There's a town over there!" she cried out. "Hurry, hurry! I could use some food and rest."

Constantine yawned and gave a stretch. "Why not? I could use a tavern right about now. If I'm not mistaken, this next town is known as Coalburn."

Trish looked at him. "What makes that place so special?"

"There's a buddy of mine down there who can really help us out on this quest. Believe me, we're gonna need him."

Ser Gerhalos stroked his chin. "He sounds like a warrior of great power. Perhaps we could use the likes of him in our party. What say you, Lady Avi?"

Avi looked over her shoulder. "Why not? These roads are dangerous. Have you not heard? I have a bounty placed on me."

"Who can forget?" said Phoenix. "They must be rather desperate to see your end if they're willing to pay that much for your head. Avi, come back!"

Avi still skipped down the path, entranced by bushes filled with ringing flowers. She wanted to take one. Just one. She neared the bush and heard a rustle. Avi stopped. The bushes began to rustle again. Perhaps it was a deer, Avi thought. No. Whatever it was, it was growling. Suddenly, two trees standing over the bushes were knocked down like toothpicks. A horrible scream echoed across the forest, scaring birds from the perches. Animals scattered in all directions to get away from the apex predator of the forest. Avi backed away in fear, tripped, and landed on her bottom. She scooted back with her hands at the sight of the monster looking down at her.

RAAAR!

The monster looked more like a man than beast. Avi knew at once what this creature was.

A Giant!

He was five meters tall, his flesh was colored in deep apricot and he was hairy, covered in a tunic made of deerskin, and he sported a wild, scary-looking beard. His eyes were wide and round, with a look of bloodlust in the dark-brown iris. He flashed his teeth, the size of cinderblocks. In the grip of his right hand, he carried a thick, wooden club. He roared in Avi's face again and raised his club to smash her. Avi screamed and held up her hands in vain. Ser Gerhalos swooped in and grabbed her, rolling away in time before the club smashed the ground.

RARRR! The giant screamed like a boy with a tantrum. A fireball launched out of nowhere and struck him in the face. He crawled on all fours like a wild beast and shook his head to put out the flames. The hairs on his beard struck by the flaming attack burned red and spewed steam in the air. He panted and breathed heavily like an angry ape.

Ser Gerhalos stood up and unsheathed his sword. "I will kill you if you touch her! Return from the mountains from whence you came and trouble us no more!"

Constantine drew his sword and whistled. The giant roared and thumped his chest as if accepting his challenge. Then, Tartarus dove out of the clouds and tackled the giant to the ground. The dragon did no anticipate the giant to be so strong. He jabbed him in the air with his trident tail and flew to safety. The giant stood up and started throwing boulders at him, roaring impatiently.

Trish's hair started glowing like flames and she opened her palms. Arcane circles formed over them and she began peppering the giant with a new spell she learned. Meteors shot out of her palms, smacking him hard on the chest, causing enough damage to make him bleed. When the giant saw the blood he went in a berserk rage. Raised his arm and howled. Now he was really going to pulverize them.

He went on all fours and charged. Trish gasped and rolled out of the way, but not before conjuring a fiery glyph on the ground. When the giant struck the glyph, it exploded. He roared in animalistic rage when he realized his ear was gone. Phoenix jumped up a tree. Flaming wings burst behind her. Her hands were engulfed in golden flames. She launched a stream of flames at the giant's face. He howled and rolled away smashing his face in the river to quell the flames. Constantine ran towards him. He jumped up the giant's arm and struck him in the jaw, causing a deep cut. Tartarus flew down and bathed the giant in green flames. It writhed, more angry than frightened at the pain. Constantine jumped off the giant's shoulder and landed safely on Tartarus's neck.

Ser Gehalos stood in front of Avi, acting as a shield. He looked to the right and saw a small gathering of people, cowering behind a tree. They were most likely from the town of Coalburn.

"Now, Avi!" shouted Ser Gehalos. "Conjure one of your beasts and end this foul beast once and for all!"

Avi nodded. She looked down at the orb around her neck and clasped her hands in prayer.

_Drenen Santitarus venofonil y eyath hren inflímarus_

A light shone down from the sky, followed by a mighty roar. Sanctity of Dragon soared from the heavens and landed next to Avi. The villagers gasped and stepped back in both awe and fright. A True Dragon was standing before them. And conjured by that girl and her strange group. What could this mean? They could only hold their breaths and watch what would happen next.

Sanctity of Dragon flapped his wings and rose above the forest. He looked down at the giant and unleashed a firestorm from his mouth. The giant roared for but a second before he went silent. When Sanctity of Dragon's flames subsided, all that was left was what appeared to be a black statue of the giant. Sanctity of Dragon blew on the giant's charred body and it sprinkled into the air like snow, dissolving until there was nothing left but a charred crater on the ground.

Sanctity of Dragon roared towards the sky victoriously and vanished.

Avi started feeling weak. She felt as though she were struck by a horrible fever.

Ser Gerhalos ran for her aid. "Avi!" he shouted, holding her in his arms.

"It's all right, it's all right," Phoenix said running towards her. "Yes, that's what happens when an amateur summons a very powerful eidolon for the first time. And this creature being a True Dragon at that."

She reached into one of the pouches on her belt and searched around for a bottle. She found it at last. It was small and diamond-shaped. Inside was a ruby-red liquid. Phoenix pulled the glass cork off the bottle and then poured the liquid into Avi's mouth. Avi opened her eyes and yawned.

"Oh my. I feel...I feel like I've had a good night's sleep. She stood up and stretched. "Phoenix. What was in that potion? I feel like I can wrestle the giant with my bare hands."

"It's a Phoenix Feather Elixir," the fire mage replied. "Just a drop will replenish your energy. Master Yugi thought it wise that I bring a few of these along. I only have a few so think before you use your dragons again. You're going to need a little more training if you want to use them more frequently and efficiently."

She stopped talking when she heard a sound coming from down the road. The sound of applause.

The villagers gathered in the middle of the road, clapping, cheering, and whistling.

"He's dead!" a woman shouted. "You killed him!"

"You killed him!" another woman shouted.

"It's her!" said a pox-marked man. "It's her! She's the one everyone in the kingdom is talking about. The Summoner of Dragons! She saved us!"

"I did?" Avi said.

"Come, come!" said a portly, old man. "We must tell the Baron of the news. He will want to hear this!"

The party followed the villagers to the town, nestled deep in the forest. It consisted of a few homes, a three-floored tavern, a watermill, and a stable for travelers to keep their horses. The town was surrounded by a weak wooden fence with a few guards posted in small stone huts at the corners. Overlooking the town was a stone tower where the Baron lived. The flags of his house flapped in the wind on copper poles going down in a row on either side of the white stone path. The windows of the tower were lit with a friendly, warm glow. Archers kept a lookout from their post, peering through the crenelations for troublemakers or monsters.

"Ring the bells!" shouted the old man. "Ring the bells! Gromoth the Wild is dead! Ring the bells! Ring the bells!"

And so they did. The bells in the nearby priory and the ones on the watchtowers around the town.

"Gromoth the Wild is dead! Rejoice! The giant is dead!"

People came out of their houses to see what all the brouhaha was all about. Word of the giant's death spread fast across the town. And soon everyone started in the town started cheering. When they learned of what Avi had done, they surrounded her to shake her hand. She was crowned with a tiara of flowers and was given a bouquet. The doors to the stone tower opened. The Baron was coming out, only he was not what Avi had expected.

The Baron was a gnome. A little gnome dressed in regal blue clothes emblazoned with gold and silver thread. And his head was topped with a little red hat. He walked towards the group.

"What is this I hear?" he said. "A dragon? You summoned a dragon?"

"Aye, she did, my lord," said one of the women on the road. "She summoned it! I saw it with me own eyes! She summoned the creature and burnt it to a crisp!"

A man ran into the village. "Look!" he said, holding up what looked like a white boulder. It was the giant's molar. "Look!" he said again. "She speaks truth. This is one of the giant's teeth? Gromoth the Wild is dead!"

"Then this is a day of independence!" shouted the Baron.

"Huzzah!" shouted the villagers.

The gnome bowed. "My lady. I am Velon Minkletoes of the Yellowood Realm. For many years, that beast has kept us under his rule. He stole our cows, pigs, horses, and sealed off the entrance to the ruby mine that made us rich. Now, with him gone, we can finally go about our business and Coalburn will be the thriving community it once was!"

"Huzzah!" shouted the villagers.

"What is your name, beautiful lady?" asked one of the women.

Avi gulped. She did not want so much recognition, but what choice did she have. "I am Avellana Lofnmagni Ethelfleda," she answered. "But you can call me Avi. I am the Summoner of Dragons."

"HAIL THE SUMMONER OF DRAGONS!" chanted the villagers.

"Music!" cried the gnome. "Come everyone. Let's make some room here. It's time to party!"

The villagers cheered and went to work at once.

Constantine scoffed. "Man, they act like she did all the work."

Trish rolled her eyes. "She did summon the beast that killed it. All you did was give it a cut."

"Cozy little town," said Constantine, quickly changing the topic. "I'm heading for the inn if anybody needs me."

"I'll join you," said Avi. "I am so famished."

Phoenix shook her head disapprovingly. "Uh, Avi, wouldn't it be best to meet with the Baron and discuss our business here?"

Avi started hopping up and down, her face squishing in unpleasantness. "I would, but I don't need the inn just to eat. I need to use the privy. Oof, I've gotta pee."

"I see," said Phoenix. "I must admit, I need to relieve myself as well. Anyone else going to the inn?"

"You go ahead," said Trish. "Ser Gerhalos and I will go speak with the Baron. I'll go check the bounty board in the center of town. Perhaps there's work around here that could land us some extra coin. That way we won't have to squander the letters of credit Yugi gave us."

"And perhaps he knows where we can find the temple with Avi's dragon," Ser Gerhalos added.

Santiago hopped from Trish's shoulder to Avi's. "I'll go with The Summoner." He looked at Constantine and hissed. "And I'll be keeping an eye on you, Constantine! Any sudden moves on the girl, and I'll poke both your eyes out with my sword."

Constantine shrugged. "Sure. Whatever. Come on, Avi."

Avi followed him and Phoenix into the inn. It smelled sweet in there. A great, brick hearth at the center of the foyer was roaring, warming up the patrons who sat in booths with green leather seats and polished wooden tables. A pretty tavern girl walked up to them, holding a tray with hot food and cold ale. Her chestnut brown hair was tied into two braids and topped with blue ribbons. Constantine smiled at her attire.

"Hello, travelers," she said. "Welcome to The Singing Sword Inn. I am Penny. How can we be of service?"

"We need food and ale," said Constantine. "And these two beauties require the use of the powder room."

Penny nodded. "Of course. It's upstairs, second door on the left. There is a seat over by the window in the east wing. Make yourselves comfortable and I'll be right with you in a second to take your order."

"Thank you, my darling," said Santiago.

"Oh, he's so cute!" Penny chirped as she walked away.

"Ah-ha!" Santiago boasted. "The ladies still fall for me."

Phoenix and Avi went upstairs while Constantine went for the vacant booth. "Easy for you to say. You're a cat with boots. It's devilishly cute."

He sat down and waited. His two companions finally made it downstairs and sat down in the booth to join Constantine. Both of them took seats across from him.

"Feeling better girls?" Constantine asked.

"Much," Avi replied. "Now that we finally have a chance to sit down and talk. "I wish to know more about you. How did you become the fabled Sword of Dawn and where did you find companionship with Tartarus? Your dragon."

"That's a good question," said Phoenix. "He's no True Dragon, but he's still a powerful beast. Dragons are not known to be tamable either."

Constantine sighed and leaned against the booth, putting his arm over it. His necklace jingled. The headphones he wore around his neck were on. Music could still be heard from them. "I stole him from a collector of precious artifacts," he said. "I was once a notorious burglar."

"Really?" said Phoenix. "Any good loot? Portraits? Furniture? Jewels? Things of that sort?"

Constantine scoffed. "Nope. I made a name for myself stealing panties from more than a thousand young maidens."

Phoenix and Avi froze and looked at each other. Avi tightened her belt.

Constantine laughed at the startled expressions they made. "That was a joke, girls. I'm not about to swipe your undies. Least not yours, Avi. I wouldn't want Arvas or your Sanctity of Dragon burning me to cinders now, heh, heh."

"Hmmm," Phoenix said with a nod. "Or Ser Gerhalos ripping your arms off."

Constantine shrugged. "Anyways, I was just trying to get some gold coins to buy medicine for my mom, Andrava rest her soul. Sure enough, Tartarus's egg was in the man's collection. He was calling me to save him. Begging me to get him out of there. So I did. Hmph. We became brothers ever since."

"Well, isn't that sweet," said Avi. "I do hope I can form a bond like that with my dragons." She looked at the orb around her neck. "Mine still have their doubts towards me."

"You've got to treat them like they're one of you own," said Constantine. "They're not some pet -they will kill you if you think of them that way - and they are not mere weapons. You need to treat them as though they're family. Ah, here comes Penny."

The tavern girl approached their table and took out a notepad from her apron's pocket. "What will it be my lord and ladies?"

Constantine ordered for all of them. "First we'll have some of that Honeybee Mountain Beer. And to save you the trip, bring us the whole keg. Wouldn't want to tire out those lovely legs of yours."

Avi frowned. "Let her work in peace, Constantine." She knew all too well what it was like to be harassed trying to make a living. She would not stand to see anyone else go through that same humiliation.

"Forgive me," said Constantine.

Penny shrugged. "Quite all right. I get that a lot. It bothers me not. Um, may I recommend cheese to go with the beer, my lord?"

"Uh, no, we'll have cheese for dessert. Besides, we need something salty, warm, and strong in our mouths to sweeten the taste of the beer. I do recall a platter with chicken pieces, diverse pieces of beef, pork strands, and other yummy morsels still hissing from the grill."

"That's the Red Baron's Platter Special," said Penny.

Constantine snapped his fingers. "That's the one. And then roast hen stuffed with cornbread and a bucket of crab legs for my other mage friend who will be joining us soon."

"Oh! And big, juicy, steak for Ser Gerhalos at my expense," Avi added.

"Would you have it marinated in butterbeer punch, green pepper sauce, or sprinkled with herbs?"

Avi licked her lips. "I'm sure he'd love the butterbeer punch."

"Very good," said Constantine. "And how about lamb with onions? And some maple-basted chicken breast."

"Of course," said Penny.

Santiago raised his hand. "I see you have something on your menu. A soup with diverse fishies, mollusks, crayfish, and other tasty morsels."

Penny winked at him. "It's the Catch of the Day. It comes with a side of fried fish, chips, or baked potatoes."

"I'll take the lot," Santiago said, tossing a handsome diamond at the girl.

"At your service, my little furry knight," she said, putting the gem into her corset. "Is that for everyone?"

"Indeed," said Constantine.

Trish came by a short while later. She was smiling at Avi. "Good news. There's an old Norman burial ground looking right over the village. If I'm not mistaken, that's the spot on the map. Our first dragon is sleeping under this town."

"How wonderful!" Avi said, beaming.

"It's not going to be easy," said Trish. "After our meal, we should go to our rooms and rest. We're not done fighting here."

"What's up?" Phoenix asked.

"Apparently, there's been some strange happenings down there. Tales of wandering spirits and a monster that comes out during the night to feed on the glowing elk."

"Nothing we can't handle," Constantine replied brashly. "Especially not with our pretty heroine over here."

"You're not scared of the monster, Constantine?" asked Phoenix.

"After that tackling that big, hairy, lummox out there, how hard can a bunch of ghosts and a hungry beast be? These monsters guarding the dragons better be good sport, otherwise, this is just gonna be too easy."

* * *

Meanwhile, outside the inn. A girl stepped into town. She removed her hood. Blair Flannigan smiled at the festivities taking place around her. Her dragon flew out of the trees and landed on her shoulder. He chirped reassuringly.

Blair nodded and snapped her fingers. "Found ya."


	68. The Summoner of Dragons: Part 19

**Antilles**

* * *

The forests of his estate at the foot of the Silverlord Mountain range were the ideal place for him to go when he did not wish to be bothered by the pressing matters of so on and so forth. Most of all, he was in no mood to be hearing of Prince Daveed or Yugi Muto. He wanted to be alone and enjoy the scenery of brilliant green around him.

The water of the River Tulkas running beside the dirt path had turned a brilliant shade of green with spots of pale blue as it reflected the clear skies above. Along the river bank slithered the monster Behegon; a strange, bulbous, sea serpent with a massive mouth lined with fangs ( **ATK/1350 DEF/1000 LV 4** ).

They were as large as a full-grown elephant seal and just as dangerous, but they kept themselves so long as Antilles maintained his distance from them. The leg of a deer was hanging out the creature's mouth, but who was to say the Behegon wasn't still hungry.

He made a few rounds around the trail to clear his mind for the party being held in his castle which he promptly returned to as soon as the night was fast approaching. By the time he had made it to the gate the carriages were arriving and the windows of his home, Castle Eltz, were glowing brightly. Castle Eltz was a medium-sized castle deep in the wilderness of the Forest Kalkoura.

Though many miles from Rassay, Antilles could still see the Spire of the Kings glowing in the distance from his bedchambers. As the guests were dropped off at the courtyard, the band he hired began playing their lutes and pipes by the fountain with a limestone statue depicting Antilles' late father; the former High King of Termnnia, before he was ousted him from power by Gabriel the Black and Antar Wollcroft; both of whom fathered Prince Daveed for a short period of time before their deaths.

A howl of wolves in the mountains behind him sent a chill down his spine and quickened his pace for the castle.

"Scared of the dark, Your Highness?"

"It would be unwise to sneak up on me like that, Ser Galm," Antilles said, trying to keep his breath in control and his body as still as possible. He turned to look at the young knight, leaning against the trunk of a tree with his arms crossed over his chest. He wore scaled, white enameled armor, festooned with gold scrollwork, and a white, hooded cape. His hair was long and light pink, the back tied into a messy ponytail. He had a diamond-shaped shield and a jewel-encrusted sword sheathed on his back.

"Happy birthday, by the way," said Ser Galm. "How old? Twenty?"

Antilles lightly snorted. "Flattery, eh? What is it that you want?"

"I want to discuss business with you."

"I'm listening."

"I've heard rumors in the Termnnian Warrior's Guild about a dozen or so Lords and bandit kings placing a hefty bounty on the capture of the Summoner of Dragons. Everyone knows King Forrest is set to go after her, but the second bounty had me...intrigued so to speak. You know me, Antilles. I like to dig deep into rumors I find worthy of my time. Low and behold, I followed a Lord from Emboldor, who turned out to be a proud supporter of the Dragonheart Party and the Kenny Faction."

"You made him talk, didn't you?"

"I did," Ser Galm said, polishing the armor over his fingers. "You know how these fat, overpaid noblemen are? Once they have a sword pressed against their throat, they start singing like a bird. And this little birdie told me that the bounty placed on The Summoner of Draongs was set forth by you. Is that true?"

"So what if it is?"

"I thought we were friends. I'm hurt you didn't tell us, The White Paladins of Bellhold, about this little scheme. We want in."

"And why should a distinguished bunch like yourselves want to join the ranks of bandits, raiders, and lowly mercenaries for a bit of gold?"

Ser Galm laughed. "I wouldn't have come here looking to join the hunt if it was just for a bit of gold. You put up a shit load of gold for her capture. And a little extra for someone else. Just who would this someone else be? If you don't mind me asking."

"Until I figure out who the second party is, there is not much I can tell you," said Antilles. "But yes. The bounty of five-hundred thousand paid in gold Star Chips and coins came from me. I already have enough to worry about with the likes of Yugi Muto and his band. They are self-righteous fools who are putting the Prince of Termnnia in danger. They think that breaking the law is for his own good, but they fail to see with each time they pass the Different Dimension Gate, they bring the villains after him much closer."

"Not that you care, huh?" said Ser Galm. "Everyone knows you want to take the Heart-EartH Crown. You've wanted it ever since you learned you could summon Slifer the Sky Dragon."

Antilles smiled. Ser Galm could read him like a book. "No," Antilles answered. "I don't care if the boy lives or dies. But it seems our enemy is successful at what they do. They are the best, which is why all of Termnnia loves them. But I know they are behind the series of events going on in the other world. The Black Tyranno of House Delgado has disappeared and now it has come to my attention that Prince Yuri has it."

Ser Galm nodded his head. "Yugi Muto was behind this, wasn't he?"

"I have no doubt it was his doing, but even with the Senate in my pocket, I cannot condemn him of this crime without any proof. The card disappeared before the eyes of the King of Feldia." He laughed. "Actually, it disappeared in his very fingertips down in the vaults underneath his castle. I have heard some sources say that they discovered the card in possession of one of Yugi's friends."

"And what happened to this source?"

"It was never seen again. And I cannot just say to the Senate and the Chancellors that I had a source and somehow it vanished. It will look like I'm pointing fingers. Goddesses know I don't want that. I could lose my credibility with the Senate."

"Politics don't concern me," said Ser Galm. "But I can tell Yugi is messing up whatever flimflam you're stirring up in the Senate. So, I'll help you out with your Dragon Summoner problem, provided we get paid in advance."

"Why would I do that?"

"Hunting down a Summoner of Dragons is going to be hard work," said Ser Galm, with a roguish smirk. "We're going to need our gear prepped. Our swords sharpened. And not to mention some Mana Crystals to refuel our pools. We've got strong mages and powerful summoners in our order. And, if we do the Summoner to you, I expect a little something, something for myself."

"Yes?"

"I want a million in gold. Every year. For the rest of my life. And your niece's hand in marriage."

Antilles was frozen like a statue. "Alexandra?"

"The one and only. Come on, Antilles, she's a great prize, far greater than money. She's beautiful, has those mighty Underworld Dragons, and is the heir of Dragon's Nest. Not to mention she's got firm tits and a nice ass."

"Enough!" Antilles almost shouted. "You can have gold and three castles with a vast amount of land to call your own. I can dub you Lord of Wyvernrun and send you every fair maiden from the House of Flowers. But you will never get Alexandra. Ever. Am I clear?"

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Your Highness. I'm sorry to say that your campaign to get Yugi and the Summoner killed is going to end up in failure. Bandits? Mercenaries? Drunken wannabes with clubs and pitchforks have even taken arms to look for them. Do you honestly think they can take on the Heroes of Rassay? They won't stand a chance. Also, suppose one of them gets caught. Yugi and his friends are very persuasive. Much more than I - I'm sad to admit. Just like I figured out it was you who set the bounty, they will figure it out, too. And if the Chancellors find out you've been scheming against Yuri, they will see you hanged, King or not. I can't imagine what this might do to House Dragonheart. You guys already have a bad rep as it was with the rebellion your father started all those years ago."

Antilles said nothing.

"The moment you told every lowlife in Termnnia to go up in arms against Yugi, Yuri, and Avi, you put your foot in the shit. My boys and I can clean that mess up. We'll take them down easily. Especially me. I've got a score to settle with Ser Gerhalos. Just give the blessing to marry your niece, and I promise Yugi Muto will never trouble you ever again."

Ser Galm drummed his fingers against his biceps, waiting for Antilles to say something.

Finally, Antilles spoke. "If you manage to complete the task, we will talk about that blessing. Right now all you have to try and convince me is a promise yet to be fulfilled. I can pay you the extra gold you need, but until I see Yugi's head before me, Alexandra is off the table."

"Very well, Your Highness. I'll get on it.

Ser Galm leaned off the tree trunk and bowed. He then walked into the forest and disappeared.

Antilles shook his head. "Fool."

* * *

**Avi**

* * *

"She said her name is Blair Flannigan." Ser Gerhalos stood outside the door of Avi's room.

"What does she want?" Avi asked. "More importantly, who is she? I've never heard of her before."

There was a thump from Constantine's room, followed by a loud grunt and a few vases crashing down. Ser Gerhalos's ear twitched and he shook his head, wondering what the young rascal was up to in there. "I do not know who she is, but she has something you might find rather interesting. Normally I'd tell anyone who wants to join this party off, but this girl is something else."

The door to Constantine's room burst open. Constantine came hopping out, trying to put his jeans on. "Blair!?" he cried out. He fell forward and landed on the ground with a crash. He got up at once, leaving his pants at his ankles. "Blair Flannigan is here?"

"Yyyes," Ser Gerhalos said slowly and awkwardly. "I trust you know who she is?"

"Know her? Of course, I do! She and I were companions in the Adventurer's Guild. It doesn't surprise me that she's here at all. After all, a lodge for the Guild is just outside of the town. We must go there at once! I have to pick up my earnings for the last hunt I was on. They owe me 5000 Gold."

Avi came out of her room. "Oh, well done, Constan - Oh, you're..." She sniggered uncontrollably.

Constantine forgot he didn't pull his jeans up and quickly did before Ser Gerhalos had any ideas to maul him for thoughts of him showing indecency. He fastened his mithril belt buckle tightly out of embarrassment, causing him to yelp in agony. "I'm fine," he said.

Ser Gerhalos put his hand on Avi's shoulder and led her downstairs to meet with the girl. She was in a booth at the corner of the inn, scarfing down a whole roast of hen all to herself and for her Mythic Dragon.

"She had a dragon?" Avi whispered. "Is it a True Dragon?"

"That it is," said Ser Gerhalos. "I told you this was going to be interesting."

"Interesting indeed," Santiago said, climbing on top of the boot. "Greetings, Lady Blair. I am Santiago de Las Rosas. The Great Burglar of Feldia and world-renowned bounty hunter." He bowed as he took off his hat.

"I'm Phoenix of the Adamantium Citadel in Katina. I have been chosen to guide Avi to Eredas. And I will be Prince Yuri's Court Magician when he is crowned as High King."

"I'm Trish. Lady Mai of House Valentine asked me to come along and help Avi."

Ser Gerhalos nodded his head. "I'm Ser Gerhalos. Lady Avi's Knight-Champion, Oathsword, and Second in Command of the group."

"And I'm Constantine. I just thought I'd come along. My Infernal Dragon and I are now officially under Avi's command. And yours if need be."

"It's a pleasure, Santiago," Blair said munching on the leg of the hen. She looked at Avi and bowed her head. "Mmm, so you're Avi, huh? Darn pleased to meet you. I've been searching all over for you for the past few months."

"Have you?" Avi said, sitting down. "Um, but I've only learned about my dragons just recently. How could you have heard about me all this time?"

"I used to serve as a Crystal Paladin."

"A mercenary," said Ser Gerhalos.

"Ones with direct ties to the High King," Phoenix said to calm him. "They're the best of the best. Only the bravest and noblest of knights, paladins, and soldiers can join their ranks."

"That's right," said Blair. "Before Master Yugi left to look for Princes for the Alliance, I overheard him talking about a girl who could summon True Dragons. At first, I didn't believe it. But I started to have these weird visions. Weeks later I find an egg on my bed and this little guy hatches."

The Mystic Baby Dragon waddled towards Avi. She petted the creature, causing it to chirp. "He's wonderful! What's his name?"

"Some cards were in the egg when he hatched," Blair explained. "Thanks to them, I know he's called Mystic Dragon. Well, Mystic Baby Dragon anyway. I resigned from the Paladins and went off to live the life of an adventurer."

"But you're so young," said Avi. "How could you be a Crystal Paladin? You don't look a day over fifteen."

"I'm just drawn that way," Blair said, putting her arm over the seat. "I'm an Eldori, remember? We live for thousands and thousands of years."

"Nevertheless, you look very young," said Ser Gerhalos. "And training for the Crystal Paladins takes many years of hard work. Tell me, girl, what accomplishments did you achieve to get you into the Crystal Paladins? What were you?"

"I was a soldier in the military of House Princeton. We fought against the Dwarves of the Dragonback Mountains."

"The Red Rock War?" Santiago said in shock. "Improbable! I fought in that war when I was still just a kitten. That was decades ago!"

"More than a decade actually," said Avi. "That must mean you're over twenty."

Blair shrugged and took a gulp of ale. "Thirty-seven."

"Damn," chuckled Trish. "I hope I look that good when I'm your age, Blair."

"Eldoris are truly amazing creatures," said Avi. "Thirty-seven and you still look like a child."

"I still am a child," chuckled Blair. "We Eldoris don't reach adulthood until we're in our late-hundreds. Have you seen Mokuba Kaiba? The Kid is like fifty and still looks like he should be in daycare."

"Pardon me," said Avi. "Where I come from, we don't see Eldori Folk. You and Solomon Muto are the first I've seen all my life. Nevertheless, I am very glad to meet you."

"Same here. While I was traveling, I happened upon a Priory dedicated to the Temple of Safaani who gave me this map. They said the key to unlocking the little guy's true power resided in some temple up near the borders of Feldia, that's dinosaur country. You know they have three powerful dragons hidden in a temple there waiting for just the right person to find them."

Phoenix snapped her fingers. "The Evolzars! The Guardians of the Delgado Royal Family. Shepherds of all the Dinosaurs. You are sure about this?"

"I am," said Blair. "Monks from the Dragon Goddess's temple do not lie. It's against the Sphere of Safaani."

Avi's face beamed with joy and excitement. Her smile widened with every passing second. "Really? Three dragons?"

Ser Gerhalos held up his hand. "Hold on. If you know about this temple, why didn't you seek it out and help your own dragon? Why must Avi get involved with this?"

Blair pointed at him. "Because to get in there, one has to be a Dragon Summoner, which I am not. It's a win-win for both Avi and me. She finds three new Eidolons for her quest, and my buddy hear will be at full power."

"Let's do it," said Constantine. "I'm all for hanging around two dragon-wielding babes."

"But the border to Feldia is still far away," said Ser Gerhalos.

"Far away?" Constantine said with a scoff. "Ser Gerhalos come on. It's only a two-day hike from here. Faster on the back of my dragon."

Phoenix held up her hand. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, now. There is still much we have to do here first. There is a temple with a dragon underneath this town. That is why we came, remember? Let's not forget him. And second of all, we need supplies. Potions, elixirs, mana crystals, things of that sort."

Constantine nodded. "Let me get that coin from the Guild, and I'll pay for those supplies. Send me the list of what you need and I'll go shopping. We'll meet up at the temple when we're ready."

* * *

An hour later, the party had gathered what they needed and gathered outside of the ancient Norman burial mound, which supposedly housed a temple with a powerful dragon sleeping in it. Avi would have been excited about finding it, but she remembered Trish talking about the monster supposedly stalking the dark, old, halls of the crypt. Using a key she got from the Baron, Phoenix unlocked the rusty, iron door of the burial mound. She had to burn a few blankets of spiderwebs off it first. It sprinkled rust and dirt as it opened. Ser Gerhalos went in first and lit a torch. Constantine was to stay in the back of the party with his own and make sure they had no trouble sneaking up from behind them.

Even with her party by her side, Avi was still terribly frightened of going down there. Yes, she had overcome many dangers in the previous crypts, but they were terrors she did not wish to face alone ever again. Blair stood by Avi's side, her Mystic Dragon sat on her shoulder. He was small, but not to be trifled with. He could still shoot out powerful flames hot enough to burn a man to ash in seconds. Santiago hopped along the walls and landed on Avi's shoulder.

"Don't worry, My Lady," he said, taking out his jeweled rapier. "I'll safeguard you from the terrors down here. I have the eyes of a hawk and the ears of a fox. Nothing is going to get past me, nothing!"

"I feel better," Avi said, keeping her fear in check. "Thank you."

"It's wise to keep your sword up, Santiago," Ser Gerhalos said, going down a dark, spiraled stairway. "There are worse things than giants underneath the ground. We'd best be wary of that monster said to lurk here."

"Doesn't it hunt at night?" Phoenix asked. "If so, it is home."

"Sounds good to me," said Constantine. "That means his head will bring a lot of gold after I kill him. Saves me the trouble of hunting him."

Avi gulped. "Yes, but we don't have Tartarus helping us out. And these old crypts are too small for me to summon any dragons."

Ser Gerhalos turned to look at her and smiled. "Not to worry, Little Avi. We won't need them. We have the skill to take it on."

As they pressed on, they passed by crypts belonging to an ancient Norman royal family that used to rule over these lands before Tiberius the Uniter expelled all the Norman rulers from power. When they entered the end of the crypt, there was a giant hole that was smashed into the wall by a giant creature. It smelled awful in there. As though a hundred men gathered together and synchronized their flatulence. The bones of cattle, elk, and other creatures littered the ground.

"Oh, fuck!" groaned Blair. She pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and snacked it over her mouth and nose.

Ser Gerhalos cringed at the smell. Avi was looking very green and was wobbling as though she was drunk. He opened one of the pouches in his pack and tossed her a cloth to cover her nose as well.

"I've smelled a lot of things in my life," said Constantine. "But this is the worst."

"Oh, Ana and her tits so ripe!" Santiago blasphemed. "That is so foul! I've eaten sweeter-smelling things from the garbage!"

Ser Gerhalos stopped. "Everyone be quiet! Do you hear that?"

They halted and listened. Ser Gerhalos was right. Something in the cave was snoring. No...there was more than one. There had to be five of them. Maybe more."

"Trolls!" said Ser Gerhalos. "Damn the luck, damn!"

Avi hid behind him. "What do we do?"

"We fight them!" said Constantine. "That's the best we can do. There's no sneaking by them."

Blair backed away and hit a shelf. Its old supports could hold it up no more, causing it to fall and drop a vase and a steel candelabra. BANG! BANG! BANG! They smashed against the ground and shattered. The trolls were startled. Avi could see them in the dim light of Ser Gerhalos's torch. They were a clump of dark-brown hair for a moment, but then she noticed their long, bulbous noses. Only their ugly faces, hands, and large feet were exposed, They had wide eyes and boulder-sized molars that could crush Avi to paste in no time at all.

"My bad," said Blair.

"Oh, goodness!" Avi whined.

"They don't look so tough," said Constantine, unsheathing his sword. "We can take them. You can, too! Come on, Avi, you've had bigger challenges before. These guys are nothing to Fiends and Dragoness the Wicked Knight, whom you've taken down all by yourself. Fight, Avi! Fight!"

The trolls got up, snarling and snorting. It wasn't long before the noticed Avi and her party standing in their turf. They howled and smacked their teeth loudly as a way to intimidate them and keep them from going any further.

Constantine laughed at them. "Come on!" he shouted. "Are you oversized furballs all that stand in the way of the mighty Avi and her dragon! Run while you still can! You are not the threat here. It's us you should be fearing!"

Ser Gerhalos pounded his chestplate and roared at them. The cave shook with his calls. No, this the trolls would not tolerate. They stood up. Their size traumatized Avi. Those hairy, smelly, beasts stood over ten feet tall. They let out their eerie howls again and stamped their teeth even harder, a sign that they were going to eat the group if they did not leave. Two trolls ran towards them. Long, skinny tails with a tuft of fur at the top whipped around behind them.

Phoenix whistled a smooth, majestic song. A fiery arcane glyph formed above her. From it emerged her beloved firebird known as Mavelus. The fiery bird screeched and flew around in circles over the trolls to distract them. It then launched a beam of fire at one of the trolls, lighting its mossy fur on fire. Constantine hollered with joy. He put on his headphones and blasted music from his combat playlist as loud as he could before he charged toward the trolls. He stuck the troll on the nose, causing it to howl in agony.

Blair charged as well, letting out a fierce battle cry. Ser Gerhalos drew his massive greatsword and rushed to assault the monsters. He rammed into one with his massive shoulder targe, breaking two of its teeth and knocking it backward. Avi did not want to be left behind on all the action. She was given all the tools she needed to succeed in this quest to find a good number of dragons before meeting with Yami in Eredas. She drew her sword from the scabbard on her lower back and shouted, charging for the smallest troll.

"YEAH! AVI! THAT'S IT!" cheered Constantine.

Avi slashed a troll across the belly. She merely angered it, but in its rage, it failed to see Ser Gerhalos striking him from behind and dealing more damage across the back. Mavelus pecked the eyes off the alpha troll. Phoenix waved and signaled for Avi to strike it down. Avi charged and jabbed her sword into the creature's belly. But it was stuck. She could not get it out. She hung from the hilt ridiculously, waving about like a ragdoll. "HELP! HELP!" she cried.

A troll was approaching her, ready to gobble her up. Trish blasted him with a cannon of flames from her palms, igniting it. She created a sword that looked like flames made solid and she struck the beast multiple times before slaying it. The troll Avi had attacked, grabbed her with his dirty palm and held her up, ready to eat her.

"Señorita!" called Santiago, scurrying to her rescue. He poked the troll on the nose and it let her go. Avi fell on the ground on her butt. Santiago pulled her sword out of the monster's belly and threw it back at her. Avi decided to give it one more try and slashed him across the chest. The troll squealed and keeled backward, landing on the ground with a crash.

Finally, the battle was over. The trolls were dead and the crypt was liberated from their filth.

"We did it!" said Blair. "We've done it."

"Don't celebrate just yet," said Ser Gerhalos, sheathing his sword. "There is still a dragon to find."

The doors to the temple were behind the nest the trolls made to sleep. Ser Gerhalos and Constantine pushed them open and they found themselves in some sort of ancient observatory. "You guys have to see this!" said Constantine.

He and Ser Gerhalos parted to let Avi through first. She gasped in wonder at what she saw.


	69. The Summoner of Dragons: Part 20

"They're called Wyrm Stones," Blair said, showing Avi a group of stones in the middle of a forest with white trees and ruby red leaves. "These will do wonders for ya."

Avi stared at the stones, admiring the Ancient Norman carvings embedded on the stones, glowing fiery red. The warm radiance of Helios setting behind the mountains coated the world around them in a filter of orange and red. Golden rays penetrated through the ruby red canopies, and particles swimming in their light sparkled like fireflies. Avi stepped forward and placed her hand on the stone. She was then engulfed in a fiery aura that caused her hair and the hood of her corset to wave around.

"Oh my…" she breathed. "I feel so...I don't know how to say it. I feel like I can take on another giant again."

"Hell yeah!" Blair cheered. "Wyrm Stones. Picture them as refueling stations for your mana pools. Each new one you visit will increase it by ten percent, meaning you'll be able to conjure your dragons easily. Soon, you might do so without feeling fatigued. Think of it as leveling up. Kinda like a video game."

"This is incredible!" Phoenix said, stepping forward to examine the stones. She started taking pictures of them with her phone. "The archmage is going to want more info about these things. I take it these mostly served for Dragon Summoners?"

"Yeah," said Blair, she fed her dragon a piece of meat from her pocket. "Created by the first of the order. Avi is the first to use them in thousands of years."

"This is truly fantastic," said Avi. "Thank you, Blair."

Ser Gerhalos crossed his arms over his chest and nodded. "I told you she would make a great addition to the team," he boasted. "Well, Blair, you helped us, so I guess we help you. It's off to Feldia to search for those Evolzars. And to help evolve your little companion."

"Thanks a lot. It was my pleasure."

Constantine rubbed his hands together. "I just knew this was going to be an excellent adventure. Pretty girls, dragons, monster hunting, the dusty road, warm taverns, dungeon delving. And the sight of Avi's tight butt in those shorts…"

"What was that?" Ser Gerhalos growled.

Constantine's eyes darted from right to left. "Huh? What? Me? I don't know what you're talking about, my dude."

Santiago sniggered over his shoulder. "Where to next?" he asked. "Come on! Don't leave me dangling. I am thirsty for our next...near-death experience!"

Trish laughed. "Damn, take it easy, son. Avi just got finished finding a dragon. Let's give her some time to get used to it."

"Yeah, you're right. But if we keep standing around looking for Wyvern Stones, we're not going to get very far."

"Patience is a virtue, Santiago," said Avi, walking away from the stones. "Well, it's getting dark. Perhaps it's best we find an inn."

"We're outta luck, girl," said Trish. She looked at her custom tablet with a papyrus map of the area clasped to the front with a little lamp looming over it. "There's not a tavern for miles. Looks like we're just going to have to find a place to camp for the night. But, if that map Blair gave us is correct, a Temple of Safaani is a two day's walk from here."

"Really? Another dragon? Oh, how exciting." She then looked at Constantine for she just remembered something. "Constantine weren't we supposed to meet a friend of yours back in the town? You assured me he would be someone we could count on."

Constantine shrugged. "You know, I think we're better off without him. He's a wild card, a drunk, a gambler, and one hell of a womanizer, too. Maybe it was fate from the Luck Goddess that he didn't show up."

"If he's anything like you, I can agree on that notion," said Ser Gerhalos. "I know this area from my travels. There's a waterfall flowing from the ridge of those mountains over there. The Triplets of Nevelost. There's a pool full of fresh fish we could eat."

Santiago pounced up with excitement. "Oooo, sounds plenty good to me. I would love to see this place. Come, what are we waiting for?"

As soon as they got back on the road, they were met with trouble. Archers in dark, red, leather armor and scarlet cowls sprang into action and launched a flurry of arrows towards the party. Phoenix's Mavelus swooped from out of nowhere and created a curtain of flames that incinerated the arrows just inches before it could strike the party. Avi cringed, feeling the heat burn her skin. At once Ser Gerhalos grabbed her and leaned over her. "Ambush!" he shouted, holding up his shield.

The archers were hopping from tree to tree, finding new positions to snipe Avi for a killing shot. Phoenix materialized a long, white bow with statuettes resembling flaming swans. She conjured three arrows, which she fired at once. They flew threw the leaves. The red archers saw them coming and ducked out of the way. It was hard to spot them, for their gear blended with the ruby red canopies above.

Then, the ground seemed to come alive as swordsman wearing the same gear as the archers sprang into action to take Avi and her companions out. Constantine whistled. At once, Tartarus's roar thundered in the distance. But it sounded far. It could be a while before he reached the battle. Phoenix shot a stream of fire at the ground, trying to flood out any more swordsman who could have been hiding in the red vegetation. Arrows hiss through the air. One of them bounced off Ser Gerhalos's shoulder targe.

"I want to fight!" shouted Avi.

"No! You can't!" roared Ser Gerhalos. Constantine rushed past him, putting on his headphones to listen to his battle tunes. Blair was by his side, tossing knives at two archers perched in the trees above. Their bodies fell to the ground with a slump. Seeing her friends in combat only made Avi even more impatient. "Stay with me!" Ser Gerhalos commanded.

Santiago hopped from tree to tree, jabbing his rapier down the necks of his foes. Two swordsmen ran towards him. He smiled and slid his paw down the brim of his hat. He turned into a white flash that zoomed all over the swordmen. They stood still like statues as Santiago appeared in front of them and bowed. Blood squirted from their bodies like geysers. They fell to the ground on their knees and slumped forward, falling dead on their faces. The archers were desperate shot launched explosive arrows at the group. One blasted the ground near Ser Gerhalos and Avi, sending them tumbling from their spot into the river.

Just then, they felt the ground shaking. Even the red marauders stopped fighting. A beastly warrior in green armor, wielding a flaming sword ran out of the forest and helped the group take down their foes.

"Retreat!" shouted one of the marauders. They lost too many of their companions and realized they were out of their league.

Even though the beast saved them, Avi and her group were far from accepting of it. Constantine, however, walked up to the monster and happily pointed at him. "I thought you were around, old buddy."

Ser Gerhalos walked out of the river, dripping wet. He still held his greatsword up defensively, in case the monster in front of him was hostile. Trish and Phoenix helped her out of the water and checked to see if she was okay. Blair took off her backpack and took out a blanket to wrap around Avi's shoulders.

"Constantine, you know this creature?" Ser Gerhalos asked.

"Not him per se, but I know who called on him."

A little kid was riding towards them on a red hoverboard marked with a lightning bolt. He sported a red beanie, a black leather jacket with a hoodie, and ripped jeans. His backpack was covered in stickers of monsters, his favorite Duel Monsters, and some girls in bikinis. A keychain hung from the lowest zipper. Sheathed to his back were two odd swords. One was a long flamberge with a red-colored blade. The second seemed futuristic in design with bright orange patterns outlined in black, making it look like a gun.

"Constantine!" said the boy. "You didn't wait for me in town." He jumped off his hoverboard and kicked it up, causing it to flip. He caught it and tucked it under his arm.

They shook hands. Constantine looked back at his group. "Guys, this is my pal, Robin. And this here is his Eidolon, Rhaimundos of the Red Sword."

"What's up," said Robin. He whistled when looking at Trish, Phoenix, Blair, and Avi. "Which one of them is the Dragon Summoner?"

"The blonde with the silver eyes," said Constantine. "Show a little respect."

Robin walked by him and didn't listen. "It's such a pleasure to meet you, Lady Avi," Robin said, taking her hand. "Gee, you're very pretty. Just like your wanted posters."

"Well, thank you, Robin," Avi said, her hand still locked with his. " It's a pleasure to meet you, too. Uh…"

Robin kissed her hand all the way up her arm and back down again. Ser Gerhalos stepped forward and loomed over the boy. "Hands off. Now."

"Sure," Robin said, kissing Avi's forearm one last time. He wasn't scared of the beast. And for good reason. Rhaimundos was still out, and it looked like it was more than a match for Ser Gerhalos. "So," Robin said walking back toward his monster. "You guys are the famous party I've heard so much about. Yeah, you guys know that every rogue knight, bandit gang, and bounty hunter in Termnnia are after you, right?"

"We figured that already," said Blair. "And I know what you're thinking, but we must decline. There's no room in our party for another member."

Robin was unphased by that and sat down on a dead archer. "Hey, babe, listen. Constantine tells me you're on the road to Feldia to look for some dino-dragons or something. That's cool and all, but you're going to need a guide to help you find the quickest and safest routes to it. These guys are called the Red Meteors. They're just one of the hundreds of mercenary gangs looking to cash in on your Summoner's pretty head. I may look young, but I know the land like the back of my hand. I can take you there provided you can provide me the appropriate payment."

"I figured," Phoenix said sternly. She tapped her foot on the ground. "How much do you want."

Robin took a ball out of his jacket and tossed it up and down. "Well, knowing you guys, you're going to run into some old ruins along the way. And ruins hold lots of treasure. So I say about...30% of any treasure we find."

"You've got to be kidding me," said Trish. "We're looking for dragons. Not treasure."

"Well, then, I guess you won't have to worry about how much I take, eh beautiful?"

"I'm really not liking this kid," Blair whispered into Avi's ear.

"Let him have his treasure," said Ser Gerhalos. "True Dragons are worth more than gold."

"Very well," said Blair. "Anything else or is that all?"

"Oh no, that's not all. I expect to get paid ten coins a day so long as I'm in the group."

"Constantine!" snapped Trish.

"I'll take care of that," he assured her. "Trust me, it's a small price to pay for his skills, which are worth far more than ten pieces."

"We get the picture," snarled Ser Gerhalos. "Don't give him any more ideas."

"And one last thing," Robin said. He walked towards Avi and bowed on one knee. "The Dragon Summoner and I go on a date in the next city."

"This has gone far enough!" Santiago shouted. He jumped off Phoenix's shoulder and landed in between Avi and Robin. He raised his sword, and pointed it at him, getting him to back off."You want gold, you got it! You want daily pay, you got it! But Lady Avi is off-limits. Do you understand? Constantine. I ask that you remove this bungler from our sites and remove yourself as well. There is no honor in you or your companions."

"It's just one date," Robin shrugged.

Avi thought the boy's demands were distasteful. But, Constantine was right. There really were vagabonds all over the place looking for her and her group. If what Constantine said was true, then this boy was a useful asset to the company. "I shall accept his request. But upon finding the Evolzars in Feldia, you are to leave at once."

"You break my heart, Avi. But it's a deal."

Avi then looked at Constantine. "And as for you. I admire you, Constantine. But from here on out, I will have a say as to who enters my group. Not you. Is that understood?"

"I'm sorry, Avi. I was only trying to help. This kid's a handful, but he'll get us to your dragons in no time. I was hoping he would be better behaved than this. I'll keep him in line. You have my word."

"Good," Avi said. She reared her head up and sneezed.

"Oh, dear," Phoenix said, patting her back. "You're soaked to the bone. Come on. Let's make camp."

"I've got a tent we can use," said Robin.

"Will it fit all of us?" Ser Gerhalos asked.

"I think you'll be surprised. Where do you want to camp?"

Ser Gerhalos led them to the waterfall that he chose earlier. By the time they got there, it was dark. Phoenix, with a snap of her fingers, got a fire going while Robin and Constantine got the tent up. When it was finally raised, they were met with great disappointment. It was so small.

"You've got to be kidding me!" shouted Santiago. "What in the bloody hell is all this?"

"Last one in is a rotten egg!" shouted Robin, storming into the tent.

Avi stayed behind, watching as her companions went in. Surprisingly, nobody came out. Ser Gerhalos was the last to go in. Avi knew something strange was at work here. Then, he peered through the flaps.

"My Lady, you have to come see!" he said.

Avi stepped through the flaps. What she saw astonished her. Outside, there was nothing more than a small, ragged, tent. But inside, it was a two-floored log cabin with hunting trophies, animal pelts, and goat horn lanterns decorating the walls. A chandelier of elk horns hung from the foyer. The green candles were lit and gave off the scent of pine. There was furniture, bedrooms, a kitchen, and a game room with a billiard table. At once, the companions were making themselves feel at home.

Robin came running down the stairs. "Well, what do you think?" he asked. "Now you won't spend so much gold in taverns anymore."

"I think it's wonderful, Robin. Thank you. You've been a great help."

"Anything for you, Dragon Summoner."

"Avi, you need to change out of those clothes at once," said Phoenix. "You'll catch your death of cold."

"Oh, no," Avi said at once. She took off her backpack and started looking inside desperately. Except for her deck and containers of food, her clothes were soaked and ruined.

"That's okay," said Robin. "You can use The Loaner."

"The Loaner?" Ser Gerhalos asked.

"I brought an extra pair of clothes when I traveled with Constantine every now and then. This dude will forget his own underwear if no one reminded him."

"I did," Constantine said, turning red. "I've been wearing these shorts for days."

"Ugh, that's really gross," said Phoenix. "Avi, I guess there's no other alternative than to use the boy's 'loaner'. Come, I'll draw you a hot bath upstairs."

Avi looked at herself. Her skin was covered in peat from the river and she was caked with mud. She nodded and followed her upstairs, joining Blair and Trish in a very long and loud bath. It was late in the night and they still were in there, squealing and splashing about.

"Well, they're having fun in there," Constantine said, laying on the couch by the fireplace on the second floor. A wool blanket was draped over him and he used his jacket as a pillow.

"Heh, heh, wanna peek?" Robin asked, laying on the couch across from him. He was wearing blue and white pajamas with Elemental HERO Electrum on the front. And his blue pants were patterned with the Elemental HERO's E symbol.

"No, thank you," Constantine replied. "Blair's dragon is in there with them. He may be a small thing, but I've seen first-hand the kind of damage he can do. I don't want to wind up as a pile of ashes on the floor. And if he doesn't get you, Ser Gerhalos will. We're already on his bad side thanks to you. You just can't help being the extortionist, can you?"

"Hey, you gotta make money somehow, Constantine."

"Yeah, but asking for a date with Avi? It's a miracle Ser Gerhalos didn't crush your head for suggesting such a thing."

"Hey, it's a date or a long road with mercs on your ass. They chose the former and I'm set."

"Crafty little bastard, I'll give you that."

"I do what I can," Robin sniggered. "But don't treat me like the bad guy, here. Everyone knows you're in Avi's party cuz you looove her."

"No. I have an interest in her. Love is a long and very difficult process. I have to see first hand if Avi is the one for me."

Robin started laughing. "Who do you think you are profiling Avi like that? As far as I'm concerned, you have to be the one trying to prove your worth to her. Not the other way around. Avi can summon True Dragons and is respected by all who adore her. She's a celebrity. A hero of Termnnia. But you? Yeah, Tartarus is cool but other than that, you're just an average, run-of-the-mill mercenary. You think she cares if she lives up to your standards?"

Constantine grumbled. "What I mean is, I don't want to jump the gun on her. I want to build something with her. Something special. I don't know how the hell I'm going to do it, but I'll find a way."

"Pfft, good look with that, chump."

"It can happen. Evangelia Pendragon was a Summoner of Dragons, too. The Galaxy-Eyes. She fell in love with a stable boy."

Robin shrugged. "I dunno. As I said, good luck."

The door to the bathroom opened. The girls came running out, giggling and screaming. "Quiet down up there!" shouted Ser Gerhalos from below. They didn't care and continued scurrying into their room. Constantine grinned, seeing them in their pajamas. But Avi was stuck wearing old and tattered longjohns. The 'loaner' that Robin gave her. It was unbefitting of someone like her, but it had to do and she didn't worry about it all that much. As Blair and the others went into their room, Avi stopped to look at Constantine and Robin.

"Are you boys comfortable?" she asked, dizzy from the hot water she stayed in for so long.

"Yes, ma'am," Robin said, nodding his head. "Thank you."

"We're fine, Avi, thanks," Constantine said, taking off his beanie.

"Well, thank you for giving us this place, Robin. That was very sweet of you."

"Aw, shucks, it was nothing," Robin jeered.

Avi giggled and swayed from left to right. "Well, I'll be off to bed now. Good night to you both."

She turned to leave. Unknown to her the back flap of her longjohns was all the way open.

"Uh, Avi!" called Constantine.

"Avi! Avi!" Robin joined.

Avi turned. "Yes?"

"Just wanted to ask if it was okay to see you demonstrate your new dragon tomorrow," said Robin.

Constantine nodded. "Yeah, yeah, what he said. I think that's a great idea. Show Robin what you're made of."

"Sounds good to me," Avi said after pondering it for a moment. "Okay, Robin. Since you've been such a big help, I'll be glad to show you my dragons."

"I can't wait!" Robin said, pumping his fist. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Good night." She turned.

"Avi!"

"Avi!"

"What is it?" Avi asked, turning back around.

"What about your clothes?" Constantine asked.

Robin nodded feverishly. "Uh-huh, uh-huh. Do you have anything to wear tomorrow?"

"Of course I do, silly. Robin's cottage has a laundry room downstairs.

"Ah! Of course!" said Robin. "I totally forgot."

"How can you forget?" Constantine grumbled, throwing a pillow at him. "What a dumbass."

Avi giggled at their theatrics. "I'm sure all is going to be well, for tomorrow's adventure, boys. Good night."

She turned around again. But before she could reach the doorknob.

"Avi! Wait!"

"Avi! Hold up! Come here, come here!"

Avi walked back to them. "What is going on?" she asked. "Is there something else I should know?"

"I was wondering if you were scared of those nasty bounty hunters," said Robin. "There's so many of them out there. Aren't you, you know, the least bit scared?"

Avi tapped her foot on the ground. "Well, I must admit it's a little unsettling. But so long as I have powerful warriors like you by my side, I'm not afraid of anything."

"We're glad to help," said Robin. "And I apologize for the way I came up earlier."

"It's okay," Avi said with a friendly laugh. "Don't worry about it. We're only human after all. Well, I bid you good night."

Again, she turned.

"Avi!"

"Avi! Av! Avi!"

Avi walked back to them. She was getting annoyed. "Guys, I have to sleep."

"Of course," said Robin. "But I just want to know what kind of dragon do you think we'll get next?"

"That's a good question," Avi said, tapping her finger on her chin. "It is a very exciting thought, no? I hope I get a Felgrand Dragon. Or maybe a Meteor Black Dragon."

"Whatever it is, we'll help you get it," Constantine assured her.

"Avi!" Ser Gerhalos called from downstairs. "Go to bed!"

"Well, I must bid you good night," Avi said, jerking her thumb backward.

"It's an honor being part of this adventure, Avi," said Robin. "Thank you for giving me a chance."

"And me as well," said Constantine. "I look forward to more adventures."

Avi beamed at her two companions. "Aren't you two the sweetest couple of rogues I've ever met. Well, sweet dreams."

She turned one last time and walked back to her room.

"Nice one, bro," Constantine said, bumping his fist with Robin's.

"That's the power of The Loaner, my dude."


	70. The Summoner of Dragons: Part 21

he next day, Avi and her companions had a big breakfast at the inn of a small town called Firehold a community of farmers and loggers. Their houses and shops nestled by the River Erahad. Nets and fishing poles lined its shores for it was a great spot for fishing the salmon that flew from the south. Constantine and Robin went out into the woods to look into a bandit camp Tartarus spotted on the road. They wanted a peaceful trip and a day without bandits was something they all desired.

But even though they were looking for a quiet meal, it was not meant to be so. Bounty hunters were not the only ones looking to come after Avi.

"Oh, how quaint," approached a woman wearing a revealing outfit consisting of a cuirass, vambraces, pauldrons, gauntlets, tasset and heeled greaves enameled in white and black with white flora designs painted here and there. She had olive-colored skin and silvery white-blonde hair tied into a ponytail that went down to her back. She one of her eyes was hazel and the other bright green.

A knight in heavy plates of red enameled steel with spaulders the size of an ox's head stood above her. He was a bald man with a swollen nose and a tooth protruding from his upper lip. He wielded a massive hammer, the grip was made of black iron and the head was the shape of a bronze fist.

There was a smug little boy with red hair and freckles across his face smiling confidently beside the woman. He wore leather gear and fielded a bow with arrows that had red fletching.

"So, you're the Summoner of Dragons," the woman said rubbing her chin. "Such a delicate little thing."

"She doesn't look so tough," sneered the little boy, possibly no more than nine or ten.

"What is it that you want?" Ser Gerhalos said walking in front of Avi.

"If I am not mistaken," said Phoenix. "That is Lady Arietta Marigold, one of the Summoners questing to serve the High King."

"Yes," said Arietta. "And this is Ser Renlos the Knight of the Ox. And here is Peter Lionbane, my little archer."

"Hmph!" Peter said crossing his arms still bearing his wide grin of confidence.

"What do you wish of us?" asked Blair. "If you're looking to join us, sorry. There's no room."

"I have no interest in joining you lot," sneered Arietta.

"Yeah, because Lady Arietta is the best summoner around!" Peter said balling his fists. "We're here to tell you not to bother on your quest because High King Yuri needs only the best in his court. And that's Lady Arietta! I heard you don't even have one!"

"No, I have three," Avi said timidly. "And I don't mean to boast, but do you have an endorsement from Master Yu-Gi-Oh? He personally put all his faith in me to be the High King's Summoner."

"Master Yu-Gi-Oh," smiled Arietta. "An exceptional duelist but so imprudent."

"What!" snapped Phoenix. "How dare you speak of Master Yu-Gi-Oh that way?"

"I speak truth, mage," Arietta said with a shrug. "If you think I'm wrong then why not battle me outside? My monsters against your dragons."

"Yeah, a battle!" Peter said jumping into the air with excitement.

Ser Renlos snorted.

"Doesn't say much does he?" asked Trish.

"Ser Renlos? No, he's mute I'm afraid. But he defends me well. He would give his life for me if he could. What say you, Lady Avi?"

"You should prove your worth," Arvas said within her pendant. "Make an example of this fool and silence her brat-of-a-companion."

"But I've never battled before?" Avi whispered into the pendant.

"Just call us, and leave the rest to us."

"I will not participate," said Sanctity of Dragon. "Arvas, showing off Avi's power and making her overconfident is not wise. I suggest that Avi backs away from this fight at once. She's not ready."

"Don't listen to him," said Arvas.

"If you insist," said Avi. She looked up at her new rival and narrowed her eyes, burning bright with the thought that she had what it took to defeat her. "Very well, Lady Arietta, you're on!"

"Yes!" Peter jumped again.

"Then meet me outside after you have had your breakfast," said Arietta. She turned and walked away. Ser Renlos snorted again and Peter stuck his tongue out at Avi before following Arietta.

"You will be so sorry," grumbled Sanctity of Dragon.

"The nerve of that slut!" said Trish. "Did you see her state of dress? She lacks heavily in decency, I tell you that."

"What do you think we should do, My Lady?" asked Ser Gerhalos. "This is a waste of time."

"She's already accepted the challenge," said Phoenix. "She cannot call herself a Summoner of Dragons if she walks away from the battle. For that matter, she couldn't call herself A Summoner of the High King, because she must accept whatever challenge befalls her king."

"He's right," said Santiago. "Avi, kick her ass."

Minutes later, Avi met with Arietta in the meadows outside of town, surrounded by lush pine forests. The snowcapped mountains standing proudly in their perches in the distance.

"I've been looking forward to this," Arietta said, making her rifle-shaped staff appear into her hands.

"You can do it Lady Arietta!" cheered Peter.

"I shall CALL!" she gave her staff a twirl, forming an arcane circle to appear above her. "Ignition Beast Volcannon!"

She summoned a mechanical beast in the likeness of a dragon to the meadows. It was massive, standing over ten meters tall with a long tail and red rocket launchers on its shoulders and a large bladed structure on its back. Its body made of steel with a coat of polished gunmetal black and spikes, horns and claws made of bronze.

"Look at the size of that thing!" gasped Trish.

Ser Gerhalos snarled silently. "Ah, so she worships, Ana Goddess of Machinations."

"Dragons against machines?" Peter sneered. "This is gonna be some battle! You just watch, my Summoner is gonna beat yours but good!"

"All right, let's begin," said Avi. She summoned her newest dragon, Armiryle the Starguide Dragon. Her beast flew from the arcane circle with a great sturdy roar. It flew over the field and landed beside Avi.

"Fight!" shouted Peter.

The two monsters took off into the sky where they began combat. Avi watched as her beast was chased by Arietta's Ignition Beast Volcannon in a fierce game of cat and mouse in the sky above. The machine monster fired a barrage of heat-seeking rockets from its shoulders which chased Avi's Armiryle.

"FIGHT! FIGHT!" shouted Peter, jumping up and down with excitement.

He was clearly disappointed with Avi's lack of skill. He had heard so much of Avellana the Summoner of Dragons and was eager to see her in battle. But her dragon was poorly trained if not trained at all. She had never called them into battle since she got them and it looks like she was paying for it in this Summoner's Duel. The meager performance was making the little boy angry.

Ignition Beast Volcannon fired another barrage of missiles. Armiryle flew backward and released a jet of red flames to confuse the missiles. They exploded making a black ball of smoke.

Ignition Beast Volcannon flew down from it and tackled Armiryle all the way to the ground causing a thunderous tremor and a large crater on the ground.

Armiryle had a broken left wing thanks to the fall. It snarled in agony as Ignition Beast Volcannon flew back up roaring for a challenge.

Peter threw a rock at Avi's injured dragon. "FIGHT YOU COWARD!" he shouted. He threw another one. "FIGHT!"

"Stop it!" shouted Avi. "He's hurt!"

"Then you should call him back," laughed Arietta. "A flightless dragon is no dragon at all."

"I'm so sorry," Avi said, calling back her wounded beast.

"Pathetic," sneered Arietta.

"WEAK!" shouted Peter. He cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted, "BOO!"

"One more to go," said Arietta. "How disappointing. If this is all the Summoner of Dragons is capable of, then you have no business being with the High King."

"Summon another!" shouted Peter. "Fight! I want to see a fight!"

Avi sniffed as her dragon began to glow translucent and vanished.

"Get on your feet, Avi!" Ser Gerhalos shouted. "Since when does the Summoner of Dragons bow down to anyone. You still have Lord Arvas left. Fight on!"

Avi stood up and twirled her staff again to call upon her final dragon.

"I summon Arvas. Ancient Dragon!"

Arvas appeared onto the plane of men and tackled Ignition Beast Volcannon to the ground. He took off into the air after the missile silo in its chest opened up.

"FIRE!" shouted Arietta. The missiles flew, whistling as they shot towards Arvas.

Arvas released a jet of flames at the missiles. They exploded right on top of Volcannon dealing massive damage. It growled mournfully. Sparks blasted out of its joints.

"NO!" shouted Peter.

"Your dragon may have outsmarted my beast," said Arietta. "But he is still able to battle."

Somehow, the mechanical behemoth was able to get back up. It raised its tail, aiming at Arvas.

Click! Click!

It fired thousands of rounds per second at Arvas who took off into the sky and flew around the battlefield to avoid being hit by the bullets from Volcannon's tail.

Ignition Beast Volcannon took off after him. The rocket launchers on its shoulders lowered themselves inside to be switched for two high-powered chainguns. The mechanical behemoth fired them violently as it chased Arvas in the clouds.

VRRRR! The chainguns hummed.

The beast finally caught up to Arvas. They were locked hand in hand in a fierce struggle.

"FIGHT!" shouted Peter. "FIGHT!"

Ignition Beast Volcannon then threw Arvas to the earth and dove towards him, tackling him to the ground enlarging the already big crater on the ground. Then it took off into the air again and released an infinite barrage of missiles from its body giving it an angelic appearance as the smoke from missiles soared around it giving the likeness of angel wings.

As the missiles bombarded the injured Arvas, Ignition Beast Volcannon fired its chainguns.

When the dust cleared, Arvas was on the ground defeated.

"Forgive me, Lady Avellana," said Arvas. "I…have failed." And he faded away.

"No," Avi said falling to her knees. "I lost."

"A meager performance," said Arietta. "There is just so much hype around you just because you're the first Summoner to call on dragons in thousands of years. But it's all for naught. Do yourself a favor and end this silly pilgrimage. I will be the one the High King chooses. Let us go, boys. I have used up enough of Lady Avellana's time. And she has wasted enough of mine."

"Way to go, Arietta. You really are the best Summoner around!" cheered Peter.

Ser Renlos snorted and followed after her.

Peter walked up to Avi and kicked dirt into her gleaming gown before he wiggled his fingers on the sides of his head and giving Avi as sloppy raspberry.

Ser Gerhalos roared.

"YAH!" screamed Peter, dashing away. "Ya big ugly cat-face!" he taunted before catching up to his Summoner.

"Oh, Avi, it's okay," said Trish, patting her back.

"Let this be a lesson," said Ser Gerhalos. "Your dragons not only need to be found but they must be trained. I was foolish in holding you back. There is so much about you that even I must learn."

"I understand," said Avi, her beautiful silver eyes glimmering with tears. "I'll get her one day. She is going to rue the day she insulted my dragons. Her and that bratty bastard!"


	71. The Summoner of Dragons: Part 22

**Aldara**

* * *

"Next!" called the brash, and arrogant Eldori merchant, sitting warm in his covered wagon and surrounded by guards in armor made of rusty iron and leather. It was raining heavily outside, and he grinned seeing the 'suckers' coming towards him like pilgrims to a temple seeking to trade any goods on their person for some money to buy food.

A woman approached dressed in a long plaid dress and a brown apron stained from soot and grime.

"What've you got?" the merchant said biting off one of his elongated nails and spitting them out.

The woman licked her lips when her nose picked up a sweet and delicious smell coming from inside his wagon. A roast chicken was roasting in a pit inside the wagon. A television was on displaying a Duel Monsters tournament on the upper levels of Domino. A light bulb hanging down from a wire provided his light. Posters of female duelists in the pro league posing in bikinis covered his walls. The merchant was shielded by an iron grate, which protected an assortment of goods on his workbench lit up by a lamp that lit up pistols, cards and piles and piles of gold Star Chips. He scribbled numbers on his ledger still awaiting an answer from the woman. When he heard none, he lost his patience.

"Well, I haven't got all night!" he barked, looking up at the woman.

"Oh, good Ushio. I have here a precious family heirloom," the woman said removing a locket from around her neck. "It belonged to my mother, sir. It's made of sterling silver, finely crafted."

She slid the locket through an opening in the grate.

The merchant grumbled, picking up the locket and examining it with a bronze eyeglass.

"Two silvers coins and five copper pennies." Ushio handed the woman the meager bounty.

"But sir, please."

"You were expecting more?"

"Just one gold Star Chip, My Lord. It's my son's birthday and I haven't got any money for presents."

"I'm not a lord, foolish woman. And it's not my place to care about your son's birthday. With that money, you can get you and your boy some bread."

"But, sir."

"Next!"

"Please, sir, just one gold chip!"

"This isn't a charity, miss. And a word of advice. You shoulda thought twice before shooting that boy out of your twat. NEXT!"

The merchant's guards grabbed the woman by the arms and escorted her away. Ushio smiled seeing his next customer.

A half-elf girl approached him. A moldy cloak was shielding her from the elements. Ushio eyed her long curved brown hair with gold highlights dangling over her waist underneath the poor excuse of a cloak.

"Well, well, well. Aldara. What've you got for me tonight?"

"I found a nice dagger while in the ruins tonight, Ushio," said Aldara. Taking the cloak off her head. She had two pointed ears like an elf, though not as long, for she was part human. She reached into her knapsack and put the weapon through the opening in the grate. It was finely crafted with a maple handle and decorated with silver ornamentation. Needless to say, Aldara was excited with this treasure she found. Hopefully, Ushio would like it enough to pay for something decent to eat tonight.

"Hmm," Ushio said. After examining the weapon, he cackled greedily and tossed her a small sack of copper pennies and threw one silver coin.

"What? That's it?"

"That's it." Ushio grinned. His scar folded upwards.

"But, the next semester at Duelist Academy begins soon. I need that money to pay for my tuition."

"Duelist Academy, ha! I went there once. It was an overrated experience."

"And you beat up the King of Games."

Ushio didn't appreciate her saying that. He was expelled from the academy after beating Yugi senseless. "That's all you get!" Ushio retorted loudly. "Of course, I can get you a hefty price for that rifle on your back."

"Forget it," Aldara said collecting her money and storming off.

"Next!" Ushio called, then he laughed at Aldara as she walked away.

Aldara took her money to the market and bought herself a half a loaf of bread and a slice of cheese. She counted what remained in her pouch and discovered she had enough to buy herself a bottle of Dragonflame.

"Packs, singles and structure decks!" called an elderly Eldori man strolling through the streets. A Mad-Sword Beast covered in sacks and pouches was pulling his wagon of Duel Monster wares. "Packs, singles and structure decks!"

"Grandpa!" called Aldara.

"Ah, if it isn't my best customer," said the man, named Solomon Muto. He wasn't related to Aldara, but everyone in town grew to just calling him Grandpa.

"Is the deck still here?" she asked.

"My dear I…"

Aldara ran to the end of the wagon. Her face lit up when she saw the structure deck shining on the top shelf. It was custom made by Solomon and his grandson, Yugi. The monster in the front was a Synchro-monster called Thunder Unicorn.

"I'm so close, Grandpa!" she said happily. "If I get one more bounty from Ushio, I'll have the money ready to pay for the deck."

Solomon dug his fingers under his bandana to scratch his scalp. One hand to an umbrella to shield him from the rain. "The deck," he feigned a laugh, "about that. I'm sorry, Aldara, but…"

"But what?" Aldara asked, her smile faded away riddling Grandpa's heart with guilt.

"I know how much you wanted the deck, but, a gentleman approached me the other day and…"

"What?"

"You've been outbid."

"But, Grandpa."

"This is business, my dear. I told you I could only hold onto the deck so long as no one else bought it. I'm afraid you were too late. Unless you can make a better offer by Wednesday the deck is no longer yours."

Aldara looked up at the buildings over the wall of the slums. All of a sudden, they seemed farther away now. "I understand."

"I tried my best to keep the deck, but the offer was just one I couldn't refuse. My grandson has school soon and Duelist Academy is no cheap institute."

"Wait a minute. Isn't he the King of Games? How is he still a student?"

"I said too much!" Grandpa gasped. "I'm sorry for the deck, dear. Maybe next time."

He cracked his whip and the Mad-Sword Beast continued down the streets into the farthest depths of the slums.

"Packs, singles and structure decks!" called Grandpa. "Packs, singles and structure decks!"

Aldara sighed heavily. "Oh well," she said. She was glad her cheeks were soaked with raindrops. That way no one would see the tears rolling down her cheeks. Aldara then went to the diner to pick up some food for dinner. Sappy songs played on the neon jukebox at the entrance, perfect for the mood she was in. The diner was built in a mess of wooden buildings perched underneath a sky bridge that was used for Turbo Duels in which duelists used motorcycles to play Duel Monsters. Dull neon bars lit up the darkness as well as chromed ceiling fans.

The head chef was a middle-aged Sloger, a race of toad-like humanoids from the swampy islands of Jormak in the tropical regions of Termnnia.

"Aldara," said the chef, named Roode. " ** _Esheko quanda no jorez?_ **(Can I get you the usual?)"

"Of course," Aldara said, sitting down on a red cushioned stool which squeaked as it supported her weight.

" ** _Oh, motakes no gwando, Aldara?_** (Oh, what's the matter Aldara?)" Roode asked.

A fly flew over Aldara. Roode caught it with his slimy tongue and started chewing it.

"Bad day," Aldara responded rather glum. "Let's just leave it at that."

"You've been doing business with that Ushio fella, haven't you?" A grizzled gnome asked. He sitting on the stool to Aldara's right.

Aldara nodded.

" ** _Oh, kwando_** , (Oh no)," said Roode, shaking his head. " ** _Ushio, esoko muchak_** (Ushio, bad man)."

"You don't have to tell me twice," said Aldara. "Any news tonight, Pops?"

"Well," said the gnome. "All I keep hearing about is that Domino City is preparing for the arrival of some Summoner, those mages who can call on monsters from other worlds to do battle."

"Summoners aren't that special," said Aldara. "Just a bunch of overrated, over-hyped mages."

"Not this one," said Pops.

" ** _Pops unto no cozo_** , (Pops speaks the truth)," said Roode. " ** _No Summoner eso nek yalta pulpo moona_** (The Summoner is a very special lady)."

"Why?" Aldara asked.

"She can summon dragons!" said Pops.

"Impossible," said Aldara. "No one has been able to summon dragons since the Second Age."

"This one can," said Pops. "She'll be here soon. You'll see."

After her meager meal, Aldara sadly sulked to her apartment building built at the foot of the wall that separated the poor and unwanted of Domino City. Once inside she was harassed by her gnomish landlord. "Hey, Half-Elf!" he shouted in a stern, squeaky voice. "Your rent's due!"

"Tomorrow!" Aldara said, wearily climbing upstairs.

"You told me that yesterday! And the day before. If I don't see the money by tomorrow, I'm kicking your ass outta here, understood!"

"Whatever," Aldara said.

Once in her room, she stripped out of her soggy clothes, took a hot shower and dressed in her nightwear, which was nothing but a torn white t-shirt. To make some noise in the rusty old apartment, she turned on the old boxed television sitting in the corner by her stove where she was cooking her dinner; biscuits and red beans cooked in a can. The orange and red lights of the neon signs outside illuminated her room, overpowering the lone light bulb that hung from the ceiling.

The moldy, red-carpeted floor was covered in used underwear and shirts; magazines; bags of potato chips; booster pack wrappings, and even brass casings from her rifle when she shot Whiptail Crow and Bone Mouse; an undead Duel Monster and common pest in the slums, and the occasional bandit who tried to rob the rare Elvish heirlooms in her display case. The beans were ready and she carefully picked them up using one of her dirty shirts. When it was cool enough to touch with her bare hands she sat on the windowsill and stared at the glistening skyscrapers of Domino City looming down at the poor and downtrodden of the slums.

She scooped beans with her plastic spork and blew on them to cool them down before shoving them into her mouth. Some juice spilled onto her shirt. The cotton was thin and the beans were still hot, burning the skin on her belly.

"Oh, darn!" she exclaimed, stretching her shirt and examining the mess. "Goddesses-damn it, this was my last good shirt."

A roar of a crowd erupted from the top of a skyscraper called the Kaiba Dome. Some explosions thundered from the top as well. The annual autumn tournament was underway no doubt.

"I'll get there soon," she muttered before biting into her bread stuffed with cheese. A warm cup of coffee was steaming by her side. Next to it, lay her phone, an old model with a cracked screen. It was decorated with stickers and had keychain Duel Monster chibis and jeweled flowers hanging from it.

It buzzed, shaking the table and spilling her mug of blackened, greasy, coffee from the diner.

"Aw, damn it!" Aldara cried out again. Her pointed ears twitching.

This was not her night. Aldara picked up the phone before the coffee oozed any closer to it and answered.

"Hello? Oh hey, Tordo, what's up?"

She paused to listen to what her companion had to say.

"Another chamber in the ruins? Okay, we'll explore tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow. It's dark and it's raining dreadfully. Get some sleep and I'll meet you there at noon. Don't be late." She hung up. "This could be my last chance," she sighed. "If I don't make a decent find down there, I'll never go to Duelist Academy."

* * *

**The Next Morning**

Though the ruins were pitch black, Aldara kept sliding down the rope trusting her both the glow of her crystal torch and her low-light vision to aid her in the inky darkness. Dust and dirt sprinkled down on top of her from the hole in the roof of the once-prosperous Elven city of Dwenenhava.

Her wool knit beanie shielded her silky brown hair from the bits of debris, and her goggles protected her bright green-yellow eyes. The light from her torch lit up all the carvings on the wall depicting a time of great trade, wealth, prosperity, and peace. All that had ended thousands of years ago when Domino began expanding, filling up the land with its concrete jungle of towering buildings.

Upon entering the ruins, Aldara felt like she had entered her true home. Even though being born of both Elf and Human, her mother had the blood of the ancient Elven-kings of the First Age.

That fact had given her much acclaim with the Elves living in the slums, but their kingdoms were long forgotten, and any right she had to the throne was null and void. So, she made the most of what she had by diving into the ruins and searching for any treasures that could help her scrape by in her hard life living in the slums in the underbelly of Domino City.

"What do you expect to find today?" asked Tordo, a plump little boy with messy red hair, a puffy freckled face and two enormous front teeth protruding from his mouth over his bottom lip. And he had a long tail with a tuft of reddish hair.

Tordo was of the Telkori, or, the Children of the Forest, for they remained small and sounded and looked like little children. They were distinguishable by their pointy ears and tails and their iconic buckteeth.

These little creatures lived in towns of tree houses in the deepest part of the Askar Forest and the Silverlight Woods. They have been known to journey into cities and set up gaming parlors and arcades. Others have even migrated to live in the slums of Domino to cause mischief. They skipped school, threw rocks at the guards, and stole food, money, and Duel Monster cards from vendors. Or, they served as spies, acting as the eyes and ears of politicians residing in the skyscrapers on the other side of the wall.

Tordo was different from the others due to his kind nature. He refused to steal, or vandalize the city. He was chased down by a Telkori gang-lord who was displeased to know Tordo had a hand in getting many of the members of his gang arrested. He offered a great reward to anyone who brought him bodily harm and demanded his tail as proof.

But, he found shelter alongside Aldara. She was a good fighter, making use of a metal rod she had customized with small jewels and colorful feathers. But they feared the assault rifle she carried and stayed clear from her thereby leaving Tordo alone. For this, he offered her his services, and he proved himself quite useful seeking items and scrap to sell for bread.

"Everything is good?" he asked speaking to her with a two-way radio.

"I don't know," Aldara answered into her earpiece. She wasn't sure she would find anything. She had scraped every bit of treasure from the ruins. But this was once the capital of the Kalderi kingdoms. Surely there would be something of value hidden here.

She slid up her leather breeches, for they were slowly sliding down her hips and the cold air of the ruins chilled her crack. She tightened her boots and adjusted her backpack before trekking into the city. As she slowly walked away from the light beaming down from the hole above the ruins grew darker, and her eyes then adjusted to low-light vision illuminating the world around her in pastels of teal and black.

"Be careful," Tordo said on the radio. "Remember there are some scary monsters down there."

"I can handle them," Aldara said, picking up her rifle; contraband from the world beyond the gate.

Aldara won her prized weapon from an exotic weapons vendor in a duel at the bar. He offered up the rarest weapon in his inventory should she win; but should she lose she had to sleep with him that night. He was an arrogant fool, thinking that because he had a Gaia the Fierce Knight in his deck that he was unstoppable. But Aldara was a duelist who relied on her trap cards and sneaky flip-effect monsters to win her matches.

The look on his face when her Nobleman-Eater Bug wiped out both his Gaia and his Garvas sweetened her victory. He was about to go back on his promise, but the bar patrons were witness to the pact. When they stood up and surrounded him, he relented and surrendered the rifle.

"What beastly luck," Aldara said rummaging through bits of pottery and rusted iron pots and pans. A few swords still clung in their racks inside the armories. They were too rusted to make good metal and were covered in thick sheets of cobwebs.

"Damnation!" murmured Aldara with a sad grin. "I promised Tordo we'd have roast Niwatori tonight."

_For that matter, I thought I could buy my deck and have the chips to pay for my tuition._

The weapon rack suddenly shook.

"What in the shadows!" The turned on the Surefire flashlight on her weapon and illuminated the weapon rack. Again, something shook the rack. Some swords and a rusted iron halberd fell onto the ground with a loud crash.

"Aldara!" Tordo called on the radio. The reception was poor for she was too far underground. "Wha…wah…'at?"

"Come out!" Aldara called out.

A cute chirp responded to her call. Out of the shadows pounced a peculiar-looking creature.

It looked like a cat. It had brown-squared eyes, large pointed ears, and four little paws; orange fur on top and snowy white on the bottom and most of its face. From the pink inside of its ears white, spiked fur protruded from within. A black stripe went down from the top of its head to its back. A fluffy orange tail at the bottom with black tips. The creature even had short little wings orange fur on top and pink at the bottom. Two little white horns protruded from its round head.

"Well," Aldara said softly, kneeling to get a better look at the little thing. The creature began to lick its paw. "Some dungeon-dwelling cat of some sort. There are only a few creatures living in this world as extraordinary as you. You must be a Duel Monster."

 _Nyeow, nyeow_ went the monster, as if to say _yes_.

"Look at those darling eyes of yours!" she hooted with glee. She gasped and said, "Oh, and those adorable little paws. What are you doing down here anyway? Come on out."

She opened her knapsack and took out a biscuit. She bit into it. "Food," she said. "Come on out. I won't hurt you." The creature came out from behind the weapon rack, sniffing the air. It cautiously approached her. The creature sniffed the biscuit and ate it at last. "What are you?" Aldara chimed.

She heard something scurrying from behind a cobweb-ridden suit of armor. The creature made a happy meow and scurried after it. There was a rat back there.

"Wait!" called Aldara. To her shock, the cat creature breathed fire. It burned off most of the cobwebs on the boots of the armor and fried the rat. The creature consumed it happily. It then came out from behind the barrel satisfied with its fill and scampered happily towards Aldara nuzzling her knees and purring.

"I guess you're coming with me then?" she said. "You're going to be another mouth to feed, little one. There are plenty of rats where I live in so you'll manage I suppose."

"Aldara, come in!" Tordo said on the radio.

Aldara pressed into her earpiece. "Tordo, I read you loud and clear."

"Did you find anything?"

"A few trinkets that will sell well."

"Is that all?" he groaned in disappointment.

"Nope that's not all I found," she scratched the creature's belly. It was rolling on its back meowing with glee.

"Will it sell well?"

"I have no doubt," said Aldara. "But this thing is too precious and I doubt Ushio will give me less than half of what it's worth, so it's staying with me. Keep at the ready. I'll be up shortly. I'm afraid we're going to make do with bread and cheese tonight, my friend."

"That's okay, Aldara. I'm just glad you're safe. Let's go."

The creature suddenly breathed out green glimmering flames at the ground.

"What on earth?"

The flames formed into a black card.

"Wow, what have we here?"

She picked up the card, still a little warm from the flames, slighting burning the tips of her fingers.

"Baby Tiragon? What an unusual name. What's this? You're a dragon?" She looked down at the Baby Tiragon. It flew up and soared around the chamber. "If it weren't for those wings and your fire breath I never would have known. I think things are going to get interesting with you around, little one."

Aldara let the Baby Tiragon hop onto her shoulder before strolling out of the armory.

 _Neow, neow!_ Baby Tiragon said pointing his little paw at a wall with hieroglyphics. "Oh, that's a mural depicting a battle during the Machine Wars," said Aldara.

_Neow, neow!_

"Don't be silly, I can't take that with me."

Baby Tiragon slapped a paw on his face and flew off Aldara's shoulder and scampered towards the wall. "No!" Aldara cried. She chased after the dragon. "Wait, little one, wait!"

The dragon monster climbed up a statue of a soldier guarding the wall and pulled on the spear. The ruins began to rumble. Dust and debris rained down from the ceiling.

"What have you done!" Aldara shouted picking up Baby Tiragon.

 _Neow!_ Baby Tiragon cried out pointing at the wall.

Surprisingly it was rising up. The stone edge grinding against the frame loudly. It must have been ages since the wall had been opened. On the other side of the wall, Aldara spotted an incredible treasure. There was a rod, solid gold in the shape of a Blue-Eyes White Dragon. It was clutching a glowing blue orb in its mouth and its eyes were made of aquamarines.

"Wow, nice find," Aldara said rubbing the little dragon's head.

Baby Tiragon purred happily and climbed up her arm and perched himself on her shoulder.

"Incredible craftsmanship," Aldara said examining the rod. "If I were to guess, this rod must have belonged to the mage of the royal family. Ushio would have to be a fool not to pay big money for this."

The room Aldara discovered was loaded with treasures. She found a gold hairpin by a nightstand and put it in her bag. Baby Tiragon sniffed the air. He grew uneasy and started urging Aldara to leave.

"In a minute, little one. By the goddesses, just a few of these treasures would make me richer than Seto Kaiba. I wish I brought a bigger bag to put them in. Had I known I'd find you, my little treasure hunter, I probably would have."

When she picked up all her bag could carry she went to the altar and removed the magic rod from the limestone surface. Little knowing she had just awoken the chamber guards. The floor began to quake at Aldara's feet. The extravagant tiles shattered.

From the ground rose Zombie Warrior **(ATK/1200 DEF/900** ). Skeletal soldiers wielding axes, swords, and blue shields. They had spiked, blue pauldrons over their shoulders. They chattered their teeth in an eerie and aggravating battle cry.

Aldara grabbed her rifle, checked her ammo and shot one of the Zombie Warriors. It shattered to pieces, the blackened bones crumbling to the ground. She fired at them, destroying more of the undead warriors as she dashed down the ruins to escape. When she ran out of bullets, she used the blade mounted underneath her rifle and she used that to jab the skeleton monsters. She saw the light from the hole above the ruins that she descended from.

"TORDO!" Aldara shouted out. "Raise the winch!

"I can't! It's stuck!" her little partner shouted back. "I'll get it fixed in no time, don't worry!"

"Hurry!" Aldara shouted up from the ruins. She heard the rattling of bones and the chattering of ancient teeth. The Zombie Warriors were closing in on her, moaning. Some even let out dusty laughs.

"TORDO!" Aldara shouted again.

"I almost got it!" Tordo said fixing the rope which got caught in the machinations of his winch.

"Throw me another clip at least!"

Tordo dug through Aldara's knapsack and found her an extra magazine for her rifle. He threw it down the hole. Aldara caught it, slammed it into her weapon and fired. But there were too many of them. She wouldn't have enough ammo to fend them all off.

"TORDO!"

"I got it!" He shouted. "Hurry, climb on."

Aldara grabbed the rope and felt the winch slowly raising her up. The zombies crowded underneath her moaning in frustration. They bashed their shields and held out their arms challenging her to come back.

At last, Aldara was back on the surface. She looked down and could not believe the sight. The Zombie Warriors completely flooded the ruins below.

"My hero!" she cried out. She grabbed Tordo and kissed him repeatedly. "Thank you..." She kissed his right cheek, "thank you..." then his left. "Thank you!" She pulled him close to her chest. His face was squeezed against her breasts. His left ear could pick up her heart thumping wildly inside her.

"Wow," he breathed. "I hope you get into danger more often."

He was eventually released from her grip. His face was red with embarrassment. The little creature then saw Baby Tiragon on her shoulder. "Wow!" he cried out. "What is that?"

"The card it formed for me says it's called Baby Tiragon."

"I heard of that card," said Tordo. "Although I never would have thought you'd find one out in the wild. These creatures are so rare the Blue-Eyes White Dragon seems common."

They traveled back towards the wall and went through the gate back into the slums of Domino.

"What did you find besides that dragon?" Tordo asked.

The creature was curiously peering out into the city from inside Aldara's pack reaching out for butterflies to eat with its paws.

"I found this in the chamber you discovered. Apparently, it was the home of the royal mage. And, I found these."

She picked up a gold rod with a green gem on top and a golden dragon-shaped hairpin with a shiny ruby. "I'm going to keep the hairpin though," Aldara declared. "If Ushio doesn't pay up of course. The price for these treasures should be enough to pay for school."

"I hope you make it there, Aldara. After you graduate from that school, you'll have acquired skills that have granted the kings of Termnnia countless victories. And when you become the greatest Duelist in the world I'll be your manager. All interviews must go through me should that happen."

"If you insist, Tordo."

"And, we'll split the profits fifty-fifty."

"Oh really!" she laughed him and ruffled his red curly hair.

"You ready?" asked Tordo.

"I was born ready, little guy. After today we're moving to the other side of the wall."

"Oh boy!" Tordo jumped up and down.

When they approached Ushio's covered wagon they both felt their hearts racing. Even Ushio couldn't be so cruel as to give meager bounty for the treasures she found in the ruins.

"So, little Aldara returns." Ushio bit into another nail and spit it out. "What've you got for me today, girl?"

"I found this!" Aldara said taking out the magical rod.

"Ah," said Ushio.

Aldara slipped the rod through the opening. "Fine craftsmanship," Ushio said examining the piece. "The gold is rather faded but still shimmers. And I feel an essence of fire erupting from this rod." He gave his crooked smile. "Two gold Star Chips." He declared.

"Ushio!" groaned Aldara.

"Fine. Three. Not a chip more."

Aldara pouted.

"And that gold pin on that lovely hair of yours?"

"What's it worth to you?"

"Four gold chips."

"Forget it," said Aldara.

"Is that all then?" he said sliding her chips under the opening.

"Yes, that's all," Aldara said taking the poor bounty.

"Then off you go."

"Cheapskate," Aldara muttered. She spotted a roasting goose over a campfire Ushio's guards set up. Baby Tiragon noticed too and emerged from her pack and climbed on to her shoulder, meowing happily for a piece.

"Wait!" called Ushio. "It can't be!"

Aldara turned. Both she and Baby Tiragon stared at him. Ushio spotted a card inside a glass case hanging on Aldara's neck.

"A black card!" Ushio exclaimed. "An Xyz monster!"

"A what?"

He slammed sixteen sacks onto the workbench. "Fifty pounds!" he proclaimed. "Fifty pounds of gold Star Chips for your dragon. Plus, another twenty for the card around your neck. That should be enough for your new deck and pay the entrance fee into Duelist Academy, right? What do you say, love?"

Aldara opened her arms and shoved the sacks of gold Star Chips towards her. She looked around at them in shock. She even opened a few to make sure he wasn't ripping her off. He was serious about the deal, for inside the bags golden Star Chips glimmered from within. With this deal, all her dreams would come true. She looked at the dragon on her shoulder. It smiled at her and licked her nose then purred, nuzzling her neck. Aldara giggled, his furry head tickled her. She sighed and pushed the bags back at Ushio.

"Aldara!" cried Tordo.

"No. I'm sorry, but…I can't. Thank you for your offer, Ushio."

"Come now, girl, you'd throw away a chance to escape this cesspool for that little dragon. It's worth nothing to you."

"Be that as it may, this creature is mine. I won't part with it. I'm sorry."

"Don't be foolish, girl!" snapped Ushio. "You won't see a sum like this ever again, I assure you."

"I'll find a way," Aldara said walking away leaving Ushio standing mouth agape and bewildered. She looked down at Tordo. "Well, now what do we do?"

"Well..." said he.

"You have an idea I hope?"

"You may not like it."

"Try me."

"About a month ago, I was burrowing through the lower parts of the slums when I saw soldiers from the House of Gray patrolling the area."

"House of Gray? The Daltons? Why would they have their soldiers so far in the slums?"

"I followed them and found out," said Tordo. "Apparently the Department of Urban Development from Kaiba Corp discovered some sort of ruin. A temple to the dragon goddess, Saafani. They were guarding it really well because they are going to use it to aid some powerful Summoner. Anyway, I burrowed my way inside the ruins. It took some time to dig through all the cement and limestone, but I eventually made it in last night. Aldara! There was gold in there. Mountains of it."

"Oh no!" Aldara waved her hands in protest. "There is a law against robbing the goddesses."

"I figured you'd say that," said Tordo. "That's why I didn't say anything. But I figured Ushio would be his lying self and rip you off for the treasures. But what choice do you have? Come on, Alda this is your only chance. Sometimes sacrifices must be made to achieve our dreams. You told me that once."

"Well, what do you think?" Aldara said looking at her pet dragon. "Do you think we should borrow some treasures from your creator's temple?"

Neow, neow!

"See, even he agrees," Tordo persisted. "Aldara, come on. There won't be any other chances after this. You could be trapped here forever. You'll die here. And so will your dream."

Aldara bit her bottom lip. She paused, and she thought. "Very well. But let's wait for the guards to enter the temple with the Summoner. Once we're in, we'll take what we can and leave."

Ushio, meanwhile, was growling from the outside of his wagon. He watched as Aldara, Tordo, and the Baby Tiragon disappeared into an alleyway.

"Is that cat valuable sir?" asked one of Ushio's guards.

"Valuable? That cat is actually a rare Dragon-type Duel Monster. That thing's tail is worth more than the gold I offered her. Send the word out, boys. Tell every low-life in this slum the news. I am offering a hefty bounty for the dragon."

"And the girl?"

"I could care less about what happens to the girl! I want that dragon."

* * *

**Yami**

* * *

He exhaled deeply staring at the buildings of glass and steel getting closer as his ship prepared to end its journey at the ports of Domino City. He had traveled to Domino many times, but still, he felt out of place sailing into the city of magic and machine. Throughout most of his journey, he had traveled by ship, but now he was going to be treated inside Kaiba's luxurious black limousine. It was blazing hot even though the hours were still in the early morning.

That was the price Yami had to pay every time he journeyed so far south. He fanned his face with a black folder and thanked the monstrously high buildings stretching into the sky for their shade. He did his best looking modern for the citizens of the city-state all wearing colorful or stylish clothes compared to the dirty tunics or doublets in the west. He had a cell phone, that was a device he had grown used to, but it had to take his alter ego, Yugi, to teach him how to use it. He looked around at the port and could not find the transportation Kaiba had promised them. Yami exhaled again but through his teeth. He felt his face going red and his fist balling up.

"You can call him you know?" Yugi said, standing next to Yami in his ghostly form.

Yami responded with an agitated grunt.

"He's late on purpose," he said, grinding his teeth.

Yugi rolled his eyes. He stared at the steel-armored soldiers wielding rifles as well as swords and shields walking by on their patrol of the ship. Their armor was clinking and clanking with every step.

"Such weird weapons those guns are," Yami commented as they passed by.

Yugi chuckled and said: "I find them more intimidating than swords."

"I prefer a blade over those cumbersome, noisy weapons," Yami grumbled.

"Aw, you're just mad you can't use them," said Yugi.

"Ha! All I need is my sword and my Dark Magician. And as I recall you can't use them either." He chuckled. Remembering the time Yugi was in control of his body. He spent an afternoon with Prince Michael in his armory firing his collection of rifles. Yugi tried to use one, but the weapon caused him to shake all over the room. Michael saved himself with an advanced shield spell that blocked the bullets.

"I hope he's forgiven me for that," said Yugi.

"He has," Yami assured him. "He's a boy with a heart of gold. Which is why I need him for the alliance."

"This plan means a lot to you, doesn't it?" Yugi asked.

"Anubis is gone, but our home remains divided," Yami said, looking up at the buildings. He admired their architecture. Some of them a mix of traditional Termnnian and modern design. He sighed, looked back at Yugi and said: "Our leaders are fighting one another, and we have a warmonger in the North. The youth of Termnnia are eager to take over, and I aim to see it through, starting with Daveed and the Seven Princes of Termnnia. I already have Jon of Riftgaard and Ryon Balor of Katina on my side. And now that he's back from the wars in Akuuda, Michael has agreed to join the new High King in the alliance."

"They've all agreed so quickly?" Yugi asked.

"They are patriots," said Yami. "Termnnia comes first before anything for them. To say nothing of their kindness. You won't find better men. Their fathers were the ones I trusted in the moving of the lost golden eggs. Their sons want to atone for that horrible loss."

"What power those eggs could have given us," said Yugi.

"We don't know what power they hold," said Yami. "That's what made them so dangerous. Perhaps it's better they remain lost."

"Ah, here he comes now," said Yugi, pointing at the red-bricked wall looming over the docks. Someone was looking down at Yugi's friends who were all waiting for him at the pier the boat was to dock at. "Good ol' King Antilles himself. I haven't seen him in a long time."

"Not long enough," said Yami. "I was hoping never to see him again."

The ship finally docked. Joey, Duke, Tristan, and Téa where there waiting on the pier. Téa waved as the ship came closer.

"So, he has finally arrived," Antilles snarled approaching the group with his arms behind his back.

"Captain?" Téa said with a gasp. "I didn't see you there."

"And just what does he intend to do with the Naralian king?" he asked. "Are we to go to war or are we to decide this with petty games."

"This petty game will save a lot of lives," said Téa. "We are still recovering from Anubis's rule, so there is no need for more conflict."

"Do you really think a renegade king will keep his word because of a card game?" Antilles asked briskly.

"We don't expect him to," said Tristan. "But we hope to withhold his advance to give us time and get Yuri back."

"Yuri?" asked Antilles.

"That's what they've come to call Prince Daveed on Earth," Tristan responded.

"Is that so?" Antilles said narrowing his eyes.

A ramp was lowered from the boat and onto the dock. Antilles watched as the ship's passengers and crew walked down the ramp followed by a small boy who eerily resembled Yami in every way. He had the same hairstyle and eyes, save they were bigger indicating innocence. And he was shorter, much shorter.

"Yugi!" Téa called out to her old friend.

"Hey guys," the little boy called back.

"What?" Antilles asked. "But, when last I saw him he was taller!"

"Hey, Yugi," said Joey. "How's it goin' man?"

Yugi's cheeks puffed and he turned green. "Not so good," Yugi said squeamishly, holding his stomach. He ran to the edge of the dock and vomited.

Téa gasped and ran to him, kneeling and rubbing his back as he tossed his cookies into the Ramanos Bay.

"I guess your stomach isn't as strong as the spirit's," she said standing up.

"I had hoped he'd transform into me after we've docked," Yugi coughed. "Me and the sea don't exactly see eye to eye."

"Speaking of transform," Téa whispered. "Would you mind not doing so in front of current company? Not everyone in Termnnia knows your secret."

"Oh, right, well it's because of current company that the spirit of the puzzle changed back into me," Yugi replied getting up from the ground.

Yugi looked at the stern king as he stood in his armor of silver and steel plate with his white sash over his shoulder and a cloth-of-gold cape swaying in the wind. "He doesn't like him very much," he added.

"I can see why," said Téa. "He's been nothing but a thorn in our side in our campaign to secure Yuri's entitlement to the throne."

"So, what news of the North, Yugi?" Antilles asked.

"The Dalton Family have sent Cyber Dragons to the edge of Elleria and blasted Forrest's mercenary army to shreds," Yugi replied.

"Excellent," said Antilles. "With those monsters on the field, Forrest is going to have a hard time getting anywhere. I still say having Yuri on the throne is a bad idea, but if he's the key to stability in our land then so be it."

"Well I'm glad you're finally seeing reason," Yugi said walking past Antilles and into a black limousine where Joey and the others were waiting. "We'll meet you in the House of Gray so I can introduce you to the Summoner of Dragons."

"She is here?" Antilles said in surprise. "Bless my soul. Had I but known. I thought she was in Emboldor."

Yugi looked up at him. "She was, but I heard she ran into a bit of trouble lately. There's a rumor going around that she's been defeated by a rival summoner. It destroyed her, so I sent her a letter directing her here so I could lend her a bit of help. And, perhaps, maybe even get her to fight back King Forrest who is preparing to conquer Elleria."

"Of course," said Antilles. "I will make for the House of Gray with haste; for I much desire to speak with her." He turned and walked to his carriage. Despite all the cars in the city Antilles preferred to use his own carriage to take to the House of Gray, the main castle of Domino and home of the Daltons.

"Man, what's his deal?" Joey asked. "Why does Antilles despise Yuri so much?"

"He was supposed to be next in line for the throne," Yugi said, looking out the window at the city. He let out a heavy sigh and said: "Antilles was High-King Antar's, right-hand. His top war advisor. Many years ago, Antilles summoned Slifer the Sky Dragon in a Duel."

"What?" said Joey.

"A Divine Beast?" asked Tristan. "Him? No way."

"But how, Yugi?" Téa asked.

"I don't know," Yugi replied. "No one was sure how, but he did it. Since he was summoning Divine monsters many thought he would be the one to succeed Antar in the Diamond Throne. But then, Yuri was born. After he destroyed Anubis, the Divine Beasts clearly must have had a change of heart and chose him as their new master. Antilles was furious. He tried to summon the monsters again but they refused his calling, almost killing him. Antilles felt as though Yuri stole the throne from him."

"But it's not his fault," stammered Téa. "Yuri was still just a baby. There was no way he could have controlled the events that took place that night. It's just destiny. And destiny decided Yuri should be their master."

"That may be so, but Antilles won't see reason. Even now, he believes he should rightfully take the throne. He's a shady one, he is, so I suggest we all keep an eye on him."

"Yugi's right," said Duke. "Maybe bringing Yuri here would put him in more than danger than ever."

"He'll still be in danger anyway if he stays on Earth," Yugi said, turning his gaze from the window. "Yami's contact in the ESS reported in, saying that Yuri's being stalked by mysterious hooded figures. I don't know guys, but, hooded goons running around is never a good sign."

"The sooner he comes home the better," said Joey.

The limo traveled the highways of Domino for another hour before finally reaching the castle known as the House of Gray, the home of the king of Domino. Once they arrived Yugi's puzzle began to glow and Yami took his place. The palace guards arrived, juggernauts of gray steel and Kevlar fielding heavily modified rifles that bore the emblem of the gray armored lion, the family sigil of the Daltons.

"His majesty awaits you, Master Yu-Gi-Oh." The guard said from inside his blue-visored helmet. His voice was garbled from the radio inside his helmet.

"Thank you," said Yami. "Come on, everyone."

"Wow, I can't believe they built this place so tall," Duke said looking up at the towers reaching up into the clouds. Armored vehicles slowly drove through the white-gray cobbled paths. The family symbol emblazoned in the courtyard on the ground in gray, black, and white tiles.

"Amazing," said Tristan. "This is going to be the first time I've ever visited the Daltons. Let alone set foot inside the House of Gray."

"Then do us a favor and keep your flatulence in check," Téa grumbled. "The last thing I want is to be embarrassed in front of the royal family and the Summoner."

"Touchy, touchy," said Tristan. An airship soared over them rumbling the ground with its powerful engines.

"I want you all at your best," said Yami.

"Yugi, look," said Joey.

Yami set his sights to the direction Joey was pointing. He saw a fair-faced boy approaching his group surrounded by a squad of soldiers in Kevlar and steel, fielding rapid-fire rifles from the other world. The boy bore an ear-to-ear grin on his face, though half of it was concealed behind a devil's lock that went down past his chin. He wore a black buttoned shirt and dark denim jeans with a steel chain hanging from his belt.

"All hail, Michelangelo Octavius Dalton The Fourth," Yami declared. He and his friend bowed respectfully. "Crown Prince of Domino."

"I was getting worried you declined our invitation," Michael said happily. "I was about to send my men to go searching for you. That Summoner is not easy to get a hold of. Seems like everyone's after the power."

"Michael," Yami said, slapping the prince's shoulder. "I haven't seen you since you were just a boy. My how you've grown."

"Welcome to the House of Gray, Master," Michael said bowing respectfully to his Duel Monsters teacher. "And friends of course."

Michael looked at Téa. "Is she the one who I heard holds your heart?" he whispered.

"No," said Yami. "I do not trifle with love anymore. Not after _she_ left the way she did."

Michael tsked and shook his head sadly. "You still haven't found her? We have the technology to start a search."

"Now is not the time, Your Grace," said Yami. "I believe your parents are expecting us for breakfast."

"The Summoner first," said Michael. "She's anxious to finally meet you."

"So be it," said Yami. "Everyone, go to the dining hall and wait for me. I shall be down shortly with our new ally."

"All right then," said Joey. "Don't take too long, I'm getting hungry."

Yami nodded in compliance and followed Michael into the western tower of the castle.

"Sorry I haven't been around for your meetings, Master," Michael said, placing his arms behind his back. "I had a lot on my plate. That Cyber Knight vigilante making the war against the Aeon gangs pretty interesting. And then my affairs with Prince Marcel up in Akudda."

"You have no reason to apologize, Your Grace," said Yami. "You did what you could for the sake of our Kingdom. I am proud of the progress you and the other princes have made."

"We couldn't have done it without you, Master."

"I did nothing," Yami chuckled. "I merely gave you and the other princes a little nudge out of the door."

After a long elevator ride into the heavens, Michael led Yami down sunlit halls with windows showing off the clouds and the blue sky outside. The hallways of the tower built with elaborate and rich ornamentation. Chandeliers of crystal hung from the ceiling and the pathways, bordered with black and white tile, were made of glass to display a flowing indoor river snaking underneath their feet lit up with small round floor lamps.

There was a guard following them carrying a large box with a gold lock and made of polished maple. "You say she was hard to find," said Yami.

"She was in hiding," Michael replied. A group of palace maids saw both he and Yami coming into the halls. They bowed in respect. "I feel sorry for her. Poor thing. The Church is after her; they sent out a warrant for her arrest."

"What was her crime?" Yami asked.

"Summoning," Michael replied. "Despite having powerful dragons at her command, the girl feels getting the gift was sheer dumb luck more than anything. Hopefully, you'll have a better time convincing her otherwise about her destiny; Goddesses know I've tried. Anyways, she was spotted by some townsfolk summoning her dragon after she came out of the temple. They reported it to the guards and now the king wants her. But, a pretty girl summoning dragons is not the reason the church wants her."

"What other reason would they want her for?" Yami asked as they climbed up a gleaming limestone staircase with iron handrails.

"They fear her. The Church's divine words in the White-Gold Tome prophesize that there will be an evil witch whose children are demonic beings who can spew fire. She will bring the death of four kings and The Church will crumble in her fury. Ooooh." Michael teased wriggling his fingers to look spooky.

"I see," Yami said, rubbing his chin. "So, The Church fears her because the White-Gold Tome says she's the witch in the prophecy."

"Yup. Come on, Master, a girl who can summon dragons; winged-monsters who can shoot fire from their mouths. The Church does not see this as a mere coincidence."

"Well, she no longer has reason to fear," said Yami. "She is under my care now. And since I am the very voice of Termnnia, no one is to bother her."

Michael chuckled. "Well, there's one item on the list of things I thought I would never see in my lifetime. First Daveed brings ruin to Anubis; a girl summons dragons, and now you seek to start an alliance that has never been seen since the Seven Golden Kings. Things are getting interesting."

They stopped.

"Right here, Master," Michael said showing Yami a white door with elegant carvings.

"Thank you, your Grace," said Yami. "I will see you at breakfast,"

"Master," Michael said bowing. He turned and left.

Yami opened the door to the room ahead and smelled the sweet scent of cotton candy. Avi was sitting on her bed reading the legendary tales of High King Tiberius. She wore a beautiful silk gown glimmering like the stars; white high-heeled slippers and she had a ring in the shape of a butterfly on a white flower around her left index finger. Her hair, like threads of shimmering gold, went down to her back flowing gracefully like a river, shining brightly in the sunlight outside her window which showed a blue sky with fluffy clouds slowly passing by. She was listening to music from her phone, her ears covered by white earbuds blasting a 90's song from Earth.

"My Lady," Yami said out loud so she could hear him.

Avi turned and gave a welcoming smile when she saw Yami walking into her room. She shut off the music and her book and got up to bow.

"Master Yu-Gi-Oh!" she chimed. "This is a pleasure."

"Lady Avellana, the pleasure is all mine," he took her hand and kissed it. "Where is your knight?"

"Ser Gerhalos is in the courtyard examining the technology of the city with my companions. We are both very intrigued as we come from cultures that have not yet had the gift of technology."

"Do you like it?"

"It brings one's comforts quickly. This device Prince Michael gave me is quite fascinating. I no longer need to rest at an inn or go to a festival to listen to music. Is this music truly from the other world, master?"

"One of the many goods that have been exported from the other world," said Yami. "And are you ready for the task at hand?"

"You wish for me to be the Summoner of the High King. Why?"

"You are the first Summoner to call on dragons in ages," said Yami. "Saafani does not willingly grace those who pray to her with her children. Only those she deems worthy may call on her dragons and you have been deemed worthy."

"I think I got lucky," said Avellana

"Young lady, you call summoning dragons lucky?" Yami asked with a chuckle.

"So I summoned a dragon," said Avellana. "It was a beast named Arvas. But you know him as the Duel Monster called Ancient Dragon. What does it matter? I've met plenty of Summoners who can call dragons."

"But not True Dragons," said Yami. "Wyverns and flying serpents do not count. And just because a Duel Monster has 'dragon' in its name, does not mean it is a dragon. Your Ancient Dragon is a real dragon. Dragons are not gifted to Summoners, who might I add, have to be master wizards or mages. But you are neither. You said you had a dream of dragons flying around a great presence. Sweetheart, I believe you saw Saafani."

"The Goddess of Dragons, yes. The other priests of the temple said this as well."

"And do you deny it?"

"I have to admit I am far from convinced. Especially after my loss to Arietta."

Yami laughed. "Do not fret for such a thing, young one. The only thing that matters is you saw one of the Goddesses in your dreams. But..." He waved his hand over her face. "I still sense a lot of doubt in you. How? You pray at her temple, get blessed with a dragon and yet you still have doubts?" Yami chuckled. "What must it take to open your eyes, my dear?"

"That is a good question? Even now after all that has happened I still feel doubt in my heart."

"How about the gift of another dragon?" Yami asked.

"Huh?"

The guard stepped in and bowed, holding up the maple box. Yami thanked him and took it from him before sending him away. "Here. A weapon befitting the Summoner of Dragons," Yami said opening the box.

"Oh!" Avellana exclaimed, seeing a staff of polished silver with flowery filigree engravings and a glowing crystal ball on top encased in platinum wrapping around it like vines.

"The staff will grant you a significant boost in your Mana, so summoning your dragon will be easier, and it can shield you from enemy spells with a magical ward. There is also a spirit of a Prime Material Dragon sleeping inside of the staff. If you need it to aid you, you can call it but once per day."

Avellana took the staff out of the box and examined it. It was longer than she was. Avellana was five feet ten inches tall but the staff dwarfed her by another five feet and it had a blade at the bottom so the staff could be used as a melee weapon. Though it was so big and tall, the staff was as light as a feather when held.

"This is truly a glorious time," Yami watched Avellana give her staff a twirl and a thrust with the blade.

"I suppose this marks the beginning of a long journey," said Avellana. She made the staff disappear with a thought. "Where do I start?"

"There is a temple of Saafani here in the city," said Yami. "After we have had our fill at breakfast, I will take you there. Then, you will pray to the Goddess of Dragons. And if you get blessed with another monster to summon I will tell you more. If not, then getting the Ancient Dragon was just sheer dumb luck. But you have another beast with you. The mighty Sanctity of Dragon."

"He doesn't like me very much," said Avi.

Yami laughed. "Come, My Lady, there is so much to discuss at breakfast."

"Yes, Master," said Avellana.

She followed him out of her room. They got into an elevator down the hall and awaited a long descent to the floors below.

"So a grand alliance of princes. You seek to bring the glory days of the Seven Golden Kings?" Avellana asked.

"Nothing as romantic," Yami replied. "But it will help to bring Termnnia together."

"Hopefully go against King Forrest and the Church of Yeyu."

"We will stop his campaign to conquer Termnnia," said Yami. "But as for the Church, there is nothing we can do."

"There must be something we can do."

"They are extreme with their ideas, but per the Concordant of Free Practice, they can spew their rhetoric. It is a religion whose founding leads back to the Second Age. Millions practice it. We can't just not allow them to follow their beliefs."

"At the risk of them silencing ours?" Avellana retorted. "Yugi have you even read the White-Gold Tome? There is nothing but hate, murder, domination, sexism, bigotry, and violence in those pages. How anyone can call Yeyunism a religion is beyond me. They abuse our most precious right of free speech, in fact, they damn free speech, but use it to go about persecuting people who don't think or live as they do. I've lived in the North, almost all my life, Yami. I saw firsthand how barbaric they are to those who don't share their ideas. I've seen a group of men beat on a young girl because her legs were exposed while wearing a skirt. She said she was hot, but according to the will of Yeyu, women most show decency and cover themselves. And I saw them nail a small boy on an effigy of Yeyu because he had a deck of Duel Monsters cards. For the sake of the Mothers, Master Yugi, they've outlawed Duel Monsters in the North! Duel Monsters! Our beloved game!"

"The Church will get its comeuppance," said Yami. "We will see to that, but so long as the Concordant is still active, they are free to think the way they think. Our people are strong and our armies stronger, as is our future High King. I will aid him in dealing with the radical ideas of The Church and the true enemy looming farther east."

"The Orcs?" Avellana gasped.

"Yes, but that is a subject for another time. I believe we have kept our friends waiting long enough. Come we are needed downstairs. Have no fear, love. There will be happiness in Termnnia one day. You'll see."

"We wouldn't have to deal with them if we had the hidden power of those four golden eggs."

Yami grimaced.

"Damn that lazy Ser Argrave Blackwing. If he didn't flee from his task of guarding those eggs we'd still have them."

"Ser Argrave was a noble warrior," said Yami. "You cannot blame him for running off. After the Sisterhood killed his wife, he lost the will to continue and vanished."

"Yes, vanished and left the eggs for High King Julius to collect. I fear what would have happened if you, Antar and Gabriel hadn't stepped in and rebelled against him. Those eggs were the reason why Julius Dragonheart was confident enough to kill the Plantegrasts. And we were so close to securing them, and then King Forrest ambushed you and the army guarding them in Red Ridge, giving time for the Orcs to sneak in and claim them."

"It was a tough fight," said Yami. "But it would seem that even without King Forrest's intervention, as well as the Orcs', we still would have lost them. There was a powerful earthquake that night that caused the mountains to crumble and the earth to shatter beneath our feet. We lost a lot of good men in the quake, including the eggs. Ser Argrave is not entirely the blame for this."

"There is still a lot to blame of Ser Argrave, master. If he would have tended to his duties and remained with the eggs, the Plantegrasts would still be in power... and the last Celtra would still be here."

Yami coughed furiously. Avi took that as a signal to stop talking about Ser Argrave and the missing eggs.

The elevator came to a stop.

Avellana nodded and followed Yami out the door to the dining hall where his companions were waiting. The food was already served. Joey was slobbering over all the delicious morsels he could eat. Plates with stacks of pancakes drenched in syrup, bacon, eggs, sausages, buttered biscuits, pork, and sliced apples.

"It's about time," said Tristan. "Lord Eldon said not to eat until you guys came."

"Allow me to introduce Lady Avellana Lofnmagni Ethelfleda of Normandia. The Summoner of Dragons." Yami proclaimed to his friends.

"Beautiful," breathed Duke. "I heard Norman women were some of the finest in Keya."

Téa kicked his leg.

"Ouch!"

Avellana bowed in respect for the Heroes of Rassay. She looked up at them and said: "I know my name is rather long, but you can call me Avi. All my friends do."

"I prefer that," chuckled Joey. "Damn what a title."

"So, you're from Normandia?" said Duke.

"I-I am," Avi said shyly. She couldn't believe she was in the company of legends such as this. Yugi Muto and his friends sitting down with her for breakfast.

"That explains that brilliant color of silver in your eyes," Duke said again. "It's a pretty interesting heritage. The Normans were the first Men to wake on Termnnia."

"I bet your family is thrilled," said Téa.

"Forgive me, My Lady, I have no family. I was found by a baker and his wife who discovered me naked outside their house."

"And what pray tell were you doing naked in the streets?" asked Duke. _For that matter, why didn't you wind up on my estate grounds?_

"I don't know," said Avi. "I have no recollection of anything. It feels as though I had just woken up. Like I was just born in this word. I have no memory of my childhood. Where I came from. Anything."

"Now I know why they called you The Girl From Nowhere," said Joey. "That's kinda eerie."

"You're hard to find from what the king tells us," said Téa.

"She is," the elderly king Eldon said smiling from the head of the table, dressed in black robes with a dress shirt and tie underneath and armored in engraved steel at the shoulders. "I sent messengers all over the city-state looking for her, but it seems like everyone wants to have her services."

"The nobility of the world has such an eye for me," Avi said, sitting down beside Yami. "To say nothing of the priests of the Temple of Saafani. All of them want to see me and train me in The Faith. Although some think having a pretty dragon-summoning Norman girl will bring power to their Houses."

"Pay them no heed my dear," said Queen Nanna. "Many of the Houses that have called upon you are still sour they lost the right to parent Daveed in the War of the Infant many years ago. So, they're looking for some way to bring themselves power."

"I can't blame them," said Duke. "Having someone who can summon dragons would be very beneficial."

"I refuse to be a means to someone's end," Avi said, pouring herself a glass of milk. "But if what you tell me is true, you've brought me here to be the Summoner for the High King."

"The High King has an esteemed order," said Yami. "One of the jobs in that order is the Royal Summoner. Alongside the court magician and the captain of the guard, it will be your job to protect the Lord of Termnnia from his enemies. That is the main reason I have brought you here, Avi. We need you to use your dragons to combat King Forrest and kick him out of Elleria."

"I see," Avi said angrily. "So you intend to use my dragons for war? The first Dragon Summoner in years and you intend to use me as a weapon?"

"You will not be some sort of weapon to bring power to one's ego," Yami assured her. "You will be treated like royalty, and I assure you being the royal Summoner is a great honor."

"I shall accept," said Avi. "Not to be pampered like a queen mind you, but because I would like to use my gift for good use. And defending my High King and his people sounds like a noble cause."

"Atta girl," said Téa. "That's the spirit."

"She has to go through her pilgrimage first," said King Eldon. "To be a Royal Summoner means you have to have more than five monsters to qualify."

"I do?" Avi asked sheepishly.

"Yes, I apologize if you thought you were getting the job immediately. Yami only brought you here to let you know that the position is open. There are other Summoners out there, like your rival, Arietta, looking to get the job I'm afraid. And they can summon many beasts. You may be the first Summoner Saafani has blessed since the olden days, but a few dragons will not be enough to secure you the spot of the High King's Summoner. Therefore, you must go on a quest, a pilgrimage of sorts, across Termnnia and find the temples of Saafani, pray to them and receive your gifts. Once you receive your dragons, you and the other Summoners will meet in Rassay and do battle to determine which one of you is the strongest and worthy of being the royal Summoner of the High King."

"Oh, my," said Avi, "that's a mighty task to undertake. But if Master Yu-Gi-Oh has high regard for me, then I shall not disappoint him."

"There is no pressure, my dear," said Yami. "This is all up to you. If you feel you are not ready, I understand."

"I appreciate your concern, master, but I think I am ready."

"Travelling Termnnia is going to be perilous," said Michael. "You're going to need a traveling companion to go along with you. I shall send you, Fira, the finest soldier in our military. She will keep you safe. I will also grant you a loan of five hundred gold Star Chips to fund your pilgrimage. As for any other travelers that will be up to you to decide. I have done my part to help you on your journey."

"I was hoping my prince would join me," Avi said blushing.

"I'm flattered, but I have my own duties to attend to. I am needed in White Harbor soon; I shall sail on the morrow."

"For what?" Avi asked.

"Master Yu-Gi-Oh is gathering the members of his alliance there. So far almost everyone has answered and joined in. All that leaves us is the Eradicator of Anubis himself and Prince Talion, who I fear has gone missing in the battle up north."

"What!" gasped Yami. "Your Grace, is this true?"

"I'm afraid it is," said Michael. "Talion and his forces were driven farther north at King Helmsley's behest. Last I heard Talion was at the Battle of Black Mountain and no one ever saw him again."

"I hope he's okay," said Téa. "He's beneficial to the alliance."

"His father doesn't think so," said Yami. "It took a while for me to convince him to let his son join. Now it seems he sends his son to war to avoid it. Avi, if what Michael says is true I must ride north immediately. I cannot join you in the temple."

"But you just got here!" Téa protested.

"There is much to be done," said Yami. "I cannot rest. Joey, it's almost time to get Yuri back. You'd best prepare Rassay for his return."

"You got it bud," said Joey. "But when I do bring him home, do us all a favor and rest. Yer gonna work yerself t'death."

"I have read so much about Daveed," said Avi, "will I get to meet him before he goes to school?"

"No, you have a long journey ahead of you," Michael plopped a sausage into his mouth. "When you have received all the dragons from the temples scattered across Termnnia, then you can meet him. I will take my leave now."

Michael got up from the table.

"Father…mother. Master Yu-Gi-Oh! I thank you and your friends for your visit. Lady Avellana, may the Stars of Entuli light your path."

"And may they bring light to yours," Avi said, bowing her head. _Eoveth_ , my prince."

" _Eoveth, Avi_ ," Michael bowed and stormed away.

* * *

Later, Yami led Avellana to the courtyard where a young woman was waiting for them.

"Fira!" Yami called out.

The woman said nothing. There was an awkward silence before she turned to look at them. "Sergeant Fira," she corrected him, removing her red cordless headphones lit up with red neon. "I trust the little one here is the Summoner?"

"You were expecting someone else?" Yami asked.

"I guess you could say that. The tales I heard from the North say she is a fearsome sorceress who can shoot jets of fire from her hands and summon winged fire-spewing beasts, so large they cast out the sun and leave the land in shade. But instead, you bring me a scared little girl."

Fira walked around Avi, examining her. She played with Avi's hair, wrapping a lock of it around her finger. "She's pretty I'll give her that. I suppose I have seen far worse."

"I will not have this!" Avi snapped, thrusting herself back. "Master, is this who the royal family will have protecting me?"

"And who would you rather have alongside you, little girl? Some puny western knight."

"He's from the south," Avi retorted. "Very, very south."

"And what does he have that I don't?" Fira felt the ground tremble and someone, or something, was blotting out the sun. She heard a snarl above her. She turned slowly and saw a giant.

A creature with the body of a man, but he had the head and mane of a lion. He was armored in white enameled armor ornamented with gold designs and a flowing white cloth-of-gold cape attached to his gorget with gold fastenings. The sword he had sheathed on his back was larger than a man and his two large fangs were coated in gold and sharpened like daggers.

"May I introduce you to Ser Gerhalos," said Avi. "The Knight of Claws. And yes, he is a Leogai from the southern islands."

"We don't see much of your kind up north," said Fira. "Why have you left the Eltagi?"

"I longed for a higher purpose in life," snarled Ser Gerhalos. "So, I left and played service to a lord from the city of White Harbor. I saved his daughter from getting her flower plucked by a bandit gang and he knighted me. But he died shortly after from a fever, and the lady of the castle had me cast out. I have served as a hedge knight since, wondering Termnnia for over a hundred years. Until Master Yugi found me and hired me to guide the Princes."

"You look too well protected to be some lowly hedge knight," said Fira. "That's some handsome armor you're wearing."

"It was a gift from Prince Michael," said Ser Gerhalos, puffing out his chest to show off the detail of his armor. "A token of gratitude for protecting Lady Avellana. The king even named me a full-fledged knight. I protected her from many dangers, including King Forrest's mercenaries from his church of murderers."

"You were chased by witch-hunters?" Yami asked.

Avi sighed. "Yes, I did not know they came this far south. I had never been so terrified in my life. One of them shouted that they wanted to…have fun with me before sending me back to Naralia. But then Ser Gerhalos saved me."

"I have served as her knight for over a year now," Ser Gerhalos said folding his arms. "No harm will come to her so long as I draw breath."

Fira grinned. "So, the little hatchling has some teeth. Have no fear, Summoner. I was merely teasing you of course."

Avi wrinkled her nose in disgust. Fira wasn't too bad looking herself, but she was far from the beauty Avellana had. Her rose-red hair was swirling down the right half of her head while the left was completely shaved off to display the blue runes tattooed on her head going down the left half of her face and neck. Her eyes were icy blue and her beautiful lips scarred from battle. She wore a suit of Kevlar and steel. Black pouches to hold her extra magazines for her M4 Dragonfire lay strapped to her black enameled breastplate of steel and three more on her pauldrons and tasset. Her skin was lightly tanned and bore pink scars. A sword lay sheathed on her back.

The guard shaped the like head of the gray lion of the Daltons. Though Avi couldn't see it, the blade had enchanted runes glowing in blue on the length of the blade, and her rifle had a fiery aura about it. The receiver had the image of a dragon's head with glowing red eyes.

"Fira Northfleet. Domino Military ace. At your service, my lady." She bowed. "Well, shall we get this show on the road?"

"Very well," Yami gave her a map tucked in a compartment in his cape. "Take care of her. This temple lays hidden in the underbelly of the city."

"Oh, lovely," Fira made a clicking noise, rudely swiping the map out of Yami's hands. "Hmm. Oh, my, it's worse than I feared." She let out a loud burp. Avi's eyes widened in shock. "Pardon me, Summoner; I had a big breakfast. It seems we have to trek through the Omega District."

"And what is that pray tell?" asked Avi.

"A prison town, designed by His Majesty to house the rats of the kingdom. Heed my warning, love, it will not be a pretty place."

"And we must really go through it?"

"What reason have you to be worried? Just summon a beastie and send them away."

"I don't want to start a scene!"

"Then stay behind me and keep quiet!" Fira was getting rather annoyed with Avi's well brought up mannerisms, worse yet, her constant fear of the unknown. She was just too soft. A little dove in Fira's eyes. _Dove?_ She smirked, for she had just thought up a cute nickname for Avellana. "Since you are a Summoner, you have mastered the arts of magic, yes?"

"No, she does not," Yami answered, for he saw Avi looking at the ground blushing to hide her answer. "A normal Summoner would have to be a master of the magical arts, but Avi was given the gift instantaneously. That is why she is special."

"She doesn't know magic?" Fira frowned. "Goddesses preserve us."

"We waste time," Yami said, walking away. "Let us begin our journey to the temple. We have much to do. I will escort you to the gates. After that, I shall leave you."

"Come, Ser Gerhalos," said Avi. "Let's gather the others and head for the temple."

Avi trailed behind Yami, leaving Fira to take the rear of the party.

* * *

**Aldara**

* * *

"This is the place," Tordo hopped up and down, pointing at a large white door below. He gasped. "DUCK!"

Something massive swooped over them. Its wingbeats created a fierce wind that shook the canyon and sent clouds of dust into the air. A dragon. Someone was riding a dragon up there.

"A Dragon Rider!" Aldara said in awe.

Tordo gave a loud gulp. "That's not any Dragon Rider. That sword on the guy's belt. There's no doubt about it. That's Constantine the Sword of Dawn. He's famous for slaying hundreds of warriors loyal to the Church of Yeyu. I should have known Lady Avi would get someone like him as a guardian."

He peered through the bronze telescope he wore around his neck. He whistled, spotting two blazing-haired beauties amongst the soldiers below. Being a follower of all of Termnnia's greatest heroes, he recognized them at once. "Wow. That's Trish of Applehold and Phoenix Lockheart of the Adamantium Citadel. She's been hand-chosen by Yugi Muto to be Prince Yuri's Court Magician when he becomes High King. I can't believe they're here, too. Their fire spells can burn a battalion of soldiers to cinders in seconds."

He squealed jumping up and down when he saw a girl with a little green dragon on her shoulder. "That girl! With the dragon hatching there! Goddesses, that's Blair Flannigan. She's arguably one of the best female Duelists in Termnnia! Wow, and the rumors are true. She has a dragon as a pet, just like that girl Christine in Tourneville! Can it be happening? Are dragons truly coming back to Termnnia?"

"I don't know about that, but it looks like you weren't kidding about the security," Aldara said, looking down the canyon of junk and debris. "Looks like every hero from King's Rock to the Coastal Kingdoms is here to see that Avi's mission is a success."

The tactical knights of House Dalton marched all over the area setting up guard posts, squads and sniper positions for the Summoner, who was quickly on her way. They even put up a few mobile command centers outside of the ruins, for not too long ago some thieves tried to sneak into the ruins to steal the treasures inside.

Their bodies lay near the entrance covered under black sheets, ready to be picked up by a White Tower ambulance and taken to the morgue. Prince Michael ordered his men to close the streets near the ruins. The entrances blocked off with holographic barriers that read Do Not Cross in bright red.

Machine-type Duel Monsters called DUCKER Mobile Cannon ( **LV 3 ATK/500 DEF/500 Attribute: Light** ) patrolled the perimeter around the ruins of the temple.

"Hey, isn't that Ushio?" asked Tordo. "That Eldori down there with the scar on his face."

"No, that's Trudge," said Aldara. "Ushio's twin brother. And believe me when I tell you, I'd rather face Ushio right now than Trudge."

"No kidding," said Tordo. "Looks like he's here to oversee operations for the arrival of the Summoner. That's a lot of hardware."

"How do we get through that?" Aldara asked. "Not even a master thief can get past that heat?"

"Hey, if the Orcs can sneak past the defenses of Rasaay, we can get through this. Come on, I burrowed a tunnel leading from the sewers."

"The sewers?"

 _Neow! Neow!_ Went Baby Tiragon.

"It's the best way to go unnoticed," said Tordo. "And we better do this quick. The Summoner is on her way, and when she gets here we'll never get our hands on the treasure of the temple."

"Why not?"

"You ask so many questions!" Tordo face-palmed himself. "Once the Summoner receives her gift, the soldiers will take the treasure themselves and send them to the museum."

"Oh, dear," Aldara moaned. "We can't have that, can we?"

"Hurry, it's this way." Tordo hopped down a path of junk and dirt. Suddenly they heard a loud: "HERE YOU ARE!"

Aldara jumped and turned her head. A group of Elven thugs was climbing down a hill of junk armed with custom melee weapons. The leader was a Tolkeri wearing a brown leather coat with gold buttons and chains. He wore goggles on his head and his tail was pierced with rings.

Tordo squealed like a slaughtered rabbit when he saw the Tolkeri boy. "By the Goddesses!" he shouted. "It's MAX!"

"Who?"

"He's the guy who set that bounty on my tail!"

"Well, look who it is," said MAX. "Stupid Tordo. And I see you've found me the dragon everyone's looking for. And a sweet new servant for me."

"RUN!" shouted Tordo. He reached into one of the pouches on his belt and tossed a capsule at the ground in front of them. A white veil of smoke concealed them as they dashed into the junk canyon below.

"After them!" shouted MAX. "I want that dragon. And the girl if you can. A hundred gold Star Chips to whoever gets me her! Another fifty for the one who brings me Tordo's tail!"

"You got it, boss!"

"I'll get 'em baby!" said his right-hand-woman, a Redborne woman with a gold mohawk-ponytail combo. All she wore was a leather high-collar vest, leg-length boots, black strung-up arm gloves, and a black leather g-string thong. Her body was covered in tattoos of rifles, roses and tribal markings from Kalunga, an island near Akuuda.

MAX got onto his hoverboard and flew down the hill to try and cut Aldara and Tordo off. His right-hand-woman, named Wulfra, slid down the hill of junk, flipping open a deck box attached to her leg. She took out two cards from the top of the deck. "Let's see what we've got!" she said peering at the cards. "Perfect!"

Her pendant, a totem of Ana the goddess of machinations, began to glow. She summoned two machine-type monsters. Saber Slasher ( **LV 5 ATK/1450 DEF/1500 Attribute: Dark** ) and a Bat ( **LV 1 ATK/300 DEF/350 Attribute: Wind** )

"A Summoner!" gasped Aldara. "She's a Summoner!"

"Run! Keep running!" Tordo pleaded, sprinting as fast as his little legs could carry him. Wulfra took a powerful revolver from a holster over her lower back and started shooting them.

The shots could be heard by the soldiers below and they started to split up and setting up battle positions. One of the soldiers opened the back of a truck releasing two Giga-Tech Wolf ( **LV 4 ATK/1200 DEF/1400 Attribute: Earth** ).

"Oh, great!" shouted Aldara. "The soldiers know we're here."

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't fight back!" Tordo shouted.

Aldara nodded and swung her rifle to her hands. They took cover behind a wrecked car.

"Here, take this!" Tordo tossed her a target acquiring scope for her rifle.

"Where'd you get this?"

"I won it in a duel," said Tordo. "Hurry, use it."

Aldara mounted the scope on her rifle. The computerized reticles filled her vision with data graphs, wind mileage and even lit up her targets in red. Wulfra and the other members of MAX's gang lit up with red hues over their bodies.

"Beautiful!" sneered Aldara. She fired a few warning shots, killing two of the gangsters. Wulfra took cover behind the ruins of a highway-side apartment building as her machine monsters dashed toward them.

"Run!" Aldara shouted.

The Bat monster shot a purple laser at them. The car they hid behind melted from the intense heat. They sprinted further into a ruined tunnel. Saber Slasher took out his sword from behind his back and darted into the tunnel as well to chase them.

"Oh-no!" cried Tordo. "Look!"

Aldara looked up. Through the holes on the ceiling, she could see MAX flying overhead on his hoverboard. He had a weapon in his hands. A laser weapon that he removed from the tail of a Giga-Tech Wolf. He made a few modifications for the weapon such as a wooden handle and a forged iron sight made of melted junk to form the weapon into a pistol.

"Look out!" Tordo shouted.

The pack of Giga-Tech Wolves was running right towards them. One of them pounced on Saber Slasher and the other shot down Bat with its laser tail. The other two cyborg wolves chased after MAX's gang.

"Shit, my monsters!" growled Wulfra.

"Hold them back as Wulfra and I head down!" shouted Tordo.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the entrance of the ruins, Avi had arrived. She looked up at the junk canyon. The air popping with gunfire.

"What's happening?" she asked. "Ser Gerhalos! Is that...that noise! Are those guns?"

"Mierda!" shouted Santiago, drawing his rapier. "It's a trap. Get back, Lady Avi. It's too dangerous. I will handle them!"

"What is the meaning of this?" said Fira.

"My Lady," said Officer Trudge of the Domino City PD. "Get into cover. It looks like we've been caught in the middle of a gang dispute."

Fira growled and equipped her rifle. She began ordering both the soldiers and the officers. Ser Gerhalos took Avi under his arm and took her into a mobile command center to keep her safe.

"Stay here, My Lady," he said to her. He snarled, lighting up his gold canines, and unsheathed his sword from the scabbard on his back before charging outside for battle.

Santiago kissed Avi's hand. "Have no fear, my lady, I will keep you safe from all evil."

* * *

Aldara and Tordo went down many twists and turns to get away from both the gang and the Domino military police. They started to have a big firefight on the ruins of the highway. MAX met up with Wulfra and a small squad of his best men to regroup and form a new plan while the others fought the soldiers outside.

Aldara then followed Tordo down into the sewers underneath the temple. But they were far from safe down there.

Duel Monsters even inhabited the underbelly of the city. They had to battle through horrid creatures such as a blue muck monster called Dorover ( **LV 3 ATK/900 DEF/800 Attribute: Water** ) Twin Long Rods ( **ATK/ 900 DEF/700 Attribute: Water** ) and a terrifying slug Thunder-type monster called Bolt Escargot ( **ATK/ 1400 DEF/1500** ).

"You never told me there were so many monsters down here," Aldara breathed heavily. Baby Tiragon hissed angrily, trying to shake muck and grime from his fur.

Aldara checked her rifle's ammunition. Half a clip and she had two more in the pouches strapped to her thigh. They would run dry if they encountered any more monsters. And, the blade mounted underneath her weapon was growing dull and was covered in ooze from the Dorover monsters.

"They weren't down here before," Tordo said, opening a steel hatch that he built when burrowing into the temple. "I guess the firefight on the surface spooked them. Come on. The entrance to the temple is right here. We'd better hurry. The Summoner is here and she'll begin her prayer any moment now."

* * *

**Avi**

* * *

"Hurry my lady!" Ser Gerhalos shouted from outside the command center. Avi whimpered, slowly getting up from her hiding place. She took her knight's paw and was forcefully led out. Fira aimed her M4 Dragonfire into the ruined highway sniping the elven gangsters up above.

Constantine and Tartarus soared over the junk ruins, bathing them in flames to flood the criminals out into the open to be apprehended by the police forces. Phoenix and Trish worked elegantly as a team, shooting streams of fire out of their palms into old buildings to burn them out as well.

"It's just as I feared," grumbled the captain of the squadron. "It's that damn gang-lord, MAX."

"Who's MAX?" Avi asked, shielded by Ser Gerhalos's massive armored body.

"A thug of the Tolkeri," Fira answered sternly. "A race of wild children from the root of the Blue Mountains. Mischievous reprobates, all of them, but this one is the worst of them all. Hurry and get inside!"

"Cover the Summoner!" shouted a soldier. He and his squadmates fired their guns into the gang's position.

"Al ataque!" cried out Santiago. His lightning-fast speed allowed him to zoom from one place to the other in a blur. He stabbed the gang members in the eyes, throat, and chest, ending them quickly. "Ha-ha!" he said, dancing around. "If you want Lady Avi, you will have to get through me!"

His showmanship was outdone when Blair and her dragon sprinted towards a few riflemen. Working together, she and her Mystic Dragon ruined them in a matter of seconds. Then, Constantine and his Infernal Dragon swooped down and showered more gang members with a rain of fire, sending the other surviving members to flee for their lives. Robin and Rhaimundos of the Red Sword were littery cutting their way through the others. He used his hoverboard to go after Max and they had a daring swordfight in the air, leaving Santiago feeling a little outshined.

"Show offs!" shouted Santiago. He hurried to fight more gang members to impress Avi.

"This way!" grunted Ser Gerhalos. He had his arms crossed over her. She followed his pace, squealing at the gunshots popping all around her.

"What do they want with me?" Avi gasped.

"What don't they want with you, Dove?" Fira sprinted beside her and Ser Gerhalos. "You're a hot Norman girl who can summon dragons. Not to mention you got at least twelve-hundred Star Chips worth of jewelry on your person."

"MOVE!" shouted Ser Gerhalos at the soldiers. "Make way for the Summoner!"

It felt like she ran for an eternity under the arms of her knight. But at last, she set foot inside the temple of Saafani. Carvings of Duel Monsters dragons guarded the offering alter.

"My goodness!" gasped Avi. "Look at all this gold!"

"You can keep it for yourself," a soldier said to her. "You're going to need gold if you're going on your pilgrimage."

"I can?" Avi beamed.

"Careful now, Dove," said Fira. "Don't you think we can stuff all this gold into our pockets. Not even your knight can carry this."

"I cannot," growled Ser Gerhalos. "But it would be wise to carry what we can. We're going to need this gold. I imagine ammunition for that rifle is not cheap."

"No way," Fira said, mounting her rifle over her shoulders. "They cost like a hundred Star Chips per magazine. Thankfully the Daltons paid for my ammo, but, now that I'm under Dove's service I have to scrape what I can."

"Knight One to Paladin!" a soldier said into his radio. "We're escorting Avellana into the temple now. Keep MAX and his thugs as far from the temple as you can."

"Understood, Knight One. Be advised, two figures have been spotted jumping into the sewers. We're sending Valiant Team to investigate, how copy?"

"Roger, Paladin, solid copy. All right men, diamond formation around the Summoner."

"Roger!"

"Roger!"

"Roger that!"

"What lurks in these chambers that require Domino City Security?" Avi asked.

"Who knows with ruins like these, Dove," said Fira.

They traveled down a long-arched passageway, the ceiling spanning several stories high. The white stone walls mounted with dragon heads spewing water into pools surrounding the path. There were bright green lights in the pool, illuminating the hallway in a dull green color.

"Wow, this is beautiful," gasped Avi. "I've never seen architecture like this before."

"It's just a really big building, Dove," Fira said, popping a lemon drop into her mouth. "Let's just find your dragon and go."

"If I can get it," Avi said fearfully. "What if this was just sheer dumb luck."

"My Lady is special," said Ser Gerhalos. "She will receive her gift. I feel it in my heart that you were born for greatness. This dragon you shall be blessed with will be proof of that. High King Yuri would be proud to have you as his Royal Summoner."

"Thank you, Ser Gerhalos," Avi said carefully treading down the one-hundred-yard pathway. "I feel you are right. The Goddesses must have blessed me greatly to have a friend like you."

"Pah," scoffed Fira.

"And I thank you for getting me this far, Miss Fira. I was wrong about you. The Daltons made a wise decision naming you as my defender."

"Forget it," Fira said, chewing her lemon drop. "Huh?" She spotted something dancing over Avi's head. Something bright and red.

"DOVE!" she shouted. She pounced on her, knocking her to the ground. She heard a blast coming somewhere from the ruins.

"Sniper!" shouted a soldier.

"You okay, Dove?" gasped Fira.

"Oh, dear!" cried Avi, her face glowing red. "Get your hands off me!"

"Oops!" giggled Fira. "I squished your boobs. Sorry, Dove." _Wow, they're really nice._

Ser Gerhalos roared into the darkness. The soldiers aimed to where he was roaring and fired at a buttress nearby. A yell of agony echoed in the hallway. The assailant fell from his perch and landed with a sickening thud on the violet carpeted ground. The offender wore an armored tactical tunic. His helmet was decorated with a bright green visor. Inside, Ser Gerhalos could see data charts flowing on the visor. But that was not what angered him. On the metal chestpiece was a flaming eye.

"A witch hunter!" he growled. "Have you no honor!"

He kicked the corpse.

"The Church of Yeyu followed me here?" gasped Avi.

"Everyone stay close!" shouted the lead soldier. "There could be more in here."

"Highly unlikely," said Fira. She was looting the assassin for ammo and his pistol and discovered a note.

"It says here that he was sent here alone."

She read aloud.

_O' Warrior of Yeyu. You have been assigned to eliminate the witch who is called Avellana Lofnmagni Ethelfleda otherwise known as the Summoner of Dragons. Your mission will purge the world of this monstrous sinner and her black magic that blasphemes against the Lord Yeyu. Best of luck to you brave warrior of the Fires of Judgement._

_-Patriarch Salvation of the Red Tower in Lionhold_.

Ser Gerhalos spit on the body.

"Those beasts!" grumbled one of the soldiers. "Damn them!"

"If only Master Yu-Gi-Oh was here to see this," growled Avi. "Maybe then he'd reconsider not banning this fundamentalist ideology."

"Come, Dove," said Fira. She held out her hand to pick Avi up. "The chambers are just a few paces away."

Avi nodded. She took Fira's hand and was pulled up to her feet. She brushed dirt and pebbles off her gown and then proceeded into the temple's main chamber.

There was a pillar with the likeness of Safaani carved on it. She was naked and being caressed and covered by her children. The Dragons. A pool encircled the pillar and up ahead was a pedestal with a glowing orb of light hovering over it.

"Knight One this is Paladin. We've got MAX. And thanks to Avi's companions, his thugs have been detained. Valiant Team is still searching the sewers for the other two perpetrators. Be on the lookout."

"Roger, Paladin. Knight out."

"Thank you all so much for bringing me here," said Avi.

Trudge bowed and took Avi's hand to kiss it. "It was an honor, my lady. We'll make sure no trouble makers reach you as you pray. Good luck on your pilgrimage. May the Stars of Entuli light your path."

He and his men slammed their fists over their chests.

"And may they bring light to yours," Avi said with a bow.

When Trudge and the soldiers left, Avi slipped off her high heels and slowly walked into the pool. She shivered when the cold water caressed her feet, but she pressed forward and waded deeper into the pool. When she reached the pedestal, she got down on her knees.

She clasped her hands together and began to pray in elvish. A vortex of light surrounded her. Her elegant golden hair flew up and then she was lifted off the ground. Brilliant golden flames suddenly enveloped her.

"Dove!" Fira out in horror.

"No, wait!" Ser Gerhalos said holding out his arm to stop her from running to Avi. "Watch."

* * *

Outside the temple, MAX and his men were being rounded up into armored vehicles that would take them to a prison on an island by the coast of Domino called Satellite.

"Any signs of the perps in the sewers?" asked Knight 1.

"None," said Valiant leader. "We're still searching though."

A roar echoed from within the temple. The soldiers aimed their weapons at the entrance but quickly lowered them, for they knew the roar was a harbinger for good news. A gust of wind blew out of the entrance followed by loud, thundering footsteps. Avi stepped out of the darkness of the temple with her two guardians grinning confidently.

She had a grin on her face as well, making her look like an angel as the sunlight touched her and gave her a radiant glow. From the temple emerged her gift. Her first beast, the one that started her journey was an Ancient Dragon. It gave a thunderous roar to announce the arrival of Avi's newest gift, a magnificent White-Horned Dragon ( **ATK/2200 DEF/1400** ) stomped out of the entrance and gave a roar above his new master.

The Domino City Security soldier raised their fists in the air and cheered. And just for the sake of it, Avi summoned the Prime Material Dragon sleeping inside her staff. It flew over the soldiers. They were cheering and whistling as the beast came to a stop behind Avi and the rest of the dragons.

"Master Yu-Gi-Oh was right," Avi said looking up at her dragons. "I am a Summoner of Dragons."

"Goddesses be praised!" Ser Gerhalos said, getting down on one knee. "My Lady, congratulations."

"So it wasn't pure dumb luck after all," chuckled Fira.

"I was a fool to think so," Avi said, trying hard not to cry. "I do not know how I got to this world, but I do know I have a mission to complete. To be Prince Daveed Wallcroft's Royal Summoner."

"This is going to be a long journey," grumbled Fira. "Looks like I have to stock up on ammo and bring spare pairs of panties."

Ser Gerhalos grumbled, shaking his head at the unnecessarily crude comment. Suddenly, the roof inside the offering room collapsed. Avi and her dragons turned to see what was causing the ruckus.

"HELP!" shouted Tordo, hanging for dear life on Aldara's pants. It was a long way down to the floor below.

"It's them!" shouted Trudge. "The criminals!"

"Tordo let go of my pants!" shouted his half-elf friend.

"Ack!" he shouted. "I'm falling!"

"You're going to disrobe me!" Aldara said using her free hand to yank up the back of her pants. Baby Tiragon was gnawing on her sleeve doing all he could to keep her from falling.

"Is that what I think it is?" gasped Avi.

The poor cat-like dragon could hold the two treasure hunters no longer. They both fell but were saved by Avi's Ancient Dragon who caught Aldara by the neck of her jacket. When the dragon lowered Tordo and Aldara to the ground the Domino City Security soldiers surrounded them, taking Aldara's weapons and her sack of loot.

"You should know stealing from the temples is punishable by death," Trudge said looking down at them.

"Death by firing squad will suffice," said Aldara. "Have you any last words?"

She pointed her triple-barrel revolver at Aldara.

 _Neow!_ Baby Tiragon said jumping in front of Aldara.

"What is that?" asked one of the soldiers.

"It's a dragon!" exclaimed Avi, pushing through the soldiers. "A Baby Tiragon!"

"Now that's a rare beast to come by," said Fira. "How'd you get it?"

"He found me," said Aldara. "I'm so sorry, it's just, this place is hell. I can't stand it. I was trying to earn money for Duelist Academy but that crook Ushio ripped me off. My friend, Tordo, led me here so we could take just enough treasure to pay for my tuition and a deck."

"You're a fool if you think you can get good bounties from that scoundrel, Ushio." Fira smirked.

"Looks like my bastard twin is still up to his schemes again," grumbled Trudge.

"I know," said Aldara, "and it looks like he offered a bounty for my dragon. That explains why that Tokeri and his gang chased us. Please, don't kill me. I'm all this baby dragon has in the world."

 _Neow, Neow_! Baby Tiragon said sorrowfully.

"This does not bode well," said Ser Gerhalos.

"Yikes!" Tordo yelped burying his face into Aldara's waist. He had never seen a Leogai before and Ser Gerhalos was rather intimidating.

"Are you well trained with that weapon?" Avi suddenly asked.

"I am," said Aldara. "Wait, you're the Summoner! My Lady, forgive me. I did not know, otherwise, I would have properly addressed you."

"That matters not," said Avi. "I understand what it's like scraping through life just to survive. If you promise to lend me your services and travel with me as a protector, perhaps we can drop all charges."

"But, My Lady!" protested Trudge.

"Dove, think this through," said Fira. "They were stealing from the temple."

"I can forgive that, so long as they pledge their services to me until the end of my pilgrimage. Then, I can offer a way to pay for your studies at the academy."

"You'd do that for me?" Aldara asked. "My Lady, I will be forever grateful."

Avi giggled cutely. "Just call me Avi." She winked.

Fira shook her head. She did not like it, but Avi was the boss. "Very well, but I will be keeping my eye on both of you!"

"Welcome aboard the pilgrimage of the Summoner of Dragons," said Ser Gehalos.

"Come, my lady," said an officer. "His Highness, Prince Michael as left you supplies for your journey in the barracks back in the city."

"The city!" gasped Aldara. "Can it be true? Am I finally going to leave the slums?"

"We'll see your new companions get some proper gear," said Fira. "And a shower. You both smell like shit."

Aldara sniffed herself. What she deserved for battling sewer-dwelling Duel Monsters.

"I can't believe it," said Tordo. "We're going into Domino."

"Come, then, Tordo," said Aldara. "We've got a long journey ahead of us."

* * *

**Lore**

* * *

**Ana-Goddess of knowledge and machines. The Machine and Psychic-Type Duel Monsters are her creation. Worship of her is banned in the West, North and Southern regions of Termnnia, for the citizens feel the machines are blasphemous against the gifts of the other goddesses. Her only temple is located in Battle City. She blesses those who pray to her with increased intelligence for a limited time. For this, many schools and universities prohibit students to pray to her during test days.**

**Redborne- A dark-skinned, golden-eyed race of Men from the southern continent of Akuuda. They thirst for adventure and travel mostly as mercenaries and traders.**

**Summoner-A highly sought after job of the arcane arts. Only master mages and sorcerers can learn to be Summoners. Summoners must also have a strong faith in the goddesses. They travel Termnnia searching for hidden temples in order to be blessed with new Duel Monsters to summon from their planes of existence into Termnnia. They can even pray to evolve their current creatures into more powerful beings.**


	72. The Summoner of Dragons: Part 23

**Avi**

* * *

**King's Rock, Elleria**

**October 29th**

**Year 18 4AOS**

Trumpets blared in the early morning as Avi's carriage rolled through the streets of King's Rock. Grateful people flocked to the road she traveled. They tossed flowers before the carriage, threw rice, and even gold coins.

Two unicorns in white-gold armor pulled the carriage, awing many who laid eyes upon it. Above, Constantine flew on the back of Tartarus to protect her and intimidate anyone foolish enough to try and hurt her. Aldara and Tordo were hanging on for dear life with him on the back of the beast.

Yami sat next to her. The sight brought more hope to the people. Two great heroes had now come to save their kingdom from King Forrest and the Church.

Ser Gerhalos walked beside the carriage, keeping a quick pace. The new armor Prince Michael gave him back in Eredas made him look like a warrior from the Age of Champions. The gold carvings and trim of the brilliant white armor made his fur look like gold thread. His new sword shimmered beautifully on his back. The cloth-of-gold cape, which glittered like stars, flapped elegantly behind him.

Avi looked up at Constantine. She whistled with her fingers. That was the signal for him to bless the people. Constantine opened many brown sacks filled with gold and other treasures from the temple where she found White-Horned Dragon.

He scooped up a handful of gold coins and Star Chips and threw them into the streets below. The poor folk grabbed as many as they could, claiming that Avi's coming was nothing short of a miracle. Constantine looked back at Aldara and Tordo, both looking like they were about to commit a murder.

"Let's go, guys," he said. "You must repent for committing a sin against a Termnnia Goddess."

Tordo whined, grabbing handfuls of gold coins. There was a handsome diamond in the pile he collected. He wanted to pocket it, but Constantine made it seem like he had eyes on the back of his head.

"All of it!" he commanded as if he knew what Tordo had in his hands.

Not wanting to anger a Termnnian hero, Tordo did as he was told. He tossed it over his shoulder. Aldara did, too. She saw people blowing kisses at her. Children were crying tears of joy as they had so much treasure they could throw it up in the air, splashing it around like it was water.

She smiled. A warm, happy, feeling filled her belly when she realized she had done a good deed. The wind blowing through her air suddenly smelled sweet and was warm to the touch. Generosity. All her life, she had to rely on the generosity of others to eek her way through a day.

But now, surrounded by the likes of Yugi Muto and the Summoner of Dragons, she had so many blessings she could share them with everyone. Because of what she had done, those children down below could have something to eat this night. As did many other people.

The platinum bells of the White Bay Towers rang as Avi's caravan approached the walls that surrounded Castle Alteria. They stopped in the courtyard before the steps of the castle. King Helmsley, his wife Queen Sera, and their daughter Princess Evelyn and their family friend Princess Alexis Rhodes stood at the top of the stairs. Ser Dancer and Ser Kevin stood behind them, clad in their best ebony armor. Evelyn's friends watched from one of the balconies overlooking the courtyard.

"She's beautiful," Queen Sera whispered to Helmsley as Ser Gerhalos held out his hand and helped Avi out of the carriage.

"Look how delicate she is," said King Helmsley. "Could that girl really have the power to summon True Dragons?"

"She does," said Evelyn. "Word of her has spread far and wide. Master Yugi is with her. Her powers must be real."

"I can't wait to see what she can do," said Alexis. "She's amazing. Like she walked out of a dream."

Avi and Yami walked up the bright limestone steps arm in arm. Ser Gerhalos marched behind them. Constantine and Tartarus landed in the courtyard. From where she stood, Evelyn saw Tordo jump off the dragon's back and kiss the ground.

"King Helmsley!" Yami announced. "Allow me to present to you Lady Avellan Lofnmagni Ethelfleda of Dragon's Tooth. The Summoner of Dragons."

King Helmsley clapped his hands. He looked around at his subjects, signaling them to clap, too, and they all followed. Queen Sera walked down and took Avi by the hand.

"Welcome to Elleria, My Lady. Welcome." She kissed Avi's hand. "Summoner. Allow me to introduce my daughter, Princess Evelyn Ethelburga Alteria."

Evelyn curtsied and walked towards her, carrying a bouquet of flowers. "Thank you so much for coming," Evelyn said, handing Avi the flowers. "Thank you." She kissed Avi's cheeks. Avi kissed them back.

"Of course, Your Highness. My pleasure."

"Oh," Evelyn said. "This is my best friend. Princess Alexis Rhodes of Lorin."

"Summoner," Alexis said, hugging Avi and kissing her. "Blair? Is that you?"

"Yeah, yeah. Nice seeing you again, Princess."

Alexis giggled. "Glad to see you haven't changed. Welcome to Elleria. I trust your journey was a comfortable one."

"Uh...not quite," Avi laughed.

"Come, come!" said King Helmsley. "Avi, we have prepared a grand feast for you. Ser Dancer will show you to your room and will be delighted to assist you no matter how big or small your problem may be."

Ser Dancer approached her. "I am very happy to meet you," he said softly. He took her hand and kissed it. When he felt how soft her hands were, he felt like he could kiss them forever. And she smelled so sweet.

"With all due respect, my liege," said Ser Gerhalos. "I am the only knight Lady Avi needs."

Yami laughed. "Ser Gerhalos, there's no need to feel threatened."

"No, indeed," Avi said with a laugh. "No one will replace you."

"We'll follow you to your room then," Alexis suggested. "If you want, of course."

Avi bowed. "Thank you, Princess, I think I would enjoy the company very much."

Ser Dancer, Ser Gerhalos, and Ser Kevin went down to the carriage to collect Avi's things, while Yami left with King Helmsley to discuss a few things. Meanwhile, Trish, Phoenix, and Aldara hurried into the castle to catch up with Avi. There was great excitement outside. Many wanted to see Avi for a little while longer. She waved at the crowd one last time and went inside, disappearing into the dark of the castle and out of their sight.

"I heard about your brother, Princess Evelyn," Avi said after a brief silence. Her voice echoed in the vastness of the castle. "You have my condolences."

"Thank you, Lady Avi," said Evelyn, blinking rapidly to keep her eyes from tearing up. "Thanks to you, I know he'll find peace. I heard your dragons are massive. How big are they?"

"As big as this castle!" Santiago said, running up to them. "Un momento!" he cried. "Un momento, mi dama!"

"Oh my!" Evelyn squealed. "A Meowri! I thought they were wiped out by the Church."

"Maybe in these parts," Santiago said, fixing his belt and hat. "But so long as I draw breath, the Meowri will live on."

Evelyn went down to her knees. She held out her hand. "It's so good to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine," Santiago said, taking off his hat as he bowed. He kissed her hand repeatedly. His whiskers tickling Evelyn's skin.

"Oh, he's so adorable!" Evelyn squealed picking him up and smothering him against her chest. "Want to keep him."

"Oooh, I'm a good kitty," swooned Santiago, his face buried deep in her bosom.

Alexis cringed. "Ugh. That's not something you see every day. Careful, Evelyn. You know how cats are when they get close to milk."

"Oh, gracious!" Avi groaned, feeling shocked at the vulgar joke Alexis made. She did not expect such crudeness from a Princess. Evelyn laughed and continued to lead her guests to their rooms. Alexis followed. Soon they all started to laugh.

"Having a good time, Dove?" Fira said, approaching with Trish and Phoenix. "You're certainly getting well acquainted with everyone."

Santiago was drunk with lust as he saw the trio of red-haired angels. "I must have been born under a lucky star to have been blessed with so much beauty."

"Don't get too comfortable, cat," said Trish. "You need to help out the guys with the luggage."

"Do I have to?" asked Santiago.

"Just keep the gold safe, Santiago," Avi said, scratching his head. "We'll meet you tonight at dinner. Right now, I need a bath and back massage."

She was looking forward to dinner with the King and Queen that night. But upon learning that King Helmsley wanted to speak to Avi about staying at the castle on a more permanent basis, she started growing concerns. It meant she had to use her dragons to kill people. To destroy. That was not what she wanted. In the few weeks living in the temple in Bluesummer, Avi learned that the True Dragons purpose was to help create the world with their limitless power and magic. And to safeguard its people and all the living things from the corruption of Zorc.

To use them as a means of waging war like some sort of weapon bothered her awfully. It offended her. She would not hear of it.

That was until earlier during the day. After Avi had her bath, she followed Evelyn and Alexis to the dining hall. Suddenly, the doors of the castle burst open. A squadron of Ebony Knights stormed in, carrying farmers from a village many miles from the capital. One of them was a little boy who had his leg cut off. His fingers were missing. Whoever attacked him took great pleasure in torturing him.

Ezra and Phoenix, being exquisite healers in the art of White Magic, tended to the wounded. King Helmsley and Yami came running down to see what was the commotion.

"They had no warning," Phoenix said, doing her best to cure the little boy of his fever. "Their village was just attacked for no reason."

"Which one was it?" Ser Dancer asked.

"We..." coughed a farmer who took a war hammer to the head. "We...we hail from Willow...Willow Court."

"Shh," said Ezra, giving him a spoonful of a pain-relieving elixir. "Rest now. Don't talk."

"Willow Court," said Alexis. "That's not far from here."

"It is right at your doorstep," Yami said. "Now that King Forrest holds the Emerald Marches, his mercenaries run rampant."

"And they burn villages as they go, My Lord," said a woman, wrapped in bandages. "Before they attacked us, we got word from a rider that they attacked the towns of Chrichton and Fullard."

Constantine balled his fists. "Not for long they're not. Your Majesty. With your permission, I would like to take my dragon Tartarus to the countryside. We'll stop those savage mercenaries."

"Go at once!" said the King. "Another dragon rider named Ser Damien has arrived as well. I'm sure both of you will inflict serious damage to them."

"Ser Damien is here, too!" gasped little Tordo, hiding behind Aldara's legs. They both overlooked the commotion from the balcony overlooking the atrium.

Constantine ran out of the castle. Avi sobbed and buried her face in her hands.

At dinner, hardly anyone felt like eating, save for Tordo and Santiago, who were both gobbling up their food as if their stomachs were black holes. Avi, meanwhile, hardly touched her soup. Ser Gerhalos looked down at her and placed his massive hand over hers. He said to her: "This is but a taste of the horrors King Forrest inflicts on these people, My Lady. You must reconsider your decision. You must use your dragons and fight!" He raised his fist.

"But I..."

"Dove," said Fira, holding up her spoon. "This is not up for discussion. You knew what your task was when you came here. King Helmsley, in good faith, offered to lend you a map to the destination of another temple, so long as you can help him get Forrest out of Elleria."

"But I was hoping that with Master Yugi here we could..."

"Out of the question," Yami said, holding up his hand. He wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and set it on his lap. "King Forrest is allied with the Church of Yeyu. They HATE Duel Monsters and magic, Avi, you know this. To play against Forrest with the Dueling Pact is not an option for us. Believe me, if it was, we wouldn't be here right now. I want to Duel to resolve our dispute. But some people are just too far gone to want to settle their matters peacefully."

As much as Avi wanted to argue against the King of Games, she could not find the courage to do so. However, it was not him she feared she would let down.

Avi became good friends with Princess Evelyn. To learn how troubled she was throughout this horrible war broke her heart. The horrible burdens her mother and father placed on her shoulders. The loss of her brother. He did not die quickly. He suffered for months as a prisoner to King Forrest before he was beheaded. And learning the foul King sent Evelyn his genitals as a birthday present made her sick.

Avi looked at her from the other side of the table. Evelyn was quiet the whole time. Her eyes locked on Avi, whom she deemed her last hope to keep the kingdom secure. Alexis said that seeing Avi come into the capital the way she did made Evelyn smile and laugh for the first time in many moons.

"Does something trouble you?" Arvas asked from within the pendant.

"I can't use you like this," Avi said in her mind. "You...you and your kind were put in this world to help people. Not kill them. King Forrest has his greed, but those men under his command are just soldiers doing his bidding. I'm sure if he did not wish it, they would gladly be back in their homes with their family and friends."

"There's not much one can do in times like this," said Arvas. "I know it's hard for you, Avi. But sometimes you must commit evil for an even greater good. And the good that will come when you go against King Forrest is saving the Kingdom of Elleria. Too long have these people suffered from his malice. Families have been broken. People have been murdered or starved. They don't want the Ellerians to live. Many of the soldiers who storm here rape and pillage and kill needlessly."

"There must be another way," Avi said aloud.

"There isn't any," the King said, raising his voice. "You were asked to come here by Master Yugi and myself. Do this not for us, Avi, but for our kingdom. Our people need you. We do not wish to be persecuted and forced to follow an ideology that has no place in this world. You know what the duties of a Royal Summoner are, don't you?"

Avi did not answer. She merely looked at the King sorrowfully.

"To protect the High King and his people from any threat. By any means necessary," he said.

"But the slaughtering of hundreds?"

Fira slammed her mug on the table. "For goodness sakes, Dove! Shut up and do your duty!"

"Don't yell at her!" Alexis protested. "She's scared."

"Well, this is no time to be scared," said Fira. "Avi. What did you expect to do with your dragons? You tell me? Parade around and look pretty with them? Is that what you hoped was going to happen?"

"I thought waking the dragons was going to bring people hope."

"And it does," Constantine said, slurping his soup loudly. "But, Avi, tell me why? Why do you think dragons bring people hope? Their awesome beauty? Their wisdom? No. It's their power. Their destructive power is what brings the people hope. Everyone knows True Dragons are the most powerful creatures to have ever lived in Termnnia. Just one of the monsters you wield has enough power to wipe out an army. And you have five of them now. You are the key to ending this war with King Forrest, Avi. His armies would not dare go against us with you around. You must make an example of him."

"Here, here!" said Ser Gerhalos. "Now is not the time for you to show mercy to your enemies, Avi. Especially an enemy who shows none to us. Burn them to cinders."

Avi sighed in defeat. "If that is what I must do...so be it."

* * *

**King Forrest**

* * *

The following morning, King Forrest and his army of 20,000 men marched across their new Hold toward the Ellerian border, where they would annihilate the Ellerian army and move southward toward the capital and ransack it. The soldiers were so confident of this that they were cheering and roaring loudly, bashing their drums and blowing their horns, calling out the Ellerians, daring them to come out and face them. The sky was so cloudy that the world around them looked bluish-gray in color.

King Forrest's Red Priest rode behind him, muttering holy verses from the White-Gold Tome of the Church of Yeyu. King Forrest knew that with his diety on his side, he would be invincible. And how could he not feel this way? For months, he had weakened Termnnia with his forces. The Seven Princes of Yugi's Alliance were getting tired and thinned out. And the armies were getting weaker, thanks to the civil war brewing in Emboldor caused by Prince Hector, who declared himself Lord Paramount of the Emboldorian Coasts.

"I will deal with him later," King Forrest declared.

"Of course you will," said Donald, his beak-like nose was dripping in mucus, for he caught a horrible spring cold in the rains last night.

But he wanted to see his King's victory against the Ellerians. Long has King Forrest pushed and pushed against them. Now, Prince Talion was gone. The Emerald Marches and all its resources were his. And now, King's Rock was ripe for the taking. This he was most excited for. King Forrest said Donald could use Castle Alteria as his own personal home. For once he conquered Eredas from House Daltons, he would rule his new kingdom from the House of Gray.

They reached a mighty hill where an Arvan champion fought against a mighty warrior in the Angel Wars of the Second Age. They expected to see the army in front of them, but there was none to be found. There was no one. Except for two figures standing on a rock.

"What is this?" King Forrest said. "Where is the army? I wanted a battle today."

Donald looked through his telescope. "I recognize the first person. That horrible hair. That's Yugi Muto alright. Good. I was hoping to add his Millennium Puzzle to my collection of magical artifacts. As for the other figure..."

He tossed the telescope at Forrest. Forrest looked through it and grinned. He whistled at what he saw. "That girl. Who is she?"

"Be careful, my liege," said the Red Priest. "I have heard rumors of a girl who can summon True Dragons. It's her! Avellana. It has to be her."

Ser Dancer, Ser Kevin, Ezra, Phoenix, Trish, Blair, Fira and Aldara marched from behind Yami and Avi. Then, 1000 Ebony Knights followed, holding up their banners. A horn blew from behind their ranks. The Naralians laughed at their small numbers.

"Not a fierce army, after all, Lord Bishop," King Forrest chuckled.

The Priest formed a smile. He was nervous but seeing how small the army was made him feel confident. Even if the girl could summon dragons, the army protecting her was small and feeble.

"We'll just see about that," King Forrest said brashly. "I want her in my harem. Kill Yugi Muto!" he shouted to his troops. "Whoever brings me the girl will get a castle and a vault of gold!"

The soldiers cheered and started marching. The wind started to howl and blow the long grass. Thunder boomed in the sky. Lightning flashed and the wind roared. Avi smiled. It was as if Selfana, The Goddess of Weather, was giving King Forrest one final warning before marching to imminent doom.

"Do what you must do," Yami commanded her.

Avi stepped forward and held out her hand. Her staff appeared and she grabbed it. She gave it a spin and smashed it on the ground. Thunder shook the Emerald Marches. And still, the army sprinted toward Avi and the army. It blasted again. Now the soldiers' pace slowed. That was not thunder. It was a roar.

From the sky, Sanctity of Dragon dove toward the earth. Arvas and Armiryle followed after him. Then, Constantine and Tartarus soared out of the coast. Ser Damien and his Luster Dragon trailed not that far behind.

In seconds, the Emerald Marches became a field of red. A thousand screams echoed into the air, mixed with the roaring and screeching of the True Dragons soaring over the battlefield. When Forrest's army weakened, Evelyn rode up the hill on top of an armored unicorn.

"Elleria thanks you, My Lady," she said.

Avi bowed. "They're all yours."

"I knew your dragons would give us an edge," said Ser Dancer. He lowered the visor of his helmet. "But this was just too easy."

The fresh army of Ebony Knights unsheathed their blades and followed their Princess towards the burning Naralian army, slaughtering them all within a matter of hours.

* * *

**Evelyn**

* * *

Days had passed since King Forrest's defeat in the Emerald Marches. Now, Evelyn found herself sitting in the grandest and oldest arena in the East. The Golden Dome. Perhaps the finest arena in Termnnia where only the greatest Duelists in history could do battle. Tall statues of Dueling legends formed a ring over the arena, made of solid gold. Red banners sealed with the emblem of the arena hung from their large arms. Evelyn gingerly bit into a chip from the buffet table set before her in the VIP box.

Alexis, Ezra, Dancer, Ethan, and Antione sat in a circle around her to shield her from the gaze of King Forrest who would shortly be arriving to watch his son Duel. At the same time, she was surrounded by the legends from the Battle of Rassay.

Yugi's friends Joey, Tristan, Duke, Tea, Serenity, Mai and Ribbon made themselves comfortable all round her, having arrived minutes earlier through a wayshrine. And her hero, The Summoner of Dragons, was here. Only Ser Gerhalos was by her side. Fira, Aldara and Tordo were seated somewhere in the stands below, but were being treated like kings.

"It ends today, princess," Avi said, holding her hand. "I promise you, I will see you get your revenge against the church and the Fat King."

"Thank you, Summoner," said Evelyn. "Together, I am sure we can overcome this evil one day."

"That day comes soon," Ser Dancer said, stirring his wine. "Just a few more months to go before Yuri's return."

"I do not know if it is that which makes me nervous…or the Duel," said Avi. She fanned herself with her hand.

"Perhaps the Duel," said Ser Gehalos. "Master Yu-Gi-Oh has a lot riding on this game."

"Not to be prying my nose where it doesn't belong, 'Summoner,'" said Ethan, rather haughtily, "but don't you and your Guardians have temples to find? Why the hell did you come all the way out here to watch this Duel? You have a job to do!"

"I'm sorry, are you yelling at me?" Avi said sternly

Ser Gerhalos growled and showing off his sharp teeth. His mane bristled with his anger and his whiskers shivered.

"Mind your tone, Ethan!" Evelyn commanded. "You are in no position to be demanding anything of anyone."

"I have more reason to be here than you," said Avi. "Master Yu-Gi-Oh was the one who sent me on this quest."

"So," said Ser Gerhalos, "this is the fool who lost the Emerald Marches."

"Well done, kid," Joey mocked. He was not pleased with Ethan's disrespect of the Summoner of Dragons.

"Ah, look," said Antoine, in hopes to lighten the mood and douse any fires that were being lit within everyone's hearts. "Bandit Keith has made his move."

High Chancellor Pegasus was in a Duel against a hedge-knight named Keith Howard, but he preferred to be called Bandit Keith. He wore a bandanna on his head with the stars and stripes of the otherworldly country of the United States of America. How he got it and why he wore it so proudly, nobody knew. Mayhaps he intended to visit the country one day.

There was much riding in this Duel. Keith demanded to be let into the order of mercenaries in Rassay known as the Golden Company. Sellwords who rode into battle with solid golden plates of armor, diamonds, and glass. Keith had been in the service of many lords in his meager knighthood, but he demanded heavy prices for his services and was quite ruthless.

The Golden Company was owned by Pegasus, and he felt that Keith was not worthy to join the order. So arrogant was Pegasus, that he even denied Keith the honor of playing with phantom monsters, meaning no Duel Disks. The monsters remained inside their cards so the match was an ordinary Duel.

But Keith didn't care. He made many sacrifices to get this Duel arranged. He went as far as slitting a few throats to get what he wanted.

"Wow!" cried out a little boy from the front seats. "I wish I could Duel like Pegasus and Bandit Keith."

"So, Pegasus," said Keith. "Have you reconsidered? I am worthy after all. You're the creator of the game and yet you stand with a meager five-hundred Life Points."

Pegasus grinned. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a sheet of paper. He took a pen from his breast pocket, gave it a click and scribbled something onto it.

"What is he doing?" asked Dancer.

"Some creator?" scoffed Ethan. "He's gone mad."

"Just what is he up to?" Avi asked, curling a lock of her hair around her finger.

Pegasus pointed at the little boy who cried out. He was calling him to the table. A guard in purple armor picked up the boy and brought him over the wall. Pegasus got up from his seat and welcomed the child.

"Hey, what are you doing!" shouted Keith. "Asking for help is against the rules!"

"I don't need help 'Bandit Keith'. You're so trivial that even a small child could beat you."

"Is that so?"

Pegasus grinned. He leaned forward and whispered into the boy's ear.

"What's your name son?"

"Oh! I'm Sam,"

"Well, best of luck to you, Sam. Just follow these instructions and you'll be victorious."

"Okay, kid," said Keith. "I'll show you nobody makes a monkey out of Bandit Keith. I summon Garnecia Elefantis."

"Good card," said Sam. "But according to this note, once you summon that card I place this in attack mode,"

He summoned a Flying Elephant. It had only 1850 ATK which was feeble compared to Keith's elephant warrior who had 2400 ATK.

Sam grimaced as Keith began to sweat.

"Uh…I think I just brought all your Life Points to zero."

"WHAT!" shouted Keith. "Give me that!" He swiped the not from Sam's hands. Sweat rolled down his face. His body quivered in disbelief.

"I…I don't…but how? It's all here. What card I play. How to beat it. Everything."

"Consider your request to join the Golden Company denied," said Pegasus. He held up Sam's arm in victory. "Sam is the winner!" he shouted. "And a Duelist of such caliber is worthy for the halls of Duelist Academy."

"Wow! Really?"

"Yes, and consider your tuition on me, for such an amazing victory."

The arena guard then grabbed a defiant Keith by the arms and dragged him away. He struggled to get free.

"Let me go! Get your damn hands off of me! Nobody makes a monkey out of Bandit Keith!"

"Well, that was rather strange." Avi declared. "How in Safaani's name did he do that?"

"Pegasus was always a strange one," said Evelyn. "I Dueled him once for fun at my mother's masquerade ball and he trounced me viciously. He knew what I was going to play and when to play it."

"Remind me not to face him in a match," said Dancer.

"Pegasus, ha! I can take him." Ethan boasted.

"You stood no chance against my son," said King Forrest, marching into the VIP box. He got stern looks from everyone, none more than Evelyn and Kevin. "What makes you think you stand any chance against High Chancellor Pegasus."

"You've got a lot of nerve showing yourself here!" Tèa barked fiercely. "Especially for what you did to Prince Talion! You are a disgrace!"

"I'm afraid I did not have anything to do with that, young lady," said King Forrest. "It was the headsman of the Church who chopped off the prince's head. I merely bore the task of giving it to the princess."

He looked at Evelyn, sitting in her seat. Her cheeks glowing as red as cherries. He could see tears forming in her beautiful blue eyes. She could contain herself no longer and hiccuped.

"You should thank me, princess," boasted King Forrest. "Had it not been for me, Talion would have been sawed in half, burned alive, torn or flayed. It was because of my goodwill he got a quick, clean death."

"You bastard!" said Serenity. "Do you think that justifies you in any way."

"I sure like to think so," King Forrest let out a loud laugh. His round stomach rolled like jelly. "I hope you remember the terms of our Duel?"

"What terms?" asked Dancer.

"Why, should Yugi lose this Duel to my son, Evelyn will come with me to Naralia. And, her father will surrender King's Rock to me."

"Evelyn!" gasped Alexis. "You and your father would just give up Elleria like that?"

"And what happens should you lose?" Tristan asked.

"I will surrender the Emerald Marches back to the Alterias; the headsman in charge of Talion's execution; and I will cease any more advances on Ellerian soil. By the honor of my god, Yeyu, I promise this."

"Evelyn that's a lot to ride on in some Duel," said Alexis. "Who knows what Forrest will put you through if Yugi loses. Your humanity is on the line."

"I am confident in my master's skills," said Evelyn. "I am not afraid. Yugi will defeat that little brat."

"I do hope you're wrong about this," said Forrest. "The princess has an ass on her I'd love to get my hands on. You should have seen how far above her head it went when she got on all fours and crawled to me like the little bitch that she is."

Kevin put his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to stand up and strike. But Evelyn grasped his wrist and shook her head no.

"You are a revolting pig," said Avi. "It makes me sick to know I'm in the same room as you."

"And this is the Summoner of Dragons. As lovely as the tales tell. Such magnificence. Such radiance. Such beauty. You Norman women are some fine eye candy. If I fulfill my destiny and conquer Terrmnnia, I'll see to it that Normandia will be next. And let it be known that should Yugi lose, this arena will be in Naralian territory. You will be arrested and charged for your crime of witchcraft, summoner. Hah, if the church didn't want you so badly, girl, I would take you for my own."

Ser Gerhalos roared. Forrest didn't move an inch.

"Arrested!" said Alexis.

"That goes for all of us?" gasped Ribbon.

"My men already have the box surrounded," said Forrest. "When my son wins, you will all be detained and tried. I hope you enjoy your last moments of freedom."

There was a blare of trumpets announcing the arena's half-time show. Shadows began to dance over the stadium. Evelyn looked up and saw knights flying atop dragons, making dazzling displays for the crowd.

"Listen to the women in the arena," said Ethan.

"Dragonriders get their fair share of women," said Dancer. "Only knights and nobles can mount the beasts after all. That means money. So why wouldn't women swoon over them."

"Speaking of knights," said Ezra. "Look at the handsome fellow on the Luster Dragon."

"Ser Damien Wolfgaard," said Dancer. "The Knight of Kisses."

The women in the arena threw flowers up at the ridiculously handsome knight. He had short-cropped blonde hair, eyes of brown mixed with a brilliant shade of green and he bore a face the female bards claim must have sculpted by Ana, the goddess of love and beauty. He and Constantine flew together over the arena.

Avi, however, had her eyes set on the other knight. He wore white-enameled armor and a thick white cape. His weapon of choice was an enchanted clockwork musket made of finely polished redwood and decorated with bronzed ornamentation.

He had a rapier sheathed over his right hip glimmering with multiple gems from emeralds to rubies and sapphires. His Luster Dragon was protected in armor of green glass trimmed with white enameled steel and decorated with layers of gold ornamentation. Underneath its armor, the beast's scales glimmered for they were made of pure emerald.

After a spectacular display of loop-de-loops and aerial jousting by the dragonriders, Ser Damien landed outside the VIP box, his eyes set upon Avi. Ser Damien's Luster Dragon stomped towards the box and then turned to let his rider face the Summoner.

"My lady," he said, reaching into a compartment in his cape. He took out a rose that was trimmed with gold dust and glimmered in crystals. "For you."

"Thank you, Ser Knight," said Avi.

"I hope my lady Summoner will consider me to being one of her companions on her journey to seek more dragons."

"It takes more than good looks to be a sworn defender of Lady Avellana Lofnmagni Ethelfleda!" Ser Gerhalos retorted.

"I am aware of this," Ser Damien bowed respectfully. "You must be the legendary Ser Gerhalos. I suppose you are right. What hopes do I have when she already has a fine warrior like yourself as her champion? I hope you consider my offer, nonetheless, Lady Avellana."

"Call me, Avi, Ser Knight,"

"Avi, very well. Still a lovely name no matter how much you chop it to bits. May I be so bold as to ask you for a kiss?"

"Do you think you deserve one?"

"I am the Knight of Kisses, so-called because I have kissed every beautiful woman in Termnnia. It will do me a tremendous honor if High King Yuri's future summoner has graced me with a kiss."

"You believe I can do it?"

"If master Yu-Gi-Oh has much faith in you, then I most certainly believe."

Avi got up from her seat and leaned over the rail, despite Ser Gerhalos's protesting growls. The knight leaned forward and placed his lips on hers.

The crowd ooohed and the jealous women hissed.

"A kiss as sweet as honey," Ser Damien said tickling the bottom of her chin to make her giggle. "I wish you luck on your pilgrimage, Summoner."

"Thank you, Ser Knight," said Avi.

Damien then laid eyes on Forrest. He reached into his cape's compartment again and took out something wrapped in brown paper. Whatever it was it was bleeding. He opened the brown paper and tossed something at the Fat King.

A horse's penis.

"May Master Yu-Gi-Oh be successful in defeating that brat you call a son!" he shouted before taking off. The wind from the dragon's massive wings almost knocking Forrest's crown off.

Avi and the others laughed as King Forrest got up from his seat and leaned over the guard rail shouting curses at Ser Damien as he shook his fist still clutching the animal genitals in his hand causing it to wiggle like a worm.

The crowd saw this and laughed at him

"DON'T LAUGH AT ME!" he commanded. "I AM THE KING OF THE NORTH!"

Another blare of trumpets announced the arrival of the Duel everyone was waiting for.

Yami pushed open the doors and entered the arena where almost all Elleria was eagerly awaiting the match that could ultimately halt King Forrest's advances.

His ears almost deafened by the roar of the crowd and the loud trumpets that announced his arrival. There was a small section in the front row in brown and orange. They were knights who escorted Prince Malcolm to Elleria for his Duel.

Evelyn felt her body shiver when she saw the participants.

"What an outstanding arena," said Forrest, admiring the architecture, doing his best to calm his nerves.

The arena grounds Yami and Malcolm were standing on was made of glass. Waterfalls fell into a moat right underneath the glass. There were curved arches and grand red banners of the High-King.

"Do you really intend to ban Duel monsters?" Serenity asked the fat king.

"Ban?" laughed Forrest. "I will end it. It's high time Termnnia grows out of this silly card game."

"And yet here you are, your entire advance at the hands of the very game you hate." Mai Valentine said entering the room in a velvet dress colored black with metalwork collars and cuffs with thin plates on the shoulders and around the thighs making it look like she was wearing armor.

King Forrest nearly sprang out of his seat when he saw her enter the box.

"Hey Mai," said Joey.

"Hi, Mai," Serenity said sweetly.

"Just in time," said Tèa. "The match was about to start."

"My lady," breathed Forrest. "So, you're the one they call the _Delight of Termnnia_ ," said Forrest. "I can see why. The tales they sing about your beauty doesn't do you justice."

"I'm flattered," Mai said sarcastically.

"Do you not find my words true?" Forrest asked, placing his knuckles on his very large belt with a ring of small escutcheons.

"My only love in the world is Duel Monsters," said Mai. "So, no thank you."

"I find you fetching, girl. And I want both you and this kingdom."

"If you want this kingdom your, son is going to have to defeat the best Duelist in history." Mai said with a frown. "They will settle this in a Duel like the honorable kings of old."

"And do you not find me honorable?"

"You're nothing but a renegade," said Mai. "A fool with so much power he thinks he's above the law and the Creator."

"Ha, I will wipe that smug grin off your pretty lips after my son defeats Yugi."

The Duelists below were ready.

"So, ready to fight?" Prince Malcolm cried out from below.

"I am always ready for a fight!" said Yami. "Remember, Forrest," Yami pointed at the king. "If you lose, your army will cease their advances into other lands. And you will keep your vow under pain of death!"

"Indeed," said Forrest. "Now begin this pointless match so I can claim my throne."

Yami and Malcolm drew their first five cards down below. A coin was flipped. Yami called heads. He got it so he was starting first.

"LET'S Duel!" he and Malcolm shouted.

**Yami-4000 LP**

**Prince Malcolm-4000 LP**

"Prepare to hand over the Diamond Throne to The House of the Grizzly!" sneered Malcolm.

"Don't get to comfortable here, you little brat!" Yami shouted, drawing his first card. "For my first move, I summon, Neo the Magic Swordsman in attack mode!"

Yami placed the card on his golden Duel Disk. The mana crystals inside began to churn up their energies and brought forth the monster to the field. A tall, handsome swordsman with golden-blonde hair and icy gray eyes wearing a green cuirass over a brown shirt and trousers. His boots were the same color and design as his cuirass and his pauldrons were blue with red orbs trimmed in gold. A midnight blue cape fluttered behind his back. The sword he carried had magical energies.

**Neo the Magic Swordsman**

**ATK/1700 DEF/1000**

"Then, I will place two cards face down, and end my turn."

Malcolm's turn.

"I summon Marauding Captain in attack mode! Then I use the spell card Double Summon to bring another one to the field. And to use his special ability. When Marauding Captain is summoned to the field I can summon a level four or lower monster to the field. So behold Shine Knight and Command Knight. Then I place one card face down and equip my Shine Knight with Legendary Sword, boosting his attack by three hundred. And my Command Knight increases all of my Warrior-Type monsters by four hundred points."

"Aw man!" cried Joey. "Look at all those knights!"

**Command Knight**

**ATK/ 1200 + 400 =1600**

**Marauding Captain x2**

**ATK/1200 + 400 = 1600**

**Shine Knight**

**ATK/ 400 + 400 + 300 = 1100**

"Well, we shouldn't have to worry," said Serenity. "His monsters are weaker than Yugi's magic swordsman."

"You believe my son to be a fool?" chuckled Forrest. "Watch, my son knows what to do."

"Now, I activate the spell card: Banner of Courage! Now during my battle phase my monsters will get a two-hundred-point boost. Making my Command Knight and Marauding Captain more than a match for your Neo. Marauding Captain attack his Neo now!"

"I think not," said Yami. "Reveal face down card: **Reinforcements**. Now my Neo will gain an additional five hundred points this turn. Raising his strength to twenty-two hundred!"

Neo enchanted his blade. He leaped forward and cut Malcolm's Marauding Captain in half.

The crowd howled at the gore.

Avi gasped and buried her face in her hands to shield her view from the sight.

"What are you going on about?" sneered Ethan. "There isn't any blood."

"Leave her alone," Antoine said, slapping Ethan in the back of the head. "You're in enough trouble already."

Back in the arena, Malcolm growled as his Life Points dropped to **3700**.

"I place two cards face down and end my turn." Malcolm said in frustration.

He was cocky, perhaps a little too cocky. He was a fool to think getting to Yami's Life Points would have been that easy. His heart began to beat in his chest. Every vessel in his body was pumping something fierce. He felt nervous for once. Not too much, for the game was still early. He watched Yami draw his card. He felt a chill run down his frame. What could that next card have in store for him next?

Yami looked at the young prince and said: "I will begin my turn by summoning my Breaker the Magical Warrior!"

Yami summoned a magician in crimson armor trimmed with gold and a red cape that was emerald green underneath. It's attack with **1600** until Yami activated an effect which allowed him to place a counter on the warrior.

The counter boosted his attack by **300** , thus making him **1900**.

Yami then gave Neo the Magic Swordsman an equip spell card called Book of Secret Arts, which increased his attack and defense by **300** points, raising him to **2000**. Then he laid a card face down.

Or so Yami thought, for Malcolm activated a trap card: Negate Attack. The card stopped Yami from making any further moves.

With nothing else to do, Yami ended his turn.

"And now I will start mine!" boasted Malcolm. "I shall use the spell, Premature Burial to return my fallen Marauding Captain."

Malcolm's Life Points went down to **2900** because he had to pay **800** to bring back his captain. The soldier returned to the field.

"But he won't stay for long!" the little Naralian prince boasted. "For he shall pay for his petty defense of my front line. I now sacrifice my two Marauding Captains in order to summon my ultimate warrior! I summon Gilford the Legend."

"Augh!" Yami gasped.

The two monsters turned into orbs of light which formed into the giant of a warrior. Yami knew it was the stolen card Princess Evelyn told him about, for this Gilford was adorned with solid gold armor.

"My brother's card," sobbed Evelyn. "Being used against Master Yugi?" She slapped her hands on her face and wept. "You bastard."

"It's okay, princess," Mai said, rubbing Evelyn's back. "If I know anyone who can get that card back, it's Yugi."

"But I'm not done yet!" said Malcolm. "I will switch my Shine Knight to defense position. And when he's face up in defense mode he ranks up to a Level Four monster. And now I shall Xyz Summon."

"What!" cried Yami. "Xyz Summon!"

"He knows how to Xyz Summon!" Joey shouted in disbelief.

"I will overlay my common rabble, Shine Knight and Command Knight to summon forth a mighty officer from within my ranks. Come forth Heroic Champion-Excalibur!"

"Master Yugi!" shouted Avi.

The strange red-armored warrior appeared onto the field after a dazzling display of glittering light.

"Behold!" shouted Malcolm. "Now you have my officers to contend with!"

 **Gilford the Legend** **ATK/2600 DEF/2000 LV 8**

 **Heroic Champion-Excalibur** **ATK/2000 DEF/2000 LV 4**

"Now it's my turn to bring the pain!" Malcolm sneered, balling his fist. "First, my Heroic Champion. I can remove two Xyz Material monster from him to double his attack points."

**ATK/4000**

"By the goddesses!" cried Dancer. "Four-thousand attack points!"

"Attack his Neo, my warrior!" shouted the prince.

"I don't think so!" shouted Yami. "Activate trap card, Mirror Force."

"By Yeyu!" said King Forrest, "That's the card the almost cost my son the match against Ethan!

"I think not," said Malcolm. "I activate Seven Tools of the Bandit. Now by paying one-thousand of my Life Points, I cancel out your trap.'

"NO!" shouted Yami.

"Now, my warrior! Continue with your attack!"

Heroic Champion-Excalibur dashed forward and jabbed his thick, heavy sword into Neo's torso. The magic swordsman let out a painful grunt and then vanished from the field.

Yami lost **1300** points for this attack, bringing him down to **2700**. But then came Gilford's turn to attack. He attacked Yugi's Breaker the Magical Warrior and then lost another **700** bringing him down to **2000** , already at half his Life Points.

"My son is no fool," boasted Forrest. "You see, my dear," he said, craning his neck to look at Mai. "My boy has the power to overcome any opponent."

"Don't get cocky, your Grace," said Mai. "Yugi always finds a way."

"You just watch you wretched wench!" snapped Donald, arriving late to the match, for he was emptying his bowels in the latrine. "By the hour, this Duel will be ours, and the Diamond Throne will belong to Naralia."

"So what if he does win?" said Mai. "The Divine Beasts want nothing to do with you. And they'll make that statement clear when you set your fat ass on my baby's throne. Do us all a favor and don't, to save the palace maids the effort of sweeping up your ashes."

"You will see," said Forrest. "I have all but conquered the North. And when my son defeats the world's greatest Duelist they will see reason."

"Your son may win a lousy Duel, but Prince Daveed killed a god. Your argument is invalid." Mai said, turning her attention back to the Duel.

 _Don't prove me wrong, Yugi. If you lose...we're all goners_.

* * *

Yami coughed heavily at the dust left behind from the impact of Gilford's attack. Both his monsters wiped out so quickly and viciously. Neo's blood was still dripping on Heroic Blade Excalibur's sword.

"Look at the world's best Duelist now," Malcolm lampooned. "My skills have gotten so sharp, I've even put the King of Games to his knees."

"You do so by stealing cards from their rightful masters," Yami said weakly. "I assure you, that you will not be victorious this day. You and your father will pay for your sins after I am done with you. If you think you have me beat just by attacking me with a few lucky shots, then you are sadly mistaken, boy."

"Then show me what you've got, old man!"

"The audacity!" growled Evelyn. "I hate that child."

"I shall," Yami said. He drew his card after his turn began. "I activate the spell card, Dark Magic Circle! Now I look at the top three cards in my deck and reveal a Dark Magician or a spell or trap that specifically has Dark Magician in the text of the card. Then I place the other two cards in the top of my deck in any order I desire."

Yami revealed the card he selected to keep after arranging the cards. He smiled.

"The Dark Magician!" he called out.

"Ugh!" gasped Malcolm. "Not him!"

"The legendary Dark Magician," said Dancer. "At last. I've wanted to see Yugi use that card in a Duel since I was a small boy."

"I never thought I would see a match with Master Yugi using the Dark Magician," said Antione. "This is truly a day I will never forget."

"I bet I can take him on," said Ethan. "I got plenty of cards that can destroy that stupid spellcaster."

"Then where were they in the Emerald Marches?" Ezra asked.

"I didn't have them then," Ethan scoffed. "But my new deck is something worthy of praise."

"You insult my teacher again it will not bode well for you," said Evelyn.

"But what good will that Dark Magician card do him anyway?" Ethan asked. "He has no monsters to tribute him with."

"If that was such a problem then why does Master Yu-Gi-Oh have that smile on his face?" Avi asked.

"Yeah, explain that kiddo?" said Joey. "My pal, Yugi, is just like his magicians. He always has a trick up his sleeves."

"I now activate my trap card!" announced Yami. "Magician's Navigation!"

"What does that do?" Malcolm asked.

"It allows me to special summon one Dark Magician from my hand! Now, cower in fear as I summon my mightiest monster!"

An arcane circle appeared on the field, glowing dark violet.

"Here he comes," breathed Evelyn.

The Dark Magician rose out of the arcane circle with his arms crossed over his chest. His eyes were shut as though he were in a deep sleep. When he finally came out onto the world of Men, his eyes instantly opened.

Malcolm looked into his glowing blue eyes and shivered. The Dark Magician always spelled doom for many Duelists. And Yami was about to show him why.

"As powerful as your Dark Magician is, he's still no match for my Gilford."

"No, but Gilford will no longer be here with us. For I will use the secondary effect of my Dark Magical Circle. When a Dark Magician is summoned to the field I select one card you control and banish it."

Dark Magician spun his staff and blasted Gilford with a dazzling spell. Gilford lurched forward and cried out in pain then vanished from the field.

"And I am not finished!" yelled Yami. "For my Magician's Navigation allows me to summon a level seven or below DARK spellcaster-type monster from my deck. Come forth, Dark Magician Girl!"

The men in the stadium whistled and hooted with glee as possibly the most beautiful card in all of Duel Monsters was summoned to the field. She flew out of a pink arcane circle and gave a wink as she hovered down next to her master.

**Dark Magician-ATK/2500 DEF/2100**

**Dark Magician Girl-ATK/2000 DEF/1700**

"I wasn't aware Duel Monsters had cards capable of such beauty," King Forrest said, wiping sweat from his brow.

"Ah, the Dark Magician Girl at last!" drooled Antione. "What a spectacular monster."

"She's no monster," said Ethan. "She's an angel! I bet Ana herself had something to do with her creation."

"Will you guys get a grip?" grumbled Ezra.

"And now, that the effect of your Heroic Champion is over, his attack points go back down to two-thousand. Dark Magician attack his Heroic Champion with Dark Magic Attack!"

Dark Magician jumped into the air, gave his staff a spin and fired his signature attack at Malcolm's monster.

His Life Points were lowered to **2200**.

"And now, Dark Magician Girl! Attack his Life Points directly!"

Dark Magician Girl cheered and a made a graceful bound. She looked down at Malcolm and gave him a wink then aimed her rod at him. But she was suddenly enveloped in chains."

"What's this!?"

The Dark Magician Girl squealed trying to get free from the chains coiling around her body.

"I activated my Shadow Spell, trap card!" said Malcolm. "It renders your Dark Magician Girl useless and lowers her attack by seven hundred points."

The chains drained the Dark Magician Girl's attack to 1300. She moaned in agony.

"You thought you could easily get me, stupid!" Malcolm shouted, giving the finger at the Dark Magician Girl. "What now bitch! Look at you!"

"I will end my turn," said Yami. "Make your final move."

"Final move? You sure about that?"

He drew his card. "Yes! I use monster reborn to bring back my Marauding Captain. Then I tribute him to summon the Millennium Shield in defense mode! With a defense of three-thousand you won't get through to me. And it will keep me safe until I can figure out how to rid the field of those pesky magicians."

Yami chuckled confidently.

"Wha-what is it now?" Malcolm babbled in fear.

"You think that shield is going to be enough to win you a victory over me? For that matter, did you honestly believe that you're the only one in this arena who can Xyz Summon? I've learned a few tricks from a wandering Duelist named Yuma. You could learn a thing or two from this energetic youth. Now, behold as I overlay my two magicians!"

A powerful force helped Dark Magician Girl break free from her chains. She gave Malcolm the finger, then jumped up into a vortex with her master.

"Come forth, Ebon Illusion Magician!"

"Oh!" went King Forrest, getting up from his seat to get a better view of the new monster. A dark, shadowy figure in robes as black as night and long golden hair that went down to his back.

**Ebon Illusion Magician**

**ATK/2500 DEF/2100**

"It can't be!" shouted King Forrest. "I'm about to lose everything I worked so hard to achieve. My battles! My victories. All for naught because of this stupid game!"

"You got him now, spirit," Yugi said, appearing next to Yami in his phantom form. "That Ebon Illusion Magician has another effect up his sleeve. I think it's high time we use it to put that kid in his place."

"I couldn't agree more," said Yami. "And now, I will detach one Xyz material monster from my magician in order to summon a normal spellcaster-type monster from my hand or deck."

"But, but that just isn't fair!" shouted Malcolm.

"Come forth, Dark Magician!"

"Wait," said Evelyn. "I thought he only had one in his deck."

"Thank you for letting me use your Dark Magician, Yugi," Yami said looking down at the boy. Yugi smiled and nodded his head.

His Dark Magician came onto the field. But he was adorned in black armored robes with glowing neon blue trim. His skin was pale blue and his hair as white as snow.

"Th-they still can't get past my Millennium Shield!" Malcolm said, trying his hardest not to cry.

"Is that so?" said Yami. "Dark Magician! Attack!"

"You're a fool!"

The Millennium Shield suddenly vanished.

"What!"

"When my Dark Magician attacks, my Ebon Illusion Magician comes into play. I can select one card you control and banish it."

"NO!"

Evelyn jumped in her seat with joy. "He did it! I knew he could."

"I haven't seen you smile like that in weeks, my love," Dancer said, taking her hand.

Evelyn smiled back. They kissed while Yami made the final blow.

"This is for Prince Talion!" shouted Yami.

His Dark Magician burned the rest of Malcolm's Life Points to 0.

"Yugi Muto is the winner!" called out the announcer.

The crowd lifted from their seats and cheered for the King of Games.

Yami then walked to Malcolm and searched his deck for Gilford the Legend.

"This will go to its proper owner," Yami said, kicking the unconscious boy's arm out of his way to further approach Forrest.

"My son!" shouted King Forrest. "MY SON!"

"KNOW THIS!" roared Yami. "An alliance will be formed with the coming of Prince Daveed next week. And if you should break your vow and set foot into our homes you will face a force unlike any other as all Termnnia will unite against the North and expel you from the annals of history! Termnnia belongs to everyone!"

"YUGI! YUGI! YUGI! YUGI!"

Evelyn looked down at the King of Games and blew him a well-deserved kiss.

Yami smiled back at the princess and gave a thumbs-up as he made an about-face and proudly walked back into the inner sanctum of the arena.

* * *

"Must you really be leaving, Phoenix?" Avi asked as they all stood together in front of the Northern Eredian Gate to depart for Goldenbrand, a town where Avi was to hone her skills as a Summoner. "I was just starting to get to know you?"

"Sadly, I must," Phoenix said. "My mission was to escort you to Master Yugi safe and sound. That mission has been fulfilled and I must be on my way. Prince Yuri is returning soon, and I must prepare for that. I am to be his Court Magician after all."

"But it's still so far away," whined Trish. "We could really use your skills."

"I must tend to my duties with the Alliance," Phoenix said with a sorrowful sigh. "I loved spending time with each of you these past few weeks. But there are tensions growing in Akuuda. My friends in the Alliance are all going there to help Prince Marcel wipe out an invading force of Narlian troops."

"Aw, that's too bad," said Robin. "Like Avi said, I was getting to know you, too. You're really cool, Phoenix. And really pretty."

"I am going to miss your magic as well," said Ser Gerhalos. "You come in pretty handy in a tight spot, young lady. Master Yugi has chosen wisely naming you to be the High King's Court Magician. You have big shoes to fill in that position. Many powerful wizards, sorceresses, and the like have served the High Kings since Tiberius the Uniter."

Avi nodded. "Well, if I can somehow climb my way up the ranks in the Summoner's Guild, perhaps you and I will serve Yuri when he's High King."

Phoenix laughed. "My dear, you're the Summoner of Dragons. Train those beasts hard, and there will be nothing that can stop you."

"Yes, and the first one going down is that thong-wearing, bouncy-breasted bitch Arietta!"

"Goodness me," Fira said as she refilled her cantine by a fountain. "I didn't you had such a colorful vocabulary, Dove."

"Last Call!" shouted the conductor.

"I must be off," Phoenix said, ready to catch the train to the Ebony Port to catch the ship to Akuuda. "Avi, it was an honor. Take care of yourself, okay."

"You, too," Avi said giving her a big hug. "I'm going to miss you."

"And I will miss you, my dear." Phoenix kissed her on the forehead. "I know you're going to be a great Summoner. Kick some ass."

And so, Phoenix bowed and left her companions. They watched her until she got on the train and disappeared from view.

* * *

"You cannot stay in Elleria any longer Summoner?" Evelyn asked inside the library of her bedchambers. "Yuri is said to return tonight. There is much to do."

"I fear I have my own duties to attend to Your Grace," Avi said with a smile. "But it was my pleasure finally meeting the princess of Elleria."

"I just wish you could have met my brother, too," Evelyn stuttered. "Then again, perhaps not. He was quite the womanizer."

Avi chuckled lightly, her soft laugh sounding almost like the coo of a dove. "I still would have liked to meet Prince Talion either way. Do not fret anymore, princess, the war with Forrest is over."

"That's what makes me upset," said Evelyn. "When used right, Duel Monsters can be a weapon more potent than any sword and more powerful than all the armies put together. If father had understood that and put aside his pride and asked Master Yugi for help long ago, my brother would still be here."

"We cannot change the past, young one," consorted Ser Gerhalos, sipping wine by the fireplace. He leaned against the wall, as he was much too big to sit in any of her chairs. "No matter what," he continued, "we must always move forward with our spirits high. Yes, sadly your brother has Ascended, but he is now at peace enjoying the fruits in the Garden of the Goddesses. You will not let him rest properly if you continue to weep for him and mourn over what could have been. And you have his card back. Master Yu-Gi-Oh said when one bonds with their card, it forms a heart of its own. So a piece of Talion will always be in that card."

"I understand," Evelyn said, bowing at Avi's champion. "Thank you, Ser."

"Such a pity we can't stay, this is a wonderful country," said Aldara, now adorned in armor and gear fresh from the smithy. Her rifle was reforged and given a new coat of fresh black paint and given an array of tactical accessories as a treat from Alexis Rhodes.

"I am pleased to know you enjoyed your stay in Elleria, Miss Aldara."

"Enjoyed it? I cherished every moment. I had a hot meal, a lovely bed to sleep on, and a warm scented bubble bath at the end of each day. I tell you I won't relish in such luxuries for quite some time when I begin my travels with Lady Avi on the morrow."

 _Neow! Neow_!

"I will miss your little dragon friend as well," Evelyn said, catching the Baby Tiragon, as it jumped from Aldara's shoulders to her arms. She tickled his tummy causing it to laugh hysterically in her arms.

"I wish you could stay," beamed Evelyn.

"I wish we could too, but, as the Summoner said, we have duties to attend to," said Tordo, who was at Aldara's feet with a smug look on his face. His two front teeth protruding from his lips. He had every right to be confident, for he was plated in engraved steel and a layer of chainmail with a little cape made of white cloth-of-gold and a shortsword forged from the fires of Terda Forth, a volcanic island town off the coast of Elleria where the finest weapons in the East were forged.

He bowed, but the dragon-shaped visor on his red-plumed helmet fell over his face, again. He could just never keep the damned thing up.

"Brrrgh! Brrrgh!" he grumbled. His fingers fumbling all over feeling around for the visor.

Evelyn giggled at the spectacle. She spared no expense helping to properly equip Avi and her companions on their long quest to search for the rest of the dragons hidden in the temples scattered all over Termnnia.

"You have been such a good friend to me in the short time I've known you, Summoner," Evelyn said with a heavy heart. "It pains me to see you go so soon."

"One day we shall meet again, princess," Avi promised her. The cool breeze from the open window caused her golden bangs to sway over her angelic face. "And when we do, it will be the Termnnia we have always dreamed it would be."

"Come along now, Dove," said Fira, entering the library. "We must be off. There is much ground to cover before we reach Crestwood."

"In a minute, Fira."

"Twenty," Fira bowed. "An hour if you wish, there is no hurry. You are the Summoner, after all, Dove."

"An hour," Aldara said, rubbing her chain. "Perhaps that gives me time to sneak into the kitchens for some of that honey-baked ham. It is delicious. I'd like to take some for the road if that is all right with you, Your Grace."

"I see no trouble in missing a ham or two," Evelyn grinned, shaking her head.

"Uh…my lady," said an Ebony Knight, nervously stepping into the library.

"What is it?" asked Evelyn.

"A thousand pardons, Princess, but there are members of the Church of Yeyu here to see the Summoner."

"And who gave them permission to enter the castle?" Evelyn asked sternly. "Does my father know about this?"

"He does, Your Grace, he is currently in the temple with your mother, mourning. Your brother's body has been returned."

"What?" Ser Kevin gasped, getting up from his seat.

"Why would the Church do this?" asked Evelyn.

"It was an exchange," said the Ebony Knight.

"Whatever for?"

He didn't say a word but looked sadly into the silver eyes of Avellana.

"Come, Summoner," said Evelyn.

"Ser Gerhalos, please," said Avi.

Her champion set down his cup and followed Avi and Evelyn out of the bedchambers. They walked down a set of stairs leading to her room. Down below, by the limestone fountain stood four hooded monks. The one upfront was a man in his late thirties sporting a Tonsure for a haircut.

His nose was hooked and he had a wart growing from it. The red-eye of Yeyu surrounded in green flames was pinned to their dirty brown robes with rope belts carrying small deerskin pouches.

"Your Grace," said the monk. "His Holiness wishes to speak with the Summoner in the northern watchtower at once."

"His Holiness is more than capable of speaking with her here," Evelyn said fiercely.

"Princess," said the monk. "His Holiness commands it. The Church, in good faith, returned the body of Prince Talion in exchange for the Summoner. She is wanted for performing witchcraft, a crime punishable by death. You must return with us to stand trial."

"I am not going anywhere," hissed Avi.

"This is not a request, young lady. You have been commanded by the Hierarch, a man higher than any king, for he is the voice of almighty Yeyu. It is unwise to refuse him. If you do not come of your own free will then we have been ordered to use force."

The monks reached into their robes and took out all manner of blunt melee weapons, from wooden clubs with steel spikes, and triple flail spiked balls.

"Will you still refuse us, Summoner?"

"You cannot do this!" shouted Evelyn. "Master Yu-Gi-Oh won the duel. King Forrest cannot bother us anymore."

"King Forrest has no concern in this affair," the monk assured her shaking his head. "This is a matter of the Church. His Highness, King Helmsley, gave us permission to arrest this unholy witch after we returned the body of his son, the prince. We fulfilled our end of the bargain. Now it is time for your family to see that they fulfill theirs."

"I had no part in this bargain!" said Evelyn. "And since my mother and father are not present at the moment you will deal with me. And I order you to leave."

"Then we shall use force."

The monks cackled cruelly and raised their weapons ready to break Avi's bones and drag her to the watchtower if they had to.

"How dunce can you be?" chuckled Fira from the top of the staircase. "She can summon dragons for heaven's sakes. You come near her, and it will be the end of you."

"Not in the castle!" cried Ser Kevin. "They are too big."

"You will order your men to leave," Evelyn said stepping forward. "And you can tell your Hierarch that if he wishes to speak to the Summoner he can carry his fat ass over here himself and…"

The monk slapped Evelyn across the face. She grunted and fell to the ground on her knees.

"Never insult His Holiness in front of me! If you weren't the princess, we'd take you along as well and be punished for your insolence."

The Ebony Knights unsheathed their swords and marched forward, ready to slay the monk for touching Evelyn.

"Your king has ordered you not to harm us!" shouted the monk. "Let it be known that the coming of the Fires of Judgement draws near. And if any of you do not change your blasphemous ways you will torment forever in the Shadow Realm. I grow weary of this bitch. Grab the Summoner and let's go."

Avi backed up as the monks neared her with ravenous grins on their faces. But then Ser Gerhalos stepped in front of her. His sheer size and his beastly anger caused the monks to back off.

He snarled at them, showing off his sharp teeth and his golden canines. His whiskers rose up and down violently and his mane seemed to quiver. His brownish-gold eyes ablaze with fury.

"Step aside, knight!" said the lead monk.

Ser Gerhalos continued snarling at them.

"Tell your animal to stand down, Summoner."

Ser Gerhalos roared.

"Animal?" snapped Avi. "How dare you insult my knight."

"I've had it with this insolence. Kill them!" the lead monk commanded. "Cut off her head and put it in a bag when you are done."

A monk arrogantly charged at the Leogai knight with a pitiful excuse for a battle cry. He smashed his hammer into Ser Gerhalos's breastplate creating a dent and causing much of the beautiful golden ornamentation to fall off. With the tough plate and a barrel-like chest, Ser Gerhalos hardly felt the blow.

Ser Gerhalos roared in the monk's face. He then grabbed the monk by the shoulders and lifted him up.

The monk squealed like a pig to the slaughter as Ser Gerhalos brought his head into his mouth. The atrium echoed with the crunching of bone and the ripping of flesh as Ser Gerhalos ripped off the monk's head with his teeth and spit it out.

"He ruined my armor!" growled Ser Gerhalos. His chops painted red in the monk's blood and the fur around his snout hung down from his face like dripping red stones.

Another foolish monk charged. Ser Gerhalos grabbed him by the arm and ripped it out of its socket. The monk screamed for a moment, then Ser Gerhalos placed both his massive hands on the monk's head and flattened it without effort.

The lead monk babbled in horror when he saw his men laying on the floor mangled and lifeless. The beautiful black and white tiled marble floor was covered in a sticky coat of red.

Evelyn stood up, rubbing her swollen cheek. "You be sure to tell His Holiness what happens when they cross us and force their ways upon our people. Daveed is returning and your time draws at an end. Now, for the last time, GET OUT!"

The monk gasped. He and the rest of his men stormed out of the castle.

"Avellana," said Evelyn. "It has been a pleasure. Watch your back out there. Knowing the Hierarch of Yeyu, he will send more of his thugs. The Church will not stop until it claims you. Farewell, and may the Stars of Entuli light your path."

"Farewell, princess," Avi said, stepping over all the gore around her. "May they bring light to yours. _Eoveth._ "

" _Eoveth_ , Summoner," said Evelyn.

* * *

Following the ordeal in the castle, Avi and her companions left King's Rock and made a long trek to the town of Crestwood where Fira said she knew a contact who knew the whereabouts about one of the temples of Saafani.

She was forced to stay on the fifth floor of the inn they were staying in for the night, for they were close to the Naralian border and the witch-hunters, despite having learned what happened in the castle earlier that day, they were intent on fulfilling the wishes of the Hierarch.

After a warm bath and a dinner of potato soup and a crust of bread, Avi retired to her room for the night. Ser Gerhalos guarded her door.

Avi dressed in a heavenly white nightgown with little crystals sewn onto to it. They glimmered like the stars above when she walked outside and was bathed in the silver light of Termnnia's largest moon.

She rested her cheek on her palm of her hand and thought about the events that had transpired that day. She had never seen so much blood before, but she had a feeling it was going to part of her life now as she quested for the temples.

"Are you troubled, Lady Avellana?" asked a booming voice, radiating from her pendant.

"Arvas? Well, I didn't think I would hear your voice again."

"I had to make sure you were still up to the task," the dragon said from within the pendant. "Despite all I've told you when we first met a year ago, you still seemed rather doubtful."

"Forgive me, Arvas," said Avi picking up the pendant with her fingers. She rubbed the surface and said, "I did not mean to doubt your words. I was so confused. I could not believe what was happening was real. But then Master Yu-Gi-Oh led me to another dragon and gave me a legendary staff in which the spirit of a dragon sleeps. Now, thanks to you and Sanctity of Dragon, you've obliterated an army. Whatever doubts I had, he washed away."

"For that I'm glad. There are many more out there, and they are waiting for you to claim them. Now go rest, my Summoner. We have much to do come the sunrise and I want you to be at your best."

"I understand. Good night, Arvas."

"Good night Avi."

As she turned to go back to into her bed to rest she heard a heavy flap coming from the night. She turned and saw an armored Luster Dragon flap over her balcony. The grinning face of Ser Damien could be seen glowing in the moonlight.

"Ser Damien!" gasped Avi.

"Avi!" Ser Gerhalos shouted from behind the door. He pounded on it so violently that Avi thought it would fall off its hinges. "What is that sound?" he shouted.

"It's the wind!"

"The wind does not create gusts like that!" he called back.

"I assure you it's the wind!" she shouted. "Don't come in, Ser Gerhalos. I'm not dressed."

She walked to the edge of the balcony. The flaps of the emerald Luster Dragon's wings making fearsome gusts.

"What are you doing here?" she whispered.

"You left, King's Rock so quickly," the knight said. "You didn't even give me an answer to join your quest."

"I don't know," said Avi.

"My Lady, you must. These are dark times, and there are bad people after you as you no doubt witnessed today in the Alteria's castle. I wish to offer you my services and join you on your quest."

"And what do you have to offer that will let me even consider you joining my pilgrimage?"

"Why this of course," said Ser Damien. He opened a bandolier on his saddle and took out a rolled piece of parchment. "It's a map I acquired from the Katinian Archives. Let it be known it was not easy to get this. It leads to the location of one of the temples of Saafani. It is yours if you wish."

"Very well, Ser Damien. I welcome you into my party." She made an attempt to take the map but he raised it out of her reach.

"However, if you want the map, I must ask for a favor?"

"What do you want?" Avi asked suspiciously.

"Avi! Who are you talking to! Is that a man I hear in there?" Ser Gerhalos shouted as he pounded on the door.

"Just a little of your time," Ser Damien said with a soft chuckle. "Come ride with me." He held out his hand.

"Ser Damien, I…"

"You have dragons to summon, yes? Well, one day you might ride one. Or, mayhaps, one night; such as this. I can teach you a few things."

He got off his dragon's saddle and jumped onto the balcony.

"You first," he said.

"Very well, Ser Damien, you've piqued my interest. Let it be known I will be watched."

Arvas, the Ancient Dragon, suddenly appeared as is swooping down from nothing. He landed on the roof of the inn and raised his neck. He snarled looking down at Ser Damien.

"Avi! What the hell was that?!" Ser Gerhalos shouted from behind the door. "Young lady if you don't open this door I will tear it down!"

"Ser Damien, let me introduce to you Arvas. The dragon that started all of this. Without him, I would have never gone on this quest."

"Arvas?" Ser Damien said kneeling on one knee. "It is an honor to behold with my own two eyes a True Dragon of Termnnia."

" _Can you trust this boy_?" Arvas asked, telepathically.

"I feel that I can," said Avi. "Will you stand by me and protect me?"

" _I shall_ ," said Arvas.

"Magnificent," breathed Ser Damien. "You can talk to dragons?"

"Only the ones I summon," said Avi. "Let it be known, Ser Damien, my dragon will be close by. Should you intend to force ill will upon me you will suffer greatly."

"My Lady, you've hurt me. I have no reason to bear you ill will."

"Forgive me for being so defensive," Avi smiled. "As you say, I am being hunted by the Church, so it is unwise to trust just anyone nowadays."

She took his hand and then was lead to the saddle. Just as Damien climbed on and sat behind her, Ser Gerhalos broke down the door.

"AVI!" he shouted.

Before Avi could say anything to her knight, Luster Dragon took off. Avi felt her stomach lurch backward and felt a rush course through her frame as the dragon sped upward into the night. The wind blew down on her giving her a chill, but she was so exhilarated from the takeoff that she paid the cold no heed. She looked down and saw a perplexed Ser Gerhalos on the balcony getting smaller and smaller as they went farther up into the heavens.

Arvas took off after them.

Avi closed her eyes, already fearful of the flight.

"Don't be scared!" laughed Ser Damien.

"I'm not!" Avi laughed back. Eyes still shut.

"Then open your eyes, My Lady. Look! Look!"

Avi slowly opened her eyes. Luster Dragon flew them so high up they were over the clouds. She let out a mad laugh and held out her hands to touch the passing clouds.

"Hold on!" called Ser Damien. "We're going for a dive!"

Luster Dragon dove down. Avi held onto her guts, feeling them tingle from the fast descent.

"HA! HA!" laughed Ser Damien. "Weeeee!"

Avi then held out her arms. She looked to the east and saw Arvas flying in front of Luvia and the Twins (Termnnia's three moons).

A curtain of clouds suddenly dispersed and then Avi saw the glittering lights of Crestwood below. Then Ser Damien took off over the fields below and over the Great White Mountains. Ser Damien began to sing the song of Princess Atennya, a Norman woman, and the first to ever fly a dragon into battle during the Norman Conquest of Termnnia hundreds of years ago.

"You're shivering," he said, placing his cape around her.

"I'm not p-p-prepared for flying it seems."

Ser Damien cooed with sympathy and took her to forests below. Luster Dragon landed in a clearing. Arvas landed shortly after.

Ser Damien got a fire going to warm Avi who was chilled to the bone. Nevertheless, she had a wonderful experience flying on the back of a dragon. A feat not many in Termnnia could accomplish. He took out a kettle from his saddle to make Avi a cup of strong sweet tea from the water he got from the lake.

"When did you become a dragon rider, Ser Damien?" Avi asked. The knight's cloth-of-gold cape was wrapped over her shoulders to warm her as she sat by the fire. She grasped her purple-colored ceramic cup.

"I rode my first dragon when I was twelve," Ser Damien said sitting on a stone next to the campfire.

He tossed a few more branches into it then proceeded to put a pan over the fire to cook small sausages. Red embers from the fire danced into the night above them.

"But it was a lesser dragon called Gray Wing. The True Dragons left Termnnia a long time ago after the Church of Yeyu massacred everyone they could find. Not even the mighty Blue-Eyes White Dragon could survive the persecution of the Church. Only three remained, so the tales say, and they are with Seto Kaiba. So violent was their slaughter that Saafani herself even opened the doors back to her realm and called her children home. She could not bear to see her beloved dragons killed. Very few dragons stayed in Termnnia. My Luster Dragon, or _Luster Dragon Number Two_ , as he's called in the game, is the last of his kind. I found his egg nestled in the emerald mines of my father's grounds when I was just a baby boy just learning how to walk. Since I was the one who found it, father let me keep it. We all thought it was a giant emerald in the shape of an egg, and then he hatched one day, to our surprise. I raised him ever since. Dragonriders are in my family tree, hence why our sigil is of a knight riding a dragon in a field of red. I vowed to ride so long as my mount would be my Luster Dragon. By that time, he had grown to be rideable."

"And you've raised him well," said Avi. "My compliments."

She looked at Luster Dragon and her Ancient Dragon, drinking by the lake. She couldn't help but feel tormented hearing Damien's tale about how the Church slaughtered dragons all over Termnnia because their faith regarded them as evil beings that needed to be eliminated. Her hate for the church grew after Damien told her the story.

"Damn the Church of Yeyu."

Ser Damien chuckled. "That is why I came to you, Lady Avi. You have done something no one else had done in over a thousand years, and that is call dragons back into Termnnia. There must be something about you Saafani finds worthy to allow you to summon her children. Perhaps, one day she will let them return. This is a slap in the face of the Church."

"I suppose so," said Avi.

"It is, I can assure you. Why else would they be hunting you down so violently?"

"Because, according to their scriptures, I am so evil sorceress who will destroy the world as prophesied by Yeyu."

"What utter nonsense," said Ser Damien. "The sooner Prince Yuri returns the sooner we can kick those radicals back to Balodrum where they belong."

"I thank you for taking me on a ride on your dragon," said Avi. "But I think it best we return to Crestwood and announce my new companionship with you before they start to worry."

"I am fearful of your Leogai knight," laughed Ser Damien. "I do not believe he likes me very much."

"I know he looks rather frightening," said Avi. "But once you get to know him, Ser Gerhalos can be rather sweet."

"Well then, let us be off," Ser Damien said.

Avi followed him back onto Luster Dragon and they took off back to Crestwood to rejoin the others.


	73. The Loremaster

**The Loremaster**

* * *

Collette clasped her hands together in excitement and bumped her bottom up and down over the stump.

"Well? What happened next? Did they fall in love? Did Avi and Ser Damien become a couple, Loremaster?"

"I'm not sure," The Loremaster said, flipping through his tome. "But I do know that shortly after leaving Elleria, Avi and her companions traveled to Feldia just as they had promised Blair. That journey took many weeks and along the way, Avi trained her dragons to be powerful fighters. She fought other Summoners with ease and partook in small festivals that had Summoner Battles all across the land. They did not find other dragons along the way, but the prospect of turning Blair's little beast into a powerful fighter sure drove them to keep going. Around late December, they arrived in Feldia and delved into the temple to find the Prehistoric Dragons of Feldia. Laggia, Dalkka, and Solda. They did not go with her, however."

"Aww, why not?"

"Because those three dragons are guardians of Feldia. Avi could not find it in her heart to take them, so she awakened them from their slumber and set them free to protect the kingdom from King Forrest. As a reward for her deed, the dragons did allow her to use their power temporarily to aid the Feldians in holding back more of Naralia's forces. She had done Feldia a great service by awakening its guardian dragons from their slumber. And, just as Blair wanted, her little dragon turned into the all-powerful Mythic Dragon. Now, Avi has three Dragon Riders in her company. But that's about all I know of her adventures." 

"But that can't be it! What about those knights chasing her down? What about the quest to find more dragons? Come on, that can't be it. You have to tell me more!"

The Loremaster chuckled. "Avi's story still needs telling. But don't you fret, Collette. Her journey through Termnnia is not yet over. And it's my job to document those stories. Who knows where we'll find Avi next. But if you're willing to hear, I've got another story about a girl with dragons."

"Really?"

"Yes. And would it surprise you to learn that this story happened recently?"

"Oh? Tell me more. I've got enough firewood here to last us a few more hours. Please, Loremaster. Tell me another story."

"Very well, Collette. This story takes place not long after Avi was visited by Ser Gerhalos and embarked on her quest. Prince Anastasio Trevelyan had just united the kingdom of Mondé from a very bloody civil war waged by his brother. But we're not going to get into that. Our story starts in a convent placed high in the mountains over the capital city."


	74. Prince Stas and Christine: Part 1

**Prince Stas and Christine**

* * *

****

* * *

**Christine**

* * *

****

**(Legend of the Cryptids -Laura Sava)**

 

**September 5th**

**Year 18 4AOS**

Tourneville. The capital city of the Kingdom of Mondé. A bustling metropolis with tall buildings of white stone with red roofs, extravagant gardens, winding rivers of clean, cool water, and elite universities both academic and magical. Though she lived close to it, twenty-one-year-old Christine De Beaufort spent most of her life in the mountains overlooking the city living in a convent dedicated to the learning the Faith of Yeyu.

The institution was tolerated by the people of Tourneville because the convent was so far to the South and away from the radicalism of the North, that the ladies who lived there minded their own business when they strolled into the markets to buy ingredients for supper. Sometimes, Christine would stop and watch a Duel taking place in the market square. She always admired the matches played by the young lordlings and nobles. Mondé was a land of warriors, so many decks played by the Duelists were warrior monsters.

Christine would marvel at the knights, soldiers, and legendary swordsmen that would be summoned in the afternoon games. She loved their extravagant armor, divine swords, masterly crafted shields, and heavenly faces. Her favorite monsters to be played was Phoenix Gilford and Neo the Magic Swordsman. So tolerant was the convent in Tourneville that the Reverend Mother even allowed Christine to keep a very unusual pet.

As she sat by the fountain in the courtyard of the convent, she ripped pieces of meat off her turkey leg and handed them to baby Duel Monster known as Tyrant Dragon. She found the hatchling's egg in a river when she traveled with the Mothers to the Abbey of Apple Gorge to pray in the Festival of the Harvest Moon.

The Reverend Mother was a kind and thoughtful woman, and let Christine keep the egg and the hatchling when it was born. She named it, Mérieux, after the House of a lordling whom she was supposed to marry when she was thirteen.

However, with the war going on against the Royal Houses of Boislevesques and Fourneauxs, Yeyunism was starting to turn into the main religion in northern Mondé. And with her House being farther north, the practice was forced upon her family without warning. Christine was made to take a vow of chastity and was sent to live in the convent at the command of the Platinum Priest of Mondé.

Despite all this, Christine had led a comfortable life with the Mothers; all of them treating her fairly and raising her properly. They became her family, the convent her home, and her little dragon the baby she would never have.

But, alas, all she knew and loved would never be the same after this day. For in Termnnia, the good souls must suffer with the thorns of life. Whilst the wicked, amass nothing but the sweet and gentle roses.

"Oh, that poor child," a nun said whilst pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace of the Reverend Mother's office. "I cannot bear to tell her the news."

"You won't," the Reverend Mother said while sitting on her chair in front of her desk, littered with scrolls and unfinished letters. "Your only task is to bring her to me. I will tell her the news myself. Go now, and let her know that I must speak with her at once."

"Yes, Reverend Mother," said the nun with a bow.

She ran outside to the courtyard where Christine was feeding her dragon on the wall of the fountain. The nun called out to her multiple times. Unfortunately, Christine was wearing earbuds, which were attached to her cell phone, a device she no doubt got from the merchants in town.

With the Royal House of Trevelyan having aligned itself with the House of Dalton in Domino City, more and more devices such as the one in Christine's pocket were starting to show up in the hands of the city's youth. Being a traditionalist, and a Yeyunist, the nun thought it blasphemous that Christine was carrying the phone. And her dragon. That creature was another story.

She approached the two companions cautiously and tapped Christine on the shoulder. The dragon hissed at the nun, for he despised anyone who got too close with his mother. Christine looked up at the nun and smiled. Her face was heart-shaped and delicate. Her skin was the color of crème and her eyes the lightest shade of green, giving her the appearance of one of the many porcelain dolls she kept in her room. She removed the earbuds from her ears. Her long, curled red hair made getting them out a difficult task.

"Hello, Mother," Christine said blissfully. "What do you need of me?" Her Tyrant Dragon hatchling snarled, crawling across her shoulders to scare the nun.

"Oh!" cried the nun. "That beast! Get it away from me!"

"Oh, Mother," laughed Christine. "Mérieux is only playing with you." Her dragon snapped back at the nun viciously. He tried to breathe fire, but only a puff of smoke with firecrackers came out. Christine twittered and rubbed the bottom of her dragon's neck with her index finger.

"Besides, you should be grateful he is here. He's caught more rats in the cellars than any of those cats you own. And dragons desire a woman's touch. It's almost impossible for a man to tame them. Maybe it was the will of the Dragon goddess for that fact."

The nun slapped the back of her hand. "Young lady you will not mention the heathen gods in walls of this hallowed convent! And be grateful? Of that brute? Yeyu give me patience!"

The nun traced the symbol of Yeyu over her breast. "A True Dragon by the looks of him. Ever since that Avellana girl started summoning those…beasts months ago, more and more of those little devils are being found. If the Reverend Mother was not such a forgiving woman, we would have had that creature killed and had you disciplined. But I digress, the Reverend Mother wishes to speak to you in her chambers at once."

"Me? Oh, but, I didn't do anything wrong."

"No one said you did, young lady. Now get going. It's best not to keep the Reverend Mother waiting."

"Yes, Mother," said Christine. She wrapped the turkey leg in a purple napkin and placed it inside the picnic basket resting by her feet. She put her arm under the hook and stood up to make her way to the central tower of the convent. She stopped and looked at her dragon, then tapped his snout; one of the many signals she used to display her mood. Tapping on the nose meant she was serious.

"Okay look," she said to Mérieux while going up the stone steps. "We're going to see the Reverend Mother. If you want to continue eating this drumstick" - she held up the basket and waved it in his face - "then you're going to have to behave, understand?"

Mérieux gave a delightful chirp. Christine pet his read, rubbing the bottom of her finger along the smooth stubs on the top of his head, which would one day grow into horns the size of a full-grown man. 

"Good boy," she said. She gave him a squeaky kiss on his head. She approached the great wooden door of the Reverend Mother's office.

Two convent paladins, female warriors selected by The Church, stood guard outside the door. When Christine approached, they let her inside. When she stepped into the office, she was immediately approached by the Reverend Mother.

"Come, child, I have grim news for you." She clutched Christine's hands.

"Reverend Mother, what is the matter?" Christine asked.

"Oh, Christine, my poor, poor child. We have just received word that a fortnight ago, your father was forced to leave the country by a group of bankers known as The Big Five."

"What? The Great Termnnian Bank?" Christine cried out loud. "But, my father would never…"

"I'm afraid it is so, my dear," the Reverend Mother interrupted. "He took a large loan from them and failed to pay them back. He was desperate, what with the war going on. He used the money to fund King Richard's campaign up north against the Houses of Boislevesques and Fourneauxs. Now, they've branded him a traitor, and have taken over your estate and your land in the Indigo Mountains with the help of The Big Five so they could get their gold back. Your father has disappeared into the South, and last night, your mother, out of grief, threw herself out of the highest tower in her father's castle. I'm afraid she's gone."

Christine's lips trembled. She buried her face in her hands and sobbed. The Reverend Mother embraced her. "My child, you must be strong!"

"But…" Christine backed away from the Mother's embrace and wiped her tears with the white-ruffled sleeve of her blue dress. "Does that mean that I have no parents? No House? No money?"

"No, Christine, not entirely without money." The Reverend Mother walked to an iron safe at the corner of her office. "Some kind-hearted friends of your father's have come together and arranged for you to receive 1000 gold Star Chips, 200 gold Crowns, and 100 Silver Swords. It is more than enough to get you through this time of crisis. You shall receive it immediately."

She opened the safe and handed Christine her money in an expensive leather sack. "Unfortunately, without proper financial provision, there is no way for you to continue your education here with us. So I'm afraid you will have to leave on the morrow?"

"Leave!?" said Christine, taking another few steps back from the Mother.

The Reverend Mother came closer and placed a warm hand on Christine's face. "I will let you stay with us for one more night, but that is the best I can do, beloved."

"But where will I go?" Christine asked feeling fear overtake her. She had never known any other life besides the one she had in the convent.

The Reverend Mother walked towards one of her windows. She looked out the painted glass, staring down at the capitol below their mountain.

"There must be some form of lodging you can find in the city," said the Reverend Mother. "Mayhaps there is a way for you to earn some sort of living down there. But there is nothing more I can do for you here in the convent, my sweet. Do not forget the lessons you have learned with us. May the will of Yeyu guide you to a brighter path, my child."

She traced the symbol of Yeyu over Christine's chest and embraced her one last time.

* * *

The sun rose high over the mountains the next day. Christine watched from the white-stone bridge as the iron gates of the convent closed behind her, never to be opened for her again.

Mérieux playfully nibbled on a lock of her hair and chirped, a sign that he was hungry, but Christine paid him no heed. It was a long walk down the winding dirt roads of the mountain. It was noon by the time Christine had reached the tall red gates of the capital city. She saw the sixteen high towers of Castile de Trevelyan shining from the lonely mountain overlooking the city.

As she crossed over a wide stone bridge, she could make out the harbor and the sails of ships coming to the Port of Guillan, sailing off into the distance to trade. The crowded red cobbled streets were shared with chickens, geese, and pigs.

Smells both delightful and pungent entered Christine's nostrils. The scent of hot meat roasting over a fire and all manner of soups and pastries were mixed with the smell of animal dung and the horses who clopped by pulling carriages smelled awful. The clock tower in the central plaza rang to announce the hour.

"It be noon now monsieurs and madams!" said the town crier, ringing a bronze bell. "All is well!"

Not for Christine. She had no idea where to go or who to look for in this desperate hour. A flood of strangers was all around her, and the buildings towering high over the walls that served who knew what purpose felt like they were closing in on her. Housing, business, she did not know, and it worried her awfully.

"Oh, Mérieux," she said, blinking rapidly to dry her tears. "I don't know what to do."

The dragon only chirped. He had no idea what was going on. Christine felt jealous of him. She wished that their roles were reversed. That she was him and he was her. He was so calm resting on her shoulder yawning and chirping lazily wondering when his next meal was going to be.

The gold tag on his black leather collar jingled with each movement he made. Everywhere Christine walked, merchants would jump out of nowhere shoving their wares in her face. Expensive clothing, fancy jewelry, designer shoes, and Duel Monster cards.

After a while, Christine stopped looked around for lodging in the financial district. The rent was unfairly expensive. She had enough gold to last her for two months, and that was only if she didn't spend her money on other necessities like food, clothes, and feminine care, for it was the time of her monthly course. But she needed a place to stay. Seeing no other alternative, she was forced to go to the slums on the harbor. Because of all the defecation that went on there, it was called Rue de Merde.

The people started getting nastier as she approached the slums. They saw her and offered her bedding for a taste of her buttocks and stated they could teach her new tricks like the frightened puppy that she was.

She fled from them and delve deeper into the harbor. It started to smell like fish, piss, and shit. The salty sea air blowing in from the east did no help in eliminating the smell from her nostrils.

Mérieux buried his head inside Christine's hair to instead get a whiff of the sweet-scented oils she used in the Convent. Being a dragon, even he did not enjoy the smell of the wharf. At this point, Christine felt like she was never going to find help.

Suddenly an elderly monk approached her. He had wisps of silvery hair and a large bald spot on the dome of his head. "My child," he said with a friendly bow. His voice was honey-sweet and warm. "Is there any way I can help you?"

Christine gasped with joy, relieved to find a pleasant face. Clearly, the monk saw Mérieux on her shoulder and had not a care in the world.

"Oh Father, please, I'm looking for a place to stay for the night."

"A place to stay?" asked the monk. "Well, of course, you must. It's getting dark and you're walking in the wharf. Women who wander these streets at night are never seen again. Have you any money?"

"Oh yes," Christine responded. "A lot of it. 1000 gold Star Chips, some Crowns and Silver Swords. Father, it's all I have in the world."

"Ah, then you must take very good care of that money. It is not safe to carry such a sum in these parts. There's a lot of vile scumbags and pirates who would take your gold and turn you into a ship whore. Where is the money, my child?"

"Right here, Father," Christine said, taking out the sack of gold and silver she had.

The monk took it from her grasp without asking. He wrapped the cord around his chubby hand and looked at Christine.

"I will keep your money safe in the chapel," said he, putting an assuring hand on her cheek. "I know a man who will be more than happy to lend you a room for the night. Monsieur Pépin comes to pray at the chapel of Yeyu every morning. Why don't you join him tomorrow during the morning mass? Once I see you are in good hands, I will return it to you. He lives just down the alleyway a short walk from here. It may not be the Castile de Trevelyan, but you'll find that he has a very pleasant house."

Christine smiled. "A house, Father? Truly?"

The monk nodded. Christine leaped with happiness. "Oh, thank you so much, father!"

The monk held out his fist. Christine kissed it as a sign of respect and went down the alley.

"Go with Yeyu," he called out to her. When Christine was gone, the monk looked at the sack of money in his hand and cackled greedily. "Ha, ha," he chortled. "Sucker."

* * *

Meanwhile, as Christine trekked farther and farther into the slums, the world around her became darker. Crazed homeless men passed by muttering to themselves. Bums sitting beside trashcans gawked at her and beckoned her into their hiding places. She stood out from the ugly, raggedy dressed bums who stalked the dark corners of the alley.

She was still dressed as a highborn girl in a dress of emerald green with gold floral engravings and gold embroidered trim. She saw a house up ahead with a mailbox made from a tin can. The name Pépin was written hastily and with poor penmanship on the side of the tin can. All the windows were illuminated in a warm orange-yellow glow. The silhouettes of the residents inside dashed by every now and then.

From outside the house, Christine could hear a man moaning from somewhere in the house. A desperate and confused howl as though a dog was crying into the night. It was melodious, almost as though the poor fool was trying to sing.

"This is the place," Christine said to her dragon. "This is the largest apartment in the slums. Let's hope that this Pépin character is as nice as the monk said he is."

She rang the bell hanging over the door twice…three times. No answer, save for a series of mournful howls. She knocked on the red wooden door timidly. No answer, but the howl continued to come through the windows. Then, she heard a rumble of thunder in the sky.

"Oh, Aafi, please don't bring your torrents upon me now!" she prayed to the Goddess of Storms and the Seas, despite her faith in Yeyu. 

She turned around and saw the sea on the other side of the alleyway. Spiderwebs of lightning crisscrossed through the cloudy night sky. Christine knocked again but only another howl responded. The rain finally came and poured down on her with all its fury. Now she banged on the door with her fist, desperate to get an answer.

"Monsieur Pépin! Monsieur Pépin!" she called out frantically. "Oh, where in Zorc's name is he?"

"Ah…buh…wha…Who…Who's there?" called out a shaky, queer, and ill-begotten voice.

"Monsieur Pépin, please. My name is Christine. I've lost my home and I've lost my relatives. I need a place to stay for the night. If not longer. I was told that you could help me. Please, monsieur, it's raining outside."

"Ah…uh…do you have money?" he called out.

"Yes, yes of course," Christine called over the howling wind and the loud blasts of thunder.

"Well, then, come in. Come in!" 

Christine opened the door. She pushed it shut against the fierce gale outside. The wind howled through the cracks and the heavy drops of rainwater rapped on the windows, roof, and walls of the house.

It reeked of old soup in there. The furniture was second rate and dirty. Old clothes littered the ground and a mouse or two ran across the floors causing Christine to shriek. Mérieux licked his chops, ready to pounce and chase the little animals, to which Christine pinched his mouth shut with her fingers.

"There will be none of that, thank you!" she said, tapping her dragon's snout.

She heard a fire cracking from the chimney and the bubbling of burned stew over a gas-powered stove. She turned around the corner of the entrance hall and saw a fat, sickly old man cooking the stew. His thick gray beard was cut into messy mutton chops.

A white nightcap stood miserably on his head; messed up white pompom hung from the end. He wore an elephant-gray shirt under a torn and dirty black vest stained with dirt and grease. His trousers were also black and stained with all manner of mess.

His kitchen was no bigger than Christine's walk-in closet in the convent. Two iron lanterns fueled by whale fat were hung on the ceiling. A portrait of High Queen Kayla and her husband Timaeus was on the wall. Pépin was biting into a hard crust of bread as he stirred the soup in the rusty iron pot with a wooden spoon. He brought the spoon to his mouth to taste the broth. Satisfied, he added a dash of salt.

He must of heard Christine's footsteps, for he called out: "Sit down at the table. I'll be with you in a second."

Christine did as she was told, and pulled up a wooden chair, keeping an eye on the ground for any more mice. So far, there were none in sight. The mouse holes looked empty. Mayhaps the little creatures were afraid of Mérieux. Now she was especially glad for having the little dragon as a pet. Pépin turned around, at last, to face her after he took another large bite of his bread.

"It'll cost you…" he chewed with his mouth open. "One gold Crown a night. Is that okay with you little…"

He paused when he saw the pretty girl and her pet dragon sitting at his table. Christine was not who he was expecting to see. He thought of her as another person.

"The Summoner of Dragons?" he cried out loud. "Is that you, my lady?" he said with a slight squeak to his voice.

"No, monsieur," said Christine, shaking her head. "I am not Lady Avi. I'm Christine and this is my pet dragon, Mérieux."

Pépin studied her furiously. He snorted like a pig and shouted: "Where's my gold Crown?"

"I gave the money to a monk for safekeeping," said Christine. "He assured me that he would return the money to me tomorrow morning in mass when he saw you."

Pépin looked at her flabbergasted. "Monk? What monk? I don't know any monk!" he started getting angry.

"What monk?" said Christine. "The monk said you two knew each other. He said you would take me to see him tomorrow and collect the money."

"You stupid girl!" shouted Pépin. "If there's one thing the folk of this city must know, it's to never trust those Yeyunist bastards with money! You've been duped! Oh, what to do now? You have no money!"

Mérieux climbed up Christine's shoulder and hissed at Pépin violently, in case the old man meant his mother ill intent.

"So it seems," said Christine.

She looked at the ground in shame. She could not believe she could have been so trusting with her money. All that coin and chips came from the friends of her beloved father. What beastly luck. First, the Covenant takes away her family name. Disassemble her House, and take her land. Now, they've taken all the gold she had.

"I have no money," she said sadly. "No home. No friends. No one. Well, except my dragon here."

"Well," said Pépin.

He gave a heavy snort when he saw the Tyrant Dragon hatchling giving a yawn on the girl's shoulders.

Pépin scratched his reddened cheek, feeling guilt for Christine. "I suppose there could be some way we could arrange for you to stay. I'm old, and I'm the janitor of these here apartments. I could use an assistant. A servant if you will."

Christine looked at Pépin and smiled. "Oh, I could use the work," she said.

"Uh-huh," said Pépin. He tapped his thick bottom lip and scratched the wart on his strawberry-colored round nose. "Well, that means another mouth to feed. I don't have very many ingredients in here for the both of us, or that beast on your shoulders."

Mérieux hissed. Pépin backed away while Christine tapped his snout, telling her dragon to be quiet.

When he calmed down, he spoke to Christine again. "Tell me, girl, how much do you eat?"

"Not much," Christine replied.

"No?" said Pépin.

"No, not at all," said Christine. "Some bread and little soup will suffice to keep me happy."

"Well," Pépin said with a mocking snort. "There is no soup for you, silly girl. You're in La Rue de Merde. Not the Green Mermaid's District. We have soup probably once or twice every month. No, it will be bread. Bread, and water you gather from the river. That is all I can provide for you. If you want soup, you're going to have to provide me with some money. Tell me, how much do you have on you now?"

"Well, I did keep this." Christine removed a tiny sack of copper pennies and a chipped ruby from a compartment in the sleeve of her dress.

At once, Pépin snatched the money from her. He shook the contents of the sack onto his greasy, palm and snorted. "This is no good!" he said. "What else you got on you?"

Christine shrugged. "I've got nothing else, that's all the money I have, sir."

Pépin then eyed Mérieux avidly. He cackled and rubbed his hands together.

"Ah, your dragon would sell nicely. Dragons are rare creatures indeed. I know a man in town who could pay us 2000 gold Star Chips for that beast. Come now, help me restrain it and…"

He approached, but Mérieux stood up on Christine's shoulder, spread his little wings and screeched waving his front claws up and down to keep Pépin away.

Pépin cursed something awful after he jumped and backed away towards the counter, knocking over pots and pans.

"You leave my dragon alone, sir!" ordered Christine. "Surely there must be something else I can do to pay you for supper."

"Well," Pépin said, grasping his chest to soothe his beating heart. "Hmm, those clothes you're wearing. They're much too fine for a servant girl. Give them to me, and I can sell them to the tailor for at least five Crowns. That would buy us a weeks' worth of food for some soup and perhaps a slice of gooseberry pie from Madame Anjou's bakery. What do you say?"

Christine whined, examining her fine clothes. The emerald dress she wore was a gift from her mother for her twenty-first birthday. She found it hard to believe that just a few months ago, she was living the life of luxury at the convent. Hot food at the table. A room all to herself. But what choice did she have now? It was either starve or sell the dress. She chose the latter.

At least with a handful of Crowns she could buy a bottle of clean water imported from Domino or a pitcher of fruit punch. River water was not recommended to drink seeing as how the city bums wandered around and did their business in the water.

But Pépin assured her that they could no longer do that. King Richard made it illegal to pollute the water under pain of death. The last fool who broke the law was never found, but more than twenty beggars were rounded up and taken to the dungeon as a warning. Since then, no one ever pissed in the river. Still, it did not make Christine feel any better about drinking from it. She smiled, for this was better than nothing.

"Well, I don't mind what I eat," she assured Pépin. "So long as I have a bed to sleep in and a roof over my head. I am just fine. And my dragon would prove most useful in catching the mice in the apartment."

"Very good, very good," said Pépin. "Well, come on now. I will show you to your room. Come. Come."

He waved his arm, signaling her to follow him into a small bedroom on the other side of the kitchen. All that separated her room was a red drape over the doorway. There was not much in privacy, for there was a window with a view into her room right by the stove where Pépin cooked.

"Take all your clothes off. Hurry up and give them to me when you're done."

He left the room to give her privacy as she changed, more for his own sake because Mérieux was perched on the bed snarling at Pépin as if commanding him to leave. Pépin stood on the other side of the drape and gave Christine her instructions for the next morning's chores. He could still see her through the thin drape.

He grinned and said: "At sunrise!" he said sternly. "The house must be absolutely clean! I want the furniture dusted. I want the floors swept. And I expect that dragon of yours to catch every single mouse in this house!"

He saw Christine pulling her dress down, revealing her wine-red lingerie. Slowly, she started taking that off, too. 

"Anything else?" she asked, wondering why he had gone quiet.

"Ah yes, I want the floors upstairs polished for the other residents. They can pay you well if they like the job you've done. Any earnings you receive, you will give to me! Am I understood!?"

"Oui, monsieur," Christine said, changing into a pathetic linen nightgown with slits at the side that showed off her thighs. She did this as she cowered at the corner of her room to keep away from the prying eyes of her employer, stretching his beefy neck as far as he could to get a better glimpse of her. He cackled when he spotted her bottom sticking out from behind the drape. When he saw the dragon walking out, he ducked his head back in the kitchen. 

He heard Christine sniffling. The nightgown would be the only clothes she would wear from now on. She leaped onto the bed and started crying. How her life dropped so low in so little time was overwhelming. Pépin came into the room with a look of disdain on his face.

The girl was no doubt a blessing who could earn him a few coins every now and then, but she was still human. He watched her sobbing as he picked up her clothes. Mérieux chirped sadly, licked her forehead, and cuddled up right next to her. Christine put an arm around her dragon and cried herself to sleep.


	75. Prince Stas and Christine: Part 2

* * *

**The Count de Monet**

* * *

"Well, at least the tire shattered under the shade," said the Count de Monet. He leaned out the window of his carriage to hurry the coachman and his assistant. "Oh, do hurry up!" he shouted. "Prince Anastasio is almost here, I would love to be at the palace before he arrives. There is much I need to discuss with him."

He couldn't help but to keep his head out the window to feel the summer breeze cool his face, soaked with perspiration. His black and gold three-piece suit, though extravagant, was cooking him in the waning heat of the summer. He stepped outside to take a stroll while the coachman fixed the tire. The wind almost blew out his blackened curled wig.

"Do come back inside," said the count's fruity right-hand man, Benoit. He wore a long, gray wig with pink ribbons and his suit was colored bright pink, magenta, and fuchsia with flora embroidery. His face was powdered in white and his lips coated in pink lipstick. The apple of his cheeks was blushed in red and there was a beauty mark on his upper lip.

The count did not listen and strolled towards the edge of the river. The water was brownish-green but reflected the canopies of the trees in the forest. Monsieur Benoit did not want to leave the coach, but he thought better of it once he felt the cool air. He loosened the white Cravat around his neck while pompously stepping out of the carriage and walking about with his black cane.

"Just what is it you plan to discuss with the young prince?" Monsieur Benoit asked, joining Count de Monet by the river to look at some turtles swimming about in the murky water.

"King Richard's death for one," said the Count. "The imbecile jumped to his death."

"Good grief!" said Benoit. "Was he not content with knowing that he would relinquish the crown to young Anastasio?"

"No," the Count began to laugh. "He believed he could fly because he envisioned himself making love to the Wind Goddess. He thought he gained wings and jumped from his window so he could soar into the heavens to be with her. Instead, he fell to his doom in the streets below. Ha! And you wonder why our kingdom was in such a state. One would think that the end of the civil war would have brought some stability around here, but it didn't. Pfft. Mad kings indeed. It should be outlawed for fools like him to gain power. To be frank, I do not feel any better having Anastasio as King."

"And why not?" Benoit asked, opening his fan to give himself some air. He swatted away a few gnats and cringed as the cicadas hissed in the trees.

"Because," said the Count, "it was Stas who left us with that madman, while he traveled to his summer palaces to have orgies with girls. He did not wish to take responsibility that hundreds of years of history have placed on his head."

"His wig?" asked Benoit.

The Count scoffed. "No, you dolt, his crown!" He whacked Benoit on the shin. "Oh, how the youth of this world annoy me, Benoit. Anastasio refused the monarchy to live the life of a hero alongside Yuri and his Knights of the Termnnian Table to chase after cunt and card at Duelist Academy."

"Oh yes," said Benoit. "My daughter goes there. She said she looks forward to attending class with him on the University levels next summer."

"Yes, cock strong and head sure," scoffed the Count. "My former chamberlain, Dr. Vellion Crowler, was of no help trying to teach him at the school. I suppose now is the time for me to educate young Stas on the proper ethics of being a ruler. This never would have happened if his father had not handed him those Gem Dragons. I've never seen cards turn someone so arrogant before in my life."

"Oh, indeed," Benoit agreed, swatting away another bug. "Those dragons were especially popular with the ladies. The girls would travel from far and wide to see him play the Diamond-Burst Dragon at the Festival of Flowers. I do recall the young Lady Bibi de Marcoux - a very amorous young lady - offering him a refreshing night of sex if he would be gracious enough to play the dragon. A lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky lad I must say. Pity about the girl. Such as shame her family and estate were taken by House Fourneaux. The poor girl was taken to the Tower of the Holy Maids to be brainwashed into the Faith of Yeyu. What a waste of youth; she was such a loving and enigmatic girl."

"Which is why Stas must be properly counseled," said the Count de Monet. "Houses of Boislevesques and Fourneauxs gain ground now that they're backed by the Big Five. Hopefully, our young prince has brought some aid from that dragon-summoning girl I've heard so much about."

"I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you," chortled Benoit. "The House of Boislevesque just hired some mercenaries from Balodrum, each control one of those mocks? Machs? Meck?"

"Mech," the Count corrected him and shivered with a roll of his eyes. "Oh, how I hate those horrid things. They're becoming all the rage with the pups of war. I do fear how powerful technology has become. Even dragons are not safe from the weapons of men. That was how Lady Avi was captured in the Gray Hills the year before. Poor girl. I imagine her resolve against the Church was only amplified two-fold for the tortures they put her through."

"Oh, indeed," said Benoit, knocking a pebble into the river. "She is counting on us to keep that repulsive ideology from coming any farther south. Let's see that we do not fail her."

"My Lords!" called the coachman. "We are all set to go!"

"Well it's about time," scoffed the Count. "Come, Benoit, our new king approaches. Let us see to his council before that war-mongering cousin of his gets to him first."

* * *

**Christine**

* * *

"YOU STUPID GIRL!" Monsieur Pépin shouted.

His sickly, squeaky voice startled Christine out of her slumber. Mérieux uncurled himself and stood on all fours, wings spread wide. He hissed, not liking the tone Pépin was displaying towards his mother. But the fat, little man was too furious to care for the dragon's threats. His eyes were wide and his face was red as though burned by the sun.

"Look what time it is!" he cried out, slapping a wooden spoon on the night table beside Christine's bed.

Christine whimpered and crawled to the other side of the bed. Mérieux scampered in front of her. He lowered his teeth and flapped his wings as a display to keep him away.

"Has that beast grown!" Pépin shouted. "Goodness, he's bigger than a cat!"

"What did I do?" Christine asked.

"You overslept!" Pépin declared again. "You did not polish the steps! You did not sweep the sidewalk. The trash is still all over the floor! This is going to cost you dearly, young lady. Come with me to the kitchen so I can punish you!"

"No!" said Christine.

"That is not a request! You fail to do your chores and you get ten whacks with the spoon! Now come with me or else I'll…"

Mérieux hissed again. Pépin did not care and grabbed an iron rod ready to strike him on the head and crush hi skull when suddenly the little dragon released a jet of red-hot flames.

* * *

**Stas**

* * *

The golden trumpets of House Trevelyan sounded off into the morning as the gates opened to allow Prince Anastasio to enter Tourneville. He rode atop his Pegasus mount, waving at his people like a warrior who won a great victory. The bells on his Pegasus's mane jingled and sparkled when touched by the morning light. Confetti was tossed from the windows of the tallest buildings, welcoming the prince home. All was going well until Stas heard a commotion coming from the crowd.

"Fire!" someone shouted. "There's a fire!"

Stas turned towards the east. He spotted a column of black smoke billowing into the air. "What the…" Stas said.

"Your Grace," said a town guardsman. "It's the Rue de Merde. You'd be wasting your time going there."

"It matters not where social class they're in," said Stas. "These are my people." He kicked his mount. "YA!" he shouted, and the Pegasus galloped towards the slums.

Floods of people pushed and shoved to get away in case the flames behind them started to grow at a wild pace. They all parted in different directions to make way for Stas and his steed. A small army of Trevelyan knights trailed after him on foot. Good Samaritans could be seen heading for the Rue de Merde with buckets, pails, and barrels of water to help douse the flames.

He was relieved when he saw the flames were still contained within the apartments, but his heart broke when he saw the now homeless tenants sobbing outside their ruined houses.

"Goddesses," said Stas. "What happened?"

A woman screaming caught his attention. He saw a fat, sickly-looking old man screaming at a group of guards, containing the woman by the arms as she struggled to be let go.

"What is the trouble here?" Stas asked, riding towards them.

"Oh!" said the fat man. "Prince Stas!"

"The prince!" called out the guard.

"The prince?" gasped Christine.

"The prince!" shouted all the young ladies of the slums.

Stas got off his Pegasus and walked towards the girl. "What is going on here?"  
"Uh, my-my Lord," bowed the fat little man. "I am Monsieur Pépin. I am the caretaker of these once prosperous apartments."

"Prosperous is not the word I'd like to use," Stas muttered quietly. "And this girl? Why are you containing her? Is she the cause of all this?"

"No, Your Grace!" cried the girl. "Prince Stas. My name is…"

A guard punched her in the stomach. "You be quiet!"

Stas removed a flintlock pistol from one of his holsters and aimed it at the guard. "Hit her again, and you're getting a bullet to the brain."

"But, Your Grace," Pépin insisted. "This girl is a menace! She is the cause of all this."

"I don't care what her crimes are," said Stas. "To strike a lady in my presence is punishable by death. Now, what happened?"

"Please, Your Grace," croaked the girl, still in agony from the blow she received. "My name is…"

"I don't care what your name is," Stas interrupted. "We'll leave all that for the court. What happened?"

Monsieur Pépin stepped forward. "Your Grace. I took this girl in last night. She had no place to go and no money to pay for the bed I offered. So, I gave her some work in exchange for staying here with me. I told her to wake up bright and early to do her chores. She woke up late, because she is a lazy girl!"

Christine whimpered sadly.

"And then, when I attempted to confront her, she sent her beast after me!"

"Beast? What beast?" Stas asked, holstering his flintlock pistol.

"Your Grace," a guard said holding up a metal box that looked like it was recently put together out of junk. But it was still sturdy enough to contain the creature inside.

"What is it?" Stas asked.

"Your Grace," said Pépin. "Inside that cage is a monster! A dragon!"

"A dragon you say," said Stas. He looked at Christine. "Where did you get it? It's not every day I encounter someone with a pet dragon."

"I found him when I lived with Convent up the mountain," said the girl.

"Convent!" said Pépin. "I knew it! I knew it! Those blasted Yeyunists sent her to do all this."

"No!" cried the girl. "No one sent me to do anything! My dragon was just trying to protect me from him. The man went insane when I woke up late and threatened to hit me."

"Is that so?" said Stas, turning to look at Pépin. "You were going to hurt her."

"An over-exaggeration, Your Grace," Pépin assured him. "I only meant to put her over my knee and give her ten whacks to teach her a lesson. Had she just accepted her mistake, all of this could have been avoided. I am well within my rights to discipline my servants, Your Grace."

"Yes, I know of the law," said Stas. "Ten whacks would have been a small price to pay for all of this," Stas said, holding an arm out to the flaming building. "Why did you have your dragon burn the house and attempt to kill Pépin."

"Oh, Your Grace!" sobbed Christine. "I did not mean for any of this happen. Neither did my dragon. He was just trying to protect me. I had no idea he would learn his skill to breathe fire so quickly. He was just born a month ago."

"You'll be surprised how fast dragons can grow," said Stas. "I'm sorry my dear, but that dragon is your responsibility. And had you accepted your mistake and your punishment, you could have spared these good people the despair of losing their homes."

"Aye!"

"Aye!" shouted all the tenants.

"Guard," said Stas. "Take her to the dungeon. And see to it that the dragon is sent to the Red Palace. Lady Avi will take care of it when she returns."

"At once, Your Grace," said the guard.

"NO!" cried Christine. "Don't take my dragon away, please!"

The guards held her tighter to restrain her. "Come now, love. You're under arrest. Take it easy. That's it. That a girl."

"To the Palace!" Stas commanded, and they all marched away.

* * *

**Count de Monet**

* * *

At long last, the Count de Monet's carriage had arrived outside the golden gates of the palace. As his gilded carriage came to a stop before a fountain of the whitest marble, he was mobbed by a swarm of eager peasants who were yelling for him to clarify matters with the prince. Immediately, two palace guards opened the gates. Two servants in beige gentleman's suits came running out of the palace grounds while rolling out the red carpet.

"Count da money! Count da money!" the peasants shouted. "Count da money! Count da money!"

"DE MONET! DE MONET!" shouted the Count, trying his best to get out of the carriage. A squad of palace guards came running to his aid, brandishing muskets of polished maple and engraved gold. The count bashed the peasants on the head as he stepped down from the carriage. Monsieur Benoit followed.

"Count da money! Count da money!" the peasants continued to shout.

Finally, the Count and Benoit made into the sanctuary of the palace walls. Prince Stas was waiting for them dressed in his best robes of black, crimson, and gold. His coat unbuttoned to reveal his well-built chest.

"My Prince," the Count said with a bow.

"You are looking ever so handsome today, My Prince," Benoit said fruitily.

"Ah, the Count da money," said Stas.

The Count let out a brief chuckle, then his face molded into a look of frustration. "DE MO…"

"Don't correct me," said Stas with the utmost authority. "I know what your name is."

"Ah," said the Count.

Meanwhile, Benoit hid his laughter behind his pink fan. He pulled himself together and said: "I must ask, where did such a name come from? Why have the people started calling you the Count da money?"

"Blame those dolts from Earth!" said the Count. "The Prince said he got the jest from a ridiculous movie he imported from Earth."

Stas chuckled. "Have a sense of humor, Count."

The Count narrowed his eyes at Stas and wrinkled his nose. "Hmm, I'll do my best," he replied sarcastically. "People have been calling me the Count da money ever since. I do hope you'll make it law not to call me that anymore, Prince Anastasio."

"It's Stas!" the prince corrected him brashly. "And we'll see about that. Come, we have much to discuss. True Dragons are returning. Seto Kaiba and Yugi Muto have daughters. And my friend Zane is doing hero work in Domino. Ah, and Yuri is ever closer to coming back."

He turned and made a quick pace back to the palace.

"Have you met with your cousin Euphemia yet, My Prince?" Benoit asked.

"No," said Stas. "I just missed her. Euphie is out hunting with her lady friends. She won't be back till later."

"Splendid," said the Count. "I got to you before she did."

"You do not approve of my cousin's council?" Stas asked, looking back at the Count as he proceeded towards the palace.

The Count rolled his eyes and coughed to hide his hate for the young baronetess. Thankfully the hissing of the cicadas in the trees hid the sound. "Well, no, My Prince. Euphie can be…a bit of a brute."

"That's why I love her so much," said Stas. "She's got brains; the will to fight; she's an excellent Duelist; and has beauty to match."

"A pretty face is not going to help us win with the war against the Houses of Boislevesques and the Fourneauxs, My Prince."

"No," said Stas, "but they can help. Lady Angeline the Fire Princess ended the One Day War with just her smile. So warmed of her darling face were the enemies, that they dropped their weapons and surrendered. They couldn't find it in their hearts to be her enemy."

"Yes, but Lady Angeline was a demi-goddess," said the Count. "Her beauty was divine, far beyond what a mortal woman can ever hope to achieve."

"For men, all beautiful women are divine," said Stas. "It matters not where she comes from. If she has a pretty face, whole armies can stop; why do you think kings marry their daughters off to rival rulers? Sometimes a beautiful face is the best weapon in times of war."

"If only Euphie had one," the Count muttered under his breath.

Benoit cleared his throat, announcing that it was his turn to speak. He gasped with relief once he, Stas, and the Count da money…De Monet, walked under the shade of the palace towers. Though the autumn season was approaching, it was still ghastly hot. "If I may, My Prince," Benoit said fanning himself. "I couldn't help but notice that there was smoke rising from housetops over by the slums. Do you have any knowledge of that?"

"I do," said Stas. "Some girl refused to accept her punishment and got her pet dragon to burn down an apartment complex."

"Oh dear," said the Count. "Did you arrest her?"

"Of course, we did," said Stas. "She's going to rot in the dungeon for the rest of her days. And her pet dragon, well, we're still deciding what to do about it."

"You could keep it," said the Count.

"I tried," said Stas. "He almost burned my face off. Besides, he's already attached to the girl. Remember, most dragons prefer the company of women than men. But, we've come to the conclusion that the dragon will be better off with Avi."

The Count froze when he spotted a blonde-haired Eldori beauty walking through the long maze of lit-up water fountains to their right. She wore a baby pink brocade dress with a crown brooch, a small petticoat with a bouquet of pink and white bows on the back, and a brocade hat with bow and ostrich plume colored sugary pink. A D-Pad with floral engravings was mounted on her wrist projecting holographic blue windows that displayed the time, temperature, and current Duelist rankings in the world.

"It's good to be the king," Stas whispered, bobbing his head up and down.

"I say," said the Count. "That girl. Who is she?"

"I do not know," said Benoit, fanning the lust for her off his face. "But I would go straight again for her."

He and the Count gawked at her white-lace stockings adorned with pink ribbons.

"Sherry!" called Stas. "Sherry Leblanc, is that you?"

Sherry Leblanc ( **Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's** ) smiled and put her white lace fan away. She held out her arms while sprinting towards Stas and embracing him. Her white heels clip-clopping on the red broken cement path.

"Hello, Stas!" she said happily. "Long time no see, my old friend."

Stas kissed her on the cheek and turned to introduce her to the Count and Benoit. "Gentlemen this is Dame Sherry Leblanc. She's the knight-champion of my cousin Euphie."

"It's a pleasure, mademoiselle," said the Count with a polite bow.

"Oh!" said Sherry. "You must be the Count da money."

The Count's smile tried to stay put on his lips as he ground his teeth together. "De Monet, my dear."

"Whatever," Sherry said rather displeased when she read the frustration in him.

"Oh, you two know each other?" Benoit asked sadly, feeling his erection wither away.

"Oui," said Sherry. "We were born the same day here in the palace. We grew up together. Sadly, this guy chose to side with Yuri and leave our kingdom to a Mad King as he partied."

"Well, I'm back," said Stas. "I've defeated my brother, ended the war, and I'm here to stay. Yuri is will not be a King I will abandon. You have my word. I promised Master Yugi I would be there for him. And I will. He recently signed my friend Prince Jon to fight with us and join the Alliance."

"Splendid," said Benoit. "The snowmen of Riftgaard are very capable fighters. They've been holding off King Forrest's advances for months."

"And how has he been doing?" Sherry asked. "I do hope to see him and the other princes one day. I've been told Yuri's Allies are very handsome."

Stas shrugged as he chuckled. "Jon's been doing well on the contrary. However, his efforts to keep the peace will be all for naught if the Royal Houses up north allow the Covenant to spread their radical ideologies down here. How have you been holding up?"

"So far so good," said Sherry. "We've held back their forces thus far. Having said that, it's been difficult with the help they're getting from the Bank's private army. They've allowed the Covenant to gain a tremendous foothold in our fair kingdom."

"Well, now's our chance to stop them," said Stas. "I've sent a letter to the Termnnian Trading Company. Mayhaps they'll lend us aid, too."

The Count tapped his cane on the ground. "Don't you think it unwise to be so trusting of a group of traders and mercenaries, dear Prince. I've seen them turn tail many times throughout the years."

"They're only doing this for themselves," said Stas. "Obviously they will switch sides as soon as you show them the gold. With machines, spellcasters, and dragon riders in their ranks, they're one of the most powerful armies in Termnnia. If not THE most powerful. They gain money, while the fighters lose money trying to outbid each other. It's a cruel tactic, but very effective."

"What can you expect with a band of mercenaries?" scoffed Sherry. "I've never seen anything like it. One day they're alongside us, and the next they're against us. The following week they're on our side again. They're going to keep doing this until one faction runs out of money, and I fear that will be our Alliance. Our forces are stretched thin, Prince Stas. Our coffers get smaller and smaller with every theatre of war the Covenant and the Empire open against us."

"I wouldn't worry too much about them," said Stas. "Now that we're in the Alliance, Rassay has sent us some coin from their coffers to help us out."

"Well, this is all very exciting," said the Count, "but don't you think it would be better to talk about these matters in the war room? Air conditioning? Cold drinks? Mmm?"

Stas looked back at the Count and gave a shrug. "What a wuss, but I'm going to see this girl with the dragon. I still want to know how and why she got it. Dragons don't come by just anyone, especially not the peasants from Rue de Merde."

"I'll go with you," said Sherry.

"Are you sure, Mademoiselle Leblanc?" asked the Count. "I do not think the dungeons of the palace are ideal for a lady like you."

"I've been on the battlefield, Count," Sherry said sharply. "I think I can handle the dungeons. Stas, shall we?"

"Of course," Prince Stas said, leading the group up the steps of the palace.

Benoit was quick to be on Stas's tail. "I do not like your cuffs, Your Majesty," he said criticizing Stas's princely gentleman's outfit. "We must see your tailor at once. I don't like your cuffs. I don't like your cuffs. I don't like your cuffs. A man's cuffs must be even with the tip of his pee-pee. Yours go all the way down to your balls."

Stas scoffed and arrogantly glanced at the fruity man. "At least I have them," he responded. Sherry opened her fan and hid her laughter behind it, watching Benoit stop dead in his tracks.

"Oh, you…bitch," he whispered furiously at Stas.

* * *

**Christine**

* * *

Chains rattling off in the distance were driving her mad. The flicker of the torches on the wall was like the infernal teasing of a thousand men pointing and laughing at her. The dungeons of the palace were an underground labyrinth spanning 24,000 square feet of iron bars and cold stone. Christine heard the distant shouts of the dungeon guards coming from down the halls and the slamming of iron doors in the distance. Thankfully, or mercifully, she was given a cell on the top floor of the jail. The prisoners in these cells were given the comfort of a window which allowed the sunlight to come through in thin, dusty rays the color of gold when found in the mud. They were warm at least, for it was unbelievable cold in the dungeon.

She was still wearing the nightgown Pépin gave her, which did nothing to help her against the cold. It was so short, and she was naked underneath. She shivered and sobbed, wondering what did she ever do to wind up down here in this dank and miserable place in the underbelly of the world. The cell across hers was occupied by a dried-up skeleton. His clothes were torn and stained with festering. Christine's ears picked up the sound of little nails tapping along the stones, and the sound of squeaking.

"Oh no, oh no!" she moaned. If there was one thing Christine hated more than anything, it was rats and mice. Rats especially, since they could grow to the size of a cat in the big cities of Termnnia.

She heard stories of prisoners who were eaten alive in the jails because of those rodents of unusual size.

Christine prayed to both Yeyu and the Goddesses to keep her safe and to bless her with a second chance at life. She didn't care anymore, if they were up there she begged of them to help. She sat up and wrapped her arms around her knees. Her bottom was chilled by the stone causing her great discomfort. She looked up at the arched ceiling. There was an iron chandelier that the guards would light every night. At least she had some light to look forward to this night. That way, she could see the rats if they were coming. When she was given her supper, Christine was given a crust of bread and a cup of water. She was even given butter to spread on the bread and a knife. It was a dull thing, but, nevertheless, it felt like she had claimed a legendary sword from a mythical stone. She felt so much safer with it, thinking about using it as a weapon in case the rats came.

Thinking about the rats in the dungeon caused her to think about her dragon. Mérieux was tough, but he was still a baby. A baby without his mother. She sobbed, hoping the guards didn't kill her dragon. If what the Reverend Mother said was true, and the Big Five really did claim her land and all her possessions, then Mérieux was the only thing she had in this miserable world who loved her. If she lost him she would not know what to do.

Well, she thought, at least I have my trusty blade to help slay the monster that is my life.

She heard the sound of heavy boots thumping on the broken stone path of the hallway. She heard keys jingling, and the voices of men and a young woman. They were getting closer. They were just inches from her cell. To the shock of Christine, it was Prince Stas with, Sherry, Benoit and the Count de Monet. They stopped in front of her cell.

"This is her," said Stas, showing her to the two men as though she were some animal at the zoo.

"Is she really?" the Count de Monet said, getting closer towards the bars. "The dragon girl? Such a lovely young thing she is."

"I've seen better," Sherry said, fanning herself.

"Yeah," said Stas. "Now, if you would back away from the bars, Count da money…er…De Monet. I must speak to her." Stas pressed his forehead against one of the bars. His bangs parted to the sides. "Leave us," he said to the Count and Benoit. They left without argument.

"What is your name?" Stas asked.

"My Prince," said Christine, crawling towards him. She got close to the iron bars of the door and grasped them with her hands, looking up at Stas like a scorned puppy. "Please. My name is Christine of House Beaufort."

"Hmm, nice names," Stas said, pulling the neckline of her shirt forward so he could peer down and gawk at her cleavage. Christine gasped timidly and pulled herself back, delicately clutching the neckline with her hands. She blinked rapidly and blushed. Stas chuckled, feeling good about the power he had over her. "Tell me, my dear, what can I do for you?"

"You're such a pig, Stas," scoffed Sherry.

Christine regained her composure and spoke. "Your Highness, please. Surely you might have heard about the House of Beaufort before."

"I have," said Stas. "They were good friends of my father. Though, you guys sure did a good job in disappearing when it was time for me to be king."

"And just a quick question," said Sherry. "If you are such a noble, then what the bloody fuck were you doing living in the Rue de Merde?"

"I had no choice, My Lady," said Christine. "When the Covenant influenced the Houses of the north, their ideals and their armies spread like wildfire, eventually engulfing my House and estate. I was forced to live a life with nuns up on the mountain above the town. But then…ill fortune befell my family yet again."

"So what happened?" Stas asked.

"My father, desperately trying to aid your father, King Richard, took a loan from the Termnnian Bank."

"The Big Five?" Sherry said. She then laughed. "What an idiot. Wait, don't tell me, he failed to pay back his debts, and the Big Five ruined your House, right?"

"Yes," said Christine, eyes glistening with weep and shame. "He fled the country under their command."

"Well, I'll be," said Stas. "The Big Five. Huh, you're lucky he's still alive."

"Please, Your Highness," said Christine. "Please, help me restore my family's honor. I-I know friends of my father who could aid you in this war."

"I have all the aid I need," said Stas. "And I don't care where you're from, doll, but, you've committed the crime of arson."

"Your Highness," pleaded Christine. "I beg of you to spare me from this place, then. Please. Please, I'll do anything, you hear me. Anything."

"Uh oh," said Sherry.

"Anything?" said Stas, grasping the top of her skull.

Christine let out a cry of shock and backed away. "Your Majesty!" she declared fiercely. "I was raised in a convent. I do not indulge in the pleasures of the flesh."

Stas backed away from the bars and shrugged. "You don't put out. You don't get out."

Christine shook her head. "Your Majesty, I simply don't 'do it'."

"Suit yourself," said Stas.

"Wait, Stas," said Sherry, grasping his arm. "We could use another serving girl. With all the activity going on for your father's funeral and your coronation, the palace is going to be quite messy."

"I could work," said Christine. "Anything is better than being in here. Perhaps, one day you could help…"

"You're in no position to be setting terms, honey," Sherry interrupted while sharply folding up her fan. "Your job is to make sure the palace is kept clean. You'll get three hot meals a day, your own bed in the barracks, and a payout of two silver shields a day. That's a step above what you had in Rue de Merde, don't you think?"

"I…I understand, My Lady," said Christine.

Sherry nodded. "Good. I'll get you out once the paperwork is taken care of; is that all right with you, Stas?"

"Whatever," said Stas.

Sherry glanced back at Christine. "Now, once you get out of the dungeons, you are to report to the maid's barracks in the hills behind the castle. You will be given your uniform and some decent attire from me as a gift because I think you're really pretty."

Christine smiled and nodded her head. Sherry grinned and said: "But before you put any of those expensive silks on your person, you are to bathe yourself thoroughly, am I clear?"

Christine bobbed her head up and down in compliance.

"Good," said Sherry. "Just because you're from Rue de Merde, doesn't mean you have to smell like it."

"Seems like you got yourself a new playmate," said Stas. "Try not to have too much fun, Sherry."

Sherry looked at him as though he were a revolting pig, coming out of the muck in the middle of a hot summer day. "You lead a rich fantasy life, Your Majesty."


	76. Prince Stas and Christine: Part 3

**Christine**

* * *

The maid's barracks were far more lavish than she thought it would be. The style and architecture alone made the convent look like nothing more than a mountain ruin. Two silver swords a day could get her soup for a week compared to the meager once every two weeks had she still been living with Pépin.

Her own bedroom without having to worry about the old man peeking at her as she changed. And now a warm bath all to herself, prepared at the expense of Sherry Leblanc who developed a liking to her for some reason. The bathwater went pink from all the cherry-scented oils and the rose petals swimming about the tub. There were lemon slices floating in the water as well. Steam billowed out from the surface mixed with the sweet aromas of the fruits and oils perfuming Christine's fair skin with their scent.

She let out a passionate and satisfied sigh. The door creaked open. Sherry entered the bathhouse, shut the door and locked it. She formed a smile seeing Christine enjoying her bath.

"Well, you look like you're enjoying yourself."

"More than I ever have in my life," Christine said with satisfaction. She stretched her arms over her head. "Why are you pampering me like this? What have I done to make your favor me so?"

"As I said, I think you're pretty." Sherry walked to the tub and sat by the edge. She pulled a cork off a diamond-shaped bottle with purple liquid inside. She poured it in the water, smiling. "And it would be a waste to leave a fair-faced maiden like you in the dungeons to be eaten by the rats. Plus, I think Stas likes you, too. After all, he really wanted to see you. And he did set terms to free you if you had sex with him."

Christine turned her gaze out the window towards the majestic mountains of green and the fields splashed with a variety color from the flowers. The emerald green grass trying in vain to stand out from the flowers. She saw Stas summoning his Diamond Burst Dragon below, and watched as it decimated his opponent's XX-Saber Gottams.

The explosion created by the blast caused the bathwater to ripple.

"Is something wrong?" Sherry asked.

Christine closed her eyes and stuck her nose in the air. "Stas may be my Prince, but he is a spoiled, chauvinistic pompous. And I said, I was raised most of my life in a convent. I do not indulge in such pleasure."

"Not even if it meant saving your life?" Sherry asked, dipping her finger in the warm water and stirring it around.

"Not even if it spared me from the most painful death," Christine responded.

"Funny you should say that," said Sherry, taking her finger out of the water. "Stas just did save you from a very painful death."

"Oh?"

"You were to be burned at the stake for the crime of incendiarism. At the request of your former employer, Pépin, no less. And your dragon was to be killed, but Stas said otherwise."

Christine lifted her torso out of the water. "Where is he!" she demanded. "Is he safe?"

"Ahem," Sherry said, coughing into her fist. Her face turned pink like the water.

Christine covered herself and tipped back under the water. "Sorry," she said.

"It's all right," said Sherry. "But, yes, Stas saved you. As for your dragon, he's being kept down in the vaults right next to the money. It's serious protection. He's as safe as a kitten down there. And the prince recovered this for you."

She tossed Christine a velvet sack of coins from the ruffles of her petticoat. Christine caught just before it hit the water. "Hey!" she cried. "This is my…"

"Yes, it is," Sherry said with a quick nod. "Pépin told us about how he hired you. Said you gave your money to a monk. Well, Prince Stas found that monk and forced him to pay back every coin, chip, and Crown he spent. Plus, a little extra for the crime of thievery. You should be more careful with your money, darling."

"I…I guess I was a little foolish," Christine said, admiring the sack. It felt so much heavier than it did before. "Did Prince Stas really do all this for me?"

"He did," said Sherry, fanning her face from the heat of the bathwater. "Just between us, Christine, I think one of Ana's cherubs struck him when he first laid eyes on you. I've known Stas for years, and he's never given so much favor to a girl before. Believe me, he's fucked just about every girl in town; even me. And he's had 2000 girlfriends and potential fiancées before. He never lifted a pinky for them. But you, all these legal matters, and so on and so forth. I think he might have just met his match."

"But why me?" Christine asked timidly. "I have done nothing."

Sherry giggled. "You know Stas's favorite heroines were Kayla the Small and Evangelia the Star Queen. He always begged his queen mother, Goddesses rest her soul, to read him the story of their adventures over and over again every night before bed. Hell, sometimes when he and I went to the lake to swim and take our naps as children, he asked me to tell him their story. He said to me: _'Sherry when I grow up, I hope to marry a girl with dragons. We can ride into battle and roast our enemies just like Evangelia and her Galaxy-Eyes Dragon or Kayla atop of Timaeus destroying the soldiers of the Orichalcos. I'll be the most unstoppable king in all Mondé!'_ Stas wanted nothing more than to marry Avi, but that flimflam with King Stefan happened. And now, Christine, it looks like he's found his dragon maiden."

"Oh," said Christine. "I see."

"Do you believe in destiny, Christine?" Sherry asked.

"I was raised in a convent," Christine repeated. "I was taught that Yeyu fabricates what happens…"

"Do you believe in destiny: yes or no?" Sherry interrupted.

Christine lifted her knees from the water and wrapped her arms around them. "I was told not to. So, no."

Sherry smiled, kicking her leg back and forth. "Well, I certainly do. I think you found that dragon for a purpose. I think that you and Stas were meant to be."

"Me? I couldn't be?" said Christine. "I can't be. Like it or not, I'm a Yeyunist. And I am dedicated to my faith. I love almighty Yeyu. And Stas's faith is dedicated to the Goddesses; being's whom I do not believe in."

Sherry bobbed her head in reply. "Hurry and clean yourself up. Stas's coronation is later this afternoon, and there is going to be a grand party to which he has requested that you attend."

"But, I thought I was nothing more than a mere palace maiden," said Christine. "Why…"

"I told you why," said Sherry. "And whether you remain a palace maiden depends on how you treat Prince Stas. Or King Stas, after the coronation. See to it that you behave like a big girl and don't upset him."

Sherry got up, kissed Christine's forehead and walked out of the bathhouse, leaving her alone. She spent thirty more minutes in the bath before the doors creaked open again. Two maidens came inside and bowed. They were followed by Monsieur Benoit and the Count de Monet.

"Oh!" cried Christine, hiding underwater with a splash.

"Dress her up," the Count ordered the maids with a snap of his fingers. "Quickly! Quickly!"

One of the maids pulled a white towel from a white marble rack on the wall and walked to the side of the tub, holding it up so Christine could get out in privacy. Christine got out of the water gingerly, keeping an arm over her breasts and a hand cupped over her womanhood. The maid wrapped the towel around Christine's body and patted her dry. She held the towel up again to hide Christine's nakedness from the prying eyes of the Count as the second maid began to powder Christine's body.

"Does Stas really care that badly about me?" Christine asked as the maid wrapped the towel and tied it over her chest.

The Count wrinkled his nose in displeasure. "Young lady, you will refer to His Royal Majesty by his full title or not at all. He is a king now."

"I missed his coronation?" Christine asked.

"You were never invited to attend in the first place," said Benoit in a saucy manner. "You silly girl. The coronation of the king is a spectacle blessed by the very Goddesses themselves. And you, my dear, are a Yeyunist. You were not allowed in the temple of Horakhty in the first place. Nevertheless, you have been asked to dance with His Royal Majesty at the party tonight."

Count de Monet walked to Christine and ran a finger down the top of her head. He examined his finger, and though he saw nothing he still grunted with disgust. "Oh well, this will have to do."

Christine followed the Count, Benoit and the maids to her quarters and saw a pile of elegant clothing on her bed. The Count and Benoit remained to oversee her fitting. The count grinned, watching as a maid was tying a corset over Christine's waist. She grunted like a winded beast every time it tightened. She could feel her ribs getting bent.

Benoit laughed. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

"How do I…urk!" she cried as the corset tightened. "…get used to something like this?" Christine moaned. "It feels like I'm being squeezed by a Fiend Kraken!"

Again, the Count chuckled with amusement. "Get used to it, doll, that's the way things are done here. Now, there are a few things we have to cover when meeting with the king."

The Count went on and one about the mannerisms of a lady in court. How she should eat. What part of the plate she needed to start in. As she tried on her dress, he went on about how she should sit and even how she should walk, which Christine found ridiculous. She regained her curls and a big blue bow trimmed in gold was placed on the back of her hair.

"Ah," said Benoit. "The Madame looks very elegant. Give us a twirl."

Christine saw herself in the mirror and was pleased. She really did look like a lady now and was more than happy to oblige Benoit's request. She spun delightfully. Benoit clapped in a very feminine manner. "Wonderful!" he said. "Very wonderful!"

"Enough, Benoit!" ordered the Count. "Now see here, girl…"

The door opened. Sherry walked in, all dressed up for the party. "Oh, Count da money."

The Count was furious. "DE MO-"

"Oh, shut up," said Sherry. She looked at Christine and gave a whistle. "Don't you clean up nice," she said.

"Thank you," said Christine doing curtsy.

"Come on now," said Sherry. "It's time to get you to the party. Stas is waiting."

Hand in hand, Christine and Sherry walked down the halls of the maid's barracks and through the gardens to the palace. Fireworks lit the skies in explosions of bright colors from gold, blue, and red; the colors of the Mondevi Flag. Dragon Riders flew overhead towards the palace's front gardens and a knight on a griffon followed them.

"Dragon knights?" Christine said with worry. "Oh, dear. I'm not ready."

"Just be calm," said Sherry. "They may seem brash and think they're all that because they have a ton of money and ride on a dragon, but show them who's boss and they'll back off. Dragon Riders are all flash mostly. Come battle, they'll come up with any excuse to avoid the field to protect their precious dragons and their pretty faces."

Christine wished she had the fortitude to talk face to face with Dragon Riders, some of the most charismatic and beautiful characters in Termnnia. Having a gorgeous face and a ton of gold seemed to be a prerequisite to even think about being a Dragon Rider. For this, many thought of them as pompous pretty boys who join the military forming their own regiments for the sake of wine, women, and money.

They were paid hundreds of thousands of gold coins and chips by kings who hired them, and they didn't even have to fight. They relied mostly on the intimidation factor of their mounts, which made sense because as soon as a dragon's roar echoed across the battlefield and cast its shadow over the field, the enemy soldiers began to run. Therefore, they got paid to fly around and look handsome. Some have said the Dragon Rider was the most hated class of warrior in Termnnia.

"Oh, joy," said Sherry, pointing up at a squadron of rowdy Dragon Riders flying atop of serpentine-type dragons called Kaiser Dragon, a common dragon, but a very splendid specimen to look at, especially with the layered armor they wore colored bronze and trimmed in black with black engravings on the surface and the flags of the House and country of their leader hanging from their pauldrons.

"If I'm not mistaken," said Sherry, "Those are the Knights of the Kaiser."

"Are they well-known?" Christine asked. "Are they famous?"

"More like infamous," scoffed Sherry. "Especially with the city guard. Their leader is Alexander Croft, son of Count Gerard Croft of the Silver Hills. They are one of the wealthiest families in Mondé because they mine, what else, silver. Little Alexander doesn't have to lift a finger to get what he wants. All he does is ask his daddy for some coin and he's immediately a warrior. The Count even bought him his own dragons and a set of full steel armor enameled with gold and black. Nothing but the best for his little boy. The pomposity gets worse. They even have their own lodge on the hills just outside the castle. They buy up the services of all the wenches and drink the wine cellars dry. They're not knights. Just an exclusive club for Alexander and his drinking buddies. I spit on their names. You know, he sent a letter to Master Yu-Gi-Oh and cursed him out because he didn't choose him as one of High King Yuri's knights for the Royal Termnnian Table?"

"Gracious, no!" said Christine.

"Oh yeah," said Sherry. "He called him a fool, saying Jon, Michael, Jaeyoung, and the others 'feeble' compared to him and his order. What a little prick."

"Well, well," said Christine. "Someone is full of himself. I can say for sure that I am not looking forward to meeting him."

"You're to be with King Stas in the party," said Sherry. "And no one else. We're almost there, love. Keep your head up high, pretend like you own a platinum mine and deck full of rare cards, and you're in the club!"

Christine nodded her head. The castle was glowing like a star in the darkness. Every window was casting a warm yellow glow from within. The fireworks still lit up the sky. She took a deep breath and prayed that this night would be successful.

* * *

The celebration of Stas's coronation had gone smoother than she thought it would. As she stood by the King's side, Christine's night had been all but uneventful. The Dragon Riders whom Sherry had warned her about earlier, only glanced at her and gave the occasional whistle at her. But they never laid a hand on her or even talked to her. Stas just looked so intimidating in his jeweled armor of platinum created to look like his Diamond Burst Dragon, which he summoned five times this night. Christine eventually began to look forward to seeing the beast. It was a beautiful creature to behold. However, she noticed Stas's eyes were sad every time he summoned it. He defeated another opponent and bowed, again, when he won. He waved off the applause and walked back to his spot at the head of the table.

The Count de Monet approached Christine and cleared his throat to get her attention.

"Count," Christine said politely while she bowed respectfully.

"Lady Christine, well, not yet anyway."

"Lady? Me?" Christine said. "How can that be if I'm a mere palace maid?"

The Count gave a malicious chortle as he slowly bobbed his head from left to right. "He has a favor to ask of you so they tell me," the Count said, walking to a table and picking a grape off a silver platter. He plopped it into his mouth and chewed it slowly. As he did, Christine felt a chill run up her frame, and she fanned her face; for she felt herself getting hot. The Count grinned and swallowed the grape.

"And whether or not you remain a palace maid depends on how you treat our king this night. So, see to it that you don't upset him. Or it's back to the dungeon with you." He made a Cheshire cat grin and edged himself closer to her. He put an arm over her shoulder and leaned forward to sniff her hair causing her to feel awkward.

"What are you doing?" Christine whispered timidly.

"Of course," said the Count, picking up a handful of Christine's sweet-smelling, rose-colored locks. "I could arrange for you to stay with me."

"Maintain your distance," Christine said, taking a step forward.

The Count came back to her and ran his hand up from her chest to her neck. "You must consider the alternative, my dear," he purred into her ear. "I would hate to see the headsman's ax cut that beautiful neck."

"Is there a problem here?" Sherry asked approaching the two. Christine felt a surge of relief. "What are you doing Count? You know Christine is off-limits."

"Off-limits!" he spat. "Under whose orders?"

Christine and Sherry pointed at King Stas. The Count turned and saw the youngster glaring at him while he held his golden chalice filled with wine.

"I see," said the Count. "Well, I'll go see if anyone wants to dance." He tapped his cane on the ground and walked away.

"You okay?" Sherry asked, rubbing Christine's exposed shoulder.

"No," said Christine. "Ever since I got here, everyone's been lusting after me. First King Stas, then you, and now the Count wants me in bed."

"Well, you are very beautiful," said Sherry. "But, you're right. It's no reason for someone to harass you. Uh, but, do answer me this. How have I made any advances towards you?"

"I heard you speaking to one of the palace knights in the hall earlier this evening," said Christine. "I passed by and heard you say how you wanted to 'pin me against the wall and lick my spine'."

"Uh…you heard that?" Sherry said, rubbing the back of her head and glowing red. "Well, I guess I may have said that but, I'm straight when it comes to romance, I assure you. I guess I might have gotten a little too amorous for you when I saw you in the tub, but that doesn't mean anything, I swear. Wine can make people say the darnedest things."

"Mm-hmm," Christine said with a nod.

"Well, I, uh…" Sherry looked around for something to talk about. She noticed the buffet table and approached it. "Come," she said. Christine followed. They both examined the foods on the table. They were extravagantly displayed like beautiful works of art.

Christine picked up a slice of ham. "Mmm," she went as she savored the flavor. "King Stas spared no expense for tonight's party. We have exotic foods from across the seas. Coconuts, bananas, dragon fruit."

"It is very lovely," said Christine. "What could the favor be? The one that Stas asks of me."

"I dunno," said Sherry. "But, you'll be fine. Stas would never hurt you."

BANG! The doors to the party hall burst open. A woman on a horse rode inside. She was no appropriately dressed for the party. She was still clad in a hunting bodice and black leggings. Knives were holstered in a ring around her thigh, and she had a clockwork musket and a sword forming an X on her back. A dead boar trailed behind her. Its legs tied to the saddle of her warhorse.

"Cousin!" said the woman. "Congratulations!"

"Euphie!" Stas cried happily. He got out of his seat and ran towards the huntswoman. "Now it's a party!"

"I brought meat, cousin," said Euphie, tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder. "Your parties are a little too…. fruity for my tastes."

"I couldn't agree more," Stas said, examining her kill.

"What a ghastly entrance!" shouted the Count. "Have you no shame, Euphemia!?"

"Oh," said Euphie with a defiant grin. "If it isn't the Count da Money."

The Count went red in the face. "You, pompous, beastly, inconsiderate, CREATURE!"

Euphie made an amorous expression, showing off a shoulder exposed by her bodice to the Count.

"Why Count, you flatter me. But you have to buy me dinner first."

The crowd laughed.

Euphie got off her horse. Her boots thundered on the black and white tiled floor.

"If you weren't the Baronetess of Ebonwill, I would have you hanged!" the Count shouted. He gasped, for that was a little out of line.

"You threaten a member of the royal family, Count?" said Stas. "I could send you to the dungeons for that remark. However, I'm feeling generous tonight, since I am king. But speak ill of my kin again, and I will not be so forgiving."

"Yes, Your Grace," said the Count.

"All right, enough of that!" Euphie shouted as she clapped her hands. "Cooks, prepare the beast I have hunted. And is there an opponent brave enough to face me? I thirst for a Duel."

A young nobleman volunteered quickly before anyone else could. Euphie picked him first and put on a D-Pad, a newer, more advanced version of the Duel Disk.

"Your name?" Euphie asked.

"I am Ser Reagan," said the boy. "Duke of Glowanstead. It is an honor, princess."

"Indeed," said Euphie. "Well, what are you waiting for. DUEL!"

**LP 4000**

"I will let you start first," said Euphie.

"You honor me, princess."

"Oh, get on with it!" groaned Euphie. "And will somebody fetch me some wine!"

"At once," said Ser Reagan. "I place a monster in defense mode. That will do it for me, princess. Your turn."

"Draw!" shouted Euphie. A palace maid came by with a platter holding her drink in a gold cup. Euphie swiped it off the platter and chugged it down noisily and messily. Wine poured down her chin and neck. She finished her wine, letting out a loud, satisfied gasp. She wiped the wine off her chin with the back of her gloved hand and let out a loud burp. She placed the cup back on the platter.

"Be at the ready, darling, I need another." She slapped the maid in the bum, sending her away.

The Count grumbled. "I weep for the future."

"Now, my turn," she said. "I summon Knight Day Grepher in attack position. Then equip him with Lucky Iron Axe, boosting his attack by **500** for a total of **2400** points. Attack!"

The purple-armored knight made a great lunge towards the face-down monster. It was a Jellyfish ( **ATK/1200 DEF/1500** ). It bellowed in agony as the knight's axe slashed it in half.

"I end my turn!" said Euphie. "Your move!"

"Uh…I draw," said Ser Reagan. "I summon another monster in defense mode."

"BORING!" shouted Euphie. "MORE WINE! I draw!"

The maid came back again. Again, Euphie chugged down the wine, let out a loud burp, and sent the maid away with a slap to the derriere. "I summon Lightray Grepher! And play the field spell, Sogen, which will increase the ATK and DEF of my warriors by 200. Attack!"

Lightray Grepher ( **ATK/1700 + 200 = 1900** ) attacked the face-down monster. A Cannonball Spear Fish. Feeling gracious, Euphie chose not to attack Ser Reagan's Life Points directly. He drew and set another monster in defense mode.

"I wanted an opponent, not a sissy!" said Euphie. "My little sister is nine years of age, and she Duels better than you! Draw! Wine!"

The same process. The maid came. She gulped the wine. Sent her away and the turn began. She tribute summoned a monster, offering both her Grephers to summon Gilford the Legend. ( **ATK/2600 DEF/2000** ). With the field power bonus, his ATK went to **2800** , but his effect activated, allowing Euphie to equip her Gilford with every Equip Spell in her Graveyard. The Lucky Iron Axe fused together with his magical sword which grew to be over thirty feet long. With the bonus from the Axe, Gilford's attack increased to **3300**. He attacked at Euphie's command, cutting down another Jellyfish monster.

"WEAK!" bellowed Euphie, clearly as drunk as a Highland lord. "You're…(hiccup)…weak! Make your (hiccup!) move!"

Another monster was set, and he ended his turn. "Draw!" cried Euphie. "WINE!"

She had her fill and began her turn. She summoned X-Saber Anu Piranha ( **ATK/1800** ) and made crude gestures at the lovely female monster with drunken fury. Another attack. She ended her turn. Another monster was set. Another cup was drunk. She sacrificed her Any Piranha and summoned Freed the Matchless General ( **ATK/2300 DEF/1700** ).

Another attack. Another card set. The wine was brought and gulped down. This time, after the monster was attacked by Gilford, she finally made a direct attack using Freed the Matchless General. The attack brought the poor boy down to a mere **1500**.

The audience clapped; happy that this boring contest was about to be over. As usual, the boy set another monster. After another gulp of wine, Euphie started her turn, summoning Warrior Dai Grepher. The set monster was destroyed. She ended her turn, swerving from left to right.

Ser Reagan hoped he could win this Duel by default. If Princess Euphie was too drunk to continue, then she had to forfeit the match. This, he could only hope. Euphie drank more than five goblets of wine and remained on her feet. And she was thirsty for more.

He set another monster and ended his turn.

Euphie continued the same process and drew. She sacrificed Warrior Dai Grepher and summoned a black-armored knight atop an armored Pegasus. The warrior was called Tenmataitei ( **ATK/2400 DEF/1000** ).

Clearly bored of the match, Euphie shrugged and attacked him directly, winning the match.

"The victor!" called the herald. "Princess Euphie!"

The audience clapped, relived that the dull match was finally over. Euphie then swept the maid who served her off her feet, carrying her in her arms. "A big hand for my friend here!" she called out. "Let's thank her for a job well done!"

A round of applause for the maid. They were all silenced when Euphie buried her mouth into the maid's. "Mua!" she said loudly when she released her lips from the maid's. She looked at Stas, licking her lips. "Your Grace. Mind if I borrow her for tonight?"

Stas shrugged in his throne and flicked his wrist to show he didn't care. The men in the crowd cheered when Euphie took the girl out of the party room and out of sight. When she was gone, Stas signaled Christine to follow him.

"Just be calm, okay," said Sherry. "He just wants to talk."

Christine nodded her head and walked towards the king. He jerked his head to the right.

"Come on," he said. "Let's get some fresh air."

That was a good sign. Stas just wanted to take a walk with her outside. She formed a smile to show she approved and followed him out of the party hall. The music died down and was replaced by the gentle melody of the crickets.

"I'm sorry if I came at you so strongly while you were in the dungeons," said Stas. "It was wrong of me to do that. I apologize."

Christine didn't know how to react like that. She did not wish to respond with 'It's okay,' because that would possibly give Stas the idea she didn't mind and could advance on her again. But she could not stay quiet, that's for sure. Every moment she waited to say something just made the silence more and more awkward. Eventually, Stas looked at her to make sure she was listening.

"I accept your apology, Your Grace," she finally said. "Even though, I was rather alarmed by your terms to let me out of the dungeon."

"I know," said Stas. "I must have looked like such a creep."

Christine grimaced and rubbed her shoulders to warm them from the sudden chill swooping down from the mountains. A call from the seagulls in the bay joined the chorus of crickets.

"Christine," said Stas. "You can speak freely. You say anything you want without reprisal from me."

"Are you sure?" Christine said. "There are many thoughts swirling in my head. They're all about you, and they're not pretty words."

"Then let it out," said Stas. "I deserve it for being so chauvinistic towards you. It was my fault thinking my handsome face could get me any girl I want."

Christine remained silent and bit her lip. Stas was a very arrogant fellow, and she hated him for the way he demanded sex in exchange for her freedom. But, she couldn't help but feel slightly amorous for him; for he was devilishly handsome.

Stas sniffed to break the silence. "You know my father made love to a Nymph during the War of the Infant, you know, the battle to claim Yuri and his inheritance to the Diamond Throne. Ha, ha. If Master Yu-Gi-Oh hadn't intervened, Yuri and I would have been brothers. There was no House closer to claiming him than mine. But I digress, as I said, my father met a Nymph. Some say he absorbed some of her beauty and it went to me. Hmm, I doubt it had anything to do with that. My mother was a very beautiful woman. She won the House a great victory with just her smile."

"She did?" Christine asked. "That's incredible."

"Yes," said Stas. "She wore a golden-armored dress and rode into the middle of the fields atop a Pegasus with platinum armor and small crystals embedded on its wings to make them sparkle in the sun. Its mane was decorated with white roses and silver bells. She looked at the enemy and just smiled at them. The other Houses were so warmed from her smile that they set their weapons down; for they couldn't find it in their hearts to battle her. Instead, they wanted to be friends with her, and they all made peace with each other. I think my beauty came from her, really. As I grew older, she often warned me about my good looks. She said beauty can make a man's ego bloat like the corpse of a dead man. Eventually, your spirit begins to fester, and you turn into something really ugly. It wasn't until I forced myself upon you that I realized the monster I've become."

"What caused you to be so humble?" Christine asked, sitting down on the edge of a white fountain illuminated by small lights.

"You can thank Master Yugi for that," Stas said sitting next to her. His armor creaked and clanked with each movement. "In a way, he reminded me of my mother."

Christine suppressed a giggle. Stas couldn't help but find it amusing as well.

"Yeah, I know, it sounds creepy, but there's no other way I can describe the impact Yuri had on my life. His opponents at school were pretty fierce, and wanted nothing more to defeat him and make a name for themselves. No matter how intense the Duel became, Yuri always had this smile on his face. This warm, sweet smile. And his opponents would become friends with him in the end. I miss him."

"I can only imagine how much you do," said Christine. "I lost my mother a while back. She threw herself out of a tower when she realized our House had been disavowed and she could no longer see me again. As for my father, well, I don't know where he is. As I said, The Big Five chased him out of the country, and I don't even know where he is."

"I'd like nothing more than to help you, Christine," said Stas. "But, unfortunately, you're a Yeyunist, and a devoted one at that. I cannot lift a finger for you."

"Why? Because I have different beliefs than you?"

"Because of what your religion has done to my land and my people," said Stas. "There's too much bad blood between our faiths. The Goddesses are real because they reveal themselves to those who are devout to them. Horakhty revealed herself to Yuri when she blessed him with the God Cards. Whereas you Yeyu has never been seen. He was conjured up by some lonely monk who got lost in the mountains, and people believed him. I don't know what caused Yeyunism to boom, but it did so violently. Your people are responsible for the deaths of the Arva, the massacre of the Celtra, and the extinction of the True Dragons. Not to mention the hundred years under the Inquisition. If we don't believe in your faith, you torture us or have us killed. Tell me, Christie, how can you be so devout to a cult so obsessed with killing?"

"I…I don't know, Stas. While my faith can be nonsensical at times, it does bring up good points. Magic, dragons, Duel Monsters; they all lead to war and sin and suffering. Yeyunism wants to end all of that. We only mean to bring peace into the world by being abstinent of such desires. You are all caught up with the materialism of the game that's it's hard to let go. Need I remind you that the first to spill blood in this conflict between our faiths were knights of the High King. We only wanted to free you from your sinful lives, but you refused because your love of sin is so great. The knights slaughtered the monks. Do you deny that history?"

"The Massacre of Pontak Square; yes, I do know about it. The founder of my House took part in it. He helped drag the head priest out of the Church, stripped him, and fed him to a Leogun called forth by a Summoner."

"Well, who is in the wrong now?" said Christine. "And look at what the love of magic and material goods have done to you. Duel Monsters for example. The magic of this game and the power you feel it brings you has turned you into a raging pervert who wants to abuse girls because he can."

"Abuse is such a strong word," said Stas. "While I may want to spend my nights under the sheets with the girls I meet, I do so respectfully. I would never force myself upon them. I may have asked rudely when I met you in the dungeons, but nevertheless, I was asking for your consent. You said no, and I backed off."

"Not all people are as reasonable as you, Your Grace," said Christine. "Some men are so lost in sin, they refuse to obey consent. I would thank you for respecting my feelings, but because I said no, you refused to free me from the dungeons."

"I said I'm sorry," said Stas. "And we may have been the first to strike, but all we want is to be left alone. You want to practice your faith; we let you. On the condition that you left us alone. Well, thanks to a few numbskulls in the senate, they let you walk all over us. Your religion got Yuri killed, Avi was raped, and thousands of people died during the conquest last year. Domino City lost their beloved Royal Family. Michael Dalton was the last to defend against the forces of your Church. He was my friend."

"Not all of us are like that, Your Grace."

"BULLSHIT!" shouted Stas, getting up from his seat. "If not all of you are bloodthirsty, warmongering, murderers, then explain to me how you let so much death and destruction to be caused. Are the only 'good' Yeyunists so few that you can't do anything to stop those who would use murder to spread their faith!? If so, then that excuse does not matter!"

Everything was quiet. Stas stood with his back turned to Christine. He was still like the marble statues of his family in the garden.

"Sorry," he said.

"If only there was some way for us to co-exist," said Christine.

"There are a million ways for everyone to co-exist," said Stas. "No one chooses to find them, because we get consumed by greed, power, and lust. As you say, we love those pleasures so much that we eventually put those above everything else. We are guilty of that sin as much as your Church is."

"I agree," said Christine. "In the end, none of us are perfect."

"At last we agree on something," said Stas, turning to face her again. "Christine, I want to drop this whole matter and move on to why I've brought you out here. No doubt, you've heard rumors about the castle of how I needed a favor from you. Well, it's true, and I'm going to be as professional as I can. You know, since I was boy, my life's dream was to fly on the back of a dragon with the woman of my dreams. Growing up my heroes were all the lady Dragonriders of the ages of old. Evangelia the Star Queen. Kayla Pendragon. Lady Elizabeth Lockheart and her Luster Dragon. Josephine Walston the Black Dragon Princess, and so on. Now we have you. You're the girl of my dreams."

Christine was glad it was dark. Her face must have turned the color of a tomato by now. Stas was professing his love to her. "Stas…I…"

"Just hear me out, please," said Stas. "I know it's a lot to ask for, but you're the one I've been looking for. Your dragon was given to you for some form of purpose. Was it to marry me, no. I think not; because the goddesses don't bless girls with dragons unless they had a very important destiny. Christine, I want to be part of that destiny, whatever it is. I want to be alongside you, and fly on the back of your Tyrant Dragon. Together, we can destroy our foes, and bring peace and unity to the kingdom. Marry me."

Stas got on one knee and presented Christine with a ring. The diamond twinkled in the moonlight.

Christine was still. Absolutely still.

"Stas…Marry you? You want me to marry you?"

"Yes!" said Stas. He put the ring in her hand and closed it. "Do I have to spell it out for you, Christine? I can help restore your House. I can help you find your father, and make the Houses who destroyed yours pay for their fell deeds. You were a believer in the goddesses before they took you away and converted you. Well, now I'm asking to convert you back to your original faith. The TRUE faith of Termnnia. Return to the Goddesses. And become my bride. It would be the greatest honor anyone would ever bestow me."

"Stas, no!" said Christine.

"What?"

"Your Grace. I cannot go back to the faith of the Goddesses. I am a Yeyunist, and I am loyal to the Covenant and the Church. You bring a great offer; one only a madwoman would refuse. I am mad. Madly in love with my faith. Nothing you can say or do change that." She placed the ring back into his hand. "I'm sorry, Your Grace. But, I cannot marry you."

"Christine…I need you."

"No," said Christine. "You only want to marry me to fulfill your childhood fantasy. Even if there was love in your heart, I would still refuse you. Please forgive me."

"But Christine!" Stas said getting close to her.

Christine did the unthinkable and slapped him hard across the face.

"Oomph!" Stas cried as stepped back. He rubbed his cheek.

Now she had done it. Christine had just struck the king. This was it, she thought. My life is over. He's going to have me executed.

Stas got up, still massaging his stinging flesh. He looked at Christine, eyes twinkling with hurt. "If that's what you want. So be it."

"Your Grace…I."

"Don't waste your breath," said Stas. "Your shift begins at dawn tomorrow. You'd best go back to the barracks and rest. I assure you, bitch, your dragon will never see the light of day again! Piss me off one more time and it's BACK to the dungeons with you!"

Christine cupped her hands over her mouth and watched Stas turn around. He stormed away, leaving her alone in the gardens.


	77. Prince Stas and Christine: Part 4

**Christine**

* * *

She coughed when a cloud of dust flew out of the shelf displaying the royal family's collection of jeweled eggs. It tickled her throat when she breathed it in, and she felt as though the walls of her throat were closing.

"I swallowed it!" she cried. "I swallowed it!"

"You missed a spot," Benoit said as he fruitily passed by her station. He waved his cane, whacking her in the back of her legs.

"Ouch!" she cried.

Benoit sniggered and continued on his way down the painted, gilded, and mirrored halls as though he were the owner of the palace.

"He giving you trouble dear?" Madame Euphie said walking towards her from one of the water fountains that lined the hundred-yard-long hallway. The edges were cushioned with red velvet seating and the structure was made of pure gold. The water sparkling in the setting sun outside.

"Madame Euphie," Christine said with a bow. "I-I-I didn't know you were there."

"Just Euphie," said the princess. She was clad in a teal hunting gown with elongated sleeves and a masterwork leather corset with hunting knives and trimmed in black belts and buckles with engraved metal clasps. A bow of polished ash with decorative metal tips clung behind her with a leather baldric with a large shield-shaped buckle of engraved dark metal.

"You're not as tough and mean as you were that night at Stas's coronation?" Christine said, fixing her outfit.

"Let me get that," Euphie said, retying the strings at the front. "Naw, my behavior that night was because I was fueled with adrenaline from the hunt I was in. And I was drunk, mind you. In actuality, I'm as puffy as a kitten and twice as gentle. Well, that is unless I'm hunting or am in battle. Or stuck around characters like Benoit and the Count da Money ("De Monet!" the Count shouted from down the hall.) Then, that kitten becomes a lion. Wow, your uniform. It's so loose. You went to work in a hurry it seems."

Christine shrugged. "I was up last night trying to find my dragon, Mérieux."

Euphie's fingers stopped. She looked Christine in the face, eyes widening in disbelief. "Oh!" she said in bewilderment. "So that beast in the vaults is yours? He's a rather big creature, isn't he?"

"Big?" Christine said in surprise. "Oh no, you must be mistaken. My dragon is as big as a house cat."

Euphie's face creased into confused, but very attractive look as her eyebrow raised and her naturally pink lips pouted to the left. "Your dragon wouldn't by any chance be this?" Euphie opened a deck box strapped to her thigh, hidden under the hunting gown, and pulled out her Dueling Deck. She flipped through the cards and said "Ah," when she saw the card she was looking for. She showed Christine her ultra-rare Tyrant Dragon.

"Oh my!" gasped Christine. "Yes, that's him. That's Mérieux! You've seen him."

"Seen him and barely escaped with my life," said Euphie. "I had heard from Cousin Stas that there was a dragon being kept in the vaults, but never did I expect to see such a monstrosity. The vaults can barely contain him anymore."

"That can't be!" said Christine. "Dragons take years to grow into full-sized beasts. And my Mérieux was only just a hatchling when King Stas found us."

"So, it is true about what they say about the Maiden's Love," Euphie said, rubbing her chin.

"What's the Maiden's Love?" Christine asked.

Euphie gave her a smile and shut her eyes joyfully. "Come, let's go for a walk."

"I would, My Lady, but I'm on duty."

"And I say you need a break," commanded Euphie, placing both hands on her hips. "Come on. Let's go for a walk."

Christine bowed and set her feather duster down.

"You know, you're no ordinary maidservant," Euphie said. "First your dragon. Then you get Stas to fall madly in love with you. Did you reject him? Color me impressed."

"I didn't mean to strike him," said Christine. "I'm just…"

"No, no, no," Euphie said, holding up a pacifying hand. Her gear jingled with each step. "It's all right. I told you, I'm impressed. Not many people have the fortitude to stand up to my cousin and his beautiful charms. You know, he hasn't given up on you."

"He hasn't?"

"No. In fact, he's even more determined to make you his Queen."

"He doesn't love me, he just wants to ride my dragon."

"Be that as it may," Euphie said, placing her hands behind her back. "You should consider yourself lucky. How many girls out there can say that a king has fallen in love with them? Not many, yes?"

"No, I guess not."

"And yet you still reject his affection. You're a tough little bird, Christine. Now, that leaves me to the Maiden's Love. You know that Termnnian dragons prefer a woman's touch, correct?"

"I have heard," said Christine. "It is the will of Safaani, for she hates men."

"She doesn't really hate them," said Euphie. "She just has trouble trusting them, since it was mostly men who feel the need to hunt her dragons out of machismo, and it was men who ordered their termination in the Inquisition. But I digress, the Maiden's Love is a rare and incredible gift that only special girls have. The love they give causes their dragons to grow at an unnatural rate. Now, you say you found your hatchling a month ago, correct?"

"Yes."

"There it is," said Euphie. "Dragons take years to become full-grown adults. Sometimes their growth takes hundreds, even thousands of years. Especially with True Dragons. And that Tyrant Dragon in the vaults is a pure-blooded True Dragon, which makes me admire you, even more, Christine. For a while, we all thought Lady Avi was the only one who could channel the power of True Dragons. And now you with your Tyrant Dragon. I must say, this is a very interesting time to be alive. Who knows, perhaps this is the time to show Men we're not to be trifled with anymore. Especially characters like that…that…Count and his Fruity-Tootie right-hand-man. Now, I ask again. Is he bothering you? I can make him stop."

"I appreciate that," said Christine. "So, you have my back?"

"For now, anyway," said Euphie. "I'm going on a hunt in a few hours. But I can roughen up Benoit and get him to leave you alone. And you know you have Stas, right?"

Christine stopped.

Euphie sighed, brushing some hair off her face with her fingertips. "Look, I know how you feel, Christine. But, true love is only in fairy tales and songs. Try as you might, you'll never find it. Sometimes, it finds you, and you don't even know it's there."

Christine exhaled heavily. "You really think King Stas and I are meant to be?" she asked.

"I know you feel it," said Euphie. "You're just a stubborn little bird. Come on. Give him a chance. Do yourself a favor and marry the man, Christine. You will be a Queen if you do. And like I said, you're special. I don't want to see a girl as gifted as you be reduced to nothing more than a mere palace maid."

"Gifted you say?" said Christine.

"You have a dragon and blessed it with the Maiden's Love, girl. I honestly think you've been blessed by Saafani."

"I do not believe in your pagan Gods," said Christine. "I am a Yeyunist, remember?"

"I do not care who you believe in, Christine," Euphie said sternly. "Whether it be the Goddesses or your…Yeyu. You're no ordinary girl. I believe it. And you should, too."

She bowed and bid Christine adieu.

Christine stood alone in the hall watching as Euphie left. As she turned she came face to face with King Stas.

"Your Grace." Christine bowed.

"I know things got off to a rocky start," said Stas. "So, I got you something."

He presented Christine with a diamond necklace from the chambers were the royal jewels were kept. The diamonds, thousands of them, were galaxy-cut and lined along the silver string leading to a larger diamond cut into the shape of a Hyozanryu. It twinkled like a thousand stars and cast hundreds of tiny rainbows in the sun. The light that reflected on the diamonds shined brightly on Christine's face and caused her eyes to glitter.

Stas's heart beat wildly for her. "The Necklace of Lady Aglaia. Passed down from queen to queen for thousands of years. And now I give it to you."

"Your Grace…"

"Stas," the king said, telling her to address him informally.

"Stas. It's beautiful. I-I don't know what to say."

"You like it?" Stas said with excitement.

"Oh, I'd have to be a madwoman to say I wouldn't enjoy such a remarkable work of art."

"Here," said Stas. "Turn around so I can put it on."

"But this necklace is from the collection of the royal jewels. I am no royal."

Stas leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "You can be."

Christine bellowed sorrowfully. "My Lord, I-I can't. Don't you see? I cannot marry you." She tried to storm away but Stas grabbed her by the arm.

"Wait!" said Stas. "Please! Please…Christine! What can I do to make you change your mind?"

"There is nothing you can do!" Christine said, yanking her arm away from his grip. "I am not meant for you! You cannot have me! No amount of jewelry you present will ever make me sell you my heart."

"That's not what I am trying to do!" said Stas. "This necklace belonged to my mother! And her mother before her. And her mother before her. It means a lot to me! Mother made promise her to present this necklace to the woman I love. The woman who I want to be my queen. And you're that woman! Please. Christine. Marry me."

He held up the necklace again, so she could see its beauty.

Christine's lips trembled. "I'm sorry," she said, holding back her tears. "Leave me alone." She made a swift about-face and stormed away down the hall.

Stas clutched the necklace in sadness and hung his head. A heard someone chuckling his misfortune.

It was the Count.

"What do you want Count da Money?"

That ceased any humor inside of him. His face turned red.

"De Mo…" He stopped and took a breath to put down the fires of his short temper. He forcefully put a smile on his face. "Women," he finally said. "Such difficult creatures aren't they? You can present her with all the jewels of Termnnia and she'd still refuse her. There is no way into a woman's heart. Just let her go, my boy. There is nothing more you can do."

Stas held onto the necklace in fury and stuffed it back in his pocket. He drew his sword. "Yes, I can." He said coldly. "I'm going into the vaults and pay that dragon a visit."

* * *

**Stas**

* * *

The Count de Monet did his best to keep Stas from going through his suicidal task. They traveled down a dark spiral staircase that took them even farther than the dungeons. Old frescos, possibly painted during the foundation of the palace added color to the endless chasm of stone, though they were peeling off, some were gone completely. Stas held his torch over his head as he walked down the light of the chandeliers many floors above grew dimmer and dimmer. The wind howled as it blew up the staircase giving Count de Monet the shivers.

"I cannot do this, Your Grace," said the Count.

"Then leave," said Stas. "I never asked you to come anyway."

"But-but-but," stuttered the Count.

"Go!" Stas shouted.

The Count stood his ground and watched as Stas continued down the stairs to the vaults where Christine's Tyrant Dragon was being held as prisoner.

"Very well," the Count whispered maliciously. He twirled a lock of white hair from his wig around his finger. "While you're down there getting burned to a bloody crisp. I will see what Christine is up to." He slammed his cane on the ground and a light magically hovered over the bronze sphere. He chuckled and went up the stairs leaving Stas to his fate.

As he got closer to the bottom of the stairs, it began to grow cold and musty. He then had to walk for almost a mile down the vast and empty halls. The walls and vaulted ceiling were decorated macabrely with cobwebs. To Stas' dismay, there was an old windchime hanging over the vaulted door leading for the dragon's prison. They jingled in a dark and beautiful melody.

Almost as though the harbingers of death were singing for Stas' end. Stas moved cautiously towards a lever, the only thing in the underground of the palace that was nicely polished, for it was in constant use by the cooks who fed the dragon. Until now. From what Stas heard, the dragon had grown into considerable size thanks to the love Christine gave her beast. The Maiden's Love, a rare and powerful gift for lucky dragon tamers by Saafani. But how could the Tyrant Dragon grow so big if it was separated from his mother for so long?

Perhaps his desire for her love boosted his growth. Whatever the case, Stas knew there was no turning back now that he yanked the lever down with all his might. The chambers rumbled, and dust sprinkled from the ceiling to the floor. A few pebbles and bits of brick plopped around Stas.

The massive door slowly began to clink, and clank as advanced and oversized locking mechanisms undid themselves. After a loud click, the locks were undone, and the door slid to the side to grant Stas passage into the large vault of the castle where Mérieux the Tyrant Dragon was sleeping.

Unfortunately for Stas, this was not the case anymore. The vaulted door made a horrible ruckus that caused him to drop his torch and slam his armored palms over his ears.

When the noise died down and the rumbling stopped, Stas uncovered his ears. A veil of darkness awaited him. It was far too thick for Stas' torch to have any effect. All the flames could do was illuminated a five-foot radius around him. He picked up the torch and proceeded into the vault. A petrifying snort boomed from the shadows causing Stas to stop in his tracks. He gasped and stepped back before he froze.

Growling started to bellow out of the darkness. Stas' heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest and run away. He felt like it, but doing so would mean sudden death. He stood his ground, pretending to be the famous knights from the lost ages who stood up against evil dragons. Easier said than done.

Something white was illuminated by the light from Stas' torch. There were hundreds of them. They looked like pearly-white swords laid neatly in a weapon's rack. He saw the pink of the monster's gums, and then the fleshy brown trim of the snout.

BOOM! BOOM! The vault shook as the behemoth's feet stomped towards the young king.

"Oh, Goddesses, what was I thinking?" Stas prayed. "What the fuck was I thinking?"

Only now did he realize it was a mistake coming down here without Christine. He just had to be the big man going to the vaults alone to face a full-grown dragon. A True Dragon.

Tyrant Dragon's head finally came into the light. He stood more than eighty-feet-high, and his body almost took the length of the vault which was twenty meters long.

"Mérieux, right?" Stas asked.

The dragon continued snarling at him. Boiling hot saliva poured down his mouth, hissing as it oozed to the ground.

"Shit, you're big!" said Stas. "You've got to stop looking at me like you're going to kill me though. If you want to see your mother again, you're going to have to trust me."

He undid his sword belt and let it fall on the floor. "Look, see. I mean you no harm. Your mother is a wonderful woman. She's perfectly safe."

Mérieux continued to growl.

"Not like you understand me, though, huh? Look, you want out of here? You're going to have hold back on burning me to a crisp."

Stas felt like someone hit him with a Paralyzing Potion as Mérieux lowered his head and came toward Stas. He let out a loud bellow looking at Stas in the eyes. Stas saw his reflection in those beautiful, yet deadly, green pools Mérieux had for eyes. On the other side of the vault, Stas saw a lever that could open another set of doors leading into the vault. He cautiously walked past the beast, feeling his breath, which felt like being hit by hot steam. Mérieux followed Stas with suspicion, in case he meant to go back on his word and do harm to him, Goddesses have mercy if Stas was that stupid.

Stas pulled the lever and the towering doors slowly began to open. The dim light of the sun setting behind the mountains peered through the crack the doors made as they slowly opened after thousands of years being closed. Stas jumped when Mérieux gave a horrifying roar. He charged toward the door. Stas rolled out of the way. Mérieux slammed his body against the door and pried them open with tremendous force. He wanted to see his mother again, he had no more patience to spare on the slow-moving doors.

Mérieux gave a final roar and finally knocked the doors down. The vault began to crumble. The walls cracked. The ceiling sprinkled large debris onto the ground below. Mérieux gave a roar to announce his freedom and gave a mighty charge as he dashed down the open green fields. He spread his wings and took flight.

* * *

**Christine**

* * *

"I will miss you, Euphie," Christine said, bowing at the princess as she sat atop her warhorse, armored in silvery steel.

"We'll see each other again soon," said Euphie. "I rather enjoy our friendship, and look forward to seeing you utilize your gift. Perhaps one day we will convince that stubborn cousin of mine to let your dragon, what's his name?"

"Mérieux," Christine answered.

"Mérieux, yes. We'll see if we can get Stas to let Mérieux go. In the meantime, you best take care of yourself. I mean it. I don't want to have to come back here and start slaughtering the castle because someone put their hands on you."

"Perhaps you can train me in the art of self-defense when you get back," Christine said, petting Euphie's horse. "I feel like everyone has done nothing but take advantage of me ever since I left the convent."

"Perhaps I can," said Euphie. "For now, you have Sherry with you. She has grown quite fond of you."

"She has," said Christine.

"I sure do hope not," said Euphie. "If you won't have my Cousin Stas, there's always a place in my bed for you."

Christine went red.

A war horn blew from the front of the ranks. Euphie smiled and blew Christine a kiss. "And now I must leave you, Christine. Take care of yourself. YAH!"

She kicked her horse into a gallop to catch up with her hunting party.

"What a day," Christine said. She turned and walked back to the maiden's chateau. But she could not go far. As she passed by the garden quad, she noticed a group of odd figures dressed in leather and chainmail. Christine paid them no heed and as she passed a tree, a hand grabbed her wrist.

"Whoa!" cried Christine. "Count Da Money!"

He slapped her hard across the face knocking her to the ground.

"I've just about had it with that joke," said the Count. "First I had to hear it from Yuri. Then Stas. Now the Princess. But, I will be bathed in fire before I let the likes of you insult my name. You rejected the King again. Tsk, tsk, tsk. You need to learn how to take opportunities when you have the chance."

Christine rubbed her cheek and scooted back to get away from the Count. He had a mad look in his eye the likes she had never seen before. "When King Stas hears about this…"

"He won't," said the Count. "In fact, he won't know anything at all, because I leave this wretched palace tonight."

"Why?"

"The Houses of Boislevesque and Fourneaux have gained a mysterious new ally, one with enough power to get them to march this far toward the capital. I'm sorry to say that your friend, Princess Euphie, marches to her death. She, her House, and their armies are the last line of defense against the Covenant. And I fear we are, how do the city-folk say it? Very screwed. I will not stand here and wait as the House of Boislevesque and the House of Fourneaux march down here and slaughter us all. And I am not fond of Yeyunism. I would rather walk on miles of glass than convert to their faith."

"Surely they can't both take the crown?" Christine said, resting on her arms.

"No, they cannot," said the Count. "They've come to terms that Stas is a common enemy. But once they rid him of power and bring an end to the Trevelyan dynasty, they will squabble no doubt to the death for Stas's crown. I have a home in White Harbor; I will ride there as soon as possible. I have already taken all that is valuable to me, save for one last thing."

"What?" asked Christine.

"Why, you, of course, my little flower. I am old, and I need someone to…raise my spirits."

"If I won't even marry Stas, what makes you think I'll marry the likes of you?"

"Marriage?" chuckled the count. "What makes you think I need marriage to have you in my House? No, no, my dear. You're going to be my personal housemaid. And you will do exactly as I command."

"No!" said Christine. "I'll tell Stas about this!"

"You will do no such thing," said the Count. He snapped his fingers. The men in the leather armor were his own personal thugs. They casually walked out of their places and formed a circle around her and the Count.

"I can have you come to White Harbor the easy way or the hard way, young lady. What is it going to be?"

"Leave me be," Christine whimpered.

"Leave you be?" laughed the Count. "No, no, my dear. You are coming with me!"

He tried to grab her, but she kicked him hard in the family jewels. "OMPH!" he cried. "Not the grapes! Not the grapes!"

Christine darted by and was almost grabbed by one of the thugs. She ran toward the fields calling for help.

"Get her!" shouted the Count. "Five gold crowns will be added to the pay of whoever grabs her!"

"Help!" cried Christine. "Someone! Anyone help me!"

A loud roar echoed through the twilight.

"LOOK!" shouted one of the thugs.

"In the sky!" cried another. "What is it?!"

"DRAGON!"

The whole palace went into an uproar as Mérieux flew from the clouds and swooped down to save his mother.

"Mérieux?" gasped Christine. "My little Mérieux is that you?"

He was not little anymore, that was certain. He landed with a powerful thud on the ground, creating a terrific quake. He swatted the thugs away with his tail, sending them flying away. He grabbed one by the back of his shirt with his mouth and tossed him toward the mountains.

The Count was calling for the guard. "STOP HER! SOMEONE STOP HER! STOP HER!"

The palace guard began swarming out of every door, charging for Christine. Mérieux would not tolerate this and created a wall of flames, stopping them in front of their tracks. He lowered his neck and bellowed for Christine to get on.

The royal rifleman formed a line, aiming their muskets at Christine and Mérieux. "All fire on my command!" shouted the Count.

"HOLD!" shouted Stas. "HOLD YOUR FIRE!" He came riding towards them atop of his Pegasus mount.

"But Your Grace," protested the Count. "She…"

"Let her go!" Stas interrupted.

"But why?" asked Benoit, cowering behind a boulder.

Stas looked at Christine through the flaming wall. "Because...I love her."

Christine heard this, even from where she was. She couldn't believe it. Stas was setting her free.

"Wait!" Sherry shouted, running down a hill. "Christine wait!"

Mérieux growled at her to stay away. Christine got off his neck and stood in front of him, waving her hands. "No, no, no, my love. She's a friend. Wait here."

Sherry was clutching a burlap bag. "It's extra clothing and a bit of food for the road."

"For me?"

"I knew who that beast was the moment I saw him soar out of the sky," said Sherry. "I never would have thought Stas would find it in his heart to let you leave. I told you he's not so bad."

"He really does love me, doesn't he?" Christine said taking the bag. "Mayhaps there will come a day when we can be together, but I fear today is not that day. Perhaps that day will never come. I don't know."

"Take all the time you need. A word of advice, head for White Harbor and make for the Red Palace. Queen Avi would most love to see you."

"I guess so," said Christine. "Well, this is goodbye it seems."

"Yeah," Sherry said sadly. "Too bad. I was starting to get to know you. Take of yourself okay?"

She hugged Christine.

"Farewell, then," said Christine. "And thank you for everything." She kissed Sherry's cheek and ran back to Mérieux. She climbed atop his neck and he galloped down the field taking off into the sunset.


	78. Prince Stas and Christine: Part 5

**Christine**

* * *

She did not know where Mérieux had taken her. All young Christine knew was that she was far away from Stas and his kingdom and that she was probably somewhere north. Very, very far north. And for this she was grateful. She could have helped a smile if it wasn't for the fact that she was lost. The sky was gray and cold, and she could not see a thing except for a thick veil of clouds all around her. But when she looked down she saw trees as far as her eyes could see, and a thin river slithering about the valley like a snake of silver. It grew very cold, and it wasn't because she was flying at high speeds hundreds of feet above the ground, although that did play a factor in her discomfort. Her guess was that Mérieux had taken her near the valleys at the foot of the Great White Mountains which were in the cold seasons very early. She shivered while she sat atop her monstrous pet who she could have sworn was the size of a house cat just a few weeks ago.

Now, he was a full-grown beast bigger than a nobleman's house, and as long as a Dueling Arena. His wings spanned more than fifty feet making them larger than his own body. Even after flying on his back the entire night, Christine found it hard to believe that this beast was her little Mérieux. The small, playful creature who once perched himself on her shoulder and suckled her finger like a baby was now this monstrosity who can breathe fire and have the strength of a thousand men.

Any other person would be honored to have such a creature at their whim. But not Christine. Even though the dragon loved her, she was terrified of it. She was no longer the one in charge of the bond that they shared even though she was his mother. No more would she tap his nose or lock him in a basket if he misbehaved. He was too big and too fierce for those things anymore. Now she feared what he would do if she tried to discipline him anymore. Dragons were fierce and territorial monsters. Very possessive as well to say the least. All her years, Christine was taught from the Mothers at the convent that dragons were the work of evil, put into this world to destroy the wondrous gifts of Yeyu.

They were not meant to be trusted nor be allowed to live, hence why the Inquisition hunted them all to death thousands of years ago. When she first found the dragon, Christine paid no mind to those teachings because Mérieux was still just a baby at the time, and thankfully the Reverend Mother had the heart to allow her to keep the little hatchling. Otherwise, she would have ordered Mérieux killed, per the laws of their holy White-Gold Tome.

She shivered and rubbed her shoulders as he flew farther and farther into the mists. Her teeth chattered, and her throat had grown sore from the cold she caught the night before. It had been a long night, for Christine had trouble fathoming this monster was hers. She had dozed off every now and then throughout the trip.

Her longest slumber was an hour, and when she woke, she swallowed, only to cringe when the pain in her throat stung her awfully. She was still donning her maid uniform from the castle which exposed much skin so as to please the king and his court.

She looked at her surroundings shaded in a cold gray tone from the dreary morning. The stillness was broken by Mérieux's large wingbeats that thundered as he flapped his massive wings. Then, Christine slowly crawled up her dragon's neck and patted his head. The dragon grunted and looked back at her to show he was listening.

"Where are we?" she asked trying to keep her teeth still. "Mérieux, please. We have to land. I'm cold and I'm hungry."

Mérieux looked into his mother's eyes and felt pity. His jade green eyes caused Christine to flinch, for they had been stripped of the innocence she used to love. Now, a look of primal instinct and rage were what shone brightly his eyes. She thought for a moment that Mérieux would roar and shove her off his back to cease her whining. But she found that it was the last thing on his mind. The dragon let out some sort of vibrating grunt that sounded like a laugh, and there was a look of concern in his eyes. Christine felt relief when she saw that look. Even though he was a full-grown True Dragon, he did not think of Christine as anything less. She was still his mother, and he loved her.

He turned his gaze away from her and without warning took a dive to the east. Christine yelped in fright, grasping her dragon's neck as quick as thinking. She tightened her gut, feeling her stomach roll as Mérieux made his sharp turn to the forests below towards a lake of some sort surrounded by small pools of water the color of aquamarine.

Mérieux opened his wings to slow his descent and landed on a soft patch of grass in the meadow. The ground shook from the impact. A cloud of dust rose to his ankles. Mérieux stretched and folded his wings to let the muscles rest. Then, he lowered his body so Christine would have an easier time getting down. She had hoped it would be warmer down here on good old terra firma, but to her dismay, she actually found it quite colder, and a lot more terrifying. She heard wailing, howling, and cawing of less than majestic birds who called these dreary places of the world their homes. Somewhere in the distance, a wolf howled into the early morning light.

"Where are we?" she asked again.

Mérieux took a few large steps and stopped, standing right next to her. He looked at her with a confused look on his face. He tilted his head to left and bellowed softly.

"Oh, as if you could understand me!" Christine yelled in frustration. She turned to face the lake. Laying before Christine was one of the pools that surrounded it. It looked horribly cold. Steam seemed to billow of its surface, but Christine knew it was the water vapors being made visible by the cold atmosphere of wherever the hell she was. The miserable sight only made her madder. She was lost. She was cold. There was no food to be had anywhere, making her stomach growl fiercer than Mérieux's grunts. And she was far away from civilization, there was no doubt.

Mérieux suddenly nudged her closer to the water's edge. "What are you doing!" she cried out. "I can't swim in that. That water's freezing."

Mérieux looked at his mother and grunted. He tilted his head down and gave her another nudge closer to the water.

But that was behavior Christine would not tolerate. "No! No! No!" she shouted, pointing up at Mérieux as though she were a parent scorning her child. "You may be bigger than me, but I am still your mother! And I said no! Do you understand? No! Now, you will take me out of here and bring us to a village or town or something. I demand…"

Mérieux lowered his head and growled. Christine had never felt so afraid in her life. Now she had done it. She had angered her child. She knew that someday when she would bear children, she would have to deal with rebellious behavior and mischief. But this? This was an entirely different matter.

"Wait!" Christine cried, backing away in fright.

Mérieux opened his mouth and grabbed the hem of her uniform's skirt.

"Mérieux!" she shouted when her dragon ripped off her attire. She struggled to cover herself. One arm covered her exposed breasts while she used the other to try and yank her clothes out of Mérieux's mouth which he held up high and out of her reach. Christine jumped and jumped trying to reclaim her clothing.

"What are you doing you pervert!" she shouted. "Give it back to me this instant!"

To her shock, Mérieux slurped the uniform into his mouth, chewed it up, and swallowed it with one big gulp.

"Oh, now what am I supposed to do you big lummox!" she shouted. "Now I have no food. No water. No home, and no clothes!"

But then she remembered the trunk that Sherry had given her the night she departed Mondé. It was tied tightly around Mérieux's left front foot. She gave a wan smile when she realized that Mérieux did not approve of her uniform. He thought it degraded his mother. Christine shrugged and thanked him. She carefully walked to the trunk, so she could reveal its treasures, but before she could think about reaching for it, Mérieux gave her a powerful nudge that knocked her into one of the pools by the lake.

She let out a yelp as she flung her arms and legs in the air before falling into the water with a great splash. As she sank into the pool, Christine realized something. It was warm, almost scolding. But it kept her quite comfortable. She rose back to the surface and gasped for air while pushing her soggy hair out of her face with her hands. She realized that this pool was a warm hot spring. The chills she had were no doubt gone, and she felt so relaxed that her skin was covered in goose prickles.

"So, this is why you brought me here, huh?" Christine said, wiping water off her eyes. She tossed water at Mérieux's face. "How about a warning next time, huh? If you weren't five times my size, I would punish you!"

Mérieux looked at her mischievously and turned sideways. He reached for her with his tail. Christine cried out in surprise when it coiled around her like a giant serpent and picked her up. The dragon sat down on his knees and held Christine over the water. She flailed her legs back and forth and smashed her fists on his tail demanding that he let her go this instant. Her Tyrant Dragon cupped water with his large claws then he poured it over Christine who gasped in shock, feeling the warm water douse her face, and flowing down her neck and shoulders.

The Tyrant Dragon did it again, repeating the process multiple times before Christine realized that Mérieux was bathing her the way she did when he was a hatchling. He set her down on the ground. Christine shivered and covered herself. Even though Mérieux was a dragon, she couldn't help but feel embarrassed standing with no clothes in front of him. Mérieux leaned forward and then blew on her with his hot breath until she was dry. He reached for the trunk and pulled it off his wrist with one powerful yank. He set it down gently in front of her.

Christine smiled, and she couldn't help but form tears upon discovering her dragon's kindness. "Everything the Church taught me about you was wrong. You're not savages. You're so much more than that."

Christine opened the trunk and saw piles and piles of clothes picked out by Sherry before her departure from the palace. Much to her joy, she packed Christine ten sandwiches wrapped in plastic. There was a blanket strapped to a rucksack full of supplies as well. Christine removed the blanket from its bindings and wrapped it over her shoulders. The fabric had an eerie glow outlining it, telling her that is was enchanted with a spell known as Resist Cold. She felt like she was standing in a field on a hot summer day despite the chilly temperature around her.

"Sherry," Christine whispered with joy. She unwrapped one of the sandwiches and savagely bit into it. She didn't care that her throat was hurting. She was hungry, and she wanted to eat something now. She gasped with relief when she saw a canteen filled with fruit punch. She gulped it down. The cool refreshing juice soothed her throat of its pain for a second. And that not all that was in there.

Christine cried out with joy when she saw the money her father's friends sent her was neatly wrapped in a beautiful leather pouch with a gold cord. There was a note attached to a red ribbon.

_So sorry you had to go so soon. I was just starting to get to know you._

_I added a few more pounds of gold Crowns to your purse. Don't spend it all at once._

_Be safe out there and take care of yourself. I hope to see you again someday._

_-Sherry_

There were a few more gifts at the bottom. A sword sheathed in a beautiful reddish-brown scabbard with etchings of flowers and trimmed in polished silver. A percussion rifle made of polished maple and gold. The last item in the trunk was a fine brown leather belt with two flintlock pistols. There was a note attached to one of them that said: _From Euphie with Love!_

"Nice," said Christine. "Very nice indeed. I think I have just what I need to begin my search."

Mérieux stared at her with a confused look.

"My father," Christine said, putting on a white sleeved shirt followed by a brown bodice. "He's alive, Mérieux. I just have to find him."

When she was done dressing, she had the appearance of a barmaid, no doubt Sherry's idea to keep Christine from being too conspicuous. She finally put on a hooded brown riding cape to complete her look, followed by the belt with the holster and the sheath adding two layers of belts over her waist.

"Hey, not bad," Christine said admiring her leather vambraces plated with silver armor etched with elegant designs. "So, what do you say, Mérieux? Are you going to help me find him?"

Mérieux grunted happily, and that told all she needed to know.

"I knew I could count on you, Mérieux," said Christine. "Now that we're finally free of that Stas and the Count da Money, I think we should be able to make good progress on our journey. Although, I think I might have to walk on foot most of the way. It's been ages since anyone has seen a True Dragon, and if I'm not mistaken, we're still in Covenant territory. They might kill you if they have the chance."

Mérieux grunted.

"Believe me, I know," said Christine. "I have read the White-Gold Tome. I don't approve of their ways when it comes to creatures that are far different than ourselves, but, it is the will of my God, Yeyu."

Mérieux snarled ferociously and spat out a fireball.

"Easy, easy," said Christine, holding out her hands and gently waving them up and down. "I won't let anyone hurt you, darling. But, I think you're perfectly capable of handling yourself."

Something suddenly broke the silence of the morning. A rocket hissed out of the woods and struck the ground beside Mérieux. The dragon grunted and rolled on his back. Christine ran the other direction to avoid being crushed by him. Mérieux was stuck on the ground, rolling around in agony and confusion. His wings fluttered uselessly on the ground underneath his massive weight.

Pop! Pop! Pop! A sound erupted from the forests. A sound Christine had never heard before. The sound of automatic weapons fire. It dawned on her that her attackers were either soldiers or well-equipped bandits. Either way, she and Mérieux were in a very grim predicament.

"Mérieux!" Christine cried out helplessly. "Please, you have to get up!"

She heard the sudden static of radio chatter coming from the darkness of the trees lining the meadow. Mérieux's body and hers were dotted in red lights. Lasers from advanced weaponry and the ones wielding them were a massive attack force of soldiers in black tactical armor. They stalked out of the fog and the edge of the woods. The soldiers started firing relentlessly at Mérieux, thankfully his scales were too tough for their bullets, but the soldiers figured that out and called for rocketeers to bring forth their rocket launchers.

A squad of soldiers in lighter armor jumped from their hiding places and launched harpoons equipped with thick, metal ropes that coiled over Mérieux. Finally, nets flung from the treetops and encased Mérieux. He was trapped. The nets were attached to a machine that began to tighten its grip around Mérieux. The dragon wailed from the searing pain of the ropes digging into his flesh.

"Mérieux get up!" Christine shouted, trying to push him to the side with her hands. She tried to cut the ropes with one of the daggers Sherry gave her. To her shock, the ropes just cut through the dagger-like paper, cutting it in half and leaving Christine in absolute shock and utter hopelessness. It was no use. The dragon was just too heavy and the ropes were too strong.

"Mérieux! Please!" she sobbed. "You must get up!"

The rockets fired and hissed toward Mérieux's body. They landed just a mere five feet from him, but that was still close enough to do damage to his body and send Christine flying backward from her position next to Mérieux. She landed on her back with a thud, knocking the wind out of her.

She fought through her discomfort and got back on her feet. She picked up her rifle, which was ancient compared to the hi-tech assault weapons the soldiers in black were wielding. Nevertheless, she got on one knee to help her aim, and she fired. She got one, hitting him in the face.

"MAN DOWN! MAN DOWN!" one of the soldiers shouted.

A barrage of bullets flew towards Christine, but Mérieux finally, miraculously, broke the ropes, fueled from the sudden rage that filled him when he saw his mother getting attacked. He got back to his feet and intercepted the hail of lead with his body. He turned around and flung five of the soldiers away with his tail. They screamed helplessly as they flew hundreds of feet into the foggy air and disappeared into the forests.

The enemies did not appreciate that and started bringing out heavier weapons. A soldier climbed up a hill and together with his partner assembled a Mechem NTW-20 anti-material rifle. The heavy rounds blasted through Mérieux's hard flesh drawing blood.

The soldier loaded another large round into the chamber and shot Mérieux again. The troops down below ordered him to shoot at the Mérieux's belly which was proven to be the weak spot of all dragons. But before he could shoot, an arrow flew out of the trees and struck him in the back of his head. The arrow point coming out of his mouth. He gagged and then died seconds later.

A horn blew in the distance followed by a rumble that sounded like thunder. The rumble caused the earth to shake. The water in the hot springs began to ripple from the trembling vibrations coming from the forest.

"CONTACT RIGHT! CONTACT RIGHT!" shouted a soldier when he spotted a hundred horsemen coming out of the forest on white stallions in gold armor and royal blue chamfrons. Some of them held up banners to announce who they were to the enemy.

"ELVES!" shouted another soldier. An arrow struck him in the chest silencing him.

The radio chatter grew urgent and fearful as more and more Elves came riding out of the forests blowing their horns to announce battle with their alien enemies. The soldiers fired their rifles, killing a few of the Elves, but the charge resumed.

Realizing he was not fighting the enemy alone, Mérieux took off into the sky. He flew around in circles over the forests, shooting out a powerful jet of flames at the enemy soldiers below. Christine could only marvel at his power and the magnificence of Elven warfare. Even though their enemy wielded technology at a far greater tier than theirs, they would not be stopped. They flowed over their enemies like a great tidal wave. Every swing of their swords was like watching a dance. The soldiers disappeared under the hooves of the white stallions the Elves rode on.

Mérieux rocketed into the sky and dove back down, firing a large fireball on the enemy, blowing them up and dismembering a few. None of the soldiers were spared from the assault conducted by the Elves and Mérieux's rage. When they all lay dead, the Elves collected the bodies and burned them. Their assault rifles were gathered and tossed into the lake to never be used again. The leader of the charge approached Christine with a guard of two warriors in gold and red-scaled plate armor. It was a shock for Christine when the helmet came off and revealed that her hero was a female Elf, donning a thin tiara of gold in the likeness of leaves and silver forged to look like flowers.

"Who are you?" Christine asked, cowering on the ground.

The red-haired Elf-maiden looked down at Christine with her yellowish-green eyes, full of power and grace. She was beautiful to the eyes but had a deadly aura about her. Like any moment she could strike Christine's throat with one of the many daggers that were sheathed on her leggings of the finest leather.

"I am Taarie. Daughter of King Erthond of the Elves of the Mountain Kingdoms. What business do you have here, Dragon Rider?"

Christine liked the sound of that and answered immediately. She felt the ground shake behind her, and heard a powerful snort above her head. Mérieux stood guard over his mother, staring down at Taarie with a menacing glare. His presence made Christine less fearful of the Elves, giving her enough courage to speak to the Elf girl.

"My name is Christine of the House Beaufort. I look for my father, Maurice."

"Those names," said Taarie, tilting her head to the side. "They sound Mondovian. Is that where you're from?"

"I am," said Christine.

"You're a long way from home, little one," said Taarie. "What are you doing in these parts? It's dangerous, even for a dragon as you no doubt have seen. These once proud lands are now ruled by the Covenant."

"Those were Covenant soldiers?" Christine asked. "But the White-Gold Tome. It specifically states that we are to avoid violence."

"You must be another stupid Yeyunist,' said Taarie. She spat at the ground venomously upon hearing the name of the organization's most treasured book. "Everything in that book is nothing but a load of lies which make conquest, slavery, and murder a heroic deed. These soldiers have orders to kill everything in sight in the name of the False God."

"I must admit," said Christine. "I didn't think I would find them all the way out here."

Taarie scoffed. "They're under orders from their grand priest to look for us and exterminate us. The hunting party you saw was just a small one compared to the others that have come before. They are looking for our city to wipe us out."

"Wipe you out?" said Christine. "You must have done something horrible to make them go after you in such a way."

"Oh, we have," said Taarie. "We've done something to the Church that makes them seethe with the fury of The Mothers."

"What have you done?"

"Exist," Taarie said turning around and walking back to her party.

That left Christine feeling quite cold and confused. She quickly got back on her feet and followed Taarie. Mérieux slowly walked behind her, but he was so big he didn't need much effort to keep up with her.

"What are you talking about?" Christine asked, approaching Taarie. "What does that mean?"

"They're hunting us down because we're Elves," Taarie replied. "It says to do so in their book because the false god claims we are evil."

"I don't understand?" said Christine. "Everything I've been taught. All that I have learned and been brought up on at the Convent. It truly can't lead to this."

"There is a lot you don't understand, child," said Taarie. "That Church has taught you nothing but lies. If you are willing to open your mind, I can help you."

"Why would you invite me to your city? I'm a Yeyunist much like they were."

Taarie grinned. "Because even though you are a follower of the false god, you share a unique bond with your dragon. That alone is a weapon far stronger than an army of a thousand men."

Christine froze. She could not comprehend how that was possible. Ever since she was a little girl, she was taught about peace and love under the name of Yeyu. Sure, it had a bit of isolationism in its scriptures, but she never expected it to be this severe.

"What could you want with me and Mérieux?" Christine asked, giving an apologetic bow.

"As you have clearly seen, we're having a territorial dispute with the soldiers of the Church. Your dragon could give us the edge we need in defeating them and cleaning our lands from the filth of the Covenant once and for all."

"You request me to fight against the Church?" Christine cried out in shock. "I cannot. We are brothers and sisters of the faith. We fight alongside one another. We give our lives for each other if need be."

"They certainly seemed intent on taking yours," said Taarie.

"They didn't know who I was."

"Nor would they have given you the chance to speak. What could you have done to stop them from attacking you? Nothing! Now, either you can come with us and fight, or, you can go into the wild and hope that one of those soldiers out there remembers the verse that preaches about love and peace. Because knowing them, it would be death for your dragon, and slavery for you. Mothers known death would be mercy for you. Slavery under the Covenant is a nightmare, unlike anything you can imagine."

"How can you possibly say that?" shouted Christine. "Those are my people you talk about."

Taarie stared at Christine, narrowing her eyes in fury. She lifted her hair so she could reveal a mark that was forever placed on her neck. It had the flaming eye of Yeyu surrounded by a heart with an arrow piercing it.

"What…what is that?" gasped Christine.

"It's a mark of slavery under the damning Eye of Yeyu. My punishment for being abnormal and a non-believer. They imprint the Eye of Yeyu onto our flesh. And then follow with a mark signifying what use we are. Swords for gladiators to fight in their sick arenas. A cane for a house servant. And a heart with an arrow for whores."

"And they made you a…Taarie, I…I had no idea."

"Of course you didn't. The Church keeps gullible fools like you within in their wallets with talk of peace, love, and tolerance while the priests engorge themselves luxuries spent with the gold they tax from you. And they fuel their armies with weapons like this." She reached to the ground, picking up an assault rifle. "To think they can afford things like this and those 'flying mountains' they crowd the skies with. It amazes me how many stupid people there are in this world."

Christine grimaced when she said that.

"So, will you fight with us or not?" Taarie asked.

Christine looked into the eyes of the Elf and gave a nod.

* * *

**The Loremaster**

* * *

"And that's all I got from Taarie," said the Loremaster. "She wouldn't tell me anything more. Christine and her dragon disappeared into the forest after they concluded their business with the Elves and were never seen again."

"Do you think they're out there still?" Collette asked, laying flat on her back on her bedroll. She gazed at the stars and smiled. "Wow. I wish I could have my own dragon the way Christine did. That would be amazing. And poor Prince Stas. I do hope he finds the girls of his dreams one day."

"He has more important matter now than living his fantasy," said the Loremaster. "After Christine left, he marched for battle one last time and defeated the two Houses that wished to usurp him. Now, he has to join the alliance of young Termnnian Princes who will aid him in restoring Termnnia to its former glory."

"Do you have stories about those Princes?" asked Collette.

"I do, but those are stories for another time."

"Aww, if you say so," Collete said with a pout. "I'm going to get some more firewood." She got up, not realizing the loose button of the flap behind her pajamas had come off. She stopped. "Is it just me, or is there a harsh breeze flowing in?"

The knight shook his head and grumbled. "FIrewood? We need to get you some new pajamas."


	79. The Loremaster

**The Loremaster**

* * *

As soon as Collette walked out of the wayshrine, she was blasted by arctic winds, hammering down on her unmercifully. She shivered, feeling the cold slither through her armor and caressing her skin. Her teeth started to chatter and her breath came out as a thick mist. She looked up and noticed that the wayshrine was surrounded by statues of thick, bearded men, draped in mammoth-fur cloaks over plates of iron and leather armor. They were holding battle axes and oval-shaped shields, and helmets with horns.

"W-w-w-where are we?" Collette asked.

"We are in Riftgaard," the Loremaster said, standing as still as the statues circling the wayshrine. Diana ruffled her feathers, unphased by the cold. She flew off his shoulder, soaring towards the river to catch a fish. "This is the homeland of the mighty Berja. They are huge men, some of them reaching heights of ten feet. This is the home of one of the Princes in my Book of Heroes."

"You've b-b-been here b-b-before?" Collette shivered.

"Yes. I visited King Audun so I could chronicle the story of his son here."

"So why have y-y-you returned?"

"There's still something I have yet to uncover here. Word has reached my ears that Jon uncovered some kind of powerful artifact while he was here. A weapon of great power. One of his sisters knows what I'm talking about. Follow me this way."

He led Collette through the blizzard toward a small town with a mead hall at the center. Smoke came out of the stone chimney and the windows were glowing with a warm, yellowish-orange light through the veil of snow. Once inside, Collette was then greeted by a warm fire and the smell of fresh meat roasting on the hearth. The sound of merry laughter filled the halls. The Loremaster and Collette found a place to sit by the window, crusted with ice from the cold outside, and the sill layered with snow.

"You're chilled to the bone," said the Loremaster.

"G-great observation there," Collette shivered.

"Well, you're in luck. This mead hall has a system of hot springs down below. Take a bath down there to warm yourself up. The food won't be here for a while."

As soon as Collette heard the words hot spring and food, she jumped out of her seat and headed down the stairs to the caves so she could bathe and feel warmth again. By the time she was done, their order of honey-glazed roast of hen came, as well as Collette's order for a hot soup. She was now garbed in a quilted doublet and a long tan skirt, for it felt like summer in the mead hall.

"One of the owners here is a wizard," said the Loremaster. "He enchanted the walls to keep the cold out and the warmth sealed in."

"Clever, clever," said Collette, slurping a spoonful of the salty broth of her mammoth meat soup. "Where is your friend? It's been almost two hours. I figured she would have been here by now."

"I imagine she's quite busy," said the Loremaster. "After all, she is one of the princesses of Riftgaard, all of them are sisters to Jon Jahangir."

"All of them? How many does he have?"

"He has thirteen of them."

"Gracious! I would run away from home."

The Loremaster chuckled. He removed his helmet so he could eat. "Not Jon. He has a bond with his sisters that show no bounds. They are the finest warriors in all of Riftgaard. You know, Prince Jon's story starts on the battlefield as well."

"It does?"

"Yes. He was born in one. And he has seen battle since he was ten years old. And he was groomed to be a King since that age as well. It wasn't until recently, that he learned his lessons would pay off. For he would be given a great honor."


	80. Prince Jon: Iron and Thunder: Part 1

**Prince Jon: Iron and Thunder**

* * *

* * *

* * *

**Jon**

* * *

**February 1**

**Year 17 4AOS**

The dark gray waves crashed fiercely against the shores of Morhan Beach as the winds of the incoming storm approached. It howled like a pack of wolves causing the pine trees behind the beach to shiver. Rain and ice fell from the sky like harbingers announcing the nasty weather which could be seen blackening the skies behind the Ironshield Mountains far across the sea.

Winter thunder even bellowed in the heavens. When nineteen-year-old Prince Jon Jahangir heard their thuds in the clouds, he cursed under his breath which spewed from his lips like the flames of an angry dragon.

He was of the Berja, a fair-faced and strong people of the cold kingdoms of Northern Termnnia.

Going into battle was growing to be his favorite hobby aside from Duel Monsters, though he didn't have much of a choice as he was the only son of his father's house. Growing up with thirteen sisters was not easy, especially his eldest sisters who had seen the ferocity of war long before he left the womb of his mother that cold October night.

The left side of his face was painted red to match banner of his clan, a great armored Cave Bear roaring in a field of red with a black triangle behind it.

The wind blew his dirty blond hair swayed on the right side of his head with a bang that reached down past his bearded chin. The left half of his hair was completely shaved off.

His eyes were as cold and gray as the waves pounding against the beach beside him. He smiled and shook his head. His crown of polished marble was showing off his royalty. That also left a huge mark on his head, as across the beach Naralian forces were ready to do battle with his country again.

There were youngsters and loud-mouths in the enemy ranks. No doubt at least one of them wanted to go home with a Victory over a Berjan prince, especially if that prince was the battlefield legend known as the Iron Knight, so-called for he entered the battle with his faithful Duel Monster known as Gearfried the Iron Knight.

He was a towering behemoth of a man clad in black armor and a large blade on his right arm. Gearfried was the key to many victories against rival Clans and Houses and the ironclad knights of Naralia. He stood proudly beside Jon. Needless to say, his intimidating presence kept the Naralia soldiers at bay.

Jon smirked and suppressed a laugh when he saw them shivering across the beach. Underneath their steel plates, they wore elegant doublets and blue-striped pumpkin pants which did little to shield them from the cold. Again, Naralia was trying to set a foothold in his home, and Jon was happy that, again, he would send these puffed-up, ignorant, wine-sippers back to their home defeated and in pieces.

It had been years since King Forrest had sent troops into the Kingdom of Biting Cold. Word had reached Jon's ears that Forrest had acquired some land from Elleria when he was foolishly challenged to a Duel under the Dueling Pact. He must have grown confident. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so careless to begin another campaign to conquer Riftgaard again.

Jon swayed his head from side to side to crack his neck. His enchanted fur cape, Varou, blocked the freezing temperature from causing his body discomfort but that was mostly his neck and torso. He had a chainmail shirt over his blood-red hauberk and his pants, gloves, and boots of dragonhide and steel. As powerful of a defense as they gave him they did nothing to shield him from the elements.

" _Nelerey Hermandali_? (Cold brother?)" asked his eldest sister Princess Liola the White Lynx.

She was seven feet tall and towered over him. She was clad in leather, chainmail and iron plates. There was an oversized polished steel targe on her left shoulder. Her silky blonde hair tied into a long braid that went down past her buttocks and brushed against the back of her ankles. Her arms were tattooed with runes and the ancient symbols of her ancestors. A tiara of silver and mother-of-pearl shined brightly on her forehead. Her white-furred cape was wrapped around her shoulders and swaying in the wind to protect her from the kiss of winter, ready to press its eager lips onto her fair skin.

She battled with the hood down, for she wanted to show her face paint to the enemy on the beach staring them down. They were waiting for the general to arrive and make terms but Jon wondered what the point was. Terms were never met with the Berja.

The Berja wanted to fight, not discuss terms.

" _Dova, i liyen nelri theeso, hemandala,_ (Yes, I am quite chilled this morning, sister)" Jon answered with a cough. " _Hovallah, theeso, generala, teeva sova net wen pelyar,_ (Hopefully this general arrives soon so we can fight.) That usually warms me up in battles such as this. Gearfried is ready to spill blood again."

"I have no doubt," said Liola. "Just leave some for the rest of us. We want to tell stories as well."

"I doubt I will have any chance to fight at my best this forenoon," Jon said, stroking his bushy beard.

"Why do you say that?" Liola asked.

"I have to watch over Milk Drinker," Jon answered, jerking his thumb behind him.

Far in the back of the ranks stood the youngest daughter of the Jahangir clan. Little Astrid shivered, for this was her first battle. Their sister, Aela the Lion, so-called for her wild mane of long, blonde hair, was by her side with her spear.

Astrid was a child of seventeen, still a baby in the eyes of her older siblings and anyone else her senior, but she had aspired to be a Shield Maiden upon reaching her eighteenth year, and Shield Maidens, like her sisters, had to fight from a young age. Perhaps she would grow to become a Valkyrie like her mother, and her mother's mother.

Her legendary armor was still displayed in the mead hall of their castle home, awaiting a worthy Shield Maiden to be named Valkyrie and wear it.

On either side of Astrid stood her sisters; the twins, Sassa and Saga, standing proudly in their red leather armor and saber-tooth fur capes.

They both wielded war hammers enchanted with elemental magic. Sassa's had fire and Saga had hers blessed with ice. They had the golden hair of the Jahangir clan, braided and pleated with silver and gold, and decorated with little bronze bells.

Saga was an apprentice Summoner who could call upon a Celtic Guardian to join her in battle. And Sassa was a beastmaster, a warrior who was attuned with nature and relied on animals to aid them in battle. Her companion was an adult Cave Bear she called Gandalf.

All the offspring of King Audun the Golden King had survived the rites of passage and have bathed in the blood of their enemies. Now it was Astrid's turn. Her siblings called her Milk Drinker for she was not accustomed to the taste of ale and beer or mead as the others were.

Every night at dinner in the mead hall she would order a cup of milk, and everyone made fun of her for it. But, though timid and frail-looking, she could rip a man's head off with her bare hands as she was taught by both Shield Maidens, former Valkyries, and even her father in the art of swordcraft, and all the milk she drank made her bones as tough as iron.

She was dressed in a dark blue top and a white pleated skirt with blue patterns. A cape made of mammoth fur kept her shoulders and arms warm. Her boots made of embossed leather enchanted with a spell of resist cold. Her blonde hair, which had a more golden color to it than the others, was tied into two little pigtails with white silk bows.

Her eyes were sparkling and were gray like the sky. She had a sword of gold in her right hand called Fornflagð. It was her mother's and the tower shield of iron and polished oak on her left hand was called Wolfgaard, which was a relic from her uncle. Her bracers made of polished red dragon scales were a gift from the court wizard named Bard. With these gifts, they had confidence in her to win her first battle and with Jon and Liola in the field with her, how could she fail?

The Naralian soldiers began to split apart and the sound of hooves on the ground mixed with the pounding waves. A Naralian in scaled plate of shiny steel and a sash of crimson approached.

His pumpkin pants were soaked turning the gold and red into a dull color of bronze and soiled scarlet. Not too far behind him, was a gilded palanquin carried by soldiers in beautiful red-scaled armor trimmed with silver, and flowing red capes with The Church's flaming eye emblem embroidered with rubies on the back. The flaming eye symbol also forged into their breastplates. They brought with them a priest from The Church of Yeyu.

"Here come negotiations," said Jon. "And it looks like The Church sends us another emissary to try and persuade us to join their faith."

"We will decline as always," scoffed Liola. "I do hope this battle ends quickly. I want to get into the new hot springs they discovered under the castle later tonight."

"I could fight all day and all night," Jon sneered as the Naralian general approached.

"That is why you will make an excellent king, brother. May the ancestors watch you."

"And may they watch you!" Jon said slamming his fist on his chest.

The general approached. He looked down at Jon and Liola from atop his horse. He had waxed mustachios and hair doused in a gel which froze from the icy winds coming from the Gudrun Mountains.

He was a man who enjoyed the comforts of the summerlands. A wine-drinker, who would walk the gardens of Naralia and its beaches suckling both sugary sweets or the candied nipples of a prostitute from the House of Flowers.

He was clearly out of his element. His troops were the same. They were clad in steel and velvet while the sturdy Berjas were warm and ready in their furs, leathers, dragon hide, steel, and chainmail.

"I take it you two are the children of King Audun?" The general asked in a brusque manner. He shivered but did the best he could to hide it from them.

Jon and Liola frowned in response to his tone. The knights from The Church knelt down, lowering the palanquin. The priest stepped out in gleaming red robes trimmed with gold.

He had a red cap on his head, gray hair protruding from underneath. He had a long nose and a stern look. Bushy white eyebrows pointing down in a scowl. He seemed displeased with the land he was walking in. A land he deemed uncivilized.

"We don't have all morning," said Jon, pointing to the crown on his head. Gearfried snorted above him. "Tell us what you want and let's get this over with."

"Indeed," the general said feeling slandered by the prince's pretentious tone. He was intimidated by Gearfried's presence. "But first, the priest would like a word with you."

"Here we go," sighed Liola, with a quick roll of her eyes.

"By order of his Holiness," the priest said, holding up an arm, showing off his hand with ringed fingers. "You are to surrender these lands to his Majesty, King Forrest Ungard III. Heir to the dynasty of the Bear, Master to the Diamond Throne, Wielder of the Divine Beasts, The Lord of Men, High King of Termnnia and all of Her kingdoms. You are to cease your evil ways and succumb to the will of the Creator, Yeyu, Lord of the Fires of Judgement. You will no longer be worshiping your pagan gods. You will cease the art of magic, the nefarious force whom our Lord has outlawed in the scriptures. You will also surrender your cards and no longer play the vile game of sorcery known as Duel Monsters. And this Duel Monster, this Gearfried the Iron Knight, will be sent to Templars to be terminated and sent to the Shadow Realm from whence it came."

Gearfried snorted again, shaking his head in disbelief.

"When last I checked," said Jon, arrogantly stepping forward. "Prince Daveed Delgado Wallcroft was the Master of the Diamond Throne, Wielder of the Divine Beasts, The Lord of Men, High King of Termnnia and all her kingdoms."

"You'd have a bastard sit on the Diamond Throne?" the priest said, poisonously.

"I'd watch who you call bastard, Father," said Liola. "The prince has done far more for our people than your church or your king combined."

"Do not speak to me girl," said the Priest. "A woman has no place amongst men!"

"Tell that to the High Queens of the ancient times," said Jon. "My ancestors were allied to every single one of them."

"And what will happen to our cards when we 'surrender' them to you, Father?" asked Liola.

"They shall be taken to the High Chapel and burned. Children of Audun, surrender now to the king and surrender your souls to Yeyu and your sins will be forgiven."

"Is that so?" said Jon. He went face to face to the priest. "I think you should tell Yeyu he can shove it up his…"

"Don't blaspheme in front of me, boy!" spat the priest. "It is because of you ghastly, uncivilized beasts that I am here in this ass-end part of the continent. We have you outnumbered. Do us all a favor and surrender so that we may head home before lunch."

"If I may, Father," said the general. "I shall read the terms of surrender from the king."

He took out a roll of parchment and read aloud.

One of the items on the list was Liola and the rest of his sisters. It didn't surprise Jon that the libidinous King Forrest would want to have his sisters as a prize. They were called the Jewels of Riftgaard, for so great was their beauty. The fat king had already claimed many noblewomen, princesses, queens, baronetesses and baronesses from the lands he had conquered. And they were all serving him in his chambers doing who-knows-what.

Jon wasn't about to let Liola and his sisters find out what. He responded with the terms with a loud and sturdy curse at the king of Naralia.

The insult proved too much for the Naralian general. He let out a cry and unsheathed his jeweled sword, but an arrow flew from the pine forests and struck him in the mouth. He made a horrid gurgling sound and fell from his steed with a loud thud onto the sand. The arrow was black with red fletching. The Yeyunist priest squealed like a frightened pig and ran for cover in the rocks.

"Show off," Liola muttered while shaking her head from side to side.

The arrow belonged to their sister, Dagmar. She smirked as she hid in the branches of the black pines. She heard the roar of the enemy soldiers followed by a spine-tingling battle cry of her people.

She began to curvet from branch to branch elegantly as though she too was an animal of the forest. Her ears picked up the clashing of steel. Jon below landed the first kill no doubt. Dagmar perched herself on another tree about twenty yards from the beach and aimed at the knights on horseback. Her arrows sang, thrashing through the wind before piercing flesh and steel.

Jon then held up his battle-ax. A lightning bolt pierced through the clouds and struck it, enchanting the ax with the power of lightning, dealing terrible damage to his foes. Jon could also take out his enemies from afar with streaks of lightning from his palms, and when he did this, his eyes started glowing and sparking. He dashed across the battlefield, hacking limbs off his enemies or frying them with lightning. The Storm Prince, he was called for this unique ability. He was surrounded by foreign mercenaries who would be rewarded with a hefty sum of money for taking his head. But their journey here was in vain. Jon summoned a cloak of lightning that shielded him like a barrier. When the mercenaries got close, they were zapped until life faded from their bodies and their charred corpses slumped into the snow.

Liola, with her twin axes, bashed in the skulls of her enemies. The beauty of her axes caught the attention of many warriors seeking to claim the weapons after slaying Liola. They were called Hildr and Gunnr.

The blades forged by Bard in the lake of lava from GUÐRÚN, Riftgaard's only active volcano. They had intricate patterns which glowed bright orange.

The handles finely crafted from polished oak with brass pommels. She could set the ax blades ablaze with just a thought, the plasma-hot flames melting the tough armor of her foes and killing them quickly. She cut off the hands of the wounded as they lay on the ground, crying out in agony. A message to her enemies. She made sure they would never take arms against Riftgaard again.

Jon remained at least ten feet from Astrid to keep an eye on her, but she was handling herself rather well for a greenhorn, which was what the veterans of war called those new to the ferocity of battle.

Should he call her that? She made great use of the heavy shield and the golden sword. Many a fool challenged her, for she looked cute and helpless in her pigtails and her sweet, adoring face.

Some tried to injure her so as to take her home as a prisoner of war. Jon didn't know whether to feel angry or give the fools his pity.

They failed at their task of conquering the youngest princess of the clan. She was like the saber-toothed Smilodons of the Oldari Plains. Beautiful and fierce.

She bashed in the faces of her foes and cut off their limbs with ease. Just then a gang of Naralian mercenaries surrounded her. They puckered their lips making kissing sounds at her as they encircled her.

Jon used his elbow to bash a soldier in the temple. He grabbed him by the dome of his skull and shocked him. When the soldier was dead, Jon then ran to aid his younger sister. But he was blocked by a squad of young officers looking to make a name for themselves by killing the prince. Jon gave a battle cry and charged at the group starting their fight, but kept his eye on Astrid as he fought his foes. The mercenaries slashed at her legs to keep her down. Astrid jumped out of the way, skipping from left to right to avoid their swords but they were getting closer.

They were beyond her skill to fight, and the officers were skilled with the sword. Jon whistled calling his Gearfried to aid him in his fight with the brash officers.

Dagmar also spotted Astrid's predicament with the mercenaries. She made sure none got the drop on her sister, and she showered the Naralian mercenaries with her black arrows until Jon's monsters arrived. Gearfried's presence was enough to cause fear into the other soldiers. They stopped bothering Astrid and ran for the hills to escape the Duel Monster only to be mauled by Gandalf.

"It pays to be a Summoner," Jon thought to himself.

* * *

**Later**

* * *

The waves began to churn red like wine from the blood of the fallen Naralians. Only a few of the Berjas were injured but none killed. They were too tough. Barrel-chested, cold-resistant and downright bloodthirsty, they overpowered the fruity men of the summerlands.

The Naralians retreated two short hours later, and the beach echoed with the roar of the Berjas of clan Jahangir and their allies.

Sassa and Sage found the Yeyunist priest hiding in the rocks. Dagmar was ready to put an arrow in his head, but Jon stopped her.

"Your king has failed," Jon said to the priest. "As have all the kings before him who have tried to conquer our home. We will side with neither him nor your false god, Yeyu."

"Blasphemy!" spat the priest.

Dagmar slapped him across the face. A Berja berserker slammed the corpse of the Naralian general on the ground beside the priest. The warrior let out loud roars and grunts with every move. He knelt over the general and used a hooked knife to cut his face off.

He held it high for all to see.

RAAAARRRR! He shouted triumphantly, holding up the face.

The warriors cheered.

The priest could not believe what was happening to him. A month ago he had been walking the warm, golden halls of Lionhold, with its fresco ceilings, crystal chandeliers, and attending lavish parties with people of civility.

Now he was here in this cold and unsettled part of Termnnia at the mercy of these barbarians.

"Savages…you're all savages…SAVAGES!" he shouted. "You will all perish, and pay for this outrage with eternal damnation! The Fires of Yeyu will consume you all!"

" _Wesha nyet_? (Why not?)" sneered Liola. " _Iven binyen frezo miet pretta rumpa oofa feya urdar!_ (I've been freezing my pretty ass off for years)."

She slapped her thick thighs to taunt him.

Her soldiers laughed.

" _Monyet hen frige, hermandali_ , (Make him fly, brother!)" said Astrid.

"It shall be done," said Jon.

The priest began to babble. " _Him etchu, Gold Star Chip, deyu wentu feya miet lifu?_ (How much Gold Star Chips do you want to spare my life?)"

"Many of the villagers you slaughtered in Velenqueth were dear friends of mine," Jon spoke in common. "And you killed them for not accepting your shit religion. Well now, it's time you paid. And it won't be with Gold Star Chips. A person's life is worth far more than a horde of chips. A life cannot be replaced by gold."

Sassa and Saga grabbed the priest and took him between two trees with a ring of torches encircling it and tied him up.

A fetching Berja girl walked towards the fallen priest. She erotically shook her hips from side to side with each step. The priest gasped in shock. The girl was pretty but she was wearing close to nothing despite the freezing cold.

It was thirty degrees on the battlefield and yet she wore an armored loincloth and steel-plates that didn't shield her midriff. Frost was beginning to form on her skin and twinkled in her hair but she smiled as if she enjoyed it. The Berja had such a tolerance to the cold it was horrifying.

She was Jon's second youngest sister, Alfsigr. Though she was very young, she was a class of warrior called a Berserker. The priest made the holy symbol as he stared into Alfsigr's eyes. To look at a woman amorously was a violation of Yeyu's Wills.

"Stop waving your breasts in his face, baby sister!" ordered Liola. "You know he and his ilk do not bend to the pleasures of the flesh."

"I thought he would enjoy the sight of a real woman before we send him off," said Alfsigr.

She tore the back of the priest's robes.

"What are you doing?" he cried out. "I have friends!" he babbled. "Friends in the capital! You will be sorry for this. You'll see!"

Alfsigr put her dagger over a torch one of her berserkers was holding until it was glowing bright orange. She jabbed the hot blade into the priest's back.

The priest screeched like a banshee feeling the hot steel dig into his flesh. The skin and muscle hissed and bellowed smoke.

Alfsigr rubbed his shoulders to soothe him and then peeled off the flesh off his back. He let out another wail into the cold, unforgiving land. Only the ears of smiling Berja heard his cries, and they liked it.

Dagmar, handed Alfsigr her ax which she used to sever the ribs.

Blood washed all over the children of Audun with each raise of the ax. They relished his screams which paled in comparison to the screams of agony of their people who were killed, raped, and butchered by the Church for many years. Now that Jon had Gearfried fighting alongside him and was going to be joining High King Yuri as a Knight of the Royal Termnnian Table, they were empowered. They felt like nothing could stop them now.

Alfsigr moaned with pleasure as the priest sobbed and wailed with the unbearable pain. She rubbed his blood all over her breasts and butt. She even put her finger in her mouth to savor the flavor. She smiled and said, "Fly!' before reaching inside his back and pulling out his lungs.

The priest shuddered. Blood oozed out of his mouth. He coughed once, twice, before his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

"You there!" Jon shouted at two survivors. "Send the body to your king. Show him what happens when he sends his Church to pollute our lands."

When the Naralian soldiers were gone, Jon, his sisters, and their men collected themselves.

They made the long trip back to the city of Steoi and up the White Mountain to the castle, which looked over the fishing town below. Freezing rain began to pour down from the skies.

Jon shivered as he entered the warm halls of Vaettfang where his father, King Audun, was feasting with kin and friends while sitting on his bronze throne decorated with the shields of the fallen clans he defeated.

Genesis, one of the three eldest sisters of the Clan, presented her father with the jeweled shield of the fallen Naralian general. He placed his fingers on it, thanked her, and gently took it from her before raising it, up. His men cheered triumphantly, holding up mugs and swords. His guards banged on their shields victoriously.

The blaze from the massive fireplace and the many pits and torches warmed the mead hall. Pigs were roasting over spits, and chicken grilling over small fire pits. Bacon hissed in the pans. Soups of noodles with bits of chicken and pork boiled in their cauldrons and fish were being powdered with flour and bread and tossed into the pan for cooking.

Cheerful music from many bands lightened the mood and warmed the spirits of the king's guests. Maidens dressed in thin white silks walked about the mead hall tantalizing the tired warriors for a few star chips.

The king stood up when he saw Jon, Liola, Dangar, and Astrid enter the large mead hall with the soldiers of the morning's battle.

He cheered for his children and held up a cup to toast their victory over the arrogant Naralians. His voice boomed across the halls, and he raised another cup for little Astrid. The guests stood up and clapped. She smiled, lifting the hem of her skirt doing curtsy for everyone.

Jon walked to an empty table that was reserved for him and his sisters. He poured himself some ale, a strong drink for one so young. But Jon could handle it. He was a Berja for one and Berja boys could drink at a very young age. They believed themselves robust and sturdy.

In fact, all boys when they reached twelve had to learn to wield a sword but since Jon was of the stubborn Jahangir clan, he had to learn to fight when he was nine. Made sense as he was the heir to the throne. His father wanted both a strong warrior and a powerful duelist to rule Riftgaard when he was gone.

Audun and his beautiful wife, the golden-haired Valkyrie, Lady Ara of the Steel Mountains approached their table.

"Fine battle this morning, son," said the king.

"Thank you, Da," said Jon, bowing his head. The hair on the side of his head was swaying.

"Well, Audun," Ara said staring at her husband. "Is there something you wish to tell our son?"

"Ah yes, well. Jon, you're eighteen years of age now. And you seem to have grown quite attached to that game drool monsters?"

"Duel Monsters, Da," laughed Jon. "How could you not know the land's most popular game?"

"I don't use monsters for games," Audun said sternly. "I use them for war. That is what they were put on this earth for."

"So you say," said Jon, sipping his ale. "But if weren't for all this magic binding them into the cards, you'd show a little more respect for them."

"What is this you are saying?"

"When you see Gearfried, and I fight, what do you see?"

"I see a warrior calling his servant into battle for the glory of his clan!" said Audun.

"Your pride hinders your senses as always, father," said Lilola. "When I see Gearfried and Jon battle together; I see brothers. Jon and Gearfried have shown a bond unlike any I have ever seen. It is their friendship and their trust in one another that has granted our clan so many victories against our foes. Gearfried almost loves Jon. Perhaps one day our dear brother will unlock Gearfried's true power."

"True power?" Ara asked. "So there is more to this monster than meets the eye?"

"Gearfried was once a powerful swordsman from a time long forgotten to history," said Jon. "He had the strength to challenge even Dark Master Zorc in the Dawn Era. But his power was beyond his control; almost without limit. It shook the mountains and threatened to destroy the land. So he had himself sealed in magical armor which restricted his strength. His legend was so beloved that he was made into cards, including his original form; the form he had before he became Gearfried the Iron Knight."

"So where is this card?" asked Ara. "I have been following this game since I was a little girl. I have never seen it."

"Because there is only one card," said King Audun.

"And how do you know this?" asked Ara.

"I know this because it was given to me by my father; and my father's father and his father before him up until the very founder of the clan. Gearfried only allowed himself to be printed once and only once. He would lend his aid to only the worthiest clans of Riftgaard. Clans fought in long and bloody conflicts by the thousands for the card. Not because of its rarity, but to have the honor of Gearfried the Swordmaster fighting for your family. It would mean having to go into the battlefield with infinite strength. I used him many years ago to bring glory to our clan just as my forefathers have in ancient times. That is why we have this castle. That is why I am the King of Riftgaard. And now, my son, I have learned that you have decided to enroll in that school down south: Duelist Academy."

"Yes," said Jon.

"Someone else seems to think so," he said, taking a letter out of the pocket sewn onto his fur cape.

"Master Yu-Gi-Oh?" Jon said, swiping the letter from his father's hands.

"He feels you've grown to be quite the duelist," said Ara.

"So be it," said King Audun. "I'll send a raven to Headmaster Yugi for your enrollment after your training in the Legion come summer. But, since this is the School of Kings, you're going to need to unlock Gearfried's true power." He stood up from his throne and extended his arm towards the tapestry depicting the legendary warrior who almost destroyed the world with his power.

Jon gasped and knelt down in the presence of Gearfried the Swordmaster, as did his twelve sisters.

"By the Goddesses," gasped Liola. "I did not think the time would come so soon."

"You're giving Jon, Gearfried the Swordmaster, papa?" asked Astrid.

"I am giving Jon the way to find him. Meet me at the castle entrance in the next hour and I shall give you what you need. Then, go up to that mountain and find the key to unlocking Gearfried from his armor, son."

"Yes, father. You can count on me. Thank you."

* * *

**Lore**

**The Jewels of Riftgaard. The daughters of King Audun**

* * *

**Liola the White Lynx-Diamond**

**Genesis - Garnet**

**Sassa - Emerald**

**Saga - Ruby**

**Axia - Amethyst**

**Astrid - Opal**

**Alfsigr - Sapphire**

**Grid - Topaz**

**Gerdr - Aquamarine**

**Gunnhildr - Amber**

**Gunnvar - Moonstone**

**Aela the Lion - Sphalerite**

**and Dagmar - Peridot**


	81. Prince Jon: Iron and Thunder: Part 2

* * *

**Jon**

* * *

After a long day of listening to farmers squabble over land; reports of bandit raiders on the highway; and the execution of a few Narlian prisoners, Jon finally called it a day and wearily went to his chambers. His forbidden love was standing by the window, naked. Summer stared at the light of the three moons dancing on the lake below the castle and watched the ships with their tiny lanterns light up the glassy black surface. She had the curtains wrapped around her.

A gentle sea breeze caused her hair to sway elegantly. She brushed her bangs off her face with her fingertips and started back at Jon who lay bed with his hands resting behind his head, as he was calming himself from their lovemaking. He was still breathing heavily from exhaustion and the moonlight caused the beads of sweat on his body to glisten.

Summer smiled at him. She felt his seed inside her and she prayed to Ana that it would bloom into a healthy child. "What are you thinking of?" she asked.

"I've been told we have a meeting with Victor Brooks the Lord of the Golden Valley. I have not seen the man since…"

"Since what?" Summer asked.

"Before I met you I was forced to marry one of his daughters. The Golden Valley is rich with caves filled with gold, silver, and precious gems. Father wanted a cut of the action since our Clan was running low on funds. Well, we have swords made from the fires of GUÐRÚN, Termnnia's largest active volcano. Lord Victor wanted our craft. So, he made an offer to unite our houses. His daughter for me. And we can have as much gold and gems as we can carry and Victor's private forces get our Mastercraft swords."

"Oh no, Jon, if you're betrothed already, then what are you doing with…"

"I did not love her, Summer. She's not who I want to be with."

"It's not a matter of wanting, Jon, that's duty! Duty to your House!"

Jon leaned back on a pile of pillows and rested his hands behind his head. "It is, but it's a duty I can do just fine without. Our coffers were going to get a share of gold from the Dragon Vaults when Yuri became High King via the Alliance, so this marriage was going to be pointless."

"Jon, what will your father say? Bad enough you're in love with me, an outsider, but this? You're going to end a marriage that can help your Houses?"

"We don't need their help," said Jon. "My sisters are the best fighters in the province; they will take care of Naralian Forces. I have Gearfried."

"You honestly think that's going to be enough?" Summer asked.

Jon chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Summer asked, turning, and letting the curtain fall past her back.

"Master Yugi said he would take care of us when I told him about you and me. He said he would give us many acres in the Royal Lands. I miss him."

"We all do," said Summer. "But, he has far too much work to do to worry about you and I. He has that Alliance he must build."

"I know."

Summer let go of the curtain, hoping her naked body would ease his nerves. "All we can do is keep our chins up and accept the fate that's been bestowed upon us. I know our fate is not being defeated by the likes of Antilles Dragonheart. Or those maniacs from the Covenant. You will lead us all to victory, I just know it. And then, when this stupid power struggle is over, we can finally be together and raise a family."

"I promised a lot of things, my love, but, the Goddesses can be cruel with their plans. You can pray to them for good fortune all your life, but if they require you to suffer an ill fate in then, then so be it."

"And do you believe our fate has ill will, Jon?" Summer asked, sliding her hand up her thigh.

"That's not going to change anything," said Jon.

Summer giggled lustfully and climbed into bed.

"You sure?" she asked.

"I'm sure," Jon chuckled.

They kissed.

"All right, all right," he said tapping his finger on her nose. He kissed her forehead. "Sleep," he said. "We have a long day tomorrow."

"Mmm?"

"Let's go talk to my father. It's what Yugi would have wanted me to do."

Summer smiled. "I love you." She started to laugh.

"What is it?" Jon asked.

"Oh, Jon, that's lovely," Summer moaned.

"What?"

"Oh, lower, lower."

"What?"

"That thing you're doing with my back. Ooh, Jon, I love it."

"Summer," Jon got out of bed. "I'm not doing anything to you."

"What?" Summer said, turning her head to see Jon standing over her.

"There's something in the bed," he said.

Summer yelped and got out. "What is it?" she cried out.

Jon pulled the sheets out. There was indeed something in the bed. Something round, fluffy…and pink!

Thankfully, the castle was outfitted with electricity. Jon flicked the switch and revealed his worst nightmare.

"Uh...hi," squeaked a little Fingolin, wearing a red vest with a gold star on the back.

Summer screamed. The Fingolin screamed back. Jon tried to grab him by the ears, but the rabbit hopped out the window with great speed. The door suddenly burst open. Three young men and a tall Leogain named Ser Gerhalos walked in, swords at the ready.

"What is the trouble here?" cried out Ser Gerhalos.

"What the hell is going on?" shouted a fair-faced boy, wearing a jewel-encrusted crown.

Summer shrieked when they saw her nude.

"YAAAAGGH!" cried an Uzumenese lad, "Lady Summer, you're naked!"

Summer held out both palms while charging up a magical blast. Her eyes began to glow into a hellish white.

"GET OUT OF HERE YOU FOOLS!" she shouted and blasted them with her magic force push spell.

KABOOM!

Jon, the boys, and the Leogai were tossed out of the room like ragdolls


	82. Prince Jon: Iron and Thunder: Part 3

"But, he will disavow you from the clan."

Jon walked his love up the steps and into the warm palace before he spoke. "He needs my help defending Riftgaard. King Forrest is much more ruthless than Antilles it seems. I received a message from the warriors on the Blue Plains that he sends divisions of pilots using giant mechanical suits called Cuirasses. His forces, consisting of ten powerful clans and three of the top noble houses in my country, were wiped out by these mechanical monstrosities. It seems Gearfried is needed once more to defend the home of the Berja. I must find the spell to unlock him from his armor."

"But you're needed here, baby!"

"I can't let Riftgaard fall. The only option I have to ensure their safety is if I go to Lord Brooks of the Golden Valley. He may have one of the only modernized armies in the West, not to mention the largest. But I don't think he wants anything to do with me after I broke my vow to marry his daughter."

Summer clutched his arm even tighter, following his lead to the aquarium halls to look at the fishes and glowing coral reefs. "What about his brother, Kevan Brooks of the House of Hearts?" she asked.

"Hmm," Jon thought. "He rules the northern half of the Golden Valley, while his brother, Victor, rules the southern half. I suppose I could have some distance while asking for his favor."

Summer scratched her head. "That's odd, I thought they'd be closer together in such a place."

"It's how they can scrape every last bit of gold from travelers and merchants who cross the Golden Valley. Between their castles, there is nothing but miles and miles of forests bloated with monsters and bandits. Their castles offer food, drinks, bed, cards, and women. Their homes provide sanctuary to weary travelers who braved the perils of the Golden Valley. And they offer top of the line comforts to which those poor saps will pay well for."

"Devious," Summer admitted, "but smart nonetheless."

"Yes, you're right, babe," said Jon. "Lord Kevan has been very good to me, hell, even praised our love when word of our relationship reached his ears."

Summer giggled softly when she heard that. Jon felt so much better when she did that, for her smile always brought warmth to his heart.

"So, do you think that Lord Kevan can soften things up between the two of you?" Summer asked.

"I do," said Jon. "Hopefully, Lord Victor will find it in his heart to forgive me."

"He's going to want something in return," said Summer.

"You don't think I know that?" Jon responded sharply while stopping in front of an exhibit with colorful glowing fish swimming about in the dark blue waters of the reef. "I know what he wants, and getting that is going to be harder than any challenge I've ever faced since this war started. Will it even be enough? No matter how hard I try, things always go to shit for me."

"We have Yuri back," Summer assured him, rubbing his hand.

"It will be another two years before he comes back."

Summer sighed. "We can do this. I know we can. We'll stop Forrest and find Gearfried the Swordmaster. And when you do, you'll be the greatest warrior in Riftgaard."

Jon kissed her forehead. "What did I ever do to deserve you?"

Summer rested her cheek against his chest. "But what of those three boys who came here? And that Leogai?"

Jon chuckled and pet her lovingly on the back of the head. "They are Princes of Termnnia. The boy with the jet-black hair was Prince Stas of Monde. The Uzumenese fellow was Prince Jaeyoung. And the dark-skinned boy is an old friend of mine. Prince Marcel of Akuuda."

"What are they doing here?"

"They've come to prove themselves to Master Yugi. They wish to join the Alliance and have chosen to aid me to prove their worth." He did not sound happy about that. All of a sudden, his face fell. Just what he needed. More responsibility. More burdens on his shoulders. He suddenly turned cold and released himself from Summer's embrace.

"Jon?" Summer asked. "Jon? Jon? HEY!"

"Huh?" Jon asked.

"What's gotten into you?" Summer asked. "You haven't been the same since we started our journey to your homeland."

"What are you talking about?" Jon asked, getting frustrated.

"Are you kidding? You barely talk to me, you haven't eaten since with left White Harbor, you don't sleep, for Ana's sake, Jon, you haven't made love to me the way you used to!"

"Poor you," grumbled Jon, shuffling towards an armory.

"There you go again with your mood swings. I had my monthly course and I didn't change moods as much as you. Darling, what's eating you?"

"I don't know if I want to go through with this anymore, Summer," said Jon. "The man could disavow me from the House. If he does, I will never see my sisters again. I will never claim the crown that was meant for me. My childhood home has been denied from me. Now, I'm sent to go find Gearfried's true form. These princes are here. And you."

Summer leaned over his desk and placed her hands on his. "Jon, no matter what," she began, but she was interrupted with a growl and quickly released his hands from hers.

"Oh don't start with your theatrics," Jon said.

"What theatrics?" cried Summer. "All I'm trying to say is..."

"I know what you're going to say, you've repeated this to me over a hundred times. I'm getting sick of it!"

Summer grunted angrily and "Our love? You're getting sick of it? So what's that supposed to mean Jon? You twist my ovaries for the past year and now you're done with me? So what then? I was nothing more than your little toy?"

"This is not about you, Summer," said Jon.

"I thought we had something special, Jon. Are you bored with me? Are you done with me?"

"This is not about you!" he said raising his voice.

"Answer me, Jon! Are you done with me?"

"This is not about you!" Jon roared.

"Are you done with me? Damn it, answer the question!"

Jon turned furiously. "THIS...IS...NOT...ABOUT...YOU!" he slapped her hard across the face.

Summer yelped and fell to the floor, knocking over a vase. Jon was taken aback by his action and slid his hands up his hair in disbelief. "Oh, Summer...I..."

Summer looked up at him from the floor, massaging her swollen cheek. Blood trickled down her nose. She wept, not from the pain, but from the fact that the man she loved struck her. There was no worse pain than that.

"Oh, Goddesses! No!" Jon sobbed, running for her. "Summer, I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!"

"Get away from me!" she sobbed throwing his arms away.

"Summer, I'm sorry!" Jon whispered. "I didn't mean it, I swear."

"What is it about then?" Summer asked. "What's gotten into you?"

"Why do you still talk to me?"

"Because I love you, Jon."

"I don't deserve you, Summer!" Jon sobbed, kissing her neck repeatedly. "I'm so sorry! Any other woman would have gotten the knife right about now."

"Well, I'm not any other woman, Jon," said Summer, pulling her head away to look into his weepy eyes. "I love you, but if you want this to work you're going to have to be easy with me."

"Why?" Jon asked. "Why do you forgive me? Especially after what I've done. A man must never strike a woman. I don't deserve you!"

"That's not true, babe," said Summer. "There were a lot of handsome princes back at the academy. But I chose to be with you. Do I have to spell it out for you Jon? I love you."

"I know," Jon said, nodding his head. "I wish I wasn't a Prince. I wish this didn't have to happen. I wish we could go back to the academy."

"Yeah, I know," said Summer. "I miss the academy too. The food. The beautiful halls. The Duels! Oh, the Duels. So many epic matches to be seen. Do you think that...if the war finishes soon, we can go back?"

"Nothing would please me more," said Jon. "And with Yuri, too. Hmph, I wonder how Jaden, Syrus, Hassleberry, and Chumley are doing right now."

Summer laughed. "If I know Chumley, he's probably in the kitchen cooking up a batch of grilled cheese sandwiches."

Jon chuckled and nodded his head. "He made some pretty good sandwiches. You know Summer when we get back, I'm going to make Chumley make us enough sandwiches until we bloat."

Summer bit her lip. "And then, a night in the grotto by the Grinning Rock? You and me. Alone. Under the light of the stars."

"Why do you always think about sex?" Jon purred teasing her with half-kisses to her mouth.

Summer giggled, feeling him nibble under her chin. "Well, I miss nights like that. There was something about the stars and the ocean breeze that brought out the beast in you when we made love. I can't wait to go back and relieve that."

Jon slid his hand up her leg. "Why do we have to wait until we get to the academy for me to let out the beast?"

Summer grabbed hold of his hand before it climbed any higher. "Hold it right there, buckaroo. I may have forgiven you, but you still struck me pretty hard. You're sleeping on the couch for a week."

Jon growled, feeling his lust get put out like water to the flames. "Yeah, yeah, okay, I deserve that."

Someone knocked on the door to their room. Jon got up from the floor, adjusted his leather jacket and walked to answer it. He opened the door to see Marcel, shivering in a sleeveless parka. "The king is ready, Jon," he said, teeth chattering. "Good luck."

They walked out of Jon's quarters after they dressed for their audience with the King. Jon wore his armor of fur leather, and iron. Marcel, Stas, and Jaeyoung trailed behind Summer wearing a red gown with a cloak cape trimmed in white faux fur. She had red earmuffs and red mittens.

The wild-like Riftgaardians looked at her like she was a dangerous animal that needed to be put down. The children pointed and laughed at her strange clothing. The women eyed her jealously, and the men snorted with disapproval like the winter beasts. Summer pressed herself closer to Jon as he led her up the stone tunnels carved into the mountain which trailed to the castle above.

Guardsmen blew on horns announcing his arrival. The iron gates opened slowly. Then, like a pack of ravenous wolves, Jon's sisters came running out of the dark and jumped on him, knocking him down to the ground. "Sisters!" he cried out joyfully, trying to free themselves from their grasp. "I'm glad to see you, too!"

"Good morning, _hermandali_ ," said Liola the White Lynx, casually walking towards Jon, buried under the pile of fur, flesh, and armor. She looked at Summer and grinned. "And this must be the bride who's behind all the trouble?"

Summer's smile faded. Liola placed her arms behind her back and circled Summer. "Your Graces," she said to Marcel, Stas, and Jaeyoung. The two of them just looked at each other as Liola examined Summer. "Does she fight?" Liola asked.

"No," Jon said, getting up from the ground.

"Does she know how to hunt?"

"No," Jon answered again.

"Does she know how to cast magic?"

"Liola stop!" Jon commanded.

"Does she know anything?" she said, taking strands of Summer's hair and sniffed them. "So you ended a perfectly good alliance...because of one pretty face?"

Summer released herself from her grasp. "Excuse me! I don't have to put up with this!"

"Ooo," cooed Liola. "The little cub has some bite."

"She's teething," chuckled Alfsigr, Jon's sultriest sister. She took her turn examining Summer. The rest of Jon's sisters stood around his betrothed, tugging her hair and pulling at her cloak and gown smelling the sweet scents of her perfume and shampoo.

"Are all girls from the south this fruity?" Sassa asked, touching Summer's cheek.

"I.." stuttered Summer.

"Don't worry, _Feyu_ (Pretty thing)," said Alfsigr. "I find that rather cute. If there is time, we can teach you the ways of the ax, the bow, and the sword."

"Leave her alone!" said Jon.

"It's something she must do, _hermandali_ ," said Saga. "If she is to marry a Berja, then she's going to have to become a Berja. Father will not approve having a weak summerland maiden in the family."

"The time will come for that," said Jon. "Right now, we're at war. Weddings and traditions can wait until we have defeated our enemies."

"Indeed," said Liola, still looking at Summer like she was a wild boar that needed to be skewered immediately. She loved Jon, and wanted the best for him. Summer, in her eyes, was not the best thing for Jon right now. "Enough!" she shouted. "Let the Aarvi go. Father is waiting for Jon. We can't keep him waiting."

Liola stormed into the castle. The others followed. Astrid sprinted next to Summer. "Don't worry," she said. "You'll get used to them. I'm Astrid."

"Oh," said Summer. "You're Jon's baby sister, correct."

Astrid did not approve of that. "Youngest, yes, but I don't know about the baby."

"It's how he refers to you," said Summer. "Well, it's nice to meet you."

"Let's just hope my father feels the same way," Astrid said cautiously.

They approached the throne room and noticed Ser Gerhalos was leading a girl away in chains.

"Who was that?" Summer asked.

"Dalaris Dragonheart," said Jon. "We captured her in the battle the other day. She's the daughter of Antilles Dragonheart. She might be the one we need to bring House Dragonheart out of the shadows. Somehow, Master Yugi thinks they are behind this war."

"House Dragonheart?" gasped Summer. "Gracious. That's incredible. If they are revealed, we could see a House going extinct soon."

"The sooner the better," said Jon. "House Dragonheart is not to be trusted."

"Come forward!" King Audun commanded Jon and Summer, once he saw them standing at the entrance.

Summer looked at Jon who only nodded. He stepped back to allow her to go forward towards the Topaz Throne of Riftgaard, where her (hopefully)would-be father-in-law was waiting. Summer cautiously walked towards the king. The clip-clop of her heels broke the silence of the hall. Every Berja from every head Clan in Riftgaard had come to see the pretty Summerland Maiden that Jon chose to marry. The girl with a face so beautiful he would betray the alliance his father had with House Brooks.

Jon went to go follow her, but his father held up a calloused hand. "Not you!" he said.

Jon stopped dead in his tracks. He rubbed Summer's quivering shoulders to calm her before sending her on her way towards the king. As she passed by, she heard sniggering and crude whispers coming from the tables all around her.

Berja warriors were slamming their cups on the table. Some started smacking their chops. Though a gentle girl from the Summerlands, she was fair and ripe in their eyes. Poor Summer felt like she was a little lamb surrounded by ravenous wolves and dominant lions. Some were so bold as to grab her cloak and examine the furs. No doubt, they knew it was fake, and they scorned her for it.

With each step she took, the Topaz Throne seemed to get farther and farther from her. She felt as though the throne was moving back away from her so she could be stuck in the gaze of the warriors of the mead hall forever. But, she finally made it before the Topaz Throne. "Your Grace," she said bowing.

The King examined her as she stood before him. What would he say? What would he do? Queen Ara smiled warmly at Summer. That brought some comfort to Summer, and she kept her eyes focused mostly on Ara. The king noticed this, however, and commanded Summer to look back at him. He grumbled and snorted, squeezing he gold cup.

There was a young boy of thirteen sitting on a wooden chair inlaid with carvings of battle stories. He had a long braid going down his back, and cold blue eyes. His skin was pale as the snow blowing outside. His crown was obnoxiously more ravishing than the crown worn by the king. He had black markings painted under his narrow eyes, and his lips resembled the color of a peach. No doubt in Summer's mind, the boy was Jon's cousin, Theo.

He examined Summer with a far more poisonous glare than Audun. He coldly stirred his cup in his hand. His fingers glimmering with jeweled rings.

"A pretty face, yes," said the king. "Can't see with that cloak on you, though. Let me see you."

Summer shyly nodded her head and undid the stings of her cloak until it slumped off her shoulders and fell on the floor with a thud. King Audun bobbed his head as he looked at Summer from heel to brow.

"It's a beautiful dress you're wearing," Queen Ara commented

"Very nice," King Audun agreed. "Beautiful face, and quite the body to compliment it. Now I know why my son was fool enough to break his oath with House Brooks."

"Father..." began Jon.

"Be silent!" Audun commanded.

There was a long pause before King Audun gave Jon a gesture to come forward. Jon quickly made his way forward towards his bride. He picked up the cloak and put it over Summer's shoulders.

"Father. I love her."

King Audun gave a disapproving shake of his head. "You love her?" said he. "You destroy our alliance with House Brooks and risk the economic stability of our kingdom because you love her? I thought I raised you to be better than this, my son."

"Were you any different?" Jon asked. "You broke an oath with another clan because you wanted to be with mother, remember?"

Queen Ara smiled and gave one nod to her husband. King Audun went red in the face. Veins began to bulge in his temple and his body quivered. He gripped his cup so tightly the stem screeched. "Well, I...but...but...No! No! No! This is an entirely different matter!"

"Is it father?" asked Jon. "Look, I will find a way to make it up to House Brooks. And I know you disapprove of the love Summer and I share but..."

"I never said I disapproved, son," said Audun. "Am I angry that our alliance is broken? Yes. But if you can find a way to restore what we had with House Brooks, I will be content. I'm sorry for all this, Jon. Son, I only want you to be happy."

"Then why did you force me to marry Lord Brook's daughter, Father?"

"Because, my son, your mother and I are not going to be around forever. And...I just want to make sure my House and my children are taken care of. I want my son to be the fiercest king in Riftgaard since the Iron Knights. And I want my daughters to marry fine men and create more children so that our House can go on forever."

"Jon is a strong and able warrior, my love," said Ara. "And remember, he has Lord Gearfried as a companion. Jon will bring our country into prosperity when he is king one day."

"Uncle, you cannot be seriously accepting this ridiculous proposal do you?" Theo asked, standing from his wooden throne. "Jon broke an oath, an act punishable by death!"

Audun looked at his nephew. "When last I checked, it was Audun, not Theo, who was King of Riftgaard."

"Keep acting this way with your children and you will not be king for long!" said Theo.

"Watch your words, boy!" said Audun. "I may have agreed to take you in and raise you, but damn it I have my limits! One more outburst and you'll be washing the pig pens for a week!"

"Why is cousin Theo with us, father?" Jon asked.

"His parents were killed in a Naralian ambush. Theo lost his family and his House. So, your mother and I have decided to take him in as our own."

Jon looked at Theo and bowed his head. "I am sorry for your loss, Theo."

"Bah!" Theo spat. "It was a loss that could have been avoided had you just accepted your oath to..."

"Shut your mouth, boy!" shouted Audun. "Oath or no oath, the Naralias would have come to your village and burned it. There was nothing that can be done to avoid this."

"What can we do, father?" said Jon.

King Audun rose from his throne. "Unlock Gearfried from his armor, that is what must be done. But there is another task I must ask of you. Come with me, your lady friend may join us as well."

Summer took Jon by the hand and together they followed King Audun into the dungeons of the castle. Audun and Jon both held torches in their fists to light up the dark corridors and narrow halls. They had gone so far down, Jon guessed they were nearing the roots of the mountain where the castle was perched.

"There is something we can do to fight back the Naralias," said King Audun. "I did not think it would come to this. Not in my lifetime."

"What are you talking about, father?" Jon asked.

Audun stopped in a large chamber with a rotunda. There were ancient murals on the walls still miraculously preserved after all those centuries in the dark. Jon saw great battles and what looked like technologically advanced ships in the sky.

"A long time ago," began Audun, "Zorc broke through the gates of our world and began to spread his malice across the land. Hordes of fell creatures, the Orcs, poured out of the Shadow Realm and began to conquer Termnnia like a plague of locusts. They were close to taking Riftgaard when one day, strange ships descended from the sky, and used powerful technology to drive the Orcs away. The beings inside those ships where known was the Barians. Beings much like ourselves, but they make their home in the stars beyond the Void. Our ancestors were given gifts by these Barians. The knowledge to create powerful weapons and incredible technology not seen in Termnnia."

He brought the torch closer to a mural to show Jon warriors in strange armor and wielding assault rifles and revolvers.

"These brave souls were known as the Wolves of Riftgaard. So-called because they stalked the Orcs like packs of ravenous beasts. The Wolves became so effective, that even Anubis, still a lieutenant at the time, ordered the retreat from Riftgaard, calling our land and our people unconquerable. The Wolves of Riftgaard were so effective, that the kings of the South, the North, and the East, began calling them for aid."

He looked at Jon to make sure he was listening. Jon was no doubt interested in this strange tale his father told. Summer, held onto him tightly, not believing that Termnnia was visited by beings from the Void.

King Audun smirked and led them down the mural as he told his story. "They aided Norman the Conqueror and the Nameless Pharaoh of Sobek in sending Zorc and his army back to the Shadows. But, the gifts did not come without a price. The Barians did not give our people this technology because of their good graces. They came here looking for something. Many claim that it has something to do with those Number Cards everyone are after. Whatever the case, the Barians were not pleased when the Wolves refused to accept their evil quest. I don't what it was those Barians were after, but if it caused the Wolves to bite the hand that fed them, it must have been a very fell deed."

"So what happened?" asked Summer.

"The Barians lost control of the Wolves. So great in battle were these noble warriors, that they drove the Barians back to their plane of existence. The war with Zorc was over, and the Wolves, so ashamed of the purpose of their gifts, eventually sealed them away in vaults scattered all over Riftgaard. These vaults contain technology that would make that of Domino City look primitive. There are enough weapons in just one of these vaults for an entire army."

"How do we know this isn't just a myth?" asked Jon.

"It's not a myth boy! I know, because my great-great-great-grandfather was once a Wolf of Riftgaard himself. It is because of him that Gearfried the Iron Knight choose our family and made us who were are today. Jon, there is only one way for us to fight back the Naralian scum. We must bring back the Wolves of Riftgaard."

He took a pendant from under his furs and placed it on a slot placed on the wall. The wall slid open and revealed something magnificent. There was a set of armor inside a small vault made of chrome steel and lit up with blue neon. The armor was very tactical and space-like in design but still fashioned to look like traditional Termnnian armor.

It was enameled white and chased with gold, decorated with ancient Riftgaardian runes. A cloak of black fur was fastened around the gorget of the armor, the helmet was visorless, instead, it had a small camera on the front to allow the wearer to see a 360-degree view of his surroundings. A large golden ax was right beside the armor with carvings of wolves and bears. A futuristic assault rifle with the same white/gold color scheme of the armor was floating in an anti-gravity display along with a shotgun and a large revolver.

"Will you rally up every able-bodied warrior in Riftgaard, my son?" said Audun. "And revive this noble order, so the Wolves of Riftgaard can hunt again?"

Jon released himself from Summer's grip and walked towards the armor. He removed his glove and put a hand on the steel. Globs of dust collected on his fingers, but it was nothing a little polish couldn't fix.

"I will do it father," said Jon. He took the helmet off the mannequin and put it on his head. "Riftgaard marches to war again. And this time, the howls of the Wolves of Riftgaard will sound in the night as we charge to take down our foes."

* * *

**Ser Gerhalos**

* * *

He picked up a torch that hung on one of the walls and proceeded up to the tallest tower in the Red Palace. The moon was full, but the narrow stained-glass windows seemed to block the light making it quite dark in the spiral staircase that swirled up the tower to a room bolted with twenty locks. Ser Gerhalos took a key from a pocket in his robes and placed it into a crazy lock that caused the bolts to loosen in a clever manner.

Ser Gerhalos was carrying a package under his arm. He did his best not to squish it, for the content inside was very delicate. He knocked, actually banged his fist on the door.

"Enter," a woman said from behind the door. "Although I don't know why you unlock the door before knocking."

"Wiseass!" Ser Gerhalos growled as he opened the door and entered the chamber/prison of Dalaris Dragonheart, the Dragon Slayer and the king's prisoner of war.

She sat by the window playing Duel Monsters with herself while clad in a pink nightie. "Ser Gerhalos," she said, destroying her pretend opponent's Blackland Fire Dragon with her Neo the Magic Swordsman. "Is it dinner already?"

"It is," said the beast knight. "Lady Summer made you a little…treat. Happy Birthday, by the way."

"She shouldn't have," Daralis grinned.

"I learned that your father does not wish to treat for you," said Ser Gerhalos. He put the package on a dinner table. He opened it to reveal a chocolate cake with blue icing. "I am sorry."

Dalaris slid her finger across the chocolate surface and sucked on it. "I'm not." She declared proudly.

Ser Gerhalos was displeased with her comment. "Good night." He bowed and turned to leave.

"Won't you join me?" Dalaris asked.

"No."

"It's not going to be a happy birthday all alone," Dalaris said, cutting the cake.

"I don't care," said Ser Gerhalos. "It's not my job to make you happy. You're our prisoner, you should do well to remember that."

"Yes, I am your prisoner, Ser Gerhalos, but I am a lady in distress. And you are a knight. You're not going to let a girl celebrate her birthday alone, are you? That's not very chivalrous. It goes against your code of ethics."

"Fine!" said Ser Gerhalos. "I will have one slice before I go."

Dalaris leaned over the table, elbows resting on the surface and hands holding up her chin. She smiled and stared lovingly into the eyes of the beast. "And a glass of milk?" she swooned.

"What trickery is this?"

"No trickery, Ser. You're my hero. I've heard a lot of great stories about you at the dining hall of Dragonrock since I was a little girl. The knights wish they could be you. A handsome man. Strong and brave. The skills to be unkillable in the battlefield and a future champion to the Summoner of Dragons. Pfft, if she exists. What maiden would not wish to relish this moment?"

"You have heard about my tales?" Ser Gerhalos asked, going to the kitchen to get the milk to wash down the cake.

"I-I have," said Dalaris bashfully. She watched Ser Gerhalos pour the milk into two glasses. "I always looked forward to hearing your latest adventure at the table. I had a stuffed lion in my bedroom and I dressed him in foil for his armor and I tore a piece of my dress off to make your cape. I would make a fort out of pillows and pretend to be trapped by a horrible dragon. I was doomed to be its prisoner forever. And then you'd come to save the day. It was always a fantasy of mine to be rescued by a knight. Slay the beast and rescue the damsel. Cliché, yes, but it kept me sane."

"You were losing your mind?" Ser Gerhalos asked. He ate a clump of cake.

"Having Antilles Dragonheart as a father can do that," said Dalaris. She smirked. "That man. He always hated me."

"Hated you? I figured Antilles a stern man, but never cruel enough to despise his children."

"You know nothing of him, Ser Gerhalos," said Dalaris. "If he truly loved his daughter, then why has he not come to treat with Lord Jon for the life of his daughter?"

Ser Gerhalos scratched his throat. She made a valid point.

Dalaris took a gulp of milk. "Did you know I didn't think Antilles was capable of love until Alexandra was born?"

"I've seen him once in court when I participated in the Battle of Bell Hills. He couldn't keep his hands off her."

"Oh, Ser Gerhalos, Antilles had such a fondness for her. She was the one he favored. Everyone did. ' _O' beautiful Alexandra, you look like a dream!' 'O' people of Dragonrock make way for Princess Alexandra!' 'Dalaris, why can't you be like your cousin Alexandra?'_ Every time her birthday would come, the people of my father's kingdom treated it like a holiday. She had mountains of presents. Cakes and pastries. Flowers. Knights from every fiefdom in the country paraded into the city atop powerful steeds to do battle for her favor. But my birthday. It was always forgotten. I got a kiss from father and a cupcake but I never got parades. No flowers. No presents. No knights."

"You got a kiss from your father. It's still something."

"They were always empty kisses. He cast me away and went with Alexandra when she and her family arrived from Serania. He left me alone. He didn't want anything to do with me."

Her shoulders quivered and she hiccuped. The moonlight from the window by their table made her tears glisten. "I waited for many years for my knight to come and take me out of my prison. He never came."

She sniffed.

"Poor you," Ser Gerhalos said sarcastically. He rolled his black/gold eyes. He was still chewing cake. "Why did your father despise you? Surely your mother…"

"I killed my mother!" Dalaris cried out.

Ser Gerhalos coughed, almost choking on his cake.

His expression made Dalaris laugh. "She died bringing me into this world. It wasn't my fault. Heh, Antilles always made sure to make me believe it was. I was through being a lady. From then on, I would slay my own monsters. One of them would be the Des Volstgalph of my uncle. The day I slew the dragon...I thought of you."

Ser Gerhalos gave a growl of irritation. He cut the cake into a clean slice and gave it to Dalaris.

"Why did you do it?" Ser Gerhalos asked. "Why did you kill a dragon, Dalaris?"

Dalaris drank her milk. She wiped a stream of it from her chin and grinned. "You make it sound like I loved doing it. Well, I didn't. That dragon I killed…was mine. All members of House Dragonheart are given a Des Volstgalph egg from the vaults under the castle. The dragon, when it hatched, was so fond of me. I cared for it. Nurtured it, gave it care like it was a baby of my own. I named him Danteleron, after my mother's dragon, just to make father happy."

Ser Gerhalos saw her cringe. Her body movement was enough for him to understand it did not even chip the stone heart of Antilles.

"It was all for naught," said Dalaris. "In fact, I think I pissed him off even more. Weeks later, my father took my dragon from me and gave it to his brother, my uncle; Rayleonard Dragonheart, so they could fly together and destroy Master Yu-Gi-Oh and his army. The evil they fed my poor beast made him grow to monstrous size like my father's dragon Mortis the Black Storm. Danteleron was forced to become my family's newest weapon. He grew to such a size that it was bigger than even Mortis. They armored him up and readied him for battle. I was tasked to being my Lord Uncle's lieutenant. As they covered my dragon in armor, I heard Rayleonard say…"

She paused. Her pretty face crinkling with agony at the painful memory.

Ser Gerhalos leaned forward. "What? What did he say?"

" _Once we defeat those bunglers, Rassay will be ours permanently! This Duchy will be of no use to me. He was referring to the land he ruled. The Duchy of Fellflame. He looked Danteleron in the eyes and said: You will fly to my city and burn it. You will kill everyone there. Turn them all into ash. Leave none of them alive. We will show the world what happens when they cross us. We will burn traitors with fire like the heathen kings of the Dawn Age. Kill them all. Annihilate them. Execute them. Murder them. Destroy._ " She whispered. " _Destroy. Destroy. Destroy. And then he turned to me_."

Ser Gerhalos shivered with fright. He could almost see the madness in Rayleonard's eyes.

"' _When we destroy the armies of the enemy rebellion, I command you to kill your father and grandfather. Bring me their heads and the Red Dragon Crown. I will make a chalice out of my brother's skull. I will drink from it. And you, Dalaris, will be my queen'_."

She rested her head on her hand and continued.

"' _Do this for me. Make them pay for all they've done to you. I am here to save you, Dalaris. Isn't that what you've wanted_?' I was so confused. I was only a girl of thirteen years, what would I know, right?"

"Dalaris," Ser Gerhalos said.

"' _Bring me their heads. Bring me the crown. Bring me Alexandra. I will ruin her._ ' He said that as he licked his lips."

Ser Gerhalos gave a growl. "And that's when you killed him."

Dalaris nodded. "I stuck him like the pig that he was. I did my best to save my dragon from the darkness my father and uncle embedded in his heart. But it was too late. Danteleron was too far-gone to be saved. So I had to do what I had to do. He was chained to the cave, making the battle easier, for lack of a better word. I didn't think twice about killing my uncle. But, Danteleron. He was…"

She sobbed.

"He was my son. My baby. The only option I had was to save my people and put him out of his misery. What was I supposed to do? Let him go free and murder thousands and thousands of people? Heed the words of my uncle and kill my own father?"

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" said Ser Gerhalos.

"I did," said Dalaris. "I told my father what Rayleonard wanted to do, but he only got angrier with me. He disavowed me from the family name and had me tortured for weeks. He let Alexandra have a go with the whip just to make him feel better."

"No!"

"Yes, I know what you're thinking. How can anyone be so cruel? This girl must be making this up. Well if you are, curse you! I don't care."

"Then why didn't you say this to anyone else?"

"Because Antilles already sewed the seeds of deception in the minds of all the people. His lies blossomed in their tiny heads. He has such a way with words, my father. I mean, who are you going to believe? The honorable Antilles Dragonheart? Or the traitorous murderer, Dalaris of the extinct House of Deepclaw? He turned my whole kingdom against me, after the sacrifice that I made to save them all. He hated me even more for saving him. And to prove that he was through with me…he sold me to King Forrest."

"Dalaris I'm sorry."

She smirked. "I guess it wasn't so bad. Forrest was in the middle of a war with House Valentine. He conquered an entire nation just to impress Mai Valentine. When she declined his offer for marriage, he invaded her country. While he was there, his son, Stefan, kept me company."

"You loved the boy, eh?"

Dalaris smiled and wiped her tears.

"Yes. Nobody ever made love to me like Prince Stefan Ungard. Of course, we pleasured ourselves under the sheets for so long, that I became pregnant with Prince Malcolm. Forrest would have had Stefan's head if he found out, so we fooled Forrest into thinking the child was his. It was not a perfect life under the roof of Forrest's house, but it was an improvement from Antilles. He never loved me. Why do you think I've been stuck here in this tower for an entire year without so much as an envoy from Antilles? What does it matter, eh?"

She tossed her plate and silverware off the table. The cake splattered and the plate broke into tiny pieces.

"He's up there in his ivory tower in Rassay with Alexandra as his pet. He has what he wants. And I will say no more." She yawned.

"The hour is of late," said Ser Gerhalos. "You must rest."

"Tuck me in?"

Ser Gerhalos growled but he did what was asked of him. He patted her head after she crawled into bed and then walked out.

"I love you." She called out from the dark.

"ACK!" Ser Gerhalos cried out and froze. His tail stiffened like a stick from the shock.

"Promise this won't be the last time you visit me, Ser Knight."

"Very well, I shall see you tomorrow night. But expect me no more if Jon commands me."

"I'm fine with that. You intrigue me, Ser Gerhalos. Good night.


	83. Prince Jon: Iron and Thunder: Part 4

**Jon**

* * *

The halls of Castle Vattefang were warmed with vents that all connected to a cavern below the mountain where there was an underground hot spring. A Kourmori Dragon added extra heat by burning coals in an iron furnace which sent more warmth to the residents above.

"Ahhh," Jon, Marcel, Stas, and Jaeyoung said together in relief once they got used to the steaming waters of the springs, bubbling, and spewing steam into the air dancing before their faces. The warm water embraced their skin weary, cracked, and scarred from battle and the stress of politics. Jon felt the hairs stick out the back of his neck, he was so relaxed. He felt as if the weight of his position as interim ruler of the Alliance just melted away into the springs. The vapors could be seen slithering off his arms and neck. His beard shivered.

These springs were reserved for the king and his sons and daughters, or any guest Lord Audun thought worthy to be in his company of fellows. There were tiles of blue, green, and white on the walls, murals of Nymphs dancing and being fondled by the Satyrs of the Lesna Mountains in Aurelia.

The statues of Ana the Goddess of beauty, sex and desire, were making Jaeyoung feel awkward since he was sitting in front of her sultry gaze. The Priestesses of Ana always claimed that if you sit in front of her gaze long enough, true love will find you. He hoped not, because he was partially naked in the hot springs with his two male friends. He coughed falsely while keeping his eyes on the chandeliers of iron and mammoth tusk which hung in the ceiling above granting them a dim orange-gold light.

"It sure was nice of your father to give us some time to relax before looking for Gearfried," said Marcel. "Ah, and the revival of the Wolves of Riftgaard. Have you sent out the conscriptions yet?"

Jon had his arms stretched over the edge of the pool. The back his head resting on the edge of the pool, nose in the air and a weary smile on his face. He felt sleep overtaking him. Even his ears stopped working, for he didn't hear Marcel until he raised his voice. It took him a while before he answered, but he did so with his head still arched back and his eyes closed.

"No, not yet," said Jon. "I'll do those when we establish our command center in that old fort father told me so much about."

Jaeyoung stared at Marcel in confusion. He cleared his throat to get his attention. "Forgive me for going off-topic but, Marcel, not for nothing, my friend, but aren't you just a little bit worried your arms and legs will rust?"

"Ha!" Marcel laughed, leaning his head back and stretching his massive steel arms over the edge himself. He lifted a metallic leg out of the water and examined it. The black steel toes wriggled by themselves with a thought from Marcel. The water dripped down the leg, tracing along the engravings and filigree carvings.

"My friend," he said, "this is no ordinary steel. It was crafted by the best magical blacksmiths in all Sobek. These babies will never rust, nor melt. I would have to walk on the surface of the sun before causing them to liquefy. Only the best from Master Shadi."

He started punching the air. The metal made a loud hum with every movement. "Aw yeah! Look out!"

Jon lifted his head and looked at Marcel. "Are you comfortable with explaining how you two know each other? What reason for a powerful Sobekian mage to give you a second chance at life with upgraded magical limbs? What sort of influences does your House have, Marcel?"

"I cannot say," said Marcel. "What goes on behind the doors of our House is our secret. I will reveal that we have ancestry in Kalunga."

"Well, that's obvious," said Jaeyoung. "All Redbornes have some form of ancestry from Kalunga. And here I thought you were going to reveal a deep dark secret."

Marcel sniggered. His eyes still closed. His expression was carefree. "I could tell you all about my family and their involvement with the likes of Master Shadi, but then, I fear I'll have to kill you."

Jaeyoung scoffed and sunk deeper into the water, feeling a tad despaired that his friend threatened his life just for asking a question. But he quickly thought nothing of it. Marcel was from a Royal Termnnian House. Every one of these noble families had dark secrets behind the walls of their lavish estates or majestic castles.

Playing the game of politics was a dangerous one, and one needed to have allies and secrets in all places to win the game and survive. One did not get into power without spilling blood or jabbing a knife in the back of a former foe. Still, Master Shadi was a well-known and mysterious figure. His lord father called him Gú Wan-Bu, or The White Ghost.

Jaeyoung had seen Shadi only once in his lifetime, and that was when he was decapitating a spy who almost poisoned his mother and father at dinner. Shadi had a way of seeing the deepest darkest thoughts of an individual. Perhaps it was the golden key he kept around his neck. A Millennium Item like the one Yugi wore and the eye Pegasus once had. Jaeyoung hated the Millennium Items. He thought of them as cursed things, which was why he kept his distance from Yugi at the academy.

Long ago, the Pharaoh Aknamkanon sacrificed an entire village in a dark ritual used to create the Millennium Items. Underneath all that gold was the blood, flesh, and bone of the villagers. Xi Feng always buried her face in Jaeyoung's shoulder when she saw it. She feared the spirits of the villagers followed Yugi everywhere. That mixed with the fact that an ancient spirit would sometimes take over for Yugi didn't make him feel any better.

Jaeyoung cupped some water with his hand and poured it down his shoulder to hide his true feelings for Yami, not that Jon or Marcel would notice since they were half asleep in their comfort. Deep down, Jaeyoung was scared of Yami Yugi, or Pharaoh, as some have resorted to calling him.

He didn't like that name any better. He didn't know why, but perhaps it had to do with his country's hate for the Sobekians. They had been at war once thousands of years ago when Aknamkanon's great-great-grandfather led a navy of golden ships towards Uzumé in an attempt to conquer them. The war lasted for hundreds of years, for their armies were evenly matched.

Eventually, the Pharaohs of Sobek gave up their campaign to claim Uzumé and left the continent, leaving it in ruin and in an economic crisis that took hundreds of years to recover from. Jaeyoung's lord father was just a boy during the last days of the economic recovery. Even as the son of the emperor, he was forced to eat roots and dried fish for supper.

"Those fucking Dai Jin!" Jaeyoung father would always cry out at dinner.

Lashing out at the Sobekians was his favorite subject when it was time to eat. His face would burn red from wine and rage as he went on for hours at the head of the table cursing the Pharaohs and their people. Nevertheless, he still allowed Shadi at their table when the War of Gold and Red took place in the Seven Kingdoms. Somehow, Shadi's influence won their House the war. Thinking of Shadi leaving and disappearing into the dark, stormy night made him want to question his involvement with House Walston. He really was a ghost. He came, he killed, and then he left.

"I never really asked," said Jon, eyes still shut in his serenity. "How is it House Walston came to be with the Red-Eyes Black Dragon?"

"I'm not giving a history lesson, Jon." Marcel rubbed his face leaving behind small trails of hot water droplets.

"Calm down, I was just asking. I was only curious as to why the dragon has graced your House."

"Are history books that hard to come by?" Marcel chuckled.

"I don't like to read about history. I like to make history," Jon boasted.

Marcel laughed out loud and Jaeyoung couldn't help but let out a chortle. "Oh yeah," Marcel said. He rose his head back up to look at his friend, not at all surprised that he was glaring at him with a nasty look. Marcel retained his humor and held out his hand as if displaying the headline of urgent news. Water dripped from his palms and fingers, trickling back into the pool creating peaceful plops and gentle ripples.

"Yeah, you make history all right. Jon Jahangir the Crown Prince of Riftgaard ends necessary alliance for a nice piece of ass from the Summer Lands."

"Why you!" Jon lunged forward and started wrestling with Marcel, splashing water all over the place, putting out the scented candles on their sconces, moistening the bread, and burning Jaeyoung's face.

He shielded himself with his arm, and doing all he could to keep his towel wrapped around his hips. Jaeyoung did all he could to get a hold of Marcel. Stas was fast asleep, not caring that his two friends were wrestling in the water.

"Woo-woo-WOO!" Jon cried out as he backflipped off Marcel's hands and went into the water with a splash. Jon resurfaced and climbed out of the springs. He ran for the cheese knife on the table and held it menacingly in his fist.

"Take back what you said about Summer, Walston, or I'll shish kabob you!"

Marcel sneered as he swam for the edge of the pool Jon was standing on. "Is that so?" he asked. He raised his fists. "Put 'em up, junior. Let's see if you can strike me."

Jon lunged at Marcel with murderous intent with the knife.

"Yeah, now that's what I'm talkin' about!" Marcel said, dodging the cheese knife with lightning-quick reflexes.

"I warn you, Marcel, this means war!" Jon shouted. "After this is over, I'm marching to Skyhold and taking over!"

He jabbed again. Marcel formed a gauntlet of Zorronium to shield himself. The knife could take the impact no more and shattered into a hundred pieces. As Jon stared at the broken weapon in awe, Marcel struck, ripping Jon's towel off his hips in the blink of an eye. Jon shouted in anger and shame standing naked before his friends. Jaeyoung's face went crimson. He shielded his eyes with his hands, rubbing them forcefully to wipe the sight from his memory, but it was forever burned into his brain. Marcel held up the towel triumphantly and pointed at Jon, laughing.

"HA! HA! Look at Jon's penis!" he vexed.

"YOU FUCKER!" Jon shouted, pouncing on Marcel. He put him in a chokehold which did not even phase Marcel. "Take it back! Take it all back! Or I swear to the Goddesses and all my ancestors that I will drown you right here right now!"

The door creaked open as a figure stepped inside to join them. Jon and Marcel stopped immediately when they saw who it was.

"Ser Gerhalos," said Jaeyoung in surprise.

The Leogai snorted, wearing nothing but a white towel to cover him from the waist down. His golden-brown fur shined in the candlelight. He looked like he was not pleased. Still, despite his ferocious look, Jon could not help but to tease him. He snatched his towel from Marcel's grip and tied it around his waist underwater.

"Well, well, well. So the kitty has come out at last," Jon teased.

"Do not vex me, Jon," Ser Gerhalos growled as he stepped toward the hot springs. He disapprovingly examined the mess they made with their quarrel. He waded into the pool and growled with delight, but it sounded like he was angry. "I am not in the mood."

"So it's true?" said Marcel. "You're scared of flying?"

"I was wondering why we didn't see him during the trip," said Jaeyoung. "Sorry to hear you have a fear of flying Ser Gerhalos."

Marcel sneered, now moving on to annoy Ser Gerhalos. "So, behind all that muscle, fur, scars, and titanic armor, there is nothing but a scared little pussy cat."

"What the hell's your problem, Marcel?" Jon asked, leaning against a rock, a feat proving difficult as he was sliding up and down the slippery surface.

"And what of it?" said Ser Gerhalos, clearly not offended by Marcel's joshing. "If I'm not mistaken, Lord Walston, your biggest fears are jesters."

"Hey, hey!" snapped Marcel. "We're not going to talk about those freaks while I'm here."

"Ho, ho!" Jon teased. "Big bad, Marcel is suddenly on the defensive. Really, you flabbergast me, my friend. After everything we've been through together, you're afraid of court jesters and street performing clowns? Ha! That's a hilarious fear coming from someone as battle-hardened as you."

Marcel's humorous countenance sank into a look of prevention and anger. His steel fists balled up and creaked from the pressure. "I'd rather join Norman the Conqueror in the Battle of Endless Pain than have to deal with a fucking clown."

Jaeyoung snapped his fingers when he realized something. "Hey, now that explains why he always sulked away every time Kaiba had his duel. He has the likes of Peten and Saggi the Dark Clown in his deck."

Jon and Jaeyoung laughed while Marcel began to bare his teeth at his friends commanding them to shut up. Ser Gerhalos clasped his hands together over his belly and shut his eyes, listening to the companions argue amongst themselves. It was music to his ears after listening to endless days of politics and war. When the bickering stopped, he helped himself to a slice of cheese and jabbed it into some bread that wasn't soaked by the battle Jon and Marcel had earlier.

After calming down, Marcel began to tell the story of how the Red-Eyes Black Dragon became the main monster of his House.

He told them of how his ancestors were a nomadic tribe of spice traders living in the Moloch Desert. One day, a boy named Abeeku, Prince of the Rock People, discovered an egg buried in the sands. He cared for it, and from it emerged a Red-Eyes Black Dragon, a distant cousin of the Termnnian Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

When Abeeku became the king, called the Mol-Akumbu, his Red-Eyes, whom he named Ongai-Zamu (Black Wings of Death), grew into considerable size. With this dragon, Abeeku conquered the Zuzu, Yal-Katu, and Mbembe tribes at the foot of the Yasath Mountains which formed a barrier around their lands which they thought impenetrable.

Jon began to jest, finding their names funny. He also found it amazing that Marcel could pronounce them, let alone remember them. Marcel took offense to Jon's taunting of his ancestral names. Ser Gerhalos was ready to snarl, for he wanted Marcel to continue with the story. He was about to complain when all went quiet and Marcel continued with the history of his House which left everyone quite fascinated.

When Abeeko took control of the majestic Sand Castle of Yasath, he discovered three Red-Eyes Black Dragons. They were sisters named Yasath-Arya, Nanette, and Alyu. Over the years, Abeeku bred an army of Red-Eyes and eventually grew so power-hungry that he sailed towards Termnnia and began a campaign to conquer it. His conquest was ruined when High King Tiberius Pendragon stopped his advances with Slifer the Sky Dragon who killed Ongai-Zamu and his two sons in the October War.

Being the merciful ruler that he was, Tiberius spared Abeeko's life and promised that if he took care of the Norman remnants in Skyhold, the country would be his to command. The Normans were slaughtered by Abeeko's dragons and his fierce desert warriors, and he established his House on Mt. Soule where the castle was built of blackened stone and decorated with red flags.

Tiberius was pleased with his work and dubbed Abeeko as King of Skyhold and ruler of the Onyx Throne. Abeeko's named was changed to Nicholas Walston the Black Dragon King so as to better suit the Termnnian culture. Marcel explained that many Houses had gone to him for his dragons. Only members of House Wheeler and Prince Atticus Rhodes proved worthy to have his House's dragons. He told stories of his multi-great aunt Monique Walston and her legendary battles against Princess Erika Kaiba and Queen Evangelia Pendragon in the Dance of the Dragon Queens. Sadly, the Red-Eyes Black Dragons of House Walston were all wiped out during the Termnnian Inquisition.

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Jon. "My condolences."

Stas snored, oblivious to what was going on around him.

"I would like to discuss the girl," said Jon. "The Dragonslayer. I suspect the prisoner is still locked in her quarters on the Star Ship?"

Ser Gerhalos nodded his head reassuringly. He scratched one of his ears with his pinky claw. "Yes, My Lord, Dalaris Dragonslayer is still kept under heavy guard in her quarters," he confirmed.

"Good to hear," Jon said, a statement he always made when he wanted to drop the conversation and say no more. He helped himself to some grapes on a pewter plate resting by his side.

"You should be wary of her, Ser Gerhalos," said Marcel, a mouthful of cheese and bread. "I see how close she gets to you. I've heard her flirting with you when it's time to serve her grub. You have a thing for her, don't you?"

He held out the hand holding onto his bread using it to point at Ser Gerhalos. Crumbs sprinkled onto the water causing Jon to raise an eyebrow and give an agitated sigh. He was going to get an earful from his father should he come down and see food floating in his precious pools.

"I?" demanded Ser Gerhalos raising his torso out of the water and placing a hand on his chest with incredulity. "Inconceivable!" he proclaimed.

Marcel folded his arms with a slight smirk on the corner of his mouth. "I don't know, Ser. A girl doesn't say things like that unless you've been complimenting her well. I heard your naughty talk through the door when Jon sent me to investigate why you were gone for so long."

"Aye, that I did," said Jon. "We were fearing the worst. We thought Dalaris stuck a knife in you. But from what Marcel told me, you two were like a couple in college."

Marcel gave a chortle when he saw Ser Gerhalos's eyes widen and his whiskers quivering. He bit into his bread again. "Now tell me, Ser Gerhalos," he said chewing. "What did you do to make her so amorous? Did you grab that ass or did you smack it?"

Ser Gerhalos stood on his feet, towering over the princes. His eyes were alit with a blaze of fury. His golden mane bristled straight like a coarse brush and his whiskers shivered. "Watch your words, prince."

A round of laughter from Jon, Jaeyoung, and Marcel rang across the cavernous hot springs. Now, it was Ser Gerhalos's turn to get offended. He pointed at each of them and barked at them to stop their teasing at once. The laughing slowly died down. After Jon controlled his humor, he returned to Marcel's warning.

"He is right after all," he said. "Dalaris is not one to be trusted. With the names Dragonslayer and Kin Slayer to her name, I can't trust her as far as I can throw her."

"I am not falling for her trickery if that's what you think," said Ser Gerhalos, thrusting his arm to the right crossly. "She has grown into something of a friend. I was nothing more than her childhood hero; that is why she acts the way she does with me. Dalaris is a traitor. A murderer. She double-crossed the lot of you in Elleria. I would never fall for the likes of her!"

Jaeyoung scratched his head. "If that's the case, then why were you so hesitant in taking her with us to Riftgaard? She should still be locked in the tower."

Ser Gerhalos turned his head to look at Jaeyoung and gave a vicious roar. He did not like the princes insisting that he had feelings for her. "I can resist her feminine wiles."

Jon nodded. "Take it easy, Ser. Having her in our custody proves beneficial for our cause. We got a lot of war plans, documents, and ancient scrolls deep in the archives of the Red Palace. If Dalaris got her hands on just one of those documents, we'd all be screwed. We can't afford to give our enemies an advantage. One weak stone is all it takes for the foundation to crumble. The farther Dalaris is from Naralia and the war, the better and safer we'll be."

Marcel nodded his head in agreement and looked at Ser Gerhalos with a cheeky grin. "But, we could use her feelings for Ser Gerhalos as an advantage. If Dalaris truly is going wet for Ser Gerhalos, perhaps there is a way she can prove her worth."

"You really think so?" Ser Gerhalos asked. "You want to use her love for me as a means to keep her on our side?"

"You're a fool, Marcel," said Jon.

"She slew a dragon, Jon," said Jaeyoung. "At thirteen years of age. That's the kind of warrior we need fighting for us."

"He is right." Ser Gerhalos twirled his braided beard around his finger. "When you think about it, I'm all the poor girl has in the world."

Marcel scoffed. "Poor girl? Bah!"

"Don't get too attached, Ser," said Jon. "Remember, she's a crafty one. If we really are going to proceed with this plot, we should all be careful."


	84. Prince Jon: Iron and Thunder: Part 5

**Ser Gerhalos**

* * *

He must have combed his mane and facial fur at least a hundred times before he thought he was ready to see her. His only task was to send Dalaris her breakfast and be gone from her chambers. Jon advised speaking to her until they knew they were ready to go through with the plan. There were a thousand things that could go wrong with this plan. For one, what if they were playing into her trap? What if she did not have feelings for him? She could have been using her feminine wiles to seduce Ser Gerhalos in a way that would help her escape.

"But what if her feelings are true?" Ser Gerhalos said, staring at himself in the looking glass hung on the wall. "If Dalaris finds out I'm only using her love for me just for the benefit of my Lord Princes, I could lose her. I've never had anyone feel this way about me before."

"Love is a very complicated thing, Ser Gerhalos," Summer said, cooking Dalaris' porridge over a gas-powered stove. "A woman's heart is like the very mountain outside."

Ser Gerhalos looked out the window and saw the mountain range towering over the pine forests.

"As you trek the bottom, it's soft and easy," she explained. "You think you have a chance and you climb higher."

"And as you do," Ser Gerhalos continued, "it gets rougher and more dangerous. She might push you off and let you fall to an agonizing death."

"Exactly," said Summer. She tapped the wooden spoon on the rim of the cooking pot to shake off an excess porridge that clung on. "I've made those buttered biscuits you asked. They're in a basket by the counter over there."

"Thank you," said Ser Gerhalos, stalking for the counter where Summer left the biscuits. He lifted the purple handkerchief that covered the basket and got a whiff of the sweet scent the treats gave off. Ser Gerhalos licked his chops. His whiskers shivering with curiosity as he picked one up and ate one.

"Mmm," he said, savoring the flavor. "Your biscuits are so divine, Lady Summer."

"Thank you," Summer said, cleaning the wooden spoon.

Ser Gerhalos ate another one. And another. And another. And another. "Hopefully I can show her I mean well when I bring her these."

"Not if you eat them all, you won't," laughed Summer. "Boy, oh boy, Ser Gerhalos. You are in love."

Ser Gerhalos nodded his head. His mouth was sprinkled with crumbs. "Yes, she may be our enemy, but she is a lady." He balled his fists. "A lady, indeed. No. No. She could never want me." He ran a paw down his mane. "She's so beautiful and…. well look at me!"

"What?" Summer asked, crushing a few oranges for their juices.

"I'm a monster!" Ser Gerhalos said, looking out the window in shame.

Summer laughed, pouring the juice she collected into a pitcher. "I don't think you're a monster, Ser Gerhalos. Don't be so silly. I don't think you're a monster. And if Dalaris is becoming so amorous of you, I'm pretty sure she doesn't think so, either."

"But what if…"

"Ser Gerhalos," Summer interrupted. "What ifs are not going to get you far. In the end, they're going to do more harm than good. What ifs are the poison of love. The more you ingest, the sicker you will be. You have to be calm and just go for it. A broken heart can heal. An unsure one will be in agony forever."

"R-right," said Ser Gerhalos.

"Come," said Summer. "Give the Dragonslayer her breakfast, and just talk to her. Don't worry, I'll keep Jon occupied." She gave him a wink. "He owes me a backrub in the hot springs."

Ser Gerhalos picked up the tray containing the heavy breakfast. For good measure, Dalaris added a rose on a vase, placing it on the corner of the tray.

"I..uh…"

"Trust me," Summer said, patting his wrist. "She's gonna love it. Go, your lady is waiting for you. You're a knight, remember. Save her from her loneliness."

"I will, Summer," said Ser Gerhalos. "Thank you."

Ser Gerhalos made an uneasy trip to the top of the castle. Thankfully, he did not run into any of Jon's sisters, for they were in the courtyard training. At last, he made it to the tower where she was kept prisoner. He set the tray down on a table by the door and knocked.

"Who is it?" Dalaris answered immediately.

"It is I, Ser Gerhalos. I have your breakfast."

"Ah!" Dalaris squealed. "My knight in shining armor. Come in. Come in."

Ser Gerhalos took the tower key out of his pocket and unlocked the door. The room smelled unnaturally sweet and it was warm, very warm. Dalaris was dancing in the center of the room, wearing a black bathrobe that stopped at her thighs.

"Dalaris?" Ser Gerhalos asked, hand quivering. "Why are you wearing that?"

"It's almost time for my bath," Dalaris answered, bowing and then giving a twirl to continue her dance. "I'm waiting for the water to heat up. You can set my breakfast by the table, darling."

Ser Gerhalos gulped seeing the tub with a small furnace underneath glowing red with hot coals.

"Who prepared it for you?" Ser Gerhalos asked. He looked in the water. Lemon slices and rose petals floated in the milky surface.

"Jon's sister, Astrid did," Dalaris answered, she leaped and gave an elegant spin. "She's such a cutie and a sweetheart. All his sisters are, to be honest. They've done what they could to keep me comfortable. Though, Berja females are very big girls. The clothing they gave barely fits."

"Why are they giving you their clothes?" Ser Gerhalos asked.

"I left my things in the Star Ship." Dalaris bowed. She stopped her dance and proceeded to the table where Ser Gerhalos left the food. "Oh, this looks so good," she said. She gasped when she saw the rose. "Is this for me?" She picked it up and sniffed it. "Ser Gerhalos, I'm touched."

She leaped for him and wrapped her arms over his big torso. Ser Gerhalos went limp like the tall pines outside.

"I…uh…I brought you some extra food," he said patting her head. "I find it unfair that Jon forces you to eat only porridge. Lady Summer made you a basket of biscuits at my request. It would be best not to speak of this to anyone. Summer and I could get in a lot of trouble with Jon."

Dalaris looked up at him, teary-eyed. "I've never had anyone risk their neck for me before," she said. "Thank you."

She let him go and sat by the table to eat her food. "This looks good," she said. She picked up a biscuit and ate it. "Mmm, it's good."

"Dalaris," said Ser Gerhalos. "I know I've been your hero since childhood. I appreciate it greatly. But, I can't help but feel you've gotten a little too attached to me."

"You do not approve?" Dalaris asked with a mouthful of biscuit.

 _I slipped!_ Thought Ser Gerhalos. _Careful you fool. We've climbed very high and it's a long way down._

"I did not say that," said Ser Gerhalos. "I find that I rather enjoy your company."

"I and I enjoy yours, Ser Gerhalos," Dalaris said making a kissing gesture with her lips.

"We don't have to be enemies, Dalaris," said Ser Gerhalos. "Join us."

Dalaris' chewing slowed down and came to a stop. She looked at Ser Gerhalos and swallowed her food. Her expression turned into a glum one. "I enjoy being with you, Ser Gerhalos. I hope you do not doubt that. But, I have Dragonheart blood flowing through my veins. I still have family out there, and our House is in turmoil."

"Dalaris…"

"I'm sorry Ser Gerhalos. One way or another, I have to find my way back. As I said, I'm a Dragonheart, and I am loyal to my House and country, Dragonrock. Nothing will ever change that. I fear not even you can…unless you're willing to make a few sacrifices."

"Sacrifices?" asked Ser Gerhalos.

"Join me," she said, placing an affectionate hand on his paw. "Let's leave this place, together. Like it or not, Ser, but my House is on the winning side. You'd make a wise choice coming with me."

"You don't know what you're asking of me Dalaris. These boys...they...they're like my own sons. I could never turn my back on them."

"You're just going to have to choose then, Ser," said Dalaris. "Me or them. As I said, with or without your help, I'm going to return to my family. And if the day comes where you and I meet on the battlefield, don't think for a second that I will show remorse. Please leave, Ser Gerhalos. I believe my bath is ready."

"Of course," said Ser Gerhalos. "And the feeling is mutual between us, should the day come when we battle, Dragonslayer. I also enjoy your company." He repeatedly slammed his paw on his chestplate. "But, I, too, have a family I must keep safe. The Princes. Master Yu-Gi-Oh and the future warrior he sends me to find when this war is over."

"That's so sweet," Dalaris said sarcastically.

 _I've slipped!_ Ser Gerhalos thought. _I'm barely hanging on now._

"I will see you again later when I bring you your supper."

"Humph," said Dalaris. "Until you tell me where your loyalties lie, Ser Gerhalos, do find someone else to bring me my food."

"Then expect me no more," said Ser Gerhalos. He turned and walked out of the room. He slammed the door with all his might and furiously locked it.

* * *

**Jon**

* * *

A loud horn from the foot of the mountain woke him from his slumber. Jon felt the chill of the Riftgaardian morning kiss his face. The roaring fire that had soothed both him and Summer had gone out during the night and was nothing more than a measly pile of embers in the hearth. Even the heat from the hot springs flowing through the vents of the castle did little to warm the room. But underneath the furs of his bed, it was as hot as a summer day in the tropics; for his naked body was entwined with that of Summer's. Her back and buttocks curled up on his chest. The horn blew again and echoed across the mountains. Someone pounded on the doors violently. Summer groaned and slammed her pillow over her head.

"Lord Jon!" Ser Gerhalos called from behind the door. "The warriors are here! It's time."

Jon did not answer. He growled like an angry cave bear and put his arm over Summer, burying his face into the back of her neck. Her golden hair tickled his face, but he was so tired and lazy from his sleep that he wasn't bothered.

"Lord Jon!" Ser Gerhalos called out again.

"COMING!" Jon shouted at last. Even he knew he had a duty this morning to meet with every able-bodied warrior in Riftgaard to join his army of Wolves.

He slapped his face hard with his hand and slid it down his nose in frustration. His exposed arm was chilled by the air.

Summer grabbed his hand and held it tight.

"Stay in bed, babe," she cooed.

"I can't." Jon leaned down and kissed her shoulder. "It was my idea to bring back the Wolves of Riftgaard. And so, it will be my duty to train the pups at the front of my house."

Summer growled, but it sounded like the purr of a kitten.

"How do you tolerate me so?" Jon wondered. "You used to live in the East with your televisions, heaters, shopping malls, and restaurants."

"They don't matter if you're not in my life," said Summer. "Even if the Goddess of Time sent me back to redo my decision; knowing I'd wind up here; I'd make the same choice I did then. I'll give up all those things for you, Jon."

Jon grinned and kissed his way up her neck, tickling her and making her giggle. "What did I do to deserve you?" he asked.

Dressed in his ancient grandfather's armor; now polished, and cloaked in a thick layer of cave bear furs, Jon walked outside to the balcony and saw the fields near the forests dotted with tents and campsites. The golden battle ax hovered over his back with an anti-gravity device, impressing Jon's companions trailing behind him. Ser Gerhalos, Marcel, Jaeyoung; cousin Theo, and all twelve of Jon's sisters came out to join him at the balcony and see the warriors gathering below.

"Seven thousand of the finest warriors in Riftgaard," said Jon. "Less than half of what I hoped for."

Ser Gerhalos closed his eyes and shook his head sadly. "Even with the weapons and the technology in those vaults, seven thousand soldiers will not be enough to fight back the Naralians."

"So what are you going to do now, O' great hero!" taunted Theo. "Your little wolf army is too weak."

"HUSH!" shouted Liola, slapping him in the back of the head. She walked to Jon and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Don't listen to him, _hermandali_ ," said she. "More will come. We've still have yet to hear of the clan in Frostborne."

"Being so close to Naralia, I doubt they'll make it," said Jon.

"Well," said Genesis, "What are we standing here for? Let's go see to these so-called 'warriors'."

Gerdr nodded, squeezing the handle of her war hammer. "Some, we'll see whether or not any of these pups have what it takes to become Wolves."

Jon's sisters turned and left, save for Astrid and Liola. Marcel also walked to Jon.

"Have more faith, Jon. We can do this."

"Yeah, good luck," said Theo. "We shouldn't be fighting Naralia, we should be joining them."

Liola turned at once to confront her little cousin. She slapped him across the face. "That is why you will never be king!" she shouted.

"How dare you strike…"

WHACK! Liola struck him again. "What are you going to do, tough guy!" she shouted. "What are you going to do? Run to mommy? Oh wait, you can't. She's DEAD!"

Tears of hurt welled in his eyes and his lips trembled. He sniffed, massaging his cheek and ran back into the castle.

"Little twit," said Liola.

Jon, glanced back at her. "You shouldn't be so hard on him, sister."

"Oh, and why not?" Liola said, placing her hands on her hips. "You heard his proposition!"

"He's just a boy," said Jon.

"So was King Hector," said Liola. "He, too, was just a boy. And look at all the destruction he caused."

"Theo doesn't have a sorceress advising him; or an army of traitorous Houses at his back. And he's family, so treat him as such."

"You're growing soft, brother," said Astrid. "Remember, Uncle Borg almost threatened war if you were to be king."

"Theo is not his father," said Jon. "So long as he's under our guardianship, he will make no plot. He has no power to plot. So stop worrying."

"Understood, brother," said Liola, not at all content with Jon's compassion for Theo.

Ser Gerhalos ran for the balcony. He put a hand on Jon's shoulder to stop him and get his attention.

"What is it, Ser Gerhalos?" Jon asked.

"It's about Dalaris," said the knight.

"Speak," said Jon.

"Well, she has become a little stir-crazy being stuck in that room all day, and she has run out of books to read. I was wondering if I could get your permission to let her spend a few hours in the library of the castle."

"No," Jon responded immediately. He shrugged the hand away and walked off.

"But, My Lord," Ser Gerhalos said going after him. "Please, just for an hour at least."

"My answer is no," said Jon. "Marcel's plan doesn't seem to be working since she hasn't decided to join us yet. She doesn't seem to care to switch sides, so what do I care if she's not happy?"

"How do you expect her to join us if you have her cooped in that tower all day, every day?"

"She is our prisoner, Ser Gerhalos, not a guest. She's not supposed to be comfortable or happy. Why should she complain anyway? She has it better than most prisoners in Termnnia. She has a room, three hot meals a day, and the luxury of a guest. You're getting a little too close to her, Ser, and I fear for your health, and ours."

"But, but, but, but…"

"My answer is final!" said Jon. "I will say no more."

Ser Gerhalos stood still, and surrendered, watching Jon leave the balcony and into the castle.


	85. Prince Jon: Iron and Thunder: Part 6

**Jon**

* * *

He blew a burst of warm air into his palms and closed the windows. Another blizzard was on the way, delaying his march and making him anxious. He should have left for the vaults days ago, but confounded, this weather was just not on his side. He prayed to the Winter Goddess to be merciful and call back her storms so he could move on and complete his task. Jon checked his digital wristwatch, an item that looked out of place in his furs and leathers. Summer was cooking a soup of freshly caught venison over the hearth in the center of Jon's chambers. It had been two days since he sent the call to gather warriors for his Army of Wolves. Five of the realm's Clans have sent him letters claiming they were not going to fight. The numbers increased by a small amount raising his fighting force to about 7500 men. The wind outside blew hard against the windows. They howled like the wolves outside in the night.

Despite the harshness outside, Summer was warm and comfortable, dressed in a long velvet gown colored blue with gold trimming. A cape of emerald green was wrapped around her shoulders to keep her even cozier. The fabric was enchanted with a clever spell to resist cold, giving Summer the impression that she was in a sauna.

"You don't have to cook, my love," Jon said.

Summer found that amusing and then tasted the broth in the soup she was making. "I'd rather cook my own meals. Besides, I don't want to eat in the Great Halls. Your sisters are a little too…wild for my company."

Jon smirked. "They thirst for war and blood. They want you to enjoy the same pleasures as they do."

"What other pleasures do they enjoy besides war and blood?" Summer asked suspiciously.

Jon coughed. "You don't want to know."

A horn outside blew, signaling the hour was of late.

"Is it time?" Summer asked. "Are more coming?"

"I fear that no more are coming, dearheart," Jon said, crumpling up a letter. His face burned a fiery shade of orange in the candlelight. "Not in this storm. And I just got word that the chief of Clan Stonesword will not be joining us."

"Oh," Summer said, stirring the broth awkwardly. "I sorry to hear that, babe."

"Forget about it," said Jon. "If what father tells me is true, that technology in the vaults scattered across Riftgaard should give us enough power to hold back an army of millions."

Summer was far from pleased. "Yes, Jon, but highly-trained and well-equipped modernized soldiers of the Imperial Army are a far more competent foe than a rabble of Orcs."

"Orcs," said Jon. He shifted away from his desk toward a display case housing his armor. "Master Yu-Gi-Oh has constantly warned us of their coming. Yet they still haven't shown up yet. It makes me wonder if Kaiba was right, and he was just a paranoid old man."

"That's Master Yu-Gi-Oh you're talking about!" Summer snapped. "I don't care how stressed you are Jon, we are not going to bad mouth him like this."

There was a knock at the door.

"Enter," said Jon.

A warrior from another clan peered through them. He felt relief when he felt the warm air touch his face. He saw Summer and nodded his head. "My Lord," he said.

"Speak," said Jon.

"The army is assembled and they wish for a few words from you."

"Of course they do," said Jon.

"On a brighter note, the warriors of clan Irontusk have arrived. They will be the last ones to join us no doubt."

"Irontusk?" Jon asked. "Never heard of them."

"They are a nomadic Clan who lives in seclusion behind the Blue Wall. They heard of your endeavors and wish to fight with you. They bring…a few friends with them."

Jon went outside with the warrior. He pointed toward an opening in the forests so Jon could see. Jon's eyes widened when he saw mammoths and mastodons stomping toward the camp. Wooly Rhinoceros were pulling large wheelhouses; wagons with two, even three floors. The other warriors of Jon's army stood up and gazed at them in amazement. Soldiers from the Clan Irontusk waved triumphantly from the top of their large wooly mounts.

The mammoths carried battle stations on their backs. The windows alight with a warm glow from the fires and lanterns inside. Riding atop a white mastodon was a good-looking lad about the same age as Jon. He was clad in layers of silver armor plating and a white cape. A cape of mastodon fur was hung over his shoulders. His mastodon's most vital areas were covered in thick plates of engraved steel and its tusks reinforced with silver tips. The tusks also had engravings carved into them and were filled with silver.

Jon approached to get a better look.

"Jon!" shouted the youngster. "Prince Jon the Heir of Riftgaard! This is truly an honor."

"Who are you?"

"I am Prince Brökk of the Clan Irontusk." He slammed his fist over his breastplate. The mammoth of his house was inlaid into the silvery steel with a shield.

"You're a Clan?" Jon asked. "You look a little too…sophisticated to be such."

"We're not all savages in furs and leather, dear Prince," said Brökk. Even his accent seemed to have the erudition of the Southern Kingdoms. He jumped off his mount. "We have established trade with the likes of House Delgado for years. Thanks to them we became a little more…what's the word? Tamer than the other Berja Clans."

"House Delgado?" said Jon. "You know they're our enemy right?"

"Can't say that anymore, My Lord," said Brökk with a wink. "Did you not hear about the coup? House Delgado is now an abode of young and healthy Princesses, each of them a key to the riches of the most ancient and prestigious House in Termnnia. Poor King Salazar. No male heirs. And he was so desperate for one that he'd allow his nephews to rule in his stead. Thank the Goddesses they do not approve of Hector. This shift in power is going to make his campaign rather difficult. And from what I hear, Salazar's brothers are now fighting amongst themselves to see who gets the crown. I guess it's all up to Princess Maria Delgado and her sisters to save the day, eh?"

"I doubt the daughters of House Delgado will sell themselves off so easily," said Jon. "Nevertheless, I do not trust them."

"I do hope I can change your mind," said Brökk. "You've got a potential ally here."

"I'll consider it," said Jon. "But I will have to see where their loyalties lie first. I cannot allow a former enemy to join our ranks just because they had a little squabble within their House."

Brökk bowed. "As you wish. So, now that our little army is assembled, why not say a few words to let these fine fellows before we begin our journey to find the vaults of these Wolves?"

Jon nodded and led them to the center of the camp where he got on top of a wooden podium. The castle guards began to shout for all to assemble around Jon so he could begin his speech. All twelve of his sisters stood in an organized line on the podium. They bowed their heads as their brother stepped up. Summer was there as well; for this, he was glad and kissed her cheek as thanks for her presence.

"Good luck, babe," said Summer with a wink. "Knock 'em dead."

Jon nodded and turned to face his warriors.

"I thank you all for coming so far to join me in this cause," said Jon. "But before I can begin, I wish to let you know what this gathering of Riftgaar's finest warriors is all about. Millennia ago, Anubis and his Orcs ravaged across Termnnia. They slaughtered millions, burning wherever they went. But they came to Riftgaard one day. During that time, my ancestor King Borg Jahangir was visited by strangers from a world deep in the Void!"

Jon pointed at the stars over them.

"They brought powerful weapons, of a technology that surpasses the men of the East. These people from the Void promised our people that if they used their weapons, they would find victory. And victory they found but at a great cost. It wasn't until after the Nameless Pharaoh sealed Zorc away that our ancestors realized the truth behind this pact with the Star People. It was a fell deed; one that our people would not take part in. And together, they sent the people from stars back to the Void. The warriors responsible for keeping our land from falling into shadow were known as the Wolves of Riftgaard. These brave warriors defended our homeland for another two short years before they disappeared."

He stopped to take a breath and paced to the other side of the podium to look at the other warriors.

"Ashamed of what they could have become, the Wolves of Riftgaard concealed their powerful weapons in vaults scattered across Riftgaard. Over the past ten thousand years, the history of the Wolves of Riftgaard became a legend. And that legend became myth. And then that myth became forgotten. Until now. Friends! A new enemy seeks to take our land from us. The Covenant of Yeyu!"

"Boo!" howled Jon's warriors.

"Yes. And they unleash their dog, King Forrest of House Ungard, to do their bidding!" Jon continued after the roars of anger subsided into the night. "They wish to seize power from our hero and savior, Yuri of the House Plantegrast!"

"YURI!" shouted the warriors. "YURI! YURI!"

"LONG LIVE THE HIGH KING! LONG LIVE THE HIGH KING!"

"Yes, brothers! They will see Termnnia burn before they see the true High King return to power. We will not allow it!"

"AWOO!"

"The reason I have called you out here tonight. I ask you to aid me in reviving the Wolves. Together, my brothers, we will send the Covenant back to Balodrum and out of Riftgaard once and for all. AND SHOW THEM THAT THE BERJA ARE NOT TO EVER, EVER BE FUCKED WITH!"

The warriors banged their shields and thumped their chests as they gave mighty battle cries.

Jon raised his fist. "As of this moment! The Wolves of Riftgaard will howl in the night once again!"

"AWOOO!" everyone shouted.

Prince Brökk patted Jon on the back and stepped down from the podium. "Once the storm clears, so begins our fight for independence from the tyranny of the Covenant. But this night, we celebrate this great gathering of Riftgaard's bravest and finest. Therefore, I have brought a bit of a treat for all of us! Men, open the wagons!"

The wheelhouses were parked in a neat row. The rhinos snorted and growled while the soldiers of house Irontusk unlocked the gates of the wheelhouses. The warm golden glow from inside illuminated the dark fields. Jon watched from the podium as the gates of the wheelhouses were opened one by one.

Jon heard whistles and cheers of glee from his soldiers. He saw wooly figures coming out of the wheelhouses. Upon closer inspection, Jon could see that they were women, dressed in thick cloaks of mammoth furs. They stood in straight lines in front of the warriors. The women were all very beautiful to behold and they were smiling and waving at the men and women in the military Jon had made.

"My friends!" Brökk took the hand of one girl with a blonde ponytail and led her to the front of the line. "You are welcome to help yourselves!" he ripped the cloak off the woman. She jeered in surprise and covered herself, for she wore nothing but a skimpy loincloth underneath. The warriors jeered, waving their weapons in the air. "Bring forth the wine!" Brökk commanded.

Soon wagons loaded with barrels of wine and mead rolled in from the forest. The warriors mobbed the wagons as well as the women, picking them up one by one and removing the furs (Which were also to be used to lay on) and carrying them into their tents.

"He's a real charmer, isn't he?" said Summer. "What a spectacle."

"Well, they need a little something to keep their spirits up, I guess," said Jon. "This is going to be one interesting campaign."

Someone was pushing their way through the crowd. Someone large. It was Ser Gerhalos. He was waving an arm in the air, holding onto a book of some sort.

"Your Majesty!" he called. "Your Majesty!"

Jon held up a hand, commanding that the soldiers make a path for him. In an instant, they all split as though Jon were Moses opening the sea in the bible, a religious tome from Earth. Once he got his path set, Ser Gerhalos sprinted down the open path and onto the platform. He bowed before Jon and showed him the book.

"That's the bestiary from our library," said Jon. "What are you doing with it?"

"My Lord," Ser Gerhalos said getting up. "You allowed Lady Dalaris..."

"She's not a Lady, Ser Gerhalos," Jon interrupted with quite a stern tone in his voice. "Traitors to the crown are not to be referred to as such."

"Of course," Ser Gerhalos agreed mournfully. "Nevertheless, she has found something I think you will find quite interesting. Remember when you and your friends agreed that it was time to find monsters to join our Alliance?"

Jon nodded.

"Well, I have informed Dalaris of the task. Last night as she was reading..."

"You told Dalaris what went on during the meeting?" Liola said, crossing her arms. "How dare you!"

"I agree," said Jon. "These meetings are confidential. And you share information with a traitor? I could have you punished for this, Ser Gerhalos. You'd better have some good news before I lose my temper!"

"Look!" Ser Gerhalos said opening the page Dalaris read earlier. "There is a monster of great power sleeping here in Riftgaard." He pointed at the page that displayed a picture of the beast. "There is a mountain to the North called Silvermountain, correct."

"You speak of the Spirit of Silvermountain?" said Alfsigr. "Mother used to tell us the story of the monster that is said to sleep there. But it is just a legend."

"I don't know," said Astrid. "Ever since Yuri was born, legends started waking up all over Termnnia. As Jon said, we need monsters of great power to join our cause. Armies are no good anymore. We need to take this beast of Silvermountain into account. Legends don't start for nothing. There is always a reason behind them. If you believe you have reason to show us this monster, Ser Gerhalos, I will personally lead a company to Silvermountain myself, and see if I can't wake it."

Jon looked at his youngest sister with worry. "Are you sure, Astrid? To get to Silvermountain you have to cross through Thorgon An Helnorst (The Ridge of the Beast). No one who has ever set foot there has ever returned."

"Maybe he's the reason why," said Astrid. "How fortunate the most dreaded place in Riftgaard is an obstacle to get to Silvermountain."

Jon looked at Ser Gerhalos. His face turned beet red and his eyes flared. His beard shivered in fury. "You'd better have good reason to have my sister wish to go on such a suicidal mission, Ser Gerhalos!"

"Look Jon!" said Liola, pointing at a gold marker on the page. "That symbol on the left-hand corner of the page. I've seen that symbol shimmering there ever since I was a small gretta (Girl)! It makes sense. It matches the symbol on your armor."

The symbol was of a wolf's head howling before a ring of ancient runes. It was the Banner of the Moon, the sigil of the Wolves of Riftgaard. Jon's jaw dropped when he saw it, and he leaned closer to the page to get a good look at it.

"Well I'll be," said Jon. "It is the Banner of the Moon." He looked up at Ser Gerhalos and offered an apologetic hand. "I'm sorry, Ser Gerhalos. I should not have doubted you. I've been under so much stress that..."

Ser Gerhalos lifted his hand to pacify him. "There is no need to say another word, My Lord," said he.

"How did you come by this?" Jon asked.

"I didn't," Ser Gerhalos said with a smile. His golden fangs glowing brightly before the torches on the platform. "Dalaris found them. And rest assured, the quest for monsters is all I told her. I swear it."

"Why did she point this out?" Liloa asked.

"She wants to help you," Ser Gerhalos responded urgently, no doubt trying to convince them that she was good.

Jon rubbed his beard. "Does she now?" said Jon. "Hmm. Well, we may be going into a wild goose chase for the Soul of Silvermountain, but no doubt he will prove a great ally if my little sister can convince him to join us."

Alfsigr smiled and blinked her pretty eyes rapidly. "It seems to me that the Dragonslayer finally knows where her loyalties lie if she is aiding us in hunting monsters to use against her House and the Covenant."

"Indeed," said Jon. "Goddesses, Marcel was right. Okay, Ser Gerhalos. It seems we've gotten Dalaris to come to her senses. She has earned herself a free day outside her room. The cooks and the servants are under your whim for the whole day. Treat Dalaris to a well-deserved breakfast and give her some decent attire before she walks the halls of my father's castle. And...as much as it pains me to say this, you have my permission to allow her into the library. A reward for her services to the Alliance."

"This could be a trap," said Saga. "Don't be a fool, Jon! You are correct when you said that Astrid's quest is a suicide mission Thorgon An Helnorst is a dangerous region that remains unexplored and uninhabited. The only things that make their home there are horrible monsters and the Wild Men of Kunnen Vieljen."

"I will join her then," said Ser Gerhalos. "If Dalaris means ill intent, we will know for sure. She has taken a liking to me, and I doubt she will wish me to go into harm's way."

"He's right," said Jon. "If Dalaris means to escape and kill us in the process, she would never allow Ser Gerhalos to get killed. He's her only means of escaping us. We will see for sure whether or not she means to help us tomorrow. Astrid, gather as many men as you need and rest."

"Yes, brother!" Astrid said with a bow.

Jon nodded his head up and down confidently. "The Soul of Silvermountain. Now things really are getting interesting."

Summer tugged the chainmail dangling over Jon's broad shoulder. "Babe, can I get a word?" she asked.

Jon nodded his head. "Of course," he said. "What is it?"

Summer looked to the left, and then to the right, and very cautiously. "Not here." Before Jon could ask her what was wrong, Summer took his hand and dragged him down the platform and back into an officer's tent after a long struggle to get past the crowd of warriors. Summer peeled over the flaps of their tent and was greeted by the graceful embrace of the hearth burning in the center of the tent. She gingerly stepped toward it and rubbed her shoulders as she shivered. Jon made sure to tighten the flaps so the winds of Riftgaard could not enter their abode and chill his darling wife any further. He came up from behind and put his arms over her, kissing her neck while he rubbed his thick Berjan hands up and down her shoulders.

"Jon!" Summer laughed. "Your beard! It tickles!"

"What do you want to talk about?" he purred into her ear.

Summer unclasped herself from Jon's arms and then walked to the desk to overlook a burlap map of Termnnia which was covered in totems of House sigils, towers, patrol routes, and potential treasures.

"I know this isn't a good time, babe," Summer said, pointing her finger on the kingdom of Eredas. She slid her finger to Domino City. While she loved Jon and would give anything to be with him, Summer missed her home. Jon could see this from here and felt worried.

"Do you wish to go home?" he asked.

Summer smiled in response still glaring at the map. "No, nothing like that," she said after a short pause. "It's just...did you know Prince Stas is an expert in medicine?"

"Yes?" said Jon. "But briefly. He was when to a pharmaceutical academy and dropped out. Turns out he was there to have an orgy with the nurses in training."

Summer rolled her eyes. "Forget about that. He learned something in the arts. And he gained just enough knowledge to help me. He sent for some physicians to come by and they have."

"Physicians? Are you sick, dearheart?"

Summer laughed. "Far from it. Having said that, something did happen to me. Jon. My monthly course was due some time ago."

It took a while for Jon to comprehend what she was saying. He stood up straight and narrowed his eyes. "You're late?"

Summer nodded. "It could mean many things, I know. But I had to be sure. I underwent a test. And...well...it came back positive."

Jon felt like the chill of winter went down his very frame. Summer turned to look at him to see how he would respond. She walked to him and took his hand, placing it gently over her womb.

"Summer?" Jon asked. Eyes glistening. "You mean..."

"Yes," Summer said, bashfully looking at his hand. She blinked to wipe away the tears of joy in her beautiful blue eyes and looked at him. "Jon. I'm pregnant."

Jon did not know what came over him. He let out a loud roar of sheer joy and embraced his lover with all his might. He picked her up and spun her around and around until his back cracked. His chainmail and sword jingled with each movement he made.

"We have to tell the others!" he said.

"No," said Summer. She kissed him. "Not yet. Let's wait until after Riftgaard is secure to tell our friends the news."

"Summer," Jon wept. He buried his face in her neck. "I'm so happy!" He moved back and kissed her forehead repeatedly. "Damnation. You can't come with me. It's going to be dangerous where I'm going."

"I know," said Summer. "I'll stay here in the castle with your mother and father until you come back."

"No," said Jon. "Not with that...Dragonslayer in there."

"Well, where else can I go, babe?" Summer asked. "Come on, it's not like I'm going to be alone. You've got guards up the wazoo in there. Not to mention Astrid and the girls will stay behind with me."

"But they'll be leaving for Silver Mountain soon."

"I'll be fine. I promise."

"Be careful." Jon gently bumped his forehead on hers. "What do you think it's going to be?"

Summer chuckled softly. "Well...if it's a girl I was thinking Astrid."

"Oh joy," Jon groaned playfully. "Another Astrid running about. And if it's a boy?"

Summer looked as though she began to glow. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She looked at Jon, her smile growing wider. "Yuri. After our beloved future High King."

Again, Jon's eyes began to twinkle with tears. Summer placed a comforting hand on his cheek and then they kissed.


	86. Prince Jon: Iron and Thunder: Part 7

**Ser Gerhalos**

* * *

He had never felt more pleased in such a long time. That morning after Jon led his warriors into the wilderness to look for the vaults, he treated Dalaris to a day she would never forget. When she woke, she was pampered with a hot bath and was given a grand feast for breakfast. She explored the castle all day and spoke with Jon's sisters who remained to accompany Astrid in her search for the Soul of Silvermountain. Nevertheless, Theo was watching her as though she were venomous cobra ready to strike.

She had lunch with the king and queen, who were quite interested in hearing how things were on the other side of the battlefield within the ranks of House Dragonheart. Ser Gerhalos had a few more surprises in store for her later that day. But as the sunset on her free day, word had reached Ser Gerhalos that she had disappeared.

This displeased him, and he searched all over the castle looking for Dalaris. He had hoped not to tell the guard, but now it was beginning to reach that point. Thankfully, mercifully, he heard from one of the milkmaids that she was last seen romping in the snow outside the castle in the gardens. Ser Gerhalos made a quick dash outside. The sun was waning, and the snow was falling. The twilight sky shading everything in a dark metallic blue. The Northern Aurora was dancing in the sky, splashing the inky blackness with a dazzling display of colors.

"Dalaris!" Ser Gerhalos called. "Dalaris!"

No answer.

"Oh, what have I done?" he said. "I cannot believe Jon was right!" He stomped around through the snow. The flakes collected on his platinum armor. "How could I have been such a fool!?"

"Dalaris!" he shouted, cupping his hands over his mouth to intensify his yell. "Dalaris! Dalaris! DALARIS!"

Whack! Something hit him hard in the face. Something wet and cold. It was a snowball.

"What in blazes!" said Ser Gerhalos. He searched for the culprit.

He searched around in the dark. His feline eyes turning into night vision mode, making his surroundings as clear as day. He turned to look at the forest. All was still. Not a sound, save for the wolves howling in the distance and the occasional unsettling grunt of a troll. Something flew out of the forest and hit him in the face.

Another snowball.

"What the…"

He couldn't finish his words, for something peculiar came out of the darkness. A rich and melodious sound that almost brought joy into his heart. The sound of a young girl giggling with happiness.

"Dalaris?" cried Ser Gerhalos. "Did you not hear me calling you? Where are you?"

Another snowball to the face answered his question. "Ooof!" he cried.

The giggling continued.

"Dalaris, there is no time for this!" called Ser Gerhalos. "Come now, we must get you inside before you catch your death of cold!"

"But I don't want to go inside, Ser Gerhalos," Dalaris said playfully from the forest.

He saw her peering from behind a tree. The snow dotted her reddish-blonde hair and the bow she had on was large and colored in dark blue. Her cheeks were apple red and her nose like a little cherry. She was clad in a winter dress made of wine red velvet and timed at the sleeves and neck with Silver Fang fur. The hooded winter cloak she wore to add warmth was also of the same design. No doubt it was the work of Queen Sera who took a liking to the girl from House Dragonheart at lunch earlier that day. Diamond earrings in the shape of snowflakes dangled from her lobes and glistened in the light of the moons now glowing in the sky.

"Dalaris, no more games," said Ser Gerhalos. "We must come inside now. It's almost time for dinner."

"Okay, but you'll have to catch me first."

"Dalaris!" shouted Ser Gerhalos.

Dalaris laughed and disappeared into the woods, dashing away like a frightened fawn.

"No! Dalaris come back!"

He stomped after her, the snow was making his trek rather difficult. "Dalaris! Dalaris! Stop playing around."

Whoosh! Another snowball rocketed out of the woods. Ser Gerhalos dodged it in time. His large pauldron guarding his face against the cold missile. He scanned the direction it came from. In the nick of time, he saw a figure dashing from tree trunk to tree trunk.

"So, that's how it's going to be, eh?" he darted after her, dodging snowballs that zoomed out of the darkness. For good measure, he scooped up snow in his paws and formed a snowball of his own.

"Where are you?" he said in a sing-song manner. His ears wiggled as he tried to make out her footsteps in the snow.

"Got ya!" Dalaris shouted, tossing another snowball his way. He dodged and threw his snowball, the size of a soccer ball, at her. Dalaris gasped and was to slow to move away from it. It smacked her on the face and knocked her on her back. She laughed, feeling rather silly. She started to move her arms and legs.

"Snow angels," she said. "I never got the chance to make these."

"No?" Ser Gerhalos said walking towards her.

"No," she replied. "It doesn't snow in Dragonrock. It's nothing but volcanoes and ash as far as the eye can see.

"Hmm," said Ser Gerhalos. He got on the ground next to her and began to make one of his own. "I hope this won't rust my armor," he said.

"No," laughed Dalaris. "I don't think it will. These Berja are some of the best blacksmiths I've ever seen. No wonder my great-great-great-great uncle Morven Dragonheart was so keen on invading them."

She got up and examined her snow angel. "Hey, it does look like an angel."

"And what of mine?" Ser Gerhalos asked.

"Let's see," said Dalaris.

Ser Gerhalos got up. "Oh…" he said. He didn't make an angel. Just a really big hole on the ground.

Dalaris laughed and attempted to run off again so she could make Ser Gerhalos chase her and keep playing in the snow. But he grabbed her cloak and picked her up, putting her over his shoulder.

"Aww," she said.

"There will come a time when we can do this again," said Ser Gerhalos. "But for now, let's get you warmed up."

And so, he took her back into the castle. Dalaris warmed herself by the hearth in the mead hall as dinner was being prepared.

"Nice and toasty," she said rubbing her numb hands. "Thank you for convincing Jon to do this for me. It sure is nice to finally get out of that boring old room." She turned around and bent over to warm her bottom.

"Uh, sure," Ser Gerhalos said, biting into another corn cake that Summer made earlier.

"I cannot believe we might have a little prince on the way," Dalaris said, standing straight up again. "Or a princess. Oh, Goddesses, I do hope for a princess."

"Don't we all," said Ser Gerhalos. "Every King dreams of one day raising a beautiful little Princess."

"More corn cakes!" Summer announced parading into the mead hall with a basket full of freshly baked corn cakes.

"Oh, how lovely," said Dalaris. "I have yet to try one of Lady Summer's cakes."

"Have you?" Summer said placing the basket on their table.

"Cakes made from heaven," said Astrid, sharpening her sword alone on her side of the table. She picked one up from the basket and bit into it. "Mmm. So good. I think I found the reason why Jon wanted to marry you so badly."

"When do you take your vows, My Lady?" Ser Gerhalos asked, picking one up as well.

"After the war," said Summer, sitting down next to Astrid. "Now's not the time for weddings, don't you think? What with us against the Covenant and all that."

Dalaris' facial expression went from content to upset in a matter of seconds. Summer saw this and was quick to apologize.

"Oh man, I'm sorry, Dalaris!"

Dalaris quickly brought a smile back onto her face. "Worry not, My Lady. Despite all the comforts I have received today, I am still sadly nothing more than a prisoner of war."

Ser Gerhalos grunted sadly.

"So why isn't she back in her cell?" Theo asked, storming into the hall with his personal guard.

"I did not give you permission to enter Theo!" snapped Astrid.

"Bah!" Theo said stomping towards there table in front of the western hearth. "You're nothing more than a lowly princess. I don't need your permission to do anything. Why is this prisoner not in her confines? Why is she not in chains? Guards, put some shackles on her and escort her back to her chambers at once."

The guards took one little step forward and Ser Gerhalos bound from the table and roared. He snarled, flashing his teeth and brandishing his golden canines.

"If any of you so much as touch a single hair on her, I'll gut you like a fish!"

Dalaris went red in the cheeks and clasped her hands together. "Ser Gerhalos?" she whispered.

"And this animal thinks he has authority over what I say?" said Theo.

"Animal!" shouted Summer. "And since when do you have any authority? You are nothing more than a guest here in the castle."

"What Cousin Jon sees in you, I will never know," scoffed Theo. "Now someone tell Ser What's-His-Face to stand aside, or things are going to get ugly."

"For you, Theo," said Astrid. "It's way too late for that."

"Your petty insults have no effect on me. Stand aside."

"Hold it!" shouted Summer. "How about we Duel to see if Dalaris stays? You beat me, she goes to her room. I beat you, and you leave!"

"Sounds fair," said Theo. "I accept your challenge." He held out his wrist, morphing his bracelet of copper into a shield-shaped Duel Disk emblazoned with engravings depicting ancient battles and heroes.

One of Summer's butterfly-shaped earrings started glowing and streaked into her wrist forming a Duel Disk of elegant design shaped like the wing of a swan.

"Duel!" they both shouted.

**LP 4000**

"My turn!" Theo said, declaring he would go first. "I set two cards face-down and summon a monster in defense mode. Your move!"

"Draw!" said Summer.

"See how you like this," said Theo. "Activate my face-down card: Labyrinth of Nightmare! You'll see what it does in due time."

"I know what it does," said Summer. "Once per turn, during our End Phase: We must change the battle position of our face-up monsters. Blah, blah, blah. I went to Duelist Academy, you know."

Theo growled with jealously. He wanted to go to the school, too.

"Now, if you don't mind," said Summer, picking up her monster from her hand. "I will continue on with my turn, and summon Milla the Temporal Magician!" ( **ATK/1800 DEF/1000 LV 4** ) "Now, she activates her effect! When summoned, I can target one set card you control and look at it. And I choose your face-down monster!"

The beautiful white-haired magician spun her gold staff elegantly. Arcane circles and runes magically appeared all around her and she slammed her staff on the face-down monster, revealing a strange creature called Dream Clown ( **ATK 1200 DEF/900 LV 3** ).

"Not so bad," said Summer. "I attack!"

"Saw that coming a mile away!" sneered Theo. "Behold, the trap card: Windstorm of Etaqua! This will…"

"Change the battle positions of all our face-up monsters. Yeah, I know."

"Very well, I'll leave you to your impudence. But your attack is no longer going through."

"I know," said Summer. "I end my turn and in doing so, your trap card switches my magician back to attack mode."

"She won't be around for long, I assure you," said Theo. "Draw! Now I flip up my Dream Clown and set this card. I end my turn, now Labyrinth of Nightmare activates and switches my clown to defense mode. My monster's effect activates! When he's changed from attack to defense position, he can destroy one monster on your side of the field!"

The Dream Clown cackled and drew daggers from his blue cloak.

"Say goodbye to your Milla the Temporal Magician!" cried Theo.

Dream Clown leaped into the air and tossed the daggers at Milla. She screamed as the knives struck her in the chest. She grunted in agony, stepping back with wobbly legs before shattering.

"Oh no," said Summer. "That was brutal!"

"And you haven't seen anything yet," said Theo. "I end my turn!"

"Draw!" said Summer, beginning her turn. "I summon Gemini Elf in attack mode!" ( **ATK/1900 DEF/900 LV 4** ).

Summer commanded the beautiful twin elves to attack the Dream Clown. They both created dazzling displays of magic which formed into a spectral cannon that launched a ball of magical energy at the clown.

BOOM!

The mead hall shook from the blast. The iron chandeliers rocked back and forth in the ceiling.

"My turn is over," said Summer.

The Labyrinth of Nightmare activated and forced the Gemini Elf into defense mode. Theo drew and summoned a monster called Blade Rabbit (ATK/400 DEF/300 LV 2).

"Ew," said Summer. "He looks like Ricky."

Meanwhile, Theo ended his turn. The labyrinth switched the Blade Rabbit into defense mode, and just like the Dream Clown, when his battle position was switched, he could destroy a monster. The Gemini Elves screamed as they vanished from the field.

"Draw!" shouted Summer. His trap card combos were getting on her nerves. She started shaking with rage and Theo's smug grin only added fuel to the fire. "I set a card face-down and summon Exarion Universe!"

She summoned a centaur with the upper body of a green-skinned man and wearing blue armor. He had a magical scepter on one hand and a black shield on the other.

**Exarion Universe**

**ATK/1800 DEF/1900**

"I will attack your Blade Rabbit!' shouted Summer. "And doing so activates my Exarion Universe's effect. I can lower his ATK by 400 and allow him the temporary ability of pierce damage!"

"I don't think so!" said Theo. "Here's my trap card. Curse of Anubis, which will switch your mutated pony into defense mode, saving my rabbit."

"Yeah for now," said Summer. "Now that my turn has finished, my Exarion Universe goes back to attack position, thanks to your labyrinth."

Theo's turn.

"I set one card face-down and set this trap card. I switch my rabbit back to attack mode and end my turn."

The labyrinth activated, switching the rabbit back to defense and destroying Summer's Exarion Universe.

"My turn," said Summer. "I've had enough of your trickery!"

"Then surrender," sneered Theo.

"Jon would tan my backside if he ever found out I surrendered to the likes of you. I summon X-Saber Anu Piranha in attack mode. Strike down his rabbit once and for all!"

"No!" cried Theo. "My combo is ruined! No matter. I can still beat you. And don't forget, my labyrinth switches your monster in defense mode."

"How can I forget, you've only repeated it a dozen times already."

"I'll wipe that smirk off your face! I flip up my face-down monster. Crass Clown!"

Hee! Hee! Hee! The fat devilish clown shrieked as he flipped around theatrically and landed on a blue circus ball patterned with red stars. He had a sharp scythe as a weapon. ( **ATK/1350 DEF/1400 LV 4** )

"And now for his effect," said Theo. "When flip-summoned, he sends a monster back to your hand, leaving you wide open for an attack! Attack!"

"I think not," said Summer. "Reveal face-down card: A Hero Emerges. Choose a monster in my hand, and if it's a monster, I can summon it to the field."

"Uh," said Theo. "The last one, fourth card on the right!"

"Excellent choice, Anu Piranha returns to the field. Care to continue your attack?"

"I end my turn," said Theo.

Summer drew. "I summon Fairy of the Fountain!" ( **ATK/1600 DEF/1100 LV 4** )

She attacked, but once again, Theo outsmarted her with another of his traps. Curse of Anubis. It switched the fairy to defense mode triggering his next trap, Tragedy, which destroyed a monster who switched its position. Fairy of the Fountain shrieked as she vanished into the Graveyard. Still, Crass Clown was not sticking around for long.

Anu Piranha struck the nuisance with her whip-like blade, cutting him to shreds. Summer ended her turn and Anu switched to defense mode.

Theo drew. There was nothing he could do. He realized he was going to take some damage this turn, but if his next card was another of his traps, he would be safe. He ended his turn.

"My turn," said Summer. "I use the spell card: Cost Down which lowers the level of one of my monsters in my hand by two. And I choose, Dark Magician Girl!"

The guests in the mead hall cheered when the most beautiful monster in Yu-Gi-Oh was summoned. She twirled elegantly in a cloud sparkling light and blew a kiss to Theo as she was dne with her show.

Summer then equipped her with the spell card, Magic Formula, increasing her attack by 700 and raising it to 2700.

Theo froze. It was over. Before he knew it, Summer's two monsters combined their attacks and took him down with one powerful hit. He grunted as he was knocked backward and slid across the floor.

"I win," said Summer. "Dalaris stays."

Ser Gerhalos nodded, crossing his arms. "Well, it looks like you had fun," he said to Dalaris.

"I did," Dalaris replied. "It has been long since I last saw a Duel before. I must say, this has been one incredible day, Ser Gerhalos. First, you get me out of that room, you take me to the library, we played in the snow. Now this incredible Duel. I have asked Lady Astrid to allow us the use of a special chamber down below. Will you come join me?"

"Chamber?" said Ser Gerhalos. "What sort of chamber?"

Astrid sniggered. "I don't want to be part of this. Just do what you have to do." She got up and left.

Theo sniffed on the floor, wallowing in his defeat. Dalaris then led Ser Gerhalos out of the mead hall.

"What is going on, Dalaris?"

"I've asked Astrid to arrange a private dinner for us," said Dalaris. "My way of thanking you for all you've done. You know, you're the only one in my life who actually treats me like I mean something."

"Where are we?" Ser Gerhalos asked.

Dalaris had taken him to a much deeper part of the castle.

"What is this?" he asked again.

Dalaris released his hand from her grip and pushed open a set of large mahogany doors. A blast of hot steam greeted them. Ser Gerhalos froze when he saw that Dalaris had taken him to a hot spring. But this one was much different than the one he visited with Jon and the other two princes. These were brightly lit with glowing crystals. The walls were made of gleaming white tiles, and there was a buffet table with all manner of cuisine.

"These springs are reserved for the princesses." Dalaris closed the doors. "You've done so much for me Ser Gerhalos," Dalaris said.

To Ser Gerhalos' shock, Dalaris undid her cloak, letting it fall to the floor. "You are the definition of a knight in shining armor, Ser Gerhalos," she said, undoing the strings of her dress. "I wish to thank you, by giving you my heart."

"Dalaris…wait…"

"Tonight, I'm all yours," Dalaris said, her face was hot with passion as she began to peel her gown off her chest, releasing her breasts. "I want you to see me," she said. "I want you to see every part of me. I want you to see all of me."

The dress slid down leaving her completely naked before him. Ser Gerhalos' whiskers shivered as she stepped out of the crumpled heap of her dress, slowly strutting towards him.

"I-I…" he muttered.

"Come," said Dalaris, breathing heavily. Her face blushing pink. "Touch me."

"Dalaris…this is not…"

Without a word or warning, Dalaris picked up his paw and place it over one of her breasts. "Have you ever touched a human woman before, Ser Gerhalos?"

"N-never," the Leogai warrior squeaked. He would rather be out fighting giant monsters or exploring ancient dungeons seeking lost treasure with Avi. What would she think if she saw him like this?

Dalaris pushed herself closer and hugged him.

"Get out of this armor," she whispered haughtily. "I wish to feel you against me."

There was nothing Ser Gerhalos could do. His feelings got the better of him. He lost his will to reason and surrendered to the wishes of the passionate vixen in his arms.


	87. Prince Jon: Iron and Thunder: Part 8

**Ser Gerhalos**

* * *

"Yes, she is beautiful," Ser Gerhalos whispered to himself as he watched the naked Dalaris Dragonheart walk from the bed to the large window overlooking the endless sea of pine trees with snow-capped mountains in the distance. As Ser Gerhalos watched her, he concluded that she was a graceful creature of white-hot flames and pliancy. Her personality changed ever so drastically, becoming one thing after another as though she was a master of disguise. She could be ferocious and tender, which she seemed to be as she moved effortlessly while they were making love.

Though he was more than pleased last night, a cloud of caution fogged his mind, blocking the loving feelings he harbored for the girl deep inside. The storm of confusion conjured by the words of Lord Jon, who instructed Ser Gerhalos to be wary of her, not just for the fact she was related to the faction that started this war, but because she was a skilled killer before she was taken prisoner.

No, Ser Gerhalos assured himself. Her feelings for me are just. If they weren't she would have killed me in my sleep. I felt it. I felt the love inside of her. Her feelings are just.

Dalaris stood by the window and rubbed her chin, thinking about how late it was. By the light of the day, she guessed it was probably past noon. She flushed, thinking of how late she and her Knight had been up. The sky was the most beautiful shade of azure blue, and the sun cast just the right amount of light on the trees making them look like emeralds.

She looked back at her unusual lover smiling. When it formed on her beautiful lips, it melted Ser Gerhalos's heart. The twinkle in her eyes and her rose-blonde hair, when met with the light of the sun, looked like the romantic fire that illuminated their room last night. It still burned in the hearth, cracking and snapping as the logs withered to embers and ash.

"Did I hurt you?" Ser Gerhalos asked.

Dalaris twittered happily. "I must admit, my back aches. You weigh a ton."

"Oh," Ser Gerhalos said sadly.

"But in the sheets, you move more like a house cat than a lion. There's a soft spot deep down all that muscle and fur, Ser Gerhalos."

Ser Gerhalos let out an amused sniff upon hearing her compliment. "But, uh…I'm not at all what you hoped your knight in shining armor would be. Am I?"

Dalaris hid a laugh behind her hand. "What do you mean?"

"Well…most girls your age often wish for someone better than me. They dream of being married to a wealthy prince or a dashing knight."

Dalaris rolled her eyes. "All young girls dream of having a handsome knight in jeweled armor coming to sweep them off their feet, Ser Gerhalos. They get anything but once they begin to figure out what true love is all about. You know; this thing you and I have. It reminds me of something."

"Go on?" Ser Gerhalos said, putting his hands behind his head.

"When I was a girl, I read a story about a beautiful maiden and hideous a beast. Not like you, though. You may have the head of a lion, but it is handsome and charming." She puckered her lips. "No, this beast was animalistic and hideous. But the maiden saw past all that and fell in love regardless of his looks."

"I was once in the service of a warrior maiden who liked that story, too," said Ser Gerhalos.

"Did she now?"

"She was in love with that story. The monster poisons himself in the end. However, after the maiden professes her love for him, the beast gets transformed into a handsome prince. Does he not?"

Dalaris giggled. "Yes. He did. However, that princely form was not who she fell in love with. Was it?"

Ser Gerhalos clicked his tongue and looked at the ceiling. She had a point.

"Life is no fairy tale, Ser Gerhalos," Dalaris said walking back to him. She stood near the side of the bed, leaning forward and crossing her arms over his chest before resting her head on them. "I've seen princesses marry handsome princes and have fairy tale weddings. Their marriages always end in either the husband getting poisoned or the wife tossing herself out of the tower window."

"That's awfully grim," said Ser Gerhalos.

"But, that's what I love about the story," said Dalaris. "It teaches that one can find true love in the most unlikely of places. Yes, you are not some paladin in armor of silver, but you are my knight in shining armor. I love you just the way you are. Whiskers and all."

She flicked the top-most whisker on the right side of his snout. It sprang up and down making her giggle.

Ser Gerhalos grinned. "You mean it?"

Dalaris nodded her head. "You've been so good to me, even though we're technically enemies. And because of your kindness, I have befriended Jon's sisters. Even Jon himself was growing accustomed to me." She shrugged and rolled her eyes. "Well, not as much as I would have hoped, but enough for him to trust me enough to let me roam the castle halls as I please."

"Then I am happy to have you, Lady Dalaris. Daughter of Antilles."

"I smell treason," teased Dalaris.

"Do not jest like that," Ser Gerhalos said pointing at her. "Just hearing the word makes me uncomfortable."

"Of course," said Dalaris. "Let's leave petty politics out of our fun."

"Indeed," said Ser Gerhalos said, petting the back of Dalaris's head. "This is all I ever wanted. No Kings. No Lords. No war. Nothing on the outside of these walls. Just you and me."

Dalaris suddenly shivered. "Ser Gerhalos, may I take the blanket. It's cold."

"Then put some clothes on. You silly girl."

"I'm too lazy to get dressed," Dalaris whined. "Besides, the fire is mostly pointing towards you. And you have all that fur."

"But I am naked," said Ser Gerhalos.

"So am I," Dalaris assured him while biting her bottom lip. "And that didn't seem to be a problem last night was it?"

"So be it," Ser Gerhalos said.

He tossed the blankets off himself and threw them over her shoulders. "Nice and toasty," she said.

"May I be so bold as to ask you for a kiss, My Lady?"

"We have much work to do on that prospect," sniggered Dalaris. "You don't exactly have lips."

Ser Gerhalos let out a thunderous laugh. It boomed across the large room. "Once again, you have a point."

Just then, a sound that Dalaris had dreaded entered her ears and surged through her body, filling her with dread. The sound of iron squeaking, and kingswood moaning from the movement as well. The door was burst open.

"Ser Gerhalos," Princess Astrid said coming into the room fully armored. "I come with…GYAHH!" She screamed, displeased and shocked at the sight of a Leogai naked.

"Uh, Princess," Ser Gerhalos said, trying to remain calm. "What's up?"

"You really want me to answer that!" Astrid cried, shielding her eyes with her hands. Just then, her sister Dagmar had arrived, also geared up and ready.

"We are set to begin the expedition to…OH GODDESSES!" She dropped her bow and quiver on the floor. Her hands, now free of their burden, clasped over her gaping mouth. "I. Am. So. Sorry!"

"Girls!" Dalaris pleaded with them. "This isn't what it looks like. We just uh…we were…"

"No! No!" said Dagmar. "We are…perfectly aware of the situation right now."

"It's fine!" said Astrid. "Uh…who isn't a little curious every now and then? Nothing wrong with it."

"You aren't mad?" Dalaris asked.

"No," said Astrid. "But I am scarred for life."

The twins, Sassa and Saga came skipping into the room to see what the commotion was. Like their siblings, they were warmly dressed in furs over their armor of leather and steel. Bandolier belts loaded with pouches were strapped over their shoulders.

"WOW!" Sassa cried out in shock.

"Oh my…." Saga said, wanting to heave. "So…. you two…"

Dalaris nodded and formed a weak smile as she flashed her snowy-white teeth.

"How did that thing fit?" shouted Sassa. "It's bigger than Jon's arm!"

"Sassa!" shouted Astrid. "Shut up! Clearly, there is something strong between them."

"Yeah, and it's huge!" said Dagmar.

Astrid slapped her across the head. ("OW!") "We'll just back away now and let you two have your fun. Our quest can resume when you're ready. We'll be in the mess hall."

"Throwing up," said Sassa.

Genesis, the beastmaster, was next to walk in on the sight. "Wow!" she said, brushing her silvery-blonde hair over her shoulder with her fingertips.

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" groaned Ser Gerhalos.

"Everyone…please," said Astrid. "Let's back away now. And uh…Lady Dalaris. If you wish to prove yourself to our Alliance. Perhaps you could join us on our quest to find the Soul of Silvermountain."

"I'd be honored," Dalaris said awkwardly. "Count me in."

"Please do hurry," said Astrid. "There is a matter of the utmost importance we must talk about."

"We'll be down as soon as possible," said Dalaris.

Astrid bowed, got one last look out of curiosity, and slammed the doors shut behind her.

Dalaris turned to look at Ser Gerhalos. Her teeth clamped together as if supporting the muscles of her face to keep from contorting into sorrow. Never before had Ser Gerhalos seen her face so red. Tears of embarrassment even glimmered in her eyes.

"You didn't lock the door?" Ser Gerhalos grumbled.

"Oops," Dalaris replied softly.

Ser Gerhalos slapped his hand over his eyes and slid it down his face. "Come on. Let's get dressed. It sounds like they really need us down there."

They heard the loud bellow of the castle horns thundering across the countryside. The walls shook as if a giant was pounding against the foundation of the mountain.

"What is that?" Dalaris asked.

Wasting no time, everyone darted out of the castle. Everyone in the town stood outside their homes wondering what was causing the horrid quaking.

"Open the gates!" Astrid commanded.

Slowly, the large iron gates creaked open, letting Astrid out into the empty plains.

"Goddesses!" cried Dagmar, who was sitting atop a watchtower. "What is that?"

Two mammoths with black fur and wide tusks stomped towards the plains outside the gate. The hair on the top of their heads was styled into a Mohawk, and their eyes were black as their hair. They were as tall as a small mountain, standing fifty meters tall, no doubt weighing more than White Mountain where Castle Vaettfang was built. The mammoths were pulling a towering, square-shaped castle on wheels. At the feet of the two beasts, thousands of horsemen speaking Sapanish marched in beautiful formations. Some were riding Megazowlers, Sabersaurus, and Uraby as mounts. The dinosaurs seemed unfazed by the coldness of the country. A warm mist erupted from their snouts while they lined up in a perfect formation.

A short-haired girl, warmly dressed in furs over her armored gown, rode towards the group on top of a Black Stego armored in red-enameled armor with gold trim.

"Is one of you by chance, Prince Jon Jahangir?" she asked. "Speak quickly!"

"No, he is not here," Astrid replied sharply. "I am Astrid. This is Sassa and Saga. This is Genesis, and my sister Dagmar on the tower up there. We are his sisters. The Princesses."

"Ah, the legendary Jewels of Riftgaard," said the girl. "I am Nelly of the House Delgado. Princess of Feldia. My sister, Queen Maria Delgado wishes to speak with your brother. But, you say he is not here. Perhaps there is a way we can treat with you instead. Woman to woman, no?"

"I am just a princess," said Astrid. "My father, the King, is inside if you wish to speak with him."

"No," said Nelly. "My sister's business is with the Prince. Your father is an honorable man, Princess Astrid. But he is old. Besides, the one in charge of military operations around here is your brother, now that he is part of the Alliance."

"This is true," said Dagmar. "Father mostly oversees the villages and laws. But if you want to speak of war, you see us."

"Very good," said Nelly. "After all, it's us kids who have to fix the mess our fathers made of the continent."

"Very true," said Summer.

" _Oh,_ _que bonita_ ," Nelly said admiring Summer's beauty. "And who are you _querida_?"

"My name's Summer. Prince Jon is my future husband."

"Pity," said Nelly.

"What in the Ten Hells are those!" cried Sassa, pointing to mechanical beasts sprinting out of the mists.

Summer, being a Duelist from the East knew what they were. "Hey! Those are the Dinomist monsters. You're allied with House Santcliment?"

"They joined us during the coup against my father," Nelly explained. "They come in very handy in a tight spot, these lads."

A Dimomist Rex, Ceratops, and Stegosaur led the formation of the mechanical dinosaurs. They stopped before the group snarling and shooting steam from their mouths and various vents from their hydraulics systems.

Elevators opened from their bodies. The knights that piloted them slid down from rappels. Their feet hit the ground dramatically, kicking dust and snow into the air. The pilot of the Dinomist Ceratops stood out from the others for he was an Eldori with pale skin, spiked blond hair, and blue eyes, wearing a tight jumpsuit of black and dark blue, as did his fellow pilots. The suits were tight and formed well with their ironed muscles and god-like physiques.

While the Eldori was just an Oathblade, the other two pilots were brothers of the House Santcliment. The blond Eldori clicked when he saw Jon's sisters standing before him at the gates.

"Well, I did not expect to find such beauty all the way out here," he said. "You lovely ladies by any chance the fabled Jewels of Riftgaard?"

"W-we are," stuttered Genesis. Her face flushing bright pink. She nudged her sister lightly with her elbow. "Right, Astrid?"

"Will you relax?" she mumbled. "It's only a boy!"

"The pleasantries will have to wait," said Duke Fabia de Sanctliment, leader of the Knights of Santcliment, and pilot of the Dinomist Rex.

His brother, Sandro; who piloted the Dinomist Stegosaur, was most upset that the pleasantries and introductions had to be postponed. He, too, wanted to meet the Jewels. But there was none among them who captivated him more than Ser Gerhalos; a knight he admired since he was a small boy.

"The Duke is right," said Nelly. "Come, my friends. The Queen of Feldia awaits,"

The ground still shook. Something else of large size was approaching them.

"More mammoths?" Dagmar asked.

Nelly smiled. "No, these castles are for the peasants. My Sister-Queen has her own method of transportation."

The monster that caused the earth to shake made a loud bellow as it stomped over the hundred-foot-tall pine trees that surrounded the city. A sauropod, a genus of dinosaur with long necks, roamed out of the morning mist. It towered over everything around it, even the city, standing at over fifty meters tall. Its long horizontally-aligned body was colored dark brown with a khaki-colored underbelly. Thick plates of heavy steel protected its legs and sensitive parts such as the thick chest to shield the heart. The flags of Feldia and House Delgado hung from over-sized banners on its long stiff, rigged neck and on the even longer whip-like tail. Two more banners hung on either side of its body. The limbs were wide, and very trunk-like, hammering down on the earth causing the city to shake.

The most notable feature stood proudly on its back. A majestic palace, resembling a large city was perfectly in place. Banners waved from the tower tops and the thousands of windows along the buildings glimmered from the warm light within.

"Now I've seen everything," said Ser Gerhalos.

"Incredible!" Dalaris commented while keeping her hands clasped over her gaping mouth.

Elevators of glass and gold slowly descended to the ground. At once, Astrid and the others boarded it and took a long trip up the city mounted on the dinosaur's back.


	88. Prince Jon: Iron and Thunder: Part 9

**Summer**

* * *

It had been hours since Summer and the others were brought into the city mounted on the back of the colossal dinosaur dubbed The Behemoth. The city itself was known as Las Nuves de la Señora Santa de las Estrellas, dubbed after Entúli, Goddess of Light who aided the lost and defeated Normans, whom she pitied, into Feldia. There was no word from their host. Not even a messenger to tell them when Queen Maria Delgado was coming down to visit them or summon them to her chambers. A blizzard blew fiercely outside the stained glass windows of the tower where Summer, Astrid, Ser Gerhalos, Dalaris, Sassa, Saga, Genesis, and Dagmar just sat about doing nothing but moaning, groaning, and whining.

They had no worry about food because every thirty minutes or so, a servant came in with a fresh batch of sandwiches and a Feldian dish known as Ceviché. Around four o'clock maids arrived with dinner gowns for the girls to wear, while a smith came by to polish and make some 'additions' to Ser Gerhalos' armor. While his gear was being cleaned and decorated he made do with a large bedsheet to wrap around his waist. He had no worry of being seen by the Summer and the rest of the girls; for they were escorted by the Queen's Chamberlain down the long, painted halls to a bathhouse so they could wash for the supper Maria asked them to attend.

"Supper with the Queen of Feldia," Dalaris chimed happily. "How exciting."

"Sounds awfully pretentious if you ask me," said Genesis. "Why can't we just meet with her and get this over with?"

"Her Majesty has her reasons," said the stuck-up chamberlain leading them to the bathhouse. He stopped before the door, put his hands on the golden handles, and pulled the doors open. A veil of white mist rushed out the door, enveloping him.

Inside, maids poured kettles of hot water into the pool and added orange slices, sweet-scented oils, and rose petals to their bath. A crystal chandelier hung above the pool with a mural depicting the story of Norman the Conqueror taking Rassay from the invaders. The walls were of glass with gold grids, offering panoramic views of the land around them and the volcano, GUÐRÚN, smoking in the distance.

The chamberlain walked around the ladies twice. He put a finger on top of Dalaris' head and slid it down the length of her cranium. He examined his finger. "Tsk, tsk, tsk," he said. He then slid the same finger down Summer's left shoulder, exposed by the bodice she wore. "I had heard the Berja were filthy. But nothing in me prepared me for this. No, no, no. Her Majesty was right in sending you to get cleaned." He clapped his hands. "Take off your clothes, all of you. Chop! Chop!"

But before they could begin to get treated to their bath, two guards awaited them behind a wooden table.

"What's the meaning of this?" Dagmar asked.

"Forgive the inconvenience, My Ladies," said the Chamberlain. "But I cannot allow you to see Her Majesty so armed. I ask that you place your weapons on the table to be confiscated for as long as it pleases Her Majesty."

Dagmar growled like a beast. "You've got to be joking."

"If you wish to see Her Majesty, you must comply with our rules, Princess."

"We don't want to see her," snapped Sassa. "She summoned us, remember? We could have sent you on your way and never bothered with her."

"Her Majesty only wishes to join your Alliance," he said. "She will offer terms to help you secure the Dinosaur Lands and the Northwestern Katinian Marches which, by law, is under the control of our homeland."

As they were drying up from their bath, a barber styled and curled their hair then decorated them with flowers of silk and colorful ribbons. Once they put on their gowns, they were taken back to the tower where Ser Gerhalos awaited them in his newly forged armor.

"Amazing!" Summer said, admiring the new white enameled steel outlined with engraved gold trim, a glistening cloth-of-gold cape, and a winged helmet large enough for Ser Gerhelos' head. "How was this accomplished in so little time?"

"Magic and the best blacksmiths in Termnnia have a hand in that," Nelly Delgado said coming into the tower. "Now if you'll please wait here, Queen Maria will be with you shortly." She turned and left, closing the door behind her.

"She said that hours ago," said Dagmar. "Oh, this perfume they sprayed me with is going to make me sick."

"I do hope this all works well," said Summer. "I hope to see Jon soon."

"Aww," said Astrid. "Someone's getting a little lonely."

"Have patience," said Ser Gerhalos. "You will see your beloved soon. I assure you."

"Indeed," said Dalaris. "Remember, Summer, absence makes the heart grow fonder."

Summer laughed behind her hands. "I wonder where he is? Poor thing. Out there in the cold. I wish I could just hold him in my arms again."

"Cold?" laughed Genesis. "Believe me, Summer. I'm sure Jon's finding some way to keep himself warm that we can't even comprehend."

* * *

**Jon**

* * *

After two days of marching, Jon had finally reached the location of the vaults his father tasked him to find. Actually, he was about a hundred yards away from it; for he and his troops found trouble along the way. Unbeknownst to him, or to anyone for that matter, the forests of Ülland was the home of the savage Wild Men of Helleberg. And they were not at all pleased to see Jon and his army marching into their territory. Two thousand strong blocked the way to the ancient Citadel of the Wolves which dominated the landscape from the top of the mountain Grunden. Getting up there was going to be a hassle all its own, but that was going to be a task for much later.

For now, Jon had an army of savages to contend with. He sat atop his warhorse rubbing his hands together to create friction and warm them. From the top of his horse, he had a perfect view of the battlefield. His soldiers were perfectly lined up down below. They were in a clearing surrounded by pine trees as far as the eye could see. The snow was falling heavily from a thick curtain of black storm clouds and a biting wind blew from the north. He held out his right hand. A grayish-blue arcane circle hovered over his palms and from it emerged a beam of light that transformed into Gearfried the Iron Knight.

Jon's warriors cheered when the monster made his appearance. Brökk laughed and patted Jon's back with a powerful slap.

"That got their spirits up, eh? Sure as hell brought mine up. I've listened to great songs about this legendary warrior. You have no idea how honored I am to fight alongside him."

"Listen to him," teased Liola, dressed warmly in her white furs. "He sounds like a little girl who met her darling, dashing, knight for the first time."

"Why do you mock me at every turn, Princess?" Brökk said with a playful laugh. "One of these days, you're going to find yourself over my knee as I tan that plump backside of yours."

"I'd like to see you try," Liola said with a tease.

"She likes you," Jon said emotionlessly.

"Beg your pardon," said Liola. "I most certainly do not, _hermandalí_!"

"It seems you do," Alfsigr commented riding towards them atop her Silver Fang mount. " _Baba, junfru sâyen thron wulden drenna feya merra sultho, shen rentho feya chín_."

"Care about him!" shouted Liola. "You must be out of your mind! What am I saying? Of course, you are! Look at you!"

Alfsigr smiled while mounted on top of the Silver Fang named Hallvard. He was well protected behind leather armor and plates of iron of his sensitive spots. But it was not the mount that got everyone's attention. Being the most amorous of Jon's sisters, she was not properly suited for combat. If it weren't for the raunchy torn top and the loincloth made of saber tooth hide that was thinner than silk, Alfsigr would have been practically bare.

Her feet were protected in fur boots and vambraces shielded her forearms. She wore a pelt of a gray dire wolf she hunted when she was ten. Its head rested on the top of her own, acting as a cowl. A braid of her light-brown hair hung over her shoulder. The fur was enchanted with a resist-cold spell which kept her warm, but, being a Berja, she was naturally resistant to the cold. Her cheeks were striped in light blue as were her shoulders, thighs, and even her buttocks to show she was ready for war.

"Let her dress how she wants," said Jon. "If an arrow pierces her heart, she had better not blame us for not warning her to dress properly. Ødegân knows we've tried."

"You lot are no fun," said Alfsigr. "Besides, everyone knows the enemy is going to be keeping their eyes on me during this quarrel."

"I do not complain," said Brökk. "Any tactical advantage we can get is welcome in my book."

"Trying to woo your enemies with your naked body is not tactical," said Liola. "It's pure, fucking madness!"

"And yet I have lived and gathered more kills in the field of battle than any of you," laughed Alfsigr. "Besides, you didn't seem to have that problem that day we earned our nicknames."

"I'd love to hear all about it when the battle is won," said Brökk.

"I'll bet you do," Jon growled, tightening his grip on the reins of his horse.

From the forests, emerged the leader of the Mountain Men. King Erik Dragonhammer. He stood eight-feet-high and was very broad-shouldered. His face concealed behind a shaggy beard that looked like black seaweed. The patches of flesh that weren't concealed by the beard were wrinkled and dark in color giving him a beastly appearance. He wore dark brown furs, a belt, and animal-hide boots and wielded a wooden hammer with the head carved to look like a dragon. The mouth had a clever enchantment that allowed him to shoot fireballs from it making it an awesome weapon.

King Erik waved his hammer in circles to show off his power and hoped to intimidate Jon's forces. " _Beekren Aljot! Malyendí Ulro_!" he shouted.

Ooooooo! Howled his warriors, concealed behind the trees and the thick screen of white mist.

Liola sniffed in amusement while King Erik started taunting them again. "These people should learn when they've met their match. He underestimates you for your age, hermandalí. And he believes he can take on your Gearfried."

" _Aoh Sinta fin dal ünda_!"

Oooooo! Howled the warriors.

Jon chuckled. "He's confident, I'll give him that. But why would he think so highly of his skills?"

Alfsigr giggled as King Erik shouted another taunt. "He thinks his hammer was blessed upon him by their thunder god."

Oooooo! Howled the Mountain Men after King Erik gave another speech and displayed another nerve-wracking swing of his wooden hammer.

" _Ogründa seyoth mahúnda_!" he shouted again.

Ooooo!

"He called one of us a whore," said Jon.

Liola rolled her neck to the left. "I wonder who," she said looking at Alfsigr who rolled her eyes and sniggered at his challenge.

"How many Valkyries do we have?" Jon asked, referring to his special force of female warriors.

"A hundred and fifty give or take," Liola responded with a shrug.

Jon formed a confident grin. "I feel sorry for them already." Ooooo! The savages howled again. "Alfsigr. Lead them into battle first."

"Love to!" Alfsigr cried out with excitement, kicking Hallvard into a spring. The Silver Fang snarled in compliance and dashed down the hill towards front lines. Alfsigr blew her horn and called for all Valkyries to follow her to the front; for they were going to lead the charge. The Valkyries, being the battle-hardened warriors that they were, roared in compliance and acceptance; for they wanted nothing more than to go into battle first.

Brökk looked at Jon and said: "Your sisters are incredible."

"Why don't you follow her charge with your mastodons?" Jon suggested. "Give my sister and the Valkyries some backup. Keep an eye on her rear flanks."

"Oh, I'll have my eye on her rear flank alright," sneered Brokk, leading his horse towards the stables where the giant mammoths and mastodons were kept. His beast was already armored and prepped for battle. He quickly climbed onboard into the fortress of wood fastened to its back, a squad of fifteen archers finished what was left of their supper and picked up their bows while the driver cracked the whip forcing the mastodon into a walk.

Once the Mountain Men saw the Valkyries forming the lead assault force, they walked out of the mist howling and cheering. They banged their swords, hammers, and maces on their shields.

Oooooo! They kept howling to intimidate the women.

It did not work. Alfsigr rode in front of the formation holding up her sword challenging the Wild Men with both a loud battle cry and her curvaceous physique so as to confuse and gain the attention of the enemy. It was working. It seemed like none of them had seen a woman in ages, let alone an army of them; many of whom were fair-faced and adorned with elegant hair like silk. Some did not know whether to attack or attempt to take her prisoner. In fact, she even got a few of them to start fighting amongst themselves for her.

Jon laughed out loud when he saw the small squabbles ruining the organization of the enemy ranks below. With one final shout, Alfsigr led the Valkyries into a mighty charge. The winged helmets of gold, silver, and mithril that shined above their heads gave them a heavenly appearance. The cold mountain air rang hot with the shouts of hundreds of battle-ready women.

Ooooo! The Mountain Men shouted one last time in an attempt to scare them. It did not work.

With a loud smack, the Valkyries rammed into the enemy line. They were outnumbered, but superior combat training and speed gave them the advantage. King Erik was quick to jump into combat and smacked a few of the Valkyries with his hammer, crushing their ribs and splattering their innards. He launched fireballs from the dragon's head on the top of his hammer igniting a few Valkyries adding more tallies to his kill count.

Soon, King Erik shouted for his men to encircle the Valkyries in a clever pincer formation. But Jon would not allow that.

He whistled. "Gunnvar, Gunnhildr!" he called his two older sisters. "Ride to Alfsigr and aid her."

"Yes brother!" said Gunnvar. "Yah!" she shouted kicking her horse into a gallop. Gunnhildr went after her, drawing her bow and shooting at the enemy from the top of her horse.

"Axia, Gerdr, Grid!" Jon called his remaining sisters. "Lead our cavalry into the forest and strike them from the west."

"Yes brother!" both sisters said. Grid blew on her horn calling for the horsemen to follow her into the woods. Running beside her steed was her pet Smilodon, both of them quickly took the lead in front of Grid and the horsemen.

Meanwhile, Brökk had arrived on the open field of the clearing to join Alfsigr and the Valkyries. The mastodon bellowed and swiped a large group of Wild Men with its large, curved tusks. The men shrieked as they were flailed into the air like matchsticks. On the fortress above the mastodon, Brökk's archers immediately got to work firing their arrows at the enemy. Meanwhile, Brokk himself, and a group of his best men jumped down from the fortress to guard the massive animal's vulnerable legs.

Brökk roared like a grizzly bear and bashed his ax against his shield calling out for an opponent. Many of the Wild Men answered his call. They screamed and dashed for him. He ducked to avoid the strikes from their swords. He bashed his enemy in the throat with his shield, stunning him before smashing the ax on the top of his skull. Blood and bits of skull sprayed out of the wound and splashed Brökk's face. His eyes stung for but a moment, but he laughed and struck down his next victim. He grew so overconfident that he failed to see a hairy warrior charging towards him from behind. A streak of white flashed from beside him, and he was gone.

Brökk turned to spot Alfsigr and her Silver Fang. She blew him a kiss and then kicked her wolf in a mighty sprint, disappearing into the throng of battle. The earth shook. Brokk thought his mastodon had fallen until he heard the enemy cheering and howling. A thunderous shout rocked the forest.

"Just great," said Liola. "They have a giant."

The giant had a thick mane of black, stringy hair. His beard went down to his stomach and his arms were shrouded in a thick layer of bushy hair. He wore mammoth furs and was armored with their bones. His helmet was a mammoth skull engraved in runes and decorated with shells and colorful strings.

"Time for us to join the fun," said Jon. "Gearfried, you ready for some action?" Gearfried roared and smashed his chest. "That's what I like to hear," said Jon.

He put on the ancient alien helmet, anxious to see what it was about this armor that made his ancestors so fierce. Once it was fastened snugly over his head, he saw nothing. It was as dark as night and the material of the helmet muffled every sound from the outside.

Jon heard not sound. He would have proclaimed himself deaf had it not been for the ringing in his ears and the pestersome throbbing of the blood pulsing through every vessel in his head. But then a HUD flashed before his eyes. The bright display forced him to squint. Once his eyes grew adjusted to the light he read the HUD in its entirety. The display started showing him data graphs, windows of information, and a bar that said LOADING in large red letters. At the right-hand corner, the emblem of the Wolves of Riftgaard was on display blinking slowly. In no time at all, Jon was blessed with a 360° view of the world around him making it appear as though he was wearing no helmet.

The high-definition camera on the top of the helmet – fused with the golden plume – gave Jon a 4k resolution view of the world around him. His HUD displayed a compass on the top of the visor. A small window showed him the status of his armor. All parts of the armor; the arms, legs, head and torso were on the green and reading 100%. The speakers beside his ears projected the chaotic melody of the battle outside. If it was too loud, there was no need for worry; for Jon's armor had a fascinating feature that allowed him to lower and raise the volume of the speakers by tapping the tips of his thumb and index finger on his gauntlet.

"My Lord! Your weapon!" one of his warriors shouted, handing him his white-gold assault rifle.

Jon looked so out of place. There he sat on the top of his horse clad in futuristic gear from beyond the stars surrounded by his warriors clad in leather, fur, chainmail, and iron plate with their swords, spears, and axes. It gave him a sense of power, unlike anything he felt before. Once the weapon was in his hands, a HUD displayed on the lower right-hand corner showing him the amount of ammo he had and the rounds in his magazine which totaled at 45. His chestplate was equipped with a holster that carried the magazines for his weapon. The armor's computer counted eight magazines meaning he had 360 rounds of ammo to use against his enemies.

The sleek design and refined coating of the paint reflected the waning sunlight. A holographic reflex sight digitized over the rails of the rifle to give Jon accuracy in battle.

"Beautiful," said Jon. "Now I know why the Orcs feared my people thousands of years ago. Yuri, this battle is for you!"

Jon got off his horse. He marched down the hill while he raised his weapon high. Gearfried the Iron Knight followed him. The very sight of him caused his warriors to roar in triumph. They banged their weapons on their shields while chanting his name. Jon, fueled by adrenaline and the thirst for vengeance for Yuri's murder, roared as loudly as one of Avi's dragons. Gearfried thumped his thick iron chest while bellowing a deafening battle cry. When their shouts entered the cold, stinging ears of the warriors, it also filled them with a lust for killing. Their bodies suddenly grew as warm as a summer day. The mist from their breath gathered over their heads in a large cloud.

Jon charged down the hill. Seven thousand soldiers followed suit. The speakers in Jon's helmet picked up their footsteps which boomed and shook the ground beneath his feet. Jon aimed down the sights of his battle rifle. He squeezed the trigger and let out a hail of bullets upon two Wild Men attempting to block his way with their shields of oak. The bullets ripped through the shields and drilled into their flesh, ripping their innards to end them quickly.

They grunted and fell to the ground. The snow drank their hot blood fervently. The fluffy white surface turning a rich shade crimson. Jon's weapon made metallic buzz each time it was fired. The red laser sight coming out of the mouth of the golden eagle head at the bottom of the rifle danced through the air as Jon went from target to target.

He and Gearfried immediately chased after the giant, smashing the warriors with his hammer-like fists and his wide feet. The bullets tore through the giant's flesh, but he was so big they didn't cause enough damage. The weapon stopped spitting out bullets. Jon looked at his HUD to check the ammo count. It read 0. He let Gearfried take the lead while he changed the magazine. Thanks to his training in Aurelia with Yuri and the other princes, Jon was able to do this with little effort. Still, he could not afford to waste more rounds on the giant, so he rested the weapon on his back.

Jon held open his hands to summon the golden battle-ax of his great-great-great-grandfather. Through a display of fire and arcane designs, the ax materialized in front of him. He grabbed the handle of the enormous weapon. When the flesh and blood of House Jahangir clutched it, the ax-blades were engulfed with golden flames.

"This armor! I'm invincible!"

A rushing river of overconfidence flowed down his form growing hot with the urge to kill his oversized foe. His teeth ground together to keep his feelings in balance so as not to lose himself in his brashness. The giant shoved Gearfried with his massive palm. The Iron Knight grunted from the impact while he fell to the ground sending a thick veil of snow into the air. The giant grunted seeing Jon run towards him. He attempted to smash him, but Jon was far too quick for that. He rolled forward, missing the foot and bringing himself closer to the beast. Jon bellowed and smashed his flaming weapon on the giant's heel.

The giant howled. His flesh, cooking in the fire, stung and hissed. The agony rolled up his leg like a thousand arrows piercing him at once. With all his might, Jon released the weapon from the giant's flesh and evaded the giant stomp with another roll. Gearfried lifted himself up and leaped into the air, he screamed, holding up his bladed arm. He jabbed it into the giant's back. The giant groaned. He twisted his body violently to shake Gearfried off. While he was preoccupied with the Iron Knight, Jon struck him again in the back of the left leg with his flaming ax.

Brökk, whistled for his mastodon to approach the giant so his archers could aid Jon and Gearfried in bringing the giant down. Alfsigr picked up a spear from a dead Wild Man. She kicked her Silver Fang into a sprint. Alfsigr scanned the giant for a weak point. She noticed he was limping from the wound Jon caused. The flesh on the leg resembled melted candle wax and bore the redness of undercooked meat. Silver Fang howled to announce the coming of her master. Alfsigr threw the spear into the wound. The giant bellowed, falling to his knees. Jon climbed up the shoulders of the weakened beast. The jets at the bottom of his boots lifted him into the air.

He grabbed the giant from the neck and power slammed his face to the ground. Snow and blood burst into the air. The giant's flesh ricocheted back and forth, and most of his teeth cracked. As he was dazed, Jon used the jet boots to launch him in the air again.

Jon held up the axe while he rose higher and higher over the giant's head. Then, using all his might, he brought the weapon down his neck, decapitating him. The sight caused Jon's warriors to cheer and the Wild Men to flee. Within an hour, the battle was over. King Erik and his Wild Men thought they could stop Jon from advancing to the Citadel and claim the weapons and armor of the Wolves of Riftgaard, relics they felt should have belonged to them.

When the injured were recovered and the dead buried in the snow, Jon, his sisters, and Brökk led their forces to the bottom of the mountain where the citadel stood, still in pristine condition as though it were built just recently.

"That mountain doesn't look climbable, brother," said Axia. "There is no way any of us can get up there."

"And look," Gunnvar said pointing at the citadel. "Save for a few windows, there are no entrances into the damned thing."

Jon's mouth curved into a smug grin. "Because you're not supposed to enter Castle Fenrir through the tower."

Gunnvar scratched her head. "Huh? Stop speaking in riddles brother!"

"Yes! Please!" said Gerdr. "Besides, look at that thing! There's no way all of our warriors will be able to fit in there."

"Hush!" Liola said, gently placing a hand on her sister's shoulder. "Our Lord Brother knows what to do. Don't you?"

Jon nodded. "According to father, the mountain will show the door only to a Wolf of Riftgaard." He held up his wrist. A holographic map projected over the vambrace. Jon tapped on the map to zoom in on the mountain. "Ah," he said. "Everyone step back. According to this map, what you're about to see should be most impressive."

The armor sent out a signal to a device hidden inside the rocks. The device beeped and scanned the armor. Then, all went silent. Just then, the side of the mountain shook. The Berja had never seen anything like this, let alone thought it existed. They grew scared and raised their weapons, thinking something foul was about to swoop upon them. The rocks slid aside to reveal a towering door of glimmering steel engraved with runes. The door shuddered violently causing a few avalanches to slide down the mountain. At last, the door was fully opened revealing the entrance to a forgotten city of advanced technology deep within the mountains.

Liola looked at her brother. Her arctic-blue eyes twinkled in the sunlight. She smiled and kissed his cheek. "Father would be so proud of you brother. We must write to him as soon as possible."

"I'll send the raven," said Gunnhildr. "Congratulations, brother! You found it!"

Grid jumped and shouted: "Ya-la-la-la-la!" while her Saber Tooth roared. Brökk thumped his sword on his shield and chanted: "Jon! Jon! Jon! Jon!" he rallied the others to cheer along with him, and they did.

Liola hugged Jon with all her might. "Father gave you that armor and sent you on this quest. You should be the first to enter."

Jon nodded his head. "We did it!" he said to his sisters and his warriors. "We did it together! We all found it!"

But the warriors' love and respect for Jon was too great. The formed in front of the entrance and created a path for him to walk. Those who stood on both sides of the path held up their shields and pointed their swords in the air creating an arch for him to walk under. Jon was about to enter when Liola stopped him.

"Hold on, brother. Before you go, you must wear this first. Father told me to put it on your brow as soon as we found the vault." Liloa went to her horse, opening a pouch on the saddle. She took something out of it. The gift was wrapped in silk and remained under its shroud until Liola got close to Jon. When she stood in front of him, she unwrapped the silk revealing a crown of platinum engraved with scenes of ancient battles fought by the Wolves of Riftgaard and decorated with wolf statuettes.

"It is the crown worn by our ancestors when they patrolled these mountains. The Crown of Fenrir, a symbol given only to the leaders of the Wolves. Since it is you who has restored this noble order, the honor of wearing it is yours."

A few tears rolled down Jon's cheeks. He kissed his sister's forehead and knelt. Liola held up the crown for all to see.

"All Hail Jon Jahangir!" shouted Liola. "The Lord of the Wolves!"

 


	89. The Loremaster

* * *

**The Loremaster**

* * *

"And that's what happened, young one. With the vault open, Jon and his warriors stormed inside and reformed the lost order. Now, my dear, Colette, the Wolves of Riftgaard once again patrol their lands and fight back against King Forrest."

"So they're really gone from these lands? The Covenant, I mean."

The Loremaster shook his head. "No, my dear, they still have a lot of work to do. But have no fear; for they are on the winning side. Some around here say that the Naralian generals wish to retreat. The powerful Wolves backed up with their Barian technology is proving rather effective."

"And what about Jon? And Summer? And those Princesses from Feldia? What of them?"

The Loremaster chuckled. "Jon received word of their arrival. Once he got the Raven with Summer's message, he awaited them at his new fortress. There, they signed a treaty, forging a union between their two countries. Now there's talk that Master Yugi will consider adding Queen Melody to the Alliance."

"Good. I think the Alliance could use a woman's touch!" Collette finished the last of her buttered ale.

"Yes. And as for Summer, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy."

Collette clasped her hands together and swooned. "Awww, isn't that sweet? What next?"

"They're going to bring him to the academy and raise him as they study with Prince Yuri."

Collette let out a long aww at that bit of news. She looked inside her mug to see if there was any butter ale left. She hung it upside down and shook it. Not a drop. "Mmm. That's too bad. This is good. Nevertheless, I'm so glad everything is working out for Master Yugi's Alliance. It warms my heart to see everyone coming together in these dark times. All for one young boy. Hmm? Prince Yuri really is a blessing, huh?"

"Indeed, yes," replied the Loremaster. He raised his hand to signal a waitress to serve them one more round of butter ale. "It just goes to show that with a little help from your friends and loved ones, you can conquer any evil."

Collette scratched her chin. "And what about Gearfried? Was Jon able to unlock his power?"

The Loremaster chuckled and looked out the window at the furious snowstorm. "Some say that the mountains suddenly quake as though a giant were stomping the earth. But the people here show no fear to it. When the earth moves, they smile. For they know that somewhere out there, Jon and his legendary Eidolon are protecting their lands from those who would defile it."

"So he found him?" 

The Loremaster paused and gave another chuckle before he ruffled her hair. "That, my dear, is a story for another time."

Collette crossed her arms and pouted. "I had a feeling you would say that. But, humor me while we've still got time, Loremaster. We've read about four heroes in your book. And there's always talk of some princess from Feldia. Melodia, you said her name was. What's the story with her? Is she in your tome?"

The Loremaster nodded. "Yes. As a matter of fact, she is. Would you like to hear the story?"

"Duh! That's the only reason I've been tagging along. Tell me, tell me!"

"Very well."


	90. The Coup of House Delgado: Part 1

* * *

**Maria**

* * *

Princess Maria Alejandra Delgado, eldest child of King Salazar the head of House Delgado, kept her gaze to the dense jungles outside Palacio de la Luna, a palace of glass and steel that rose twenty stories high, dominating the city of Santa Rosa; the capital city of Felida, Home of the Dinosaur Lords. Once again, her Lord-father was ranting about losing all his heirs and how he was cheated by House Dragonheart. He slammed his massive fist on the table, shaking it violently and knocking over glasses of wine and mead. His top advisors and military officers stood around the table emotionless and still as statues as they tolerated Salazar's angry rants once again.

Maria sipped golden wine from her jeweled goblet, inlaid with a Black Tyranno skull: the sigil of her House. Her father's anger drew her emerald green eyes to La Boca Del Dragón, Feldia's largest active volcano. It slowly vomited smoke into the amber-colored skies, marred by clouds which added splashes of a dull gray to the brilliant canvas painted by Kana (The Air Goddess). The rim of the volcano's mouth dripped with fiery red lava that slid down the slope of the volcano and flowed into the massive canyon known as La Forja, where the best blacksmiths in Feldia worked tirelessly making weapons and armor for the king's army.

Thinking of the forge made Maria impatient; for today would mark the completion of the new armor for her war mount, a Destroyersaurus (ATK/1800 DEF/1100) whom she named Rosita, after her youngest sister. Maria spent a fortune from her share of the royal purse to purchase that armor and hire the best blacksmiths and goldsmiths to work on it. Not to mention the purchasing of her Destroyersaurus set her back 50,000 gold crowns.

Beside her stood her knight-champion, Hassleberry Kenzan, who went by the codename, Tyranno, after a year in Eredian Special Forces. He stood tall over Maria by a few inches, and his wide, muscular arms were out in the open, for he only wore his chestplate of silver and platinum and a chainmail skirt over his greaves.

"I can tell you want to leave this place quick," he said. 

Maria only nodded. "He'll go on ranting for hours and hours, and we'll never get anything done. Watch. In a matter of moments, he's going to blame me for all the bad that's been happening. I suppose that's what he deserves for trusting scum like House Dragonheart. Hector gets all the fame, and we don't even exist. Not that I want to. I will be cold in my grave and eaten by worms before I see this House led by Cousin Hector."

Kenzan grinned. "Same here, Yer Highness. Don't worry, the Gate Wars are looking in the favor of Master Yugi's alliance. He'll stall them long enough."

"Say another word about the plan, and you'll get both our heads mounted on pikes." 

"And you!" Salazar shouting pointing at his daughter. "What news from the other Houses?"

Kenzan stepped back to let the king see his daughter. Maria shrugged. "I've made a significant gain acquiring allies for your suicide mission into Emboldor."

Salazar pretended Maria didn't say that, and he silenced Kenzan before he could say anything. "So who do we have?" Salazar said with a growl resembling that of a Black Tyranno. "And so help me, child, these had better be good ones."

Maria pivoted in a slow quarter turn. Her wine-red gown was slow to catch up with her movements and the black metalwork over her chest, hips, and shoulders clinked. Her hair was piled high with elegant curls and there was a tropical red flower tucked behind her left ear. The officers and the advisors nodded their heads approvingly, no-doubt dumbstruck by the Princess's beauty. Maria grinned devilishly, adoring their attention.

"Well, father, if it so pleases you. I have gained support from La Casa del Trujillo."

"House Trujillo," Salazar said, placing a totem on the map.

"Paloma and Esperanza just came back from Callao, and have gathered the Royal Casas of Sidonia, Balbases, Borgia, and Osuna; who loved Unlce Gabriel very much."

"Mmm," Salazar grumbled, putting more totems on the map.

Maria sipped her wine. "But you are still not happy."

"These Casas are small, you fool! I will never conquer Emboldor with these meager Houses!" He threw a totem at her. Maria tilted her head to the right. The totem hit the wall with terrific force and shattered.

"Conquer Emboldor," she repeated his words with a slight vex. "It is that phrase that has gotten many of the larger Casas to deny the request to join your campaign. I don't know if you've heard, papa, but there are powerful allies fighting for Yugi. One of them is a Riftgaardian prince wielding a weapon forged from the Goddesses. And you have the likes of Yuma and his Utopia Kaiser and Yuya, whose Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon can transform into a dozen powerful forms."

"We have one hundred thousand knights in my army!"

"One hundred thousand," Maria gave a defiant laugh and rolled her eyes. "Father, if you wish to kill yourself, jump out the window. But do leave our soldiers out of your affairs. Even with a thousand Royal Cases backing us, you'll never save Hector's campaign, let alone conquer Emboldor." She giggled. 

"You underestimate your father, _Princesa_ ," taunted the Duke of Bourbon. "You see, he has a plan."

"What plan?" Maria asked.

"As you now, querida," Salazar began, placing his hands behind his back and pacing towards the largest window in the war room. "Up north, there is the Royal Casa Santcliment. They have made a sort of pact with the engineers of the Eredian arms manufacturer Truesdale Enterprises. They have developed weapons for the House; monstrous machines that the kids call Dinomist.

"Dinomist?" said Maria. "Sounds stupid."

"Hmph," said Salazar, not amused by her display. "Nevertheless, House Santcliment have warded off Covenant invaders to the north of our borders with these machines. I want them."

"So send him a letter."

"I have," said Salazar. "They will grant us the use of their Dinomist machines on the condition that they get the most valuable prize in all Feldia."

"What are they getting?" Maria asked.

Salazar and his council laughed.

"Not what," said the Count of San Ernesto. "Who."

It took a while for Maria to comprehend what they were all smiling about. She felt like she wanted to shove herself into the mouth of a Black Tyranno. "Marriage?" she gasped. "But to whom?"

"You will marry Duke Fabian de Santcliment this weekend. He is already here and preparations for the wedding are underway. He is a fine young man to marry. I expect you will do your part and see that he is happy."

"I will not!" Maria said, stomping her foot on the ground.

"The boy is heir to La Pearla. I have arranged matrimonies for you and all your sisters. Each of you will marry and secure every corner of this continent until all its people and their resources belong to me."

Maria's lips trembled and her head slowly waved from side to side. "And what of Rosita? Surely you can't have married her off. She's a child!"

"Rosita turned eleven last month," spat Salazar. "She is old enough to wed and will be betrothed to Count Santiago after your wedding."

"How can you do this to me? How can you do this to us? We're your family; do we not matter to you?"

"YOU'RE MY DAUGHTERS!" shouted Salazar. "I needed sons to continue my legacy. Instead, the Goddesses cursed me with nine worthless girls who prat around all day imbibing my gold dry like blood-sucking leeches. Well, it's time you made yourselves useful. You and your sisters will marry who I tell you. And you will secure me power in this province! And you will do so willingly! If not, then I will instead engage you in an affair with the headsman! Do I make myself clear!?"

Maria performed a quick curtsy and dashed out of the war room. She then stormed out of the palace furiously. Kenzan followed, but she told him to stay put. She wanted to be alone. After leaving the palace, she quickened her pace in the palace gardens, ignoring the cries of concern from the servants and the noble guests. She was in no mood for anyone. She just wanted to run into the jungle and disappear. Finally, she exited the gardens and sprinted down a long bridge into the villas surrounding the palace.

The bridge stretched over a wide river that turned the color of liquid gold as it reflected the morning sky. The bellow of a herd of Bracchio-Raidus was sweeter than all the music that was played in the nightly balls that took place in the palace. She stopped and slipped toward the concrete rail of the bridge and watched the most ancient of Termnnia's Duel Monsters enjoy life.

The Bracchio-Raidus were gigantic, quadrupedal behemoths colored in dark blue flesh and they had glowing green eyes. They waded in the water, ducking their long necks into the river to pull out river weeds, and glowing pink water flowers which tasted as sweet as candy in the mouths of the giant dinosaurs. The hatchlings played by the riverbed under the watchful eyes of their mothers, known as patriarchs, a scholarly term for female dinosaur Duel Monsters. Over the hills, a herd of Sauropod-Brachion stomped toward the river to join in on the morning feast. They were much bigger than Bracchio-Raidus. Their size demanded respect from the other dinosaurs. In the plains, far from the riverbed, families of Megazowlers and Sword Arm of Dragon trotted happily grazing on the thick blades of grass.

"Paradise," Maria said, leaning on the barricade. "I wish I could be like you sometimes." She sighed dreamily. "You just live your lives without having to worry about wars, men, or politics. You just eat, sleep, shit, and fuck all day long without any cares in the world. Hmph, well, except of course thinking about being someone's meal."

She shifted away from the barricade then made her way off the bridge into the jungle, following a dirt path toward the villas where her Destroyersaurus was kept. The ground suddenly quaked beneath her. She stopped and waited for the large creature to pass. No doubt it was a dinosaur. Though a rare occasion, the monsters would eventually come face to face with people. The beastmasters taught her to remain still and wait for them to pass. Dinosaurs were usually calm and gentle creatures unless provoked.

The sound of thin trees snapping and the bushes cracking caused her heart to race in her breast. She held her breath and balled her fists as the monster revealed itself. A patriarch Megazowler was stomping through. She saw Maria and stood still. The Megazowler blew steam out of her nose.

OORRROOOW! She roared and froze, flushing blood into the squared patters at the sides of her body and she swayed her head from side to side to show off her horns. She did not want to fight. It was a display she made to warn predators who were fool enough to challenge her. Maria smiled and performed curtsey for the patriarch.

At once, the Megazowler knew Maria meant no harm. The Megazolwer knew who Maria was. The scar on her face revealed her to be Romi, a beast whom Maria had seen from time to time.

The Megazowler called out into the jungle. A choir of chirping answered her. From the bushes, baby Megazowlers came scurrying out. Maria gasped with joy and clasped her hands together. The little dinosaurs noticed Maria, and cautiously made their way toward her to examine her. The patriarch called to her babies to stay away from her, but they were too stubborn to listen.

They stopped at her feet and went on their hind legs while placing their fronts on her legs.

"Hello, babies!" Maria said, petting them as though they were dogs. "Hello!"

Megazowler remained at the ready in case Maria meant her children hostile intent. Just then, a smaller hatchling came out of the woods. It was no bigger than a cocker spaniel, and called out pathetically. No doubt, it was the runt of the clutch.

The patriarch roared at it to stay put. The runt still attempted to join the others and play with Maria, but the mother picked the runt by his tail and took him to the edge of the forest, dropping him on his head. Maria felt such a dose of sympathy for the poor creature. She read that runts were doomed the moment they were born. Never did she think their lives would be this cruel. To be treated so badly by his own mother.

"Hey!" said Maria. "That's not nice!"

Megazowler roared at her to silence her, stomping her two feet on the ground creating a fierce dust cloud. No doubt, Maria was intimidated and stood her ground as the babies returned to the patriarch. A trickle of urine trailed down her leg from the shock. Megazowler snorted and walked into the jungle on the other side of the road. The runt followed, but one of his sibling began to slide its foot on the ground, signaling a charge. With a powerful head butt, it knocked the runt on his hind legs.

"Leave him alone!" shouted Maria. "Shoo! Shoo!"

The other siblings ran away from her and scurried into the jungle and out of sight. "You okay?" Maria said picking up the runt. He called for his mother, but she continued her trek into the jungle.

"I'm sorry beloved, but she doesn't want you anymore."

The runt understood and hung its head with sorrow. "Aww," Maria said, rubbing the dinosaur's back. "I know how it feels to fail meeting the expectations of your parents. The day I was born and it was revealed I was a girl, my father hated me. I'll take care of you though. I'll call you Roose."

The Megazowler runt seemed to like his name. Maria carried the little dinosaur all the way to the villas and toward the arena where she was anxious to see her Destroyersaurus. By the time she got there, the sun had risen high over Santa Rosa. The sky had now turned a brilliant shade of blue, marred by a thick cloud of gray which was the smoke from La Boca Del Dragón. At the entrance of the arena was a fountain with a Black Tyranno standing at the top roaring with a prehistoric fury. Her sisters were gathered around a white table having tea and cakes on a balcony overlooking a giant waterfall that fell hundreds of feet below.

"Hermana!" Esperanza called out when she saw Maria approaching them.

"Here to ride her new pet I see," said Teresa. "Rosita is saddled and armored as we speak."

"Who my Destroyersaurus? Or our hermanita?" laughed Maria.

"Who's that on your arms?" asked Teresa.

"Oh? This guy? He's a runt I saved in the jungle. I named him Roose."

"Aww," Paloma said. "Can I hold him?"

"Actually, he's yours. I mean, I already have Rosita to ride on."

"Thank you," Paloma said, taking the dinosaur from her. She tickled his stomach. "He's so cute!"

"I don't know," said Esperanza. "Father will not allow us to have such a pet."

Maria put a hand on Esperanza's shoulder to silence her. "Let me deal with Father, dearest. After tonight, we needn't worry about him anymore."

"What makes you say that?" said Paloma, looking up at her sister with concern on her face. "Be careful how you speak, dear sister. If any other person muttered those words, they would be on the quickest route to the chop for treason against the king."

"Is everything okay, Maria?" Esperanza rested her hands on her hips again. "You look…troubled."

Maria forced a smile. "I am fine, Esperanza, there is no need to worry. And is my Destroyersaurus ready for me?"

A loud roar bellowed from the arena's towering walls of limestone.

"Does that answer your question?" laughed Paloma. Roose shivered in her arms when he heard the roar.

Rows of red flags waved triumphantly from the top of the arena where Maria and her sister Nelly would be competing in tonight, for this was a very special day. Had it not been for the surprise coming in from behind a lit-up garden, Maria would have probably forgotten.

Rosita, followed by her sisters Nelly the third oldest of Maria's siblings; Angelina, the fairest of the sisters with hair so long it brushed down to her ankles like a river of ink and was as wide as her shoulders; Estrella, which was Feldian for Star. She was named this for she was found with star-shaped birthmark when she was born; and Macarena who had curled hair as red as blood. They came out of hiding from behind the bushes.

Rosita was carrying a chocolate cake with green icing. A candle in the shape of a Two-Headed King Rex was stuck in the middle with gold sparklers coming out of their mouths. A pink candle was placed in front of him. They began to sing a song to bless her birthday.

_Estas son las mañanitas,_

_que cantaba el Rey,_

_Hoy por ser día de tu santo,_

_te las cantamos a ti,_

_Despierta, mi bien, despierta,_

_mira que ya amaneció,_

_Ya los pajarillos cantan,_

_la luna ya se metió._

_Que linda está la mañana_

_en que vengo a saludarte,_

_Venimos todos con gusto_

_y placer a felicitarte,_

_Ya viene amaneciendo,_

_ya la luz del día nos dio,_

_Levántate de mañana,_

_mira que ya amaneció._

"Yay!" they all cheered after Maria blew out the candle.

"Feliz cumpleaños! Hermana!" Angelina said, hugging her and squeezing poor Roose in their embrace.

"Gracias!" Maria said. She hugged each of her sisters one by one. "What are you all doing out here?"

"Well," said Macarena, "this is the only place you enjoy hanging out, now that you've purchased that Destroyersaurus."

"Not to mention the new armor for her is here," said Rosita. "It looks really good."

"Think you'll get a lot of money this year?" asked Estella. The red ribbon in her curled jet-black hair swayed in the wind. "I mean, today is your twenty-first birthday."

"Ah," Maria said, pausing for a moment. "Now it all makes sense."

"What?" asked Esperanza. She saw the look of worry on Maria's face. The smile her sister was making did very little to hide her troubles.

Maria blinked and widened her fake grin as she looked at her sisters one after another. It stung her in the heart to realize that if Salazar got his way, this would be the last time they could be together like this. No! She could not allow that to happen. She would not allow it. Fortunately for her, Salazar was not the only Delgado who could plot. Even as she stood there, engaging in this joyful moment with her sisters, Maria was concocting a plot that would save both her and her sisters from horrible marriages. And maybe, just maybe, she could gain the support of the entire province under her House's wing, just like her father wanted.

"Hello?" said Paloma. "Earth to Maria? Is anybody home?"

"You sure you're okay?" asked Nelly, the third oldest of Salazar's children. Her hair was short and curled, giving her the appearance of a boy. Despite this, she was the buxomest of the sisters. "I need you in top shape if we are to compete tonight in the games honoring your birthday."

"Who are we fighting?" asked Maria.

"Duke Fabian de Santcliment," Nelly answered. "And his brother, too. Father says they will be rewarded the greatest treasure in all of Feldia if they beat us."

"Yes, I'm sure," said Maria.

"Why don't we go practice, Maria?" said Nelly. "My Sabersaurus is eager for a joust. What do you say?"

"I say that's a bad idea," said Angelina, her cinnamon skin glistened with sweat. She cooled her face with a white paper fan. The cicadas began to hiss in the trees all around them causing Teresa to shake her head in disapproval, for it was the sound she most despised in all the world.

"What if you were to get hurt? Jousting is dangerous, even during practice. We can't have Maria getting hurt before the party tonight."

"Well, I wouldn't mind a bit of a joust," said Maria. "It might cool us off from this dreaded heat."

"Why don't we go for a swim afterward?" Rosita suggested as she played with Roose who was happily hanging in Paloma's arms. Her golden tiara crusted with diamonds almost blinded the little dinosaur when the surface reflected the sun. Even Paloma had to squint to shield her eyes from the bright light.

"Swim?" they all said.

"Aww, come on," Rosita pleaded.

"I don't know if we have the time Chiquita," Maria said. She undid a pink ribbon in her sister's reddish-black hair. The same color as their dearly departed mother.

"Ow, that pulls Maria!" the little princess whined. "Ow stop!"

"Don't struggle, dear," Macarena said, taking the cake from Rosita. "Who wants a slice?"

"Me!"

"I do!"

"I will!"

"I do…Ow!"

Maria laughed. "Hold still, Rosie. I have to fix your hair. One of your pigtails is bigger than the other. Did you get Consuela to help you this morning? Or did you do your hair yourself? You know you're not supposed to do that, right?"

"I had to do it myself," said Rosita. "Ow! I want to see you and Nelly fight and Consuela takes forever! Ow! If I had let her do my hair…OW! I'd still be in my room right about now."

"You have to look your best, hermanita," said Teresa. "You're a princess, remember?"

"Oh, here we go again!" Rosita said with a roll of her eyes. "I'm a lady. I represent the king and his court. I might marry a handsome knight one day. Blah, blah, blah. Yuck! What about the rest of you? You don't seem to be worried about looks."

"Because we're your senior, Chiquita," said Angelina, taking a plastic fork from one of Nelly's pouches. "We're old enough to do things our own way and please the court all the while. You're still a baby, and need to learn how to follow our traditions to a tee."

"Aww," said Rosita forming a pout as she crossed her arms. "I hate being little."

"There," Maria said, tying the ribbon into a perfect bow now that Rosita's pigtails were even. She kissed the top of her head and patted it. "Don't worry, Rosita, you'll grow up soon enough."

Estrella laughed. "Yes, and when she does. She's going to wish she was young again."

Destroyersaurus roared from her pen deep inside the stadium. Rosita shook with fear and admiration, not believing her beloved sister was riding such a beast.

"We couldn't have been the House of the Horse Lords," grumbled Angelina, fanning herself frantically. "Or the masters of a graceful beast such as the Pegasus of House Trevelyan. No. Our home had to be the home of these brutish and terrible lizards."

Teresa hated when people referred to their sacred dinosaurs as mere lizards. Her anger brought out the muse in her.

"The terrible lizards come, hulking, snarling, their small and insignificant minds knowing only agony and desire."

She put her hands on Paloma's shoulders, rubbing them sensually up and down. "Oh!" Paloma said. Her sisters screeched with glee at the provocative sight.

"Their roars are fear-provoking," Teresa continued gasping passionately. "Their forms dreadfully magnificent, but flee not from them, for they call to us dear sister. They invite us to run in the fields, to hunt under the moon, to rip off our clothes and human facades, and battle with them in the blood-soaked fields of Mother Nature's playground. Our prehistoric blood flows through our veins, the savagery rises from our bosoms, and our future becomes our past, so that at their summons we become beast once again! The terrible lizards come, and when they roar, so will we."

She shoved Paloma to the ground. "Whoa!" she cried, holding onto Roose.

"Well…" Angelina giggled. "When you put it that way."

"Oh yuck!" said Rosita.

A clap could be heard coming from behind the fountain. Kenzan had arrived. "Well, well, well," he said, still clapping. "I never thought the ladies of House Delgado were so poetic."

"Ser Hassleberry!" cried Rosita. "Is it really you?" She ran into his embrace. The Eldori knight lifted her into the air with ease.

"'Course it's me!" said Hassleberry as he set her down. Though he was a native from Feldia, he had an accent of South-Eastern Termnnians from deep in the country. "I wouldn't miss this special day for the world. Ouch, my back. You sure are getting heavy, princess. What in the world have you gals been feedin' her? Oh, I've got some good news." 

He took a roll of parchment from a compartment in his black-purple cape. "See, I just got accepted into Duelist Academy. I'm due to start when Yuri comes home."

"Well congratulations, Ser Knight," said Angelina. "Such a pity you couldn't go when Cousin Daveed was still alive."

"Daveed?" Hassleberry asked.

"Oh, forgive me," Maria said with a chuckle. "I forgot Yuri is his new name now. I can't believe he's a Terretar."

"Makes sense," said Estrella. "He is from our House. Not to mention our family's most sacred card: The Black Tyranno, found his way towards him."

"Aw, the Black Tyranno," said Hassleberry. "Did you guys ever get the card back?"

"Sadly, no," Macarena answered. "And it's such a damn pity. The Black Tyranno was treasure passed down from Delgado to Delgado for generations since the days of Norman the Conqueror."

"Y'all must be honored to have a lineage with him," said Hassleberry. "The blood of the Champion of the Goddesses himself runs through your veins."

"Maybe yes, maybe no," said Angelina. "You can thank his good-for-nothing licentious grandsons for that fact. After Norman returned to the Divines, his children grew power hungry and lustful. None more than Vicente who had orgies with multiple women in the hundred years that he was Supreme King. In the very bed where the great hero once slept; such pomposity. Dozens if not hundreds of bastards were born because of him. The last pure-blood decedent of the Conqueror, Melodía Delgado, the first High Queen of Termnnia at the time, was killed when she and her brothers tried to defend the real bloodline against the bastards in the War of the Hay Penny Kings. As you know, the bastards won that war and started another to see who could wear the crown. Eventually, the divine blood of Norman the Conqueror was stained until it became nothing more than mud."

"Hay penny kings?" Rosita asked with a giggle. "What a silly name."

"Because that's what those bastard sons were worth, _querida_ ," said Paloma. "So many of them claimed to be the true kings of Termnnia. Luckily none of them could have the chance to sit their asses on the Diamond Throne because the Norman Invaders sailed from the West and took over Termnnia."

"And then Tiberius the Uniter came and set things right. Yeah, I know the story," said Hassleberry with fake yawn.

"It's not a story," said Angelina. "You can be so ignorant, Ser Hassleberry."

"I meant no offense, of course," said Hassleberry. "Are y'all gonna spar with each other or what?"

"Indeed," said Maria. "Nelly, shall we suit up and have our dinosaurs prepped?"

Nelly bowed. "I'll inform the beastmasters to have them ready. It might take some time to set this up, what with the stadium being prepared for the games and all." She bowed her sisters farewell and ran into the stadium.

Meanwhile, Maria, her sisters, and Hassleberry all trekked to a cliffside cafe walled off with hedges dotted with colorful flowers. Hassleberry ordered ales for everyone, but Rosita, who settled for a glass of ice-cold chocolate milk. She looked over the vine-covered railing next to their table and peered at the bay below where herds of large dinosaurs marched toward the waterfall pouring down a tyrannosaur-skull shaped formation. Black Pteras soared overhead to fly over the water and catch fish. A towering lighthouse on top of a mountain near the entrance of the bay glimmered in the sunlight. The White-Gold Torch of Santa Rosa it was called. The calm blue waters were dotted with merchant vessels and fishing boats.

Paradiso! Rosita thought to herself and took a long gulp of chocolate milk. A loud hissing roar echoed across the valley, signaling a Giant Rex (ATK/2000) was on the prowl in the forest below. It was so loud and metallic in sound, and rather frightening. Rosita, in her shock, lost the grip of her cup spilling milk all over her dress.

"Oh!" she squeaked.

"Rosita!" cried her sisters.

"Oh, that aint good," said Hassleberry.

"I'm sorry," Rosita said bashfully. "It scared me!"

"Rosita look at you!" said Estrella. She picked up a red velvet napkin and started scrubbing Rosita of her mess with such a fuss only an older sister could give. The roar echoed across the valley again. The plant-eaters began to honk and shout in restlessness, calling out to their young to stay close to the herds.

"Sounds scary down there," said Macarena. "Thank the Goddesses we're safe all the way up here."

"It can be even scarier in the throne room during court," said Maria. "Ser Hassleberry, I trust you bring me news from the West."

"Yeah, I bring news alright," said Hassleberry. "It aint pretty. Why don't we save this matter for another time though."

"I can't," said Maria. "It's a matter for right now. It's of the utmost importance."

"What's going on, Maria?" said Esperanza. "Tell us the truth."

"Not in front of Rosita."

"Hey!" snapped the little princess. "Anything you have to say, you can say in front of me!"

"Well, that isn't going to be possible now," said Estella. "This gunk just won't come off. Not only do you need a change of clothes, but you need a bath."

"No, I don't!" cried Rosita in utter fear. "Not a bath! Anything but a bath!"

"Rosita..." said Maria, crossing her arms. "If you don't do as we say, you'll be grounded from the festivities tonight."

"Aww," said Rosita.

"Come, little one," said Estella. "I promise we'll clean you up in time for the food."

"No! I don't want to!"

Angelina took out her golden harp and began to sing.

* * *

_The fair-faced princess from her castle she did go_

_In the jungle black and untamed_

_She crossed the bridge and roamed in the night_

_Gnashing teeth so sharp and bright_

_Then many hours later the princess lost her way_

_In the jungle black and untamed_

_And there she met a tyrant as black as hell_

_Gnashing teeth so sharp and bright_

_O Lord Black Tyranno! Please don't eat me!_

_My dress of silver I shall give to thee!_

_A silver gown won't do me good at all_

_Your flesh and blood to my belly they must go_

_O Lord Black Tyranno! Please don't eat me!_

_In the jungle so black and untamed_

_My necklace of gold I shall give to thee_

_Gnashing Teeth so sharp and bright_

_A golden trinket serves no purpose to me_

_In the jungle black and untamed_

_Your flesh and blood to my belly they must go!_

_Gnashing teeth so sharp and bright_

_O Lord Black Tyranno! Please don't eat me!_

_In the jungle so black and untamed_

_My diamonds and pearls I shall give to thee_

_Gnashing Teeth so sharp and bright_

_Diamonds and pearls won't do me good at all_

_In the jungle black and untamed_

_Your flesh and blood to my belly they must go!_

_Gnashing teeth so sharp and bright_

_O Lord Black Tyranno! Please don't eat me!_

_In the jungle so black and untamed_

_A thousand golden cards I shall give to thee_

_Gnashing Teeth so sharp and bright_

_Duel Monster cards serve no purpose to me_

_In the jungle black and untamed_

_Your flesh and blood to my belly they must go!_

_Gnashing teeth so sharp and bright_

_The frightened princess she shrieked and ran away_

_In the jungles black and untamed_

_Darkness's hungry howl shook the harvest moon_

_Gnashing teeth so sharp and bright_

_The king and his men heard her horrid cry_

_In the jungle black and untamed_

_The gallant knights they rode into the night_

_Gnashing teeth so sharp and bright_

_The red sun rose sorrowing the next day_

_In the jungles so black and untamed_

_A torn and bloody gown is all that remained_

_Gnashing teeth so sharp and bright!_

* * *

"Stop it! Stop it!" cried Rosita, shoving both hands over her hears. "You know I hate that song."

"But why?" asked Angelina. "It's the song of our House."

"I don't care," said Rosita. "It's such a sad story."

"Oh come now, Rosita, you'll love it if you get used to it. I'll sing it one more time."

"No! No!"

"Then go take your bath," said Maria. "On the double!"

"Aww," Rosita said. She slid her chair back with her hands and climbed down from her seat. Another choir of dinosaur honks filled the air from the bay below.

Estrella laughed. "Come along, querida."

When they were gone, Hassleberry dug into his honey-coated chicken. "I've heard of that song before," he said, chewing his food. "I had no idea it was the song from your House."

"The death of the princess led to the forming of our noble House," said Maria. "The princess's father hunted that beast and took his skull which makes the throne our father sits on. And let us not forget, he trapped the soul of the Black Tyranno in a magic crystal which he formed into a ring to marry a beautiful warlord who helped him kill the beast. The other half of the Black Tyranno's soul was forged into a card. The card that High King Yuri once used."

Macarena sipped the red broth her spicy noodle soup. "If that card was ours, then how the hell could High King Yuri use it?"

"Language!" snapped Teresa.

"It escaped us, remember?" said Maria. "Seems Yuri was more Delgado than we thought."

"Why is that I wonder?" asked Estrella, braiding Paloma's hair for the festivities. "Yuri was a bastard born of incest by our big brother, Gabriel's lust for the . He was no more Delgado than we are to being related to Norman the Conqueror."

"There's no point in trying to figure him out," said Hassleberry. "Once one mystery about Yuri is solved, another comes up. He was a million stories melded into one boy. A Divine. A High King. A vessel for a spirit. And somehow he was the wielder of the God Cards."

"So, what's the news Maria?" asked Angelina. "What's this big secret with Hassleberry?"

"It's not so much a secret," said Maria. "I just don't want little Rosita being scared. The news Ser Hassleberry brings is going to be quite...frightening."

"Yeah," Hassleberry said, wiping his mouth with his red napkin. He set it on his lap again. "Lady Raven De Los Dientes has somehow agreed to participate in an assault on your castle this evening. There's going to be a coup tonight."

"So it's true!" said Macarena. "I didn't think the coup would come to fruition."

Suddenly, Nelly returned. She was red in the face from running with all her might. Curled flaxen hair trailed behind her in the wind as she saw her sisters and picked up speed. "Sisters!" she called out. "Sisters!"

"What happened?" asked Maria. "What news? Are our mounts ready for our sparring match?"

Nelly stopped. She bent forward and held up her hand, signaling her sister to give her a moment while she gasped for air. "Lady Raven De Los Dientes was in the arena."

"Oh!" said Hassleberry. "What did she say?"

"I didn't approach her directly," said Nelly. "But, I overheard her talking to her Black Raptor Knight in the hallways as I was about to prep our dinos. I overheard her telling her knight to prepare for an assault on our castle this evening."

"Then we must prepare," said Maria. "Ladies. You know what to do."

"Uh, not for nothing," said Hassleberry. "But aint this somethin' you should tell yer dad?"

"Father will not be involved in this matter, I assure you," Teresa said coldly. "He will no doubt bring ruin to all we've planned."

"You mean you gals have known about the coup?" Hassleberry said in shock.

"We have," said Maria. "And he has done nothing about it, despite the signs are right there under his nose in the very war room. If he will do nothing to protect this kingdom, then we shall take matters into our own hands and see to it that we will instead. If all goes as planned, Father will see that we are not worthless as he thinks we are."

"I get it," said Hassleberry, slamming his fist onto his palm. "You girls are prepping the defenses yourselves and protect the crown, all the while showing ol' Salazar that he was wrong all along."

"That's right," said Paloma. "All our lives he's called us worthless and stupid. Sometimes he even goes as far as to call us whores. Well, once Lady Raven begins her assault, we will show him what for, won't we girls?"

The sisters of House Delgado all agreed.

"We've done all we could to prevent this night from happening," said Esperanza. "But father, as always, does things his own way. I fear we will all pay in blood tonight, but no doubt, it will be a great victory."

"I have faith in all of ya!" said Hassleberry.

"Well then, there's no time to waste," said Maria. "Spread the word to the guards, sisters. Tell them that Lady Raven attacks tonight after the party."


	91. The Coup of House Delgado: Part 2

**Paloma**

* * *

In the castle kitchen, Paloma and her sister Esperanza were making a few adjustments for tonight's supper for the palace soldiers.

"I can't believe it's come down to this," Paloma said, feeding a leaf of lettuce to Roose. "An assault? Not on our beloved home."

Esperanza circled around a beautifully cooked pig, neatly arranged with vegetables and fruits. It's mouth was wide open, stuck in the face of agony it made when it was slaughtered that morning. Paloma had a hard time wondering why Maria would feed the troops so lavishly. It would not doubt attract suspicion from her father, and those who were also cursed with his mindset. If they caught wind of anything out of the ordinary, the whole plan would be blown and the coup would no doubt be bloody.

"These are Maria's orders," Esperanza said, picking up a grape from a pewter bowl and plopping it into her mouth. "For the guards, they will be treated with a grand, grand feast to celebrate the twenty-first birthday of the eldest princess of the House. As she requested, one nice, plump, suckling pig..." she jammed a note into the pig's mouth and down its gullet. "Stuffed with good news."

Paloma giggled at the joke. "I sure hope Captain Santiago will get it. If not, our whole defense of the castle will be ruined."

Esperanza shoved an apple into the pig's mouth. "He will get it querida. He never lets any part go to waste. Oh, Louise!"

The head chef arrived. His face soaked in sweat from the fires of his oven. He took off his hat and bowed his head. "Si, Princesa!"

"Take this to guard's barracks if you please."

"Si, Princesa," Louise said with a bow.

"Is everything all set for the party?" Paloma asked.

"Almost," said Louise, checking his checklist. "That no good...MARIE! The begets! Hurry up!"

* * *

**Nelly**

* * *

It wasn't odd to see Nelly fraternizing with the palace guards every now and then. Out of all the sisters in the clan of House Delgado, Nelly was the one who desired the company of men more. And she was not for handsome princes or dashing knights like her younger sisters were. Personally, if a man could satisfy her desires, he was fine by her book. She stopped to talk to a few of the town guardsmen at the gate to Santa Rosa, no doubt dressed to impress in a tight suit of Uraby leather which showed off her midriff and opened up at the chest to further show off her femininity at the guards who were no more than pawns in her little game.

Nelly had every high ranking officer in the watch wrapped around her finger. She wanted nothing to do with the privates or the cadets, but no doubt the honor of talking to her or even bedding her would rile them up and be motivated to do their jobs better and rise up the ranks.

"So, any of you hear the news?" she asked, leaning an arm against the pauldron of a guard. She leaned forward so as to give him a good view down her jerkin.

"Wh-what news, My Lady."

"Well, a little birdie told me there is to be a coup tonight."

"A coup?" said a second guard, anxiously waiting his turn to get touched by the princess. "No worries, Princesa. We'll stop them."

"Well, that's what I came to talk to you about," Nelly said, rubbing the other guard's beard. She reached into her cleavage and handed the second one a note.

He opened it eagerly, hoping it was an invitation to a lovely night. When he read the note, his face went from lust and glee to worry and fear. He looked at Nelly with his mouth agape. "So it's true?"

"Yes," said Nelly. "I need all the guards here at the gates at their best tonight. If you two handsome gentlemen can get the word out, I'll repay you greatly."

"You will?"

"Of course. I can get you anything. Gold...flesh. Anything you want."

"It will be done, My Lady."

Macarena and Estrella joined her at the gates to inform her that their deeds were done.

"And, what news?" Nelly asked, walking away from the guards.

"It's all set," said Estrella. "I can't believe we're doing this."

"Neither can we," said Macarena. "But if papa is going to take us seriously from now on, we have to go through with it."

Nelly sniggered viciously through her nose. "Take us seriously? He will have no choice but to make us queens after tonight."

* * *

**Maria**

* * *

It was now four in the morning. Four in the morning and still Santa Rosa continued with the festivities for Princess Maria's birthday celebration. Colorful paper lanterns, some in the form of dinosaur Duel Monsters, lit up the streets from the lines where they hung. Fireworks splashed the skies in a variety of colors, bathing the land in a bright spectrum. Along the mountainous horizon, a hue of metallic blue could be seen signaling the rising of the coming sun. A night to remember indeed.

Luckily for each patron in Santa Rosa, businesses and schools would be closed so as to let everyone rest from the merriments of the night. This was commanded by Maria herself. She stood in the massive throne room staring at the Fossil Throne, a seat of power created by the skull of a Black Tyranno who was once the ruler of these lands. A lord of both man and beast. Orbs of amber decorated the throne and two torched burned from the sockets were the creature's eyes once were. Maria smiled, knowing full well that after tonight, her father would have no choice but to allow her in the throne. He was going to be so proud of her thanks to the coming coup that was going to take place soon.

A fresh and cool breeze flowed in between the columns that encircled the throne room. They were apart wide enough so the king could have a 360 view of the land from the throne which was perched at the center on a large pedestal with water gently flowing down the stairs into a small moat the circled the throne. Behind the throne, Maria could see La Boca del Dragón burning orange against the oily black sky. In front, was the city that she would soon rule. The fireworks were in plain view, but their colors drowned out by the hundreds of torches and the large chandelier of fossil hanging over the throne from the rotunda.

The white enameled doors opened with a loud creak. Maria turned slowly to see who was approaching her. She smirked when she saw that it was her father, King Salazar, storming for the throne like a drunk toward a chalice of massive sized filled to the brim with sweet wine. A powerholic, Rosita once said. Maria couldn't agree more. It seemed like sitting on the throne was a means to satisfy his addiction to power. When sitting on it, he looked like a bum high on Murk. His eyes were glazed over and his face red as though he drank five large chalices of wine.

Beside King Salazar was a young man with shoulder-length wavy hair and sun-kissed skin. His eyes so green they were almost glowing. He wore field-green colored armor trimmed with engraved gold. The top of a Tyrannosaurus's head was formed on the chestplate with eyes made of sparkling emeralds, and he wore a white cloth-of-gold cape. There was no doubt in Maria's mind that he was Duke Fabian de Santcliment. Her suspicions were justified after her father sat down on the Fossil Throne, then quickly and arrogantly introduced the Duke to his eldest daughter.

Maria nodded her head in false acceptance and looked at Fabian with curious eyes, giving her the appearance of timid forest animal peering out of its den for danger. Fabian admired the innocence glimmering in her eyes. A smile as bright as a field of flowers in the summer arched on his handsome face.

"I am very happy to meet you, Princess," the Duke said with a voice that was low and sweet. He took a pink flower and handed it to her. "A token, for a blessed marriage."

"You are too kind," Maria said taking the lotus. To his shock, she ate it in one bite as though she were one of the Bracchio-Raidus in the swamp. Though bitter, it left a rich aftertaste. She had a will of iron and did not gag.

"You are full of surprises," the young Duke said, trying to keep his composure.

Maria's attire left nothing to the mind. Her upper torso was donned with a short white-enameled chestplate with gold trim and floral filigree moldings along the surface. Her shoulders were covered in long pauldrons with the lower jaws of Uraby raptors dipped in gold and inlaid with gems. A white cape of metal mimicking silk went down her back. Below, she had a white and gold tasset over her leather trousers with gold rings. White boots with gold metal trim completed her look. Her Dueling Deck was strapped to her thigh.

Maria gave a victorious smile when she saw the Duke's cheeks turning red like apples. Fabian bit his lip, admiring and quivering before the racy attire the princess was wearing. She chose this just for him, and to appease her father, who was no doubt enjoying the spectacle from his throne. His daughter wanted this marriage, he could see this. Maria dressed to impress and impress the Duke she had.

"Are you ready for the courtship?" she asked.

"There is no need," said Salazar. "You are married now. There is no need for complicated rituals. Fabian, there is no doubt my daughter wants you tonight. Will you have her?"

But before Fabian could answer, there was an explosion rising from the front gate.

"What's this?" said Salazar.

Maria grinned. "Why it looks as though we are under attack father," she said with an eerie calm.

"My sister!" cried Fabian. "She's going through with this assault after all."

"Both of you will stay here and guard me!" shouted Salazar. "This is an order from the king!"

All through the night, Maria assured her father of her plans to keep the city safe. But something strange was happening. Defeat after defeat after defeat was being reported by the guards. Salazar no doubt scorned his daughter for her supposed 'plan' to keep the city safe from Lady Raven del Los Dientes who had somehow commanded a coup de ta to take Santa Rosa from King Salazar and the Delgados.

That could not be. Salazar's forces were well-trained, well-armed, and even taught by the King's Royal Guard from Emboldor. There was no way his forces were being dominated so easily, and so quickly. If his soldiers were putting up a fight, Lady Raven's forces would have still been stuck at the front gate, and he himself supervised the garrison that Maria and her sisters had set up along the wall preparing for the coup if Raven had the audacity to commit such a crime. There were 5000 men positioned there, and a cavalry of 500 knights riding atop Megazowlers. Those knights were armed with spears and musket rifles.

An attack on the front gate alone was a suicide mission for any invader, but with each passing moment, there was news of defeats at almost every checkpoint that led to the castle.

Salazar was sensing treachery, and it was not from an outside source. He knew this could only come from his own House.

"I've had enough of your games, Maria!" he shouted. "What is going on?"

Maria made her sensuous slow-quarter turn and looked at her father. "Independence," she answered coldly.

BOOM!

The tall white-enameled doors fell to the ground. Soldiers in red armor stormed into the throne room, lances, muskets, and lever-action rifles at the ready. Salazar shouted at Maria and Fabian to guard him with their lives.

Just then, a young woman stormed into the throne room, clad in a black armored dress trimmed with purple and decorated with glowing purple orbs. Her gown reminded Salazar of a certain Duel Monster, but he could not remember which one.

He looked into the cold violet eyes of the girl who was the mastermind behind the coup.

"How is this possible?" groaned Salazar. "My forces were supposed to be unbeatable. You couldn't have fought your way past them in such a short amount of time. Who are you?"

"I am Lady Raven de Los Dientes," the duchess said arrogantly. "And I am here to relieve you of your duties as King, Lord Salazar."

"How dare you defy me!" shouted Salazar. "You cannot do this! You cannot do this!"

"I already did," said Raven. She held out her hand. A purple orb with lighting surging inside appeared over her palm. She slammed it on the ground and summoned a ferocious beast. Salazar shrank in his throne while he stared at the purple clouds flashing with purple lightning. They rose all the way to the top of the rotunda and formed into arguably the most powerful monster of the Dinosaur-Type in Duel Monsters.

Ultimate Conductor Tyranno.

Raven was no ordinary girl. She was a Summoner.

Salazar began to realize how his forces were dominated so quickly. The beast gave thunderous roar that cracked the rotunda above and most of the columns. That monster was the trump card Raven needed to seal the deal. Outnumbered and intimidated by the beast, Salazar surrendered

"What do you want?" shouted Salazar. "I'll give you anything you want! Anything!"

"Your crown," said Raven. "Give it to me."

"No!" gasped Maria. "Father you mustn't! Our family has ruled these lands for thousands of years. You cannot be fool enough to just hand over the crown."

"I have no choice!" he shouted. "This is all your fault. I should never have entrusted you with the command of our military. Because of your foolishness, we have lost. You have killed us all you stupid wench!"

He removed the crown from his brow and threw it at Raven's feet. Raven chuckled as she picked up the greatest symbol of power in Feldia. She held it up high for all to see. Her soldiers cheered and bashed their weapons against their shields in triumph.

"Sister!" said Fabian. "Is this truly what you want to do? Think of all the history you will be rewriting."

Raven looked at him. "Silence! This is what we came here for, hermano. From henceforth, there will be a new queen here in Feldia. But first, there must be a quick execution." She looked at Maria. "Maria Alejandra Bustamante Armanda Delgado, kneel."

Salazar gasped in utter horror. Raven was going to kill his daughter. Better her than me, he cruelly thought. "Fine, fine!" he cried, holding out a quivering hand for mercy. "But spare me, please."

"Salazar, you never cease to amaze me," said Raven. She placed the crown atop Maria's head. "Arise, Queen Maria Delgado of Feldia. Hail to the Queen!"

"HAIL!" shouted Raven's soldiers.

"HAIL!" shouted Fabian.

"What?" said Salazar.

From the entrance to the throne room, his daughters proudly marched inside. Rosita, Paloma, Nelly, Esperanza, Estrella, Macarena, and Angelina were all dressed in their best gowns and glittering with the jewels their queens once wore. For Salazar, it was a parade of treachery. To know they had been in the royal vaults and looted the jewels that belonged to his mother and her mother before her was like being stabbed in the gut by a flaming sword. In a swift, fluid movement, his daughters formed an arch in front of him. The girls all stared at their father like a group of venomous serpents ready to strike at their prey. In fact, they had a look in their eyes that gave the impression that they wanted to tear Salazar limb from limb. Ser Hassleberry entered the throne room as well armored in his military gear.

Queen Maria then looked at Hassleberry and nodded. Without a word, Hassleberry stored towards the throne. Fabian followed. They both grabbed Salazar by the arms and tossed him off the throne. They dragged him towards Maira.

"What is the meaning of this!" shouted Salazar, struggling to get free. But the grip of the two young knights was like being bound by chrome steel. And in his old age, there was nothing he could do to fight out of their grip. "Unhand me!" he shouted. "You both will pay dearly for this!"

"I don't take orders from you anymore, My Lord," said Hasslberry. He forced him to bend forward to bow for Maria's new position.

A knight from her House approached carrying a red velvet pillow with a sword that was forged ages and ages and ages ago during the foundation of their kingdom.

"Maria, no!" shouted Salazar. "You are not entitled to that weapon!"

"Oh, I think I am," said Maria.

It all came together now. Lady Raven did not start the coup. His daughters did.

"You!" Salazar shouted. "You were the ones who opened the gates for the invaders!"

Maria laughed. "They were not invaders, Father. Just allies who helped me clean house of those who are still loyal to you. Thankfully, they were few. Everyone from the captain of the guard to the piss boy was persuaded to join my side. They saw reason. They saw that you are no longer fit to be king. It's time for a change, Father. And my sisters and I will lead that change, starting tonight. After all, we cannot have king slayers on the throne."

"What?"

"Did you really think nobody would figure it out?" said Maria. "You plotted against Yuri after Master Yu-Gi-Oh convinced him to refuse your offer to let him back into the family. If you couldn't have him then no one would."

Murmurs of shock around the throne room.

"TRAITOR!" shouted a knight.

"JUSTICE!"

"JUSTICE!"

Salazar thought that his scheme was kept confidential.

The throne room went silent. Not a sound could be heard, save for the grunting and snarling of Ultimate Conductor Tyranno and the screaming citizens in the city below. But then, footsteps could be heard coming down the hall.

Clip, clip, clip, clip.

Out from the shadows emerged an Eldori man with tan skin. He was wearing white robes and a white turban. A Millennium Item hung from his neck in the shape of a key.

"I told them everything," said Master Shadi. His robes exposed his muscular arms. A crescent blade hung from a white sash around his waist. "You cannot hide your crimes from the Divines." Shadi stopped to look down at Salazar. "Your crimes against the Champion of the Goddesses leaves you condemned."

"Condemned!" cried Salazar. "No! No! My girls! My beautiful girls! You wouldn't let him harm me, would you?"

"Nothing can save you from me," said Shadi, drawing his blade. "I have made it my personal mission to hunt down those responsible for the corruption in these lands. The trail starts with you, Salazar. Yuri is our last hope to combat the oncoming darkness, but petty politics and greed seem to delay him from returning to fulfill his duties." He raised his sword over his head. "And today you will make up for that."

"NO!" cried Salazar. "Maria! Macarena! Rosita! Please! Don't let him do this! I am your father! You wouldn't let him kill your father, would you?"

None of his daughters answered. Rosita whimpered and looked away so as not to see Salazar lose his head.

"GIRLS!" he shouted. "DON'T…"

SLICE!

With one fell swoop, Shadi hewed Salazar's head from his shoulders. It rolled to a stop at his feet. Shadi picked up the head by the hair and stuck the point of his blade into the exposed esophagus. He held up the sword with the head placed on the tip for all to see. The knights cheered.

"Behold the head of the traitor!" shouted Raven.

"JUSTICE!" shouted Maria.

"JUSTICE!" shouted Shadi.

"JUSTICE!" shouted the Delgado sisters.

ROAR! Ultimate Conductor Tyranno joined in on the celebration. Shadi turned and exited the throne room with his trophy while Hassleberry and Fabian dragged the headless body of Lord Salazar away.

"My Lady," said Raven, shaking Maria's hand. "Oh, I mean Your Grace. What is your first order of business?"

Maria looked at Lady Raven's brother. "My first order of business is you, Fabian."

The knight returned after he and Hassleberry tossed Salazar's body off the balcony and into the river. He bowed, ready for the new queen's command.

Maria bowed back. "I am sorry, but I cannot marry you. You understand."

"I do," said Fabian. "But nevertheless, my armies and my Dinomist Monsters are yours to command. Just say the word."

"Good," said Maria. "Now that just leaves us with one thing left. Hassleberry, prepare the royal baggage. I am going North to make a proposition."

"How far North?" asked Hassleberry.

"Make sure our jackets are lined with furs. I seek to pay Prince Jon a visit."

"Your Grace," Hassleberry bowed. "Prepare the royal baggage!" he called out.

"Sister," said Esperanza. "What do you want with Prince Jon?"

Maria smiled. "I wish for Feldia to become part of the Alliance.

* * *

**The Loremaster**

* * *

"They killed their own father?" Collette said in horror, clasping her hands over her mouth.

"Their father would have done great damage to their Kingdom," said the Loremaster. "Sometimes, you have to tilt a little close to the dark side for a greater good. Their father was so horribly influenced by corruption and greed, that he was too far gone to be saved. After all, he made a deal with the Covenant."

Collette nodded. "You're right. I suppose if it comes to that, you're long gone from being helped. But that was a surprisingly short story, Loremaster. Tell me another one. You must know another one! Tell me about the Dinomist machines from House Sacliment."

"I'm afraid I don't know much about that affair, little one. But I do know of the man who built them. He's a young businessman who built incredible gadgets and machines of war. And he believed that money, fame, and Duel Monsters were all he needed to be happy. But that outlook on life changed after one of his dearest friends was kidnapped and endangered with life as a sex slave. He soon used his intellect to create a high-powered suit of armor, which would forge him to become one of Termnnia's greatest heroes."


	92. The Cyber Knight

**The Cyber Knight**

* * *

**September 20th**

**Year 17 4AOS**

Billionaire. Good looking. Quiet. Those were just a couple of words to describe the future Steward of Eredas, Zane of House Truesdale.

At a young age, Zane was groomed to become the Right Hand of the King as the Steward of Eredas. For generations, House Truesdale had served the Daltons, and soon it would be Zane's time, for his father promised that if anything were to happen to King Eldon, he would step down as Steward and bless Zane with that title, with the legendary Cyber Dragons serving as his badge of office. Zane benefited a lot from this prestigious title he would soon earn.

More often than not, he walked about the streets in flashy clothes and driving expensive cars to various dueling arenas so he could play in the daily tournaments held there, and destroy the competition with his beloved Cyber Dragons. But despite rolling around in such luxury, Zane was someone who prefers to keep to himself.

The press - like leeches feeding off the lifestyle of the Dalton Royal Family and their Stewards - sadly did not find him walking out of theatres, casinos, or clubs with a gorgeous model in each arm. No, instead, he would calmly walk out of libraries, museums, and art galleries alone or with his friend, Michael Dalton the Crown Prince of Eredas and ruler of Domino City.

Zane and Prince Michael were quite the duo. A brotherhood forged since the day they were born. Be it the royal court, the streets, or even the battlefield, Zane and Prince Michael were inseparable.

Some nights (If they got bored) they gathered armies of magicians, summoners, and wizards downtown to battle the threat of mage gangs known as the Aeons.

Zane was neither a magician, a wizard, or a summoner, so he let his Cyber Dragons do the talking in Duels.

Zane's Dueling skills were top-tier and said to rival that of Seto Kaiba and even Yugi Muto, with an impressive undefeated streak at Duelist Academy, the school where he was taught to play since first grade.

Now, he would advance to the university levels and learn new methods of Dueling, magic, and politics so he, along with his peers, could grow to become good leaders in the future. Zane was good with the politics of the kingdom, but it was in Duel Monsters were he excelled most of all.

For this, the Aeons never really stuck to their end of the bargain per terms of the Duel because, to the surprise of no one, Zane always won. They would go into a rage and attack, not that it mattered to Zane. If things got heated up -and the always did-, Michael and his army would deal with the gangs with their magic.

The gangs almost always ran when their leader ordered them to attack. They ran from Michael especially, due to his strange ties with the paranormal. His ability to conjure strange beasts from the realm of shadows known as Pandemonium sent the troublemakers into a panic and flee from battle, thus freeing many districts from their control.

Zane's involvement in the turf wars against the gangs painted a huge target on his head. The Aeons wanted blood. His blood. And they would gather their best officers together to devise a plan that would change Zane's life forever, and transform him into one of Domino City's greatest heroes.

* * *

It all began one rainy summer's eve. This night was important because it was the birthday of a dear friend of his.

Alexis Rhodes the Princess of Lorin and ruler of the city of Aquarius. And thanks to the media, rumors about those two spread like wildfire. They are seen walking out of malls and having lunch together by the sea when Alexis's mother arrived on her seasonal visits to the city.

The pair were often seen having strolls through the flowers and hedges of the lavish Dragon Gardens District; Zane sometimes blessing the beautiful princess with an occasional rose. When studying at Duelist Academy, they were always spotted standing by the lighthouse at night where they would talk until the wee hours of the morning.

Some well-known members of the press often say the both of them have a 'thing' for each other. Don't pay them no mind. Zane and Alexis are nothing more than close friends. But what are celebrities without the occasional gossip every now and then, right?

"Trying to woo me again are we?" Alexis said, opening her gift. A bracelet made of diamonds and glowing mana crystals. "Must have cost you a fortune."

"It was on sale," Zane said, steering his sleek, stealth-black, car through the streets of the Dragon Gardens District.

He followed the GPS on his dashboard, trying really hard to find the bar Alexis wanted to go to and celebrate. It was hard for him to keep his eyes on the road with her sitting next to him. Especially in that short, white party dress that she was wearing.

Her tiara, worth a million in Star Chips, glittered on her head, as did the stilettos on her feet covered in real diamonds and mother of pearl. She looked like an angel sent forth from the Goddess of Love herself.

He cleared his throat. "I know how much you've always wanted one," he said referring to his gift. "If I'm not mistaken, that will boost your Mana by a significant amount. You can finally summon something a lot more impressive, I wager."

Alexis gave a soft breathy laugh and put on the bracelet. "You're not going to stop until I summon a Cyber Blader, are you?"

"I just want my friend to be the best," said Zane. "Nothing criminal about that, is there?"

"No, but A) Ever since I told you I had an interest in the arts of Summoning, you've showered me with trinkets that boost Mana. And B) You are going to tug on the heartstrings of your fangirls and create a hubbub on their blogs. I can't even hold your hand without it becoming headline news. You know, there are rumors going around about marriage."

The car jerked. Alexis felt herself being strangled by her seatbelt. The car behind them honked at the sudden breaking.

"Yeah," said Alexis.

Zane grunted. A flash of lightning lit the cityscape. "Don't these people have anything better to do than to poke their noses where it doesn't belong? I'm getting awfully tired of this. And your mother doesn't like me. My family served as a White Rose in the civil war thousands of years ago. The honor of the Red Rose still burns hot inside of her. Every time I come to dinner, she gives me this horrible stare."

Alexis burst out laughing.

"I'm serious," said Zane, fixing his black tie, which he felt was starting to strangle him. "Every time these losers post an article about us, things escalate between me and your mother."

"She still loves you," Alexis answered, looking out the rain-splattered window, marveling at all the different night clubs to enjoy. She just hoped Zane would park soon so they can relish in Domino's nightlife themselves. "And she always will. Don't let that silly War of the Southern Roses bother you too much. My family is over that. The Daltons were White Roses, too, but she still sees them as an ally to the kingdom. She won't let past differences get between us."

"She will if it involves her beloved little girl," Zane added. "Ever since Atticus disappeared, she's been awfully protective of you and your purity. She'll have my head if she finds out I'm taking you to a nightclub. You know she hates you going to those places. Quite frankly, so do I. It's no place for a lady, let alone a Princess."

"Don't worry about me and don't mind her," said Alexis. "Atticus's disappearance was a severe blow to my family. He was to be king after all. Don't blame her if she becomes…selective of the people I meet. Especially the men of my life."

"What if those men included Prince Yuri?" Zane asked.

Alexis's fingers curled up. The rings flashed. One of them was a beautiful signet she got from the King of Games himself, Master Yugi Muto.

"That's a little too deep," she replied. "Territory I'd rather not go into. Evelyn is already having to deal with that. Poor thing."

Zane chuckled. "Despite him being a Delgado, he was adopted by a member of House Wallcroft. He's a Plantegrast from a certain point of view. A Red Rose like your mother. I'm pretty sure once Yuri comes back, she'll have you join in on the Princess Wars to secure your right to him."

"Those wars are crap," Alexis replied spitefully. "Hundreds of knights and thousands of brave warriors are dying in droves because of spoiled princesses fighting to marry the Prince."

"Not just any Prince," said Zane. "Yuri is THE Prince. The Prince who will become High King of Termnnia and master of the God Cards. Not to mention the billions and billions of tons of gold in the old vaults underneath the Spire of the Kings could do well for your economy. Yuri is a fine prize for any girl to marry. Even you."

"No thanks," Alexis said, shutting her eyes and sticking her nose in the air. "My only love is Dueling."

"You really are the Iron Princess," laughed Zane. "No one can get through to that furnace you call a heart."

"Ha!" Alexis said, snapping her fingers."And I intend to keep it that way. I belong to no man, and neither does my kingdom. I can rule it myself without any help."

"If you say so," said Zane, trying to quickly think of another topic. "So, you geared up for school next summer? Prince Yuri is going to be there."

"I am, but Mother wants me in the White Dragon Dorm next time. I have to attend that fancy prep school in Elleria in order to join. Luckily, Evelyn is going to be there, too, so I won't be alone. As for Prince Yuri joining us, I don't care."

Zane lightly snorted and made a left turn towards a plaza full of fountains. "Of course you don't," he said.

Alexis shook her head. "Are you studying to be in the dorm, too?"

"I'm already there," Zane said, stopping in front a black truck that halted for the red light.

"Good graces of Prince Michael's father, no doubt," Alexis replied whimsically.

"Very funny," laughed Zane. "I'll have you know Michael and I studied for a long time to get into that dorm."

"I'm not sure blowing up gangs of rogue mages is considered a curriculum for the dorm."

They were quiet after that remark. Zane listened to the rhythmic sound of the wipers against the window, and the soft tapping of the rain against the roof of his car. Alexis knew this red light was infamous for taking the longest to turn, so she took this time to re-apply her makeup in the mirror. She looked at Zane and saw that he looked a tad worried.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Zane drummed his fingers against the steering wheel. "The light turned green a minute ago. This guy is still not moving."

"Honk at him."

"No...no, we need to get out of here. I have a bad feeling about this."

Alexis felt a chill going up her frame. She started to shiver in fear from the expression of concern Zane had. "Zane? Zane, what's wrong?"

"I'm going to try and back up,"

"ZANE!"

Before Zane could react, it was too late. A black van stormed out of the alleyway next to them and smashed into their car, causing it to roll towards a garden nearby.

Zane and Alexis hung upside down from their seats. Their heads were burning and their limbs ached.

"You okay?" grunted Zane.

"No...no, I'm far from okay," Alexis answered.

Zane heard the sound of doors opening, followed by footsteps and victorious laughing. Then silence. Zane had a feeling he knew who the assailants were. Aeons. Only they would be this bold to attack the Princess and the son of the Steward. He felt foolish for dodging their security. He wasn't as clever as Prince Michael when it came to that.

Even if Michael was unfortunate enough to be caught in an ambush, at least he had powerful spells and a Terrorking Archfiend to protect him from his enemies. Zane only had a pistol and a dagger enchanted with lightning. But he couldn't reach for it. His elbow was in ever constant pain. He looked at Alexis.

She was struggling to get herself down. Her party dress was torn and stained with drops of blood. The left side of her face was covered by it. From the shattered window, Zane saw dozens of pairs of feet making their way towards the car.

"Alexis!" Zane groaned. He spat out blood. "Alexis! Run! Get out of here."

"I can't," Alexis sobbed. "Oh, Goddesses! Help us!"

The door was pulled open. Like tentacles from a monster, hands slithered into the car, grabbing her. Someone cut her seatbelt. She slumped to the roof of the car, her legs sticking straight up; for both her feet were stuck to the floor. Alexis tossed and turned, moaning in agony before she was finally dragged out, kicking and screaming.

"ZANE!" she cried. "ZANE! ZANE, THEY'RE TAKING ME AWAY!"

Zane tried to reach out to her, but the world around him was one big, foggy, blur. He heard the Aeons laughing, jeering, and whistling as the Princess was finally in their clutches. Someone doused a cloth in chloroform and smashed against Alexis's mouth.

She gasped. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head before she finally fell limp. A nine-foot-tall brute sporting a blue mohawk and wearing a sleeveless vest glowing with blue neon streaks lifted her over his shoulder and carried her to a nearby van, where he unceremoniously tossed her inside. He and a few others jumped inside.

Though he was horribly dazed, Zane heard someone in the van calling out a reward for the person who brought him Zane's head. A door was shut and the van chugged away. And then, he heard what sounded like a cord getting yanked fiercely and the brief hum of an engine.

Damn! Zane knew what that was. Someone outside the car was revving up a chainsaw. The Aeons were cheering. They started rocking the car back and forth in an attempt to scare him. Finally, the door swung open.

The gang of mages ripped him out of the car, dragging him through the mud. Some of them conjured balls of electricity to zap him. Others snapped their fingers, creating flames which they used to burn his clothes and his skin. They finally dragged him to a tree stump and slammed him against it. A punk wearing glowing red goggles held his arms and stretched them across the stump.

Finally, the maniac with the chainsaw came into view. He giggled viciously and swung the chainsaw around to intimidate him. Just when Zane thought it was over, the maniac was hit by an icy blast of absolute zero. He stood where he was, frozen rock solid. Then, a spray of bullets shattered him to small, bloody pieces.

A girl in tactical gear jumped over the wall of the garden where Zane crashed. She carried a SAW in one hand, while the other blasted the Aeons with deadly ice spells.

"Crow," Zane whispered.

Somehow, by some miracle, Prince Michael's hardboiled love interest had found him, and saved him. But what about Alexis? Where was she? Did she save her, too? He couldn't see her take down the fools, for he was so overcome with the shock of almost losing his life that he blacked out.

* * *

"He's waking up!" Crow shouted.

Zane squinted and grunted. Her voice seemed amplified as though she was yelling into his ear with a bullhorn.

"Not so loud," Michael said, leaning against a pillar of black marble, one of many in his bedchambers, which seemed large enough to be a city plaza. "He's still dazed from the drugs the doc gave him."

Zane's eyes finally opened. Above him hung a crystal chandelier from the ceiling many feet high made of green marble. He realized he was laying in Michael's bed. And he was naked, save for a few bandages across his abdomen.

"Michael," he whispered.

"You screwed up," Michael said. He held out his arm. Something clear and translucent landed on it. It finally took shape in a winged beast with feathers of silverly steel. A Stealth Bird. It squawked at Zane.

Michael approached his friend. He was clad in a shadowy black blazer and tie with a black cloak damasked in gold patterns hanging over his shoulder. His crown shimmered like flames on his brow. The devil-lock hanging over the left side of his face swung to-and-fro with each step he took.

"Why did you dodge security?"

"It wasn't my idea," Zane groaned, slamming his head against his pillow. "I...I knew better. But that girl has a way with words."

"Taught her everything I know," Crow boasted, sucking on a blueberry-flavored lollipop. "What did she want to do with you so bad that she didn't want the guards seeing you?"

"It's not what you think," said Zane.

"In any case, the Aeons have Alexis," Michael said grimly, stroking the feathers on Stealth Bird's chest. "We need to do something now, or else the Queen is going to send every soldier she has into Elleria. I know Daria Rhodes well. She will burn Domino City to the ground in order to find her daughter. If my father sees her with her troops at our doorstep, he's going to take that as an act of war."

"So what do we do now?" said Crow. She scratched her short, ragged, black hair and sighed. "The Queen wants little Alexis back home safe and sound by Monday, which gives us three days to find her."

"We have to do what we need to," said Michael. "We gather our friends and march downtown."

"I seriously doubt King is going to keep her in the usual spots," said Crow, finally crunching on the lollipop. "He's smarter than that. He must have taken her somewhere else."

"You give the Aeons too much credit," Michael said pretentiously, spinning around as he strolled towards the window. His cloak wooshed.

"And you don't take them seriously enough," said Zane. "They were smart enough to coordinate an attack to steal Alexis."

"A plan that wouldn't have succeeded had you not avoided your security escorts," said Michael. "Either way, we've got the whereabouts of a van matching the one you saw parking in an old fish-packing plant."

"I'll go with you," grunted Zane.

"You will do no such thing," said Michael. "You sit here and rest. We'll get Alexis back ourselves."

"But…"

"Zane," Crow said, slowly shaking her head. "No. Be a good boy and get some sleep. You can't take on the Aeons anyway, you can't cast magic. Michael, Rock, and the others are waiting for us downtown. Let's meet up with them and kick some Aeon ass."

Stealth Bird squawked and beat his feathers eagerly, for he wanted to claw out their eyes.

She made her way for the door out of Michael's chambers. Michael patted Zane on the shoulder and followed her out, leaving him alone.

"Damn," Zane whispered, collapsing against the silky pillows. "You've really done it this time, Zane. Queen Daria's going to have my head for sure. Alexis is in the clutches of those monsters and there's nothing I can do about it." His eyes suddenly widened. "Unless."

Zane quickly got dressed and left Michael's bedchambers. He took the elevator up to the 80th floor of the House of Gray and marched to his room. Holographic screens turned on all around him once he walked in.

"Begin the final stage of Project Cyber Knight," he commanded the robotic arms that whirred around the grand chamber.

Zane took a quick shower as the machines and his AI, Nel-E, were putting the final adjustments to the machine he was working on.

"There is still much to do," Nel-E said urgently. "Sir, there is no way the weapon will be combat-ready now. There is still much to be done."

"Just do what you can," said Zane, coming out of the bathroom, cloaked in a fog of steam. "My friend is out there and she needs my help."

"You dodged security again, didn't you?" Nel-E asked,

"Nel-E…"

"Was Princess Rhodes with you?"

"Nel-E…."

"You ought to be ashamed of yourself, Zane. It was your duty to protect her."

"Get to work!"

"Ugh, so bossy. Your father will have me scrapped if he found out we were using resources from his lab to make weapons."

"Seriously?" Zane said, dressing into a black tank top and black cargo pants. "We've been working on this project for months and you worry about this now. What else is needed to be done?" He put on a holo-lens which flashed windows of data, graphs, and charts with complicated mathematical formulas that he was able to do in his head. "Looks easy enough."

"I wish I shared your confidence," said Nel-E.

"You need to be positive, Nel-E."

"You be positive, sir. I'm going to be realistic. Your tools are already on the desk. May the Goddesses be with you."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Zane said, sitting down on his chair. An orange holographic keyboard projected in front of him. He started typing up a storm and searched through his files for the weapon he was developing.

"Coffee?" Nel-E asked.

"Caramel, make it very sweet as always."

"At once, sir."

A robotic arm lowered from the ceiling with a black mug in hand. Zane took it as he typed with one hand. "Thank you," he said and took a large sip.

"Not bad," said Nel-E, examining the improvements to the plans for his machine. "I think we might be able to pull this off."

"I told you not to doubt me," Zane chuckled. "Alright. Let's see what we have so far."

He got up from his chair after making a few - actually a hundred - minor adjustments to the weapon. A metallic pod slid out of the wall and opened, revealing a crude but highly advanced exoskeleton, which he needed to control the weapon, now being assembled in the upper levels of Zane's room.

He put it on, checked the systems, its functionality. It was working just fine.

"I detect damage to your rib," said Nel-E. "Have you been injured?"

"It's just a bruise," Zane replied, moving his arms and legs. The exoskeleton moved with him fluidly. It was working flawlessly. "Nice."

He lifted his arm. A photon cannon rose out of the gauntlet. He fired a few shots at empty soda cans he set up on a shelf. Again, his inventions were working at maximum efficiency.

"Why does your father not hire you to work with him again? This is nothing short of amazing."

"I'm too good," said Zane. "Even he acknowledges that. Besides, some of the things I build both amaze and terrify even me. I'd rather not have them sold to companies like Paradias or Rosenkraz. Some of my father's buyers support the Church of Yeyu. The last thing we need is for them to get their hands on my work. Last time that happened, the Church wiped out the Mountain Elves of the Selnandra Peaks. They were all using machines based on prototypes I gave my father. I'll never forgive myself for that."

He started hammering a steel plate that was going to be used for the body. Sparks flew out of it. The hammer itself was enchanted with molten flames.

"It wasn't your fault," Nel-E said sympathetically.

"I built weapons, Nel-E. I knew what they were capable of. I didn't care for limitations. My mind was pumped with too much knowledge for it to be restrained. If there's a barrier, I intend to break it. You now that more than anyone. People have suffered for that. I intend to fix my mistakes with this."

"Good luck to you, sir."

Zane hurried upstairs to the second floor of his lab where the mechanical beast he was building for months was finally coming to life. He heard a roar coming from a cloud of thick, white, fog. Electricity flashed all around the circular platform at the center of the lab.

The creature, a long mechanical serpent, hissed. Cables filled with a glowing orange liquid were attached to various parts of the mechanical serpent's body. There were orange glowing lines outlining its jaws. It had one tooth on each side of the lower jaw, and even a synthetic tongue. A round orange lamp on the top of its head served as the creature's eye.

Zane smiled and crossed his arms, feeling proud of his creation.

* * *

****

**Proto-Cyber Dragon**

**ATK/1100 DEF/500**


	93. The Cyber Knight: Part 2

A spiral opening in the hangar of Zane's room parted to reveal the cityscape of Domino below. The sky was a deep purple color and lightning flashed illuminating the night. Zane stared at the thousands of buildings nervously. This was it. He was going to take his beast out for a test drive. Could he call it that? This situation was going to be more than just some test. He was about to go up against thugs armed with guns and magic. After what happened hours earlier, he was beginning to doubt himself.

 _She's out there because of me,_ he thought to himself. _This is all my fault._

He heard his prototype slithering toward him. It loomed over his shoulder and stared at him as if saying: "Well, do something about it."

Zane smiled as if that was what the beast was telling him. "You know, you're absolutely right. After all, I shouldn't be doubting my own work."

Proto-Cyber Dragon snarled in agreement. Its orange neon lit the darkness around him.

"I have great confidence in you, sir," said Nel-E. "And it seems like I'm not the only one. Our pet project seems to agree with you, too. It's working in tip-top shape. The board is green. Systems are working at maximum efficiency. You are good to go."

"Can the same be said about my suit?" Zane asked. He held up his wrist and turned on his holographic computer. He typed feverishly, double-checking the exoskeleton for any glitches. As he feared, the display showed green on every limb and a solid 100%.

"Sometimes, I'm just too good," Zane sighed. "All right. Let's see what this baby can do."

A compartment on the prototype's neck opened. The walls were white lights encasing a helmet, which he needed to conceal his identity. Once it was over his head, the helmet's visor faded to black. Zane saw a mini-map of the city in the top right corner of his HUD. He tapped his thumb and index finger together and the mini-map faded and showed the footage from Proto-Cyber Dragon's camera. He tapped them again and it displayed a breaking news story. Naturally, Princess Alexis's kidnapping was the top story of the evening.

First, he saw the concerned anchorman repeating the same bits of information that they knew so far on the situation. It was the Aeons. Motive unclear. Lord Zane hurt in the kidnapping. Prince Michael and his army were up in arms. But then, in a cruel twist of fate, the anchorman put a finger on his earpiece. He gulped nervously.

"We're going to turn you over to Darlene Kennedy who has received some information just a few moments ago. Darlene."

"Thank you, Bryan. About thirty minutes ago, an anonymous user emailed DCN a video. Based on what we have seen, the sender was no doubt of the notorious mage gang, the Aeons. The twelve dozen pictures are of the Lorninnian Princess bound and gagged in what appears to be a slaughterhouse. And the video we received was a list of demands from the Aeon leader, King Aldric. Be warned, what you are about to see could be disturbing."

Zane braced himself.

The screen showed Alexis on the ground, her arms tied behind her back by handcuffs and her legs bound together with duct tape. Her tiara was gone, as was much of jewelry. She was being sprayed with cold water from a hose, carried by an Aeon gang member wearing a Clown Zombie mask. Alexis's white party dress was torn, dirty, and soaked. It was so translucent that it gave the appearance that she was naked. Alexis sobbed and begged for them to stop spraying her.

"You want us to stop? You want us to stop?" the cameraman mocked her.

"Yes!" Alexis shouted over the fierce torrents crashing onto her chest. "Please! For the love of Horakhty! Please, stop!"

The cameraman laughed at her suffering. "All right, all right, all right. Turn it off." He snapped his fingers repeatedly.

"Aww," said the man in the clown mask. He turned the nozzle, halting the water, but he was ready to do it again. His fellow gang members then walked towards Alexis, surrounding her and laughing at her.

"What is your name?" the cameraman asked.

Alexis gasped for air and shivered. "Please."

"That's not your name. Come on, tell us your name."

"Please, let me go!" Alexis begged again.

The cameraman snapped his fingers. She was sprayed mercilessly with the hose again.

"Stop! Stop! Stop!"

"What is your name!?" the cameraman asked loudly.

"I am...Alexis Rhodes. Crown Princess of the Kingdom of Lorin. Daughter of Queen Isadora, and the sole heir to the Sapphire Throne."

"Good girl," said the cameraman. "Now, do you know why you are here? Come on. Tell the good folks of Domino why you are here."

Alexis looked at the camera with a fiery defiance in her eyes. "I'll never say it. You might as well just kill me now because you'll never get the royal family to do your bidding. Never."

"Kill you now? Naw, that will ruin the fun. We're going to have so much fun with you, Princess. Lots and lots of fun. Of course, there is a way to put an end to all this, right here and right now."

The cameraman handed the camera to one of his henchmen and ordered to have himself filmed. Zane saw a boy of nineteen sniggering back at him. He had long acid green hair and wore a Duel Gazer over his right eye. He wore a sleeveless white coat over a black bodysuit with green neon designs on the legs and chest. The coat was adorned with green glowing orbs over the shoulders and down his spine.

"Arise peasants!" he shouted into the camera. "Your new king is here. For many years, we have been persecuted unfairly by the Covenant of Yeyu or the Church of Green Fire as they call themselves here. They have forced us underground like rats while they take over our magical academies, erase our history, burn our people, and ravage our lands, destroy our culture - OUR VERY WAY OF LIFE!"

He paced back and forth. His men were sniggering as they brandished bats, clubs, and chains.

"We trusted our Lords, our Kings! We trusted them to do something against this vile cult who have comfortably declared all of us - the citizens of Termnnia - as their enemies. Enemies whom their White-Gold Tome commands to kill should we not convert to their faith and become one with their vile cult. Instead of fighting them and silencing them you embraced them! You forced us to tolerate them! You forced us to understand them! Yet you say nothing when they cut off the hands of children who play Duel Monsters. You say nothing as they violated the Rose Priestesses of the Love Goddess. They dishonored them and sold them to King Forrest, where they will forever serve him as slaves. Forced to commit unholy atrocities for his amusement. They were stolen! Here in our lands. And what does the Dalton Family do?"

He balled his fist at the camera furiously.

"What did they do? They threw a party as always. Like all the kings on our continent, they do NOTHING! So we took it upon ourselves to deal with the problem. We - the true patriots of Domino City - fought off the scourge who you let into our lands. Instead of joining us, you fight against us! You send your son and his friends to kill us. We have done nothing wrong! Defending your homeland from heartless invaders is not a crime! So why do you persecute us and not them? Why do you ignore our suffering but answer to theirs? You have turned your backs on us, King Eldon. You have turned your back on your people. And now you will pay for this outrage!"

The camera loomed down on Alexis.

"You have seven days to surrender your crown to me," King Aldric threatened. "For each day that goes by, Alexis will suffer beyond her wildest dreams. On the seventh day, I swear to you by the Twelve Mothers that we will send you her head! The clock is ticking, King Eldon. Make your choice. Surrender your crown or risk open war with the Kingdom of Lorin for doing nothing, which is what you seem to be good at. Your failure as King of Eredas is what brought forth all of this madness."

He pointed at the camera.

"People of Eredas! Let your voices be heard in these next seven days! You have the power to bring a real king onto the Throne of XIII. Show King Eldon that we are tired of the Church of Yeyu pushing us around. Join us! The people should not fear the King. It is the King who must fear his people. Make your choice, Eldon. I'll be waiting."

He formed a horrid, wide, smile. "Bring the princess to me, boys."

The camera shook and Alexis's painful screams could be heard alongside King Aldric's horrible laughing.

If that didn't get Zane motivated, nothing could. He felt his blood boiling. His fists were clenched so tightly he felt his knuckles would burst through the carbon fiber guards of his gloves.

"Freg'greth Meh'gumvian!" he cursed in his ancient language.

It was now or never. He had to save Alexis and fast.

"Those foul miscreants and their call to arms. All this suffering. In the name of liberty they say. Fools. Trying to end bloodshed by shedding more blood? I'll blast them all into oblivion."

The jets on his exoskeleton activated. He felt himself rising off the ground.

"All systems go," said Nel-E. "All right, sir, time to see what this baby can do."

"Right," Zane smirked, feeling himself rising higher and higher above the city of Domino. He looked down and saw that even his prototype was staring up at him. The glowing orange tubes released themselves from the mechanical creature's body to set it loose upon the world. It roared, steam shot out from its gullet. A little addition Zane added to give life to his creation.

"All right," he said. "You don't look at all like my father's monster. But you will have to do for now. Let's go save my friend."

The jets thrust Zane over the city. He did it! He was flying. Hatches opened on the prototype's back. Rockets rose out and launched the creature into the air. It followed Zane into the night.

For a moment, Zane forgot about all his troubles. He looked down at the city below. He marveled at the bright lights, burning neon, and glittering windows. The cars were like a river of red and white slithering through the streets. Commercials for beauty products and an upcoming concert were displayed on tall buildings. Zane could even see the ocean over the skyscrapers. The lights of numerous boats twinkled in the dark waters.

He started laughing with joy. It was working! His exoskeleton was a complete success. He looked back at his prototype. The serpent-like cybernetic dragon was flying closely behind him. Lightning flashed, causing its armor to shimmer in its brief light.

"Well done, Nel-E!" Zane said doing a loop-de-loop.

"Never doubted you for a second, sir," the AI said cheerfully. "Congratulations. Now if you're done flying around, I believe you have a princess to save."

Zane chuckled. "Right? This is going to be just like the stories my nanny once told me when I was a small boy."

"True, but you're not sweeping her from a dragon-guarded tower. You have a small army of mages to contend with. Are you sure you can handle them?"

"I can and I will," said Zane. "Can you enter the DCN anchor's computer, find the email with the video posted recently, and trace it back to the sender?"

"Sir, you offend me," said Nel-E. "I can slither through the firewalls of your father's company. How hard can a bias news anchor's personal computer be to bypass?"

"You're the best Nel-E," Zane chuckled. He circled around buildings for fun, his rockets roaring. The prototype was not far behind.

"This is child's play," Nel-E boasted. "I mean, these are street thugs. I doubt any of them know how to cover their tracks. Ah, I found them already."

"Where?!" Zane shouted.

"I'll mark it on your map. Go get them, sir!"

"Perfect," said Zane. He saw a red dot pinpointing the exact location where the email was sent. An arrow on his HUD began to point the best way to get there. "Hang on, Alexis. I'm coming."


	94. The Cyber Knight: Part 3

Rain splattered his visor. A green light slid down the face of it, wiping the water off to clear Zane's vision. Not that it mattered. He could see where he was going thanks to the mini-map on the corner of his HUD. Another screen popped up, showing Zane a rear-view image of his prototype chasing after him. The creature looked like it was ready to fight. That's what he wanted to see - life. He spared no expense to make his creation feel like it was a living thing. It snarled, it growled, it obeyed his orders. He couldn't have been happier.

Before he knew it, he found himself flying over the Domino City ports. It was a very different world than the lavish, clean, streets of the Crown District and the Dragon Gardens District. There were no fancy malls, luxury hotels, Dueling arenas, or grand temples to the Goddesses here. He could already smell the difference in the air. The stench of sea salt, motor oil, trash, and cheaply made fast food perfumed the air.

"You have arrived at your destination," Nel-E said to Zane. "Good look to you, sir. Be safe."

"Thanks, Nel-E."

"Shall I have your will sent to your father?"

"Very funny, Nel-E. Hack yourself into the Kaiba Corp satellite so you can have a bird's eye view of my surroundings. Alert me of any sign of trouble. Try not to get yourself noticed."

"Yes, sir. Kaiba's multi-colored-haired lackeys will never even know I'm there. Ugh. They are scary things. "

"Cut the chatter. I'm going dark."

This was it. Zane's heart raced as he landed in front of the ruins of a liquidated supermarket. He saw fire flickering through the openings of the boards that were nailed over the windows and heard loud music thumped through the walls. Pathetic. If these guys wanted to keep themselves hidden, they sure did a horrible job of doing it. Graffiti was sprayed along the walls of the supermarket, and there were signs warning trespassers that this was Aeon turf.

Zane shook his head. Another childish mistake on the gang's part. And these guys got the best of him and the royal security guards? These were the guys demanding the King of Eredas to surrender his crown to them?

He had a feeling he was going to have no trouble taking them down. He walked towards the door and raised his fist. His exoskeleton activated, maximizing his strength.

WHAM!

He punched the steel door down. The Aeons, who were celebrating their victory, stood up and gasped. The music stopped. Zane stomped into the store.

"What the hell are you supposed to be?" shouted a punk, hanging out on the top of a shelf. "If you know what's good for you, you'd turn your metallic ass out of..."

PEW!

Zane shot him with the laser cannon on his wrist. The Aeon screamed in agony as he fell to the floor with a thud.

"Where is Alexis?" he shouted. "Hand her over and you will not be harmed!"

"Man, whatever!" another Aeon said, pulling out a shotgun.

The other Aeons took out weapons of their own and fired. At once, Zane held up his palm, activating a green, hexagon-tiled, barrier. He grinned, watching as the bullets peppered the barrier. The Aeons were shouting in confusion; cursing, and constantly claiming that their bullets did not affect the shield. When the gunfire died down, it was Zane's turn to go on the offensive. He raised his fists - the second laser cannon rose out of the other gauntlet.

He fired, taking down a dozen thugs in less than a minute. When the gang thought it best to attack, they fired their weapons, but Zane activated his barrier again. He laughed, but only for a moment. A fireball struck him in the stomach, knocking him out the door and back into the rain. He rolled on the ground and stopped.

His HUD flashed red with various warnings; heavy damage was inflicted on the cuirass of his exoskeleton.

A wild-haired witch with multiple piercings on her face laughed at what she had done; both of her hands engulfed by bubble gum pink flames. She walked toward Zane, ready to inflict more damage. She did not anticipate him recovering so quickly.

He rose up at once and blasted her in the chest with his laser cannon. When she was dead, he got back up and held up both hands, creating a much larger shield. Zane knew that he could not hold them back with just shields and laser cannon blasts. They were smarter than he thought.

Thanks to that last attack, they discovered a weakness. His exoskeleton was not magic proof. More spellcasters joined the ranks, firing blasts of lightning, jets of boiling water, and colorful fireballs towards him. Zane hoped his shield would cover him from those, but the arcane arts proved far more powerful than technology; for they shot right through his shield. Explosions shook the ground and knocked a few structures down.

He was struck on the shoulder by a lightning spell - it surged through his arm, burning him with pain and paralyzing the left half of his body. Zane ducked behind a shelf. The Aeons would give him no time to breathe. They hopped over counters and iceboxes to get to their attacker. It was payback time for them.

So they thought.

The prototype burst through the ceiling and roared at them. Before they could react, the mechanical creature fired a yellow-colored laser at them, turning them to bones which broke down into dust. The rest of the Aeons cried out in horror at the monster and ran out, not wanting to tangle with either it or Zane, who was proving a little difficult to kill.

"Oh no, you don't!" he shouted.

He ran after them, the exoskeleton giving him a great boost in speed. He grabbed an Aeon by the hood and threw him across the store. He smashed out the window into the rain and rolled to a stop. He stood up, hoping to get away, but he felt a white-hot pain shoot through his leg. He wailed in anguish and collapsed on the wet ground. He looked at the wound that caused him such discomfort. A hole had burned through his leg. Flames still flickered in his torn jeans. He had been shot by Zane's laser.

He gasped in horror, seeing him walk out of the ruins of the store. The prototype roared and started blasting the others with his breath, killing each and every one. He soared over the harbor hunting down any more who ran or were stupid enough to try to shoot it down with their magical attacks.

The Aeon tried to back away, but it was no use. Zane grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up. The exoskeleton's grip choked him.

"Where is she!?" Zane shouted.

"I...I..." babbled the Aeon.

"WHERE IS ALEXIS!"

"I...I don't know!"

Zane brought the laser cannon close to the Aeon's face.

"NO! NO! NO!" the Aeon shouted. "Please! I really don't know! After King Aldric posted the video they took off with her."

"WHERE?"

"I don't know! I swear I don't know! I'm just a new recruit. I just got sworn in yesterday! They don't tell me any of these things."

Zane brought the cannon closer to the Aeon's face. "Then you better pray that you know someone who does."

"Okay, okay, okay! Look for a guy named Dargon Merlon. He's one of the officers in charge of the boys over at the Dueling District. They ran the card hustling side of things. There's supposed to be a meet or something over there. But I don't know the exact location. You'll have to shake down all the guys that work there to get any info on Dargon. He's like a shadow, man. The only reason I've been able to see him is because this is a huge operation. The Princess is the key to getting the throne from the Daltons."

"You idiots don't know what you've caused. Because of you, we could be at war with both Lorin and the Covenant of Yeyu. All you had to do was await the return of Prince Yuri."

"Prince Yuri!? There is no time for that! They're killing us out there, man. You don't know how much they have caused us to suffer. What I have suffered because of them. I lost my little sister to those bastards."

"What?"

"She was playing Duel Monsters with her friends in the park," the Aeon started sobbing. He placed both hands on Zane's hoping to loosen his grip. "She never came back. Security cameras filmed what happened. Some robed goons wearing that green and gold eye from that psycho church drove up in a white van and took her and her little friends away."

"So that's why you joined the Aeons? To find your sister?"

"And get revenge on the Church. I just gotta find her. You don't know what they do to little girls, man. They do horrible things. If she's unfortunate, she'll be shipped off to King Forrest in Naralia. He's a sicko, man. A real sicko. You're fighting the wrong guys, here, whoever you are. We can work together. We can help you."

Zane shook his head. "You and your pals are no different from the Covenant. Last year, King Aldric ordered pyromancers to burn down a whole school full of children who worship the false god. And they succeeded. None of the kids survived. Killed because they had a different belief than he did."

"Tellaria's Grace!" whispered the Aeon. "I...I had no idea."

"Of course, you didn't. You were so hell-bent on revenge that you didn't even stop to think about who you're working for."

"But we can't just sit around and do nothing, man! We have to fight back those savages!"

"By becoming savages ourselves!" Zane roared.

Sirens wailed in the distance. Zane looked at the old supermarket and saw that it was in flames. He let the Aeon go. "Wait for them to arrive," he instructed the boy. "They'll help you with your wound."

Zane reached into one of the pouches around his belt and took out a binding, which he used to wrap the boy's hands together.

"However, you're going to be arrested for your involvement in the Princess's kidnapping. I'm sorry about what's happened to you, kid, but there is no excuse to throw your life away and become a lying, cheating, murdering, disgrace."

The boy's lips trembled. "But...but my sister, man. She needs me!"

"I'll find her," Zane assured him. "I promise you she'll be safe. But beyond that, I can confirm that she'll no longer be your concern. Because of your foolishness, she'll be growing up without a brother. If she saw who you joined; what you became, she would be greatly ashamed of you."

The boy nodded. "But can you promise me she'll be safe."

"I assure you when I find her she'll get the best care. In the meantime, you think about what you did. To your sister, the Princess, and to yourself."

The boy looked at him and nodded.

Zane activated his rockets and took off into the night. The prototype roared and chased after him.

* * *

**Lore**

* * *

**Domino City is the capital of the Kingdom of Eredas and the most technologically advanced civilization in Termnnia. The city covers many leagues and is circular in shape, divided into ten districts like a pie.**

**The King's District, The Dragon Garden's District, Kaiba Plaza, Rosenkruz Academy, The Dueling District, The Aquamarine District, The Baytown, The Star District, The Temple District, and the White Dragon District. Another district called the Cerulean District is built underwater by the Rosenkruz Bay. This is home for the 1% of Eredas. The King of Games, Yugi Muto, is said to own a condo there.**

**The city is also stacked over four other levels which were built over and forgotten thousands of years ago after the Elf-Machine Wars of the Second Age. The lower levels of Domino City are less lavish than the surface and grow to be more deteriorated the further down you go. Level 5 is the worst of these levels, where poor souls who are too unfortunate to make ends meet are forced to go. It is notorious for its poor living conditions and for housing criminals and other vagabonds. And it is an ideal habitat for terrible monsters said to lurk in the abandoned streets and subway tunnels.**


	95. The Cyber Knight: Part 4

Zane soared over the city towards the Dueling District where he would hopefully find someone who could give him information on Alexis's whereabouts. If what he heard about the Aeons was true, they could have been lurking in the lower levels of the city. But he would rather not go there unless he had to. He hated to admit it, but even with the exoskeleton, he would have a whole lot of trouble down there. But he was so desperate to find Alexis, that he felt he would brave the dangers of the underground slums. He had known her since she was just a little girl.

The memories of her frolicking through the castle in her short white dress came to him and warmed his spirit. He recalled how cute she was, and how small. She had a giant white bow in her hair. The diamonds around her neck shimmered like a thousand stars. Her eyes sparkled with purity and innocence. And her laughter, ringing like silver bells.

She was picking flowers in the garden and gave them to him.

_"Thank you, Princess," the young Zane said, bashfully taking them from her._

_She giggled, hiding her smile behind her hand as she hunched her shoulders. Her cheeks flushed into a cotton candy pink. "You're welcome," she said. "Now will you marry me?"_

_"Huh?"_

_"Well, I'm a Princess after all and you're the one everyone says I must marry, right?"_

_"No!" he said at once. "You've got it all wrong, Alexis. I'm not a prince!"_

_"Who says you have to be?" Alexis replied with a twitter. "Mama says you have to be at least a Lord to marry a Princess. You're going to be Steward of Eredas. You're the right hand of the King. That's just as important as a prince if not more."_

_"I uh...I can't Alexis. It's not right."_

_Alexis smiled, closing her eyes as she tilted her head to the right. "Maybe this will change your mind," she said, leaning forward and then planting him a kiss._

_Zane dropped the flowers and ran away. "Mama!" he cried, running down the halls._

He chuckled remembering that. It was embarrassing, to say the least, and recalling such a memory made him feel like he had a vice gripping his chest. She was still his friend after that, becoming somewhat of a sister to him, but she stopped pretending to be in love with him, so she said. It left him wondering if her behaving so lovingly towards him that summer was actually real affection. He would never know because after that she never handed him flowers or toyed with the notion of kissing him again.

He soared over the wall that divided the Dueling District from the King's District. He saw numerous arenas and the lavish skyscrapers that housed the top players in the city. Countless playing fields dotted the world below. He could see monsters doing battle with one another. How he wished to be doing that himself. Just playing a quiet game with Alexis by the fireplace. If he had listened to his instincts and ignored her pleas to be rebellious, that's probably what they would be doing right now. He felt like such a fool for evading his personal guard. At eighteen years old, Alexis was old enough to drink and enter the lavish nightclubs of the Dragon Garden's District.

He blamed his wonder of her affection in the past for allowing her to be rebellious this night. If the Queen of Lorin found out it was he who allowed her to leave the towers of the House of Gray that night, she would no doubt have his head. He needed to atone for that and find her at once.

Nel-E alerted him of wrongdoing below.

"I see Aeons mugging a young man in Cornerwood Street. Teach them a lesson, sir!"

"You got it. Maybe they might know something about this Dargon character." He soared eastward.

The Prototype was ready for battle and let out a loud screech, following Zane to the alleyway where the mugging was taking place.

"HELP!" the boy cried out. He was a student from Rosenkruz Academy. He held his arms over his face to keep the Aeon's punches from smacking him in the face. There were two of them. A skinny punk and a very stout one with a green mohawk. They were trying to take his cards and his money and beat him to a pulp for the fun of it.

Zane sailed towards them at full speed. He snatched the skinny one and tossed him like a ball at a dumpster, knocking him out cold. The stout one pulled out a switchblade from his leather jacket. Zane grabbed him by the wrist before he could move. He squeezed with all his might until the Aeon's wrist shattered. He squealed and smacked Zane's arm with his good hand, begging him to let go.

"Get out of here!" Zane commanded the student.

The boy nodded and ran away.

"What the hell?" wailed the Aeon. "It's true. You're that cyber guy or something...ahhhh!"

"Shut up!" shouted Zane. He sniggered, squeezing the broken wrist even harder. "Do you know anything about the kidnapping tonight?"

The Aeon sneered despite his great pain. "That's right. I was there when it happened. Princess Alexis and Zane didn't even know what hit them. I suppose you're here to get me to spill the beans on her location, eh? Well, too bad for you. I ain't gonna talk."

Zane squeezed the Aeon's broken wrist again. He leaned forward until his visor touched the tip of the punk's nose. "You want to act like a tough guy, I'll treat you like a tough guy. Don't test me, punk! You're in no position to be pulling off theatrics with me."

"Okay, okay, okay! The warehouse thing was just a diversion. We had our boys waiting for you cops so we could ambush you...accck!"

"Do I look like a cop!" Zane shouted. "I know about the warehouse. Your friends are all dead."

"No way, man!"

"Way," Zane replied. He held up his fist. Layers of metal stacked up against one another until they formed a blade.

"OH SHIT!" cried the Aeon.

"You're going to be next if you don't start explaining things. Where did they take Alexis? Where is the Princess? Tell me or I'll gut you like a pig!"

"No, no, no, no, no. Please, there's no need for that. Dargon, he's the one you want. I know where he operates. I'm one of his top officers, man. Go to the back lot of the Red-X Gaming card shop. There's payment about to go down back there. The shop's owner is in debt to us for helping him set up the place and keeping those Church boys away from his family. He's a former priest or something like that. Aldric is going to handle some business downtown in the Kaiba Plaza so he's left Alexis's handling to Dargon for the night. They have her locked up in a shipping container. It's orange in color with the Kaiba Corp logo on it. You can't miss it."

Zane punched the Aeon, breaking his nose and knocking him out cold. "You get all that Nel-E?"

"I sure did. I'll mark the location on your map. And look, you're just in time."

She showed him satellite footage with a bird's eye view of the store. Indeed, there was a truck waiting in the back parking lot of the store. Zane asked to get thermal imaging of the area. He saw the white silhouettes of figures standing around. Someone walked out of the shop. It as no doubt the owner.

Wasting no time, Zane took off and followed the arrow on his map leading him to the shop. "I had my fun," he said to his beast. "You feeling frisky tonight, pal?"

The prototype roared then dove down toward the shop to attack the Aeons and stop their racketeering operation.

"Keep the damage to a minimum," he commanded the creature. "Do not fire in the shop. We have innocent civilians in there."

The prototype roared to let the Aeons know it was coming. It fired its yellow laser at two of the gang members, reducing them to ash. The other members ran off into the night, scattering into the night like roaches. The prototype then smashed the truck hauling the shipping container with its tail, killing the driver, and setting the vehicle on fire.

The prototype chased after an Aeon and grabbed him with its mouth. It shook him violently and tossed him miles into the sky. Zane saw that the coast was clear and landed on the parking lot. Two Aeon mages launched balls of fire and lightning at him. He rolled out of the way, barely dodging the attacks, and then struck them both with his laser cannon. He yanked the chain off the container's door and pulled it open. It was horribly dark in there. Zane's visor switched to night vision and a small light on the left side of his helmet turned on to light up the way.

There she was. Alexis was on the floor sobbing. She sat up, blocking the light with her hand. She was dressed in a raunchy lolita costume, black with pink ribbons and sashes. Her hair was tied into two very long pigtails with pink bows.

"Who?" she wondered.

"Alexis!" Zane shouted.

"Zane?" Alexis cried out. "Is that you?"

Zane took off his helmet so she could see his face and hurried towards her. "Why are you dressed like that? What did they do to you?"

"You don't want to know," she said as he broke her cuffs with a quick yank. Her lips trembled and she wrapped her arms around his neck and broke.

"It's okay. I've got you now."

"I'm so glad you made it. They're going to sell me to the Lord of Level Five."

"Why?"

"He was going to do things to me to persuade King Eldon to surrender his crown to Aldric."

"The hell he is," said Zane. "Once I get you home I'll deal with..."

The container shook violently. A loud screech stung both their ears. Zane looked up and noticed that something was ripping the roof off the container. Something big. Something horrible. When it was thrown off the by the monster, Zane grunted in horror.

A Gate Guardian.

The faceless monster loomed over him. It held something in its hand. The prototype. Its body was mangled and twisted. Wires hung from its mouth and sparks flew from openings on its body.

Zane heard someone laughing behind him. A muscular young man with a shaved head, a trimmed beard, and tan skin walked into the ruin of the container. His hands casually tucked in the pockets of his trenchcoat, which he left opened to show off his athletic form.

"Impressive creature you made there, boy-o. But I'm afraid machines fail in comparison to the might of a REAL Duel Monster." He snapped his fingers.

The wind monster, Kazejin, who made the torso of the beast, blew a fierce wind. Zane tried to stand his ground, but it felt like he was standing in front of a tornado. Then Sanga of the Thunder, who made the head and the arms, unleashed a stream of lightning that mixed with Kazejin's wind attack. Zane felt his body getting fried. He roared in agony, his exoskeleton wailed with warning alarms announcing various malfunctions in the suit.

Alexis stood up and ran towards the man. "No, no, no!" she cried, waving her hands in front of him. "Dargon! Please, stop! Please. Stop! I'll go with you. I promise."

"Good girl," said Dargon. He slapped her, knocking her out cold. She collapsed on the ground. Dargon laughed and put her over his shoulder. He looked at his monster with a nasty grin. "Kill him. THUNDERSTROKE!"

Gate Guardian growled, ready to end Zane with its ultimate attack as Dargon took Alexis to his car. He tossed her in the trunk and drove off. Just then, something jumped out of the flames.

A Terrorking Archfiend.

He smashed his demonic sword on Sanga's head. Zane, finally freed of the attack, slumped on the ground on his knees. He fell forward, his face smashing on the ground. Gate Guardian roared and tried to swap his new opponent away. Terrorking Archfiend spun out of the way and summoned a swarm of bats that enveloped the monster.

Zane heard footsteps walking towards him. Someone flipped him over. He saw Prince Michael looking down at him. Terrorking Archfiend and Gate Guardian were still engaged in combat behind him.

That was the last thing Zane saw before he was consumed by darkness again.

_Alexis...I'm sorry._


	96. The Cyber Knight: Part 5

He awoke and saw a pair of gorgeous green eyes peering at him from behind glass. A lock of jet-black hair bounced over a pretty tan-colored face. Tanika 'Crow' Lynchfield was looking at him as though he were a fish in an aquarium. Zane realized he was in some kind of stasis tank. He was submerged in an arctic-blue liquid that soothed his burns and cooled his body. He had a breathing mask placed over his mouth and bubbles coming from a vent beneath his feet surrounded him.

Crow laughed and shook her head. "You know, you sure do have a knack of getting yourself knocked out Zane."

She pressed her lips on the glass, gesturing a kiss, laughed, and walked away. That was all Zane saw before he felt himself surrender to a void of inky blackness again.

Moments later, he felt someone rubbing a warm, soaked, cloth over his head. He opened his eyes and saw Crow looking down on him.

"Oh! Hey! Mike! He's coming through at last."

"Where the hell am I?" Zane asked, feeling as though someone had taken out his brain and played baseball with it. He saw daylight peeking through the tall white curtains of his bedchamber. The sound of the waterfall pouring down into his own river - usually quite soothing for him to wake up to - thundered in his ears, making his head throb.

"You're back home," Crow answered. "Where you should have been all along. So, the great Zane Truesdale is doing late-night vigilante work, eh?"

Zane slumped his head on his pillow. "Oh, great. I suppose everybody knows about that."

"Not quite," Prince Michael said, walking into the room from the library. As usual, he wore a black suit and tie. A black sash was pinned to his shoulder by a large golden brooch in the shape of a six-pointed star. The rubies on his black iron crown sparkled obnoxiously.

He snapped his fingers.

Two knights in steel plate and black capes rolled in a wagon containing the head of Zane's cybernetic prototype. It stood lifeless on the wagon, cables, plate, and rods hung helplessly from the bottom of the head where the neck once was.

"Oh no," Zane mourned. Even though he had it for just a night, Zane felt as though he had lost a dear friend. "Goddesses," he said. "I was just starting to get to know him."

"You can fix it, can't you?" Michael asked, circling the head.

"You really want me to?" Zane asked, feeling rather optimistic. Deep down, he hoped Michael would let him continue working on his Cyber Knight project. "I mean, I can work something out if you want me to. He just needs a few adjustments."

"No," said Michael.

That put a damper on Zane's spirits.

"You're good, Zane, but you're not that good. You still have a lot to learn. I know someone who can help you."

Zane looked up. Even though his face felt horribly stiff and stung just to sniff the air, he couldn't help but form a smile. "You're going to let me help?"

"Doesn't look like I can stop you," Michael replied with a chuckle. "I've known you and Lex since the day I was born, Zane. Even if someone shot all your limbs off and all you had was a trash can and a pencil for defense, you'd take on a dragon if it meant saving Alexis."

"That I would," said Zane. "I know you'd do the same."

Crow giggled and placed both hands on her hips, tilting them to the right. "Let's face it. You two bozos are too stubborn for your own good."

The three of them laughed.

"So what's the plan?" Crow asked. "It's a new day, meaning poor Lex has six days left."

Michael nodded. "Well, even though I told Zane to stay behind, he got more info than we did."

"That was all my doing, thank you!" said Nel-E.

"Who the hell was that?" Crow said looking around.

"She's my personal AI," said Zane. "It gets pretty lonely in here building all this stuff. I need someone to talk to before I start losing my mind."

Crow snorted. "You're building cybernetic dragons and are killing street thugs with it. I'd say you've already lost it, Zane."

"It's actually not a bad idea," said Michael. "Provided we keep this to ourselves."

Crow frowned and crossed her arms. "Uh, just what do you intend to do, Michael? You can't seriously be letting your future House Steward risk his life by doing comic book hero vigilante work."

Michael placed his hands behind his back and looked at her. "Domino Security has been tracking the Aeons since the kidnapping. They're all talking about this Cyber Knight character. Needless to say, after what Zane did, they're running scared. He got their attention. They're panicking and that will make them sloppy. Every mistake they make is one path closer to Alexis."

"If you say so, Your Highness. But if the press catches wind of this..."

"They won't," said Michael. "In fact, they don't even know what happened in Red X Gaming. My men cleaned up the site pretty quickly."

Crow sniggered and gave a whirl of her eyes. "That was a big ass explosion, babe. Someone is bound to notice."

Michael "That part of the district is full of old generators and some faulty wiring. It's bound to happen."

Zane threw his bedsheets off and got out of bed. "Michael, I greatly appreciate this. I'd thank you but there's no time. As you said, we have only six days left. If we're going to find Alexis we have to do so now. You said you knew somebody who could help me with the Cyber Dragon Project. Well, who?"

Michael held up his hand to quell Zane. "I'll give you the details after we've looked at those ribs of yours. If you're going out in the field, you need to be at one-hundred percent. Who knows. Maybe our new friend can help you learn a few things."

"I'm a quick study," Zane replied. He picked up a silver pitcher on his night table and poured himself a glass of water. The pitcher was enchanted with a clever spell that kept it ice cold. "Where can I find this friend of yours?"

Michael gave up. It would have to take a thousand chains to keep Zane down. "I'll text you the address later. Believe me, my friend will get that..." He looked at the prototype's head disdainfully. "Thing up and running so we can head to Level Five. In the meantime, I'm going to get some more help. If we are going to venture into the deepest parts of the underground city, we're going to need someone with a lot of power."

"You know someone?" Zane asked. "Is he good?"

"You should know," said Michael. "He almost beat you in Duelist Academy."

Zane's face shrunk. "You're kidding?" He gave a soft chuckle. "Huh. It's been a while since I've seen that kid."

* * *

**The Emerald Road**

* * *

The golden-haired maiden ran through the forest as fast as her skinny legs could carry her. Behind her, she heard the voices of her pursuers echoing from the behind the thick veil of mist. She had barely escaped them moments before when they assaulted her caravan and killed the guards. She was soaked and sticky with ale that was poured all over her. Her arm was bruised by their powerful grip and her clothes were all but shredded.

Fear. She was rank with it. At that moment she felt as though everyone in the world was after her. The forest itself seemed to lust for her flesh. The branches of dead trees reached out to her, ripping her gown and practically stripping her down to her skin, muddied and scratched. She heard the gang of highwaymen yelling and calling out to her; whistling for her as though she were a household pet. The lust in their voices was as clear as day.

The girl tripped over a log and tumbled down a muddy slope to the creek below. She fell with a splash and hit her head against a rock. It was a light bump, but it stung her awfully and dazed her. She heard the leaves rustling underneath thick, heavy, leather boots. The clanking of their rusty iron armor got louder. She forced herself up and ran.

"There she is!" she heard one of them yell. Upon hearing their voices, she pushed her legs even faster.

Something whooshed past her face. A bolt from a crossbow. More of them flew by, missing her by a hair.

This is it, she thought to herself. She was doomed. There was no escaping now. She felt as if any moment she would feel a sharp pain of a bolt would paralyze her.

She saw something ahead of her. It appeared out of the mist as if born from it. A priory. It looked old and abandoned. The stained glass windows were smashed and the walls were festooned with ivy. The gardens, once green and exploding with color, were overtaken by weeds and covered under a dull gray and brown blanket of dead leaves.

Tombstones poked out of a small cemetery underneath the shadow of an old oak tree. The girl dreaded she would join the dead resting there if there was no one inside the priory. She ran up the steps and banged on the iron door with all her might.

She pulled on the round handle coming out of the bronze dragon's mouth. It would not budge. It was locked tight. While a grim sight, it brought her hope. Mayhaps there was someone in there after all.

She pounded on the door repeatedly. "Sanctuary!" she cried. "Sanctuary, please! Oh, please, give me sanctuary!"

No one came. It was abandoned. It was just as she feared. An ax flipped out of the mist, missing the girl's head by mere inches and stuck itself on the door.

"Stop you fool! You're supposed to hurt her, not kill her!" A scruffy voice shouted from behind the trees.

The men appeared out of the fog brandishing their weapons. "No more games, poppet," sneered a man covered in rusted iron armor over a leather breeches. He was naked from the waist up. He wore a thick hood over his kettle-hat helmet. A truncheon with tallies carved on it was his weapon of choice.

He made command gestures with his hands. The men understood and surrounded the girl. They lifted her up.

"Please," she sobbed. "I beg of you. I'm a Priestess of Ana. The Rose Priestess is very wealthy. She will pay you handsomely in gold and jewels; rare cards if that is what you desire. Just let me go."

"You're all the gold I need," a raider said, coming from behind her and ripping her gown.

"Hey!" someone shouted.

All went silent.

The highwaymen stopped and turned. Someone was standing at the entrance of the priory. A boy, hooded and cloaked in a smelly, brown, and ragged cape. A gold brooch held it over his chest.

"What the hell is going on?" he asked.

"If you know what's good for you, boy, you'll get back inside and mind your own business."

"You're making an incredible racket, man. You woke me up." He saw the girl in their grip. "What are you guys doing to her? Back away."

Another raider stepped forward with a small crossbow. "You back away, ya bloody toon! Get back inside now, or I'll stick ya like a hog." He smiled, revealing yellowed teeth. "And is that brooch of yours made of gold? It will be a great pleasure if ya hand it over."

"No way, man," said the Eldori boy. "I worked hard to earn this. Don't you know this is given to the top ten best students at Duelist Academy?"

"A Duelist, eh? Then I s' pose you've got a deck of rare cards on you. Hand them over as well."

The boy narrowed his eyes. "You need to back out now if you know what's good for you. Step away from the girl, get out of my place, and get lost."

"Very well. We'll just loot your treasure off your corpse."

"You don't want to do that," said the boy. "Leave now."

The bandit fired his crossbow, but something tall and very muscular caught the bolt in a flash. The tip of the arrow was just a mere fingertip from touching the boy's nose.

The bandits gasped and took a step back when they saw the giant standing beside the boy. He just appeared out of nowhere. The men holding the girl dropped her and drew their swords. But they knew they were doomed.

The boy's lips formed a mischievous grin. He was a conjurer no doubt. And a skilled one to summon such a thing.

The giant he summoned was as white as limestone with a body that was just as hard. He had blue orbs on his shoulders and his domed head. A red gem was inlaid on his chest.

"Okay, boys," the conjurer said, wiping his nose with the back of his index finger. "Allow me to introduce...Elemental HERO Terra Firma!"

Terra Firma tossed the arrow away and walked down the steps of the priory. A bandit with a torch foolishly stepped forward. He waved it in underneath the HERO's chin, thinking he could scare it away with fire like he could any other beast.

"Back!" shouted the bandit. "Back! I warn you, monster, stay back!"

Terra Firma looked down at the bandit. He grabbed the burning end of the torch with his bare hand. The flames hissed, smoke billowed from between his fingers. Terra Firma lifted the stunted bandit off the ground. The bandit could not let go of the torch out of the terror he felt. The terror of what this superhero would do to him.

Terra Firma lifted his arm high until he came face-to-face with the bandit. The bandit sobbed and wet his pants as he looked into Terra Firma's lifeless golden eyes. In a split second, Terra Firm punched the bandit in the stomach with enough force to create a shockwave that caused the leaves to flutter through the air and the trees to tremble.

The gang heard a brief shriek of horror. They all looked up in time to see the tiny silhouette of their companion zooming higher and higher into the sky until he disappeared into the atmosphere.

In their shock, they failed to notice the boy running towards them, brandishing a gold sword with a glowing iridescent blade inlaid with seven colorful gems. He decapitated the archer with one quick swipe.

Elemental HERO Terra Firma lunged forward and kicked another bandit clear across the forest and into the fields where he smashed against a rock. The boy blocked one of the bandit's strikes with his vambrace which was plated in mithril. It caused nothing more than bright sparks and chipped the already ill-kept blade.

Terra Firma grabbed the bandit by the head and crushed his skull as if it were clay. He tossed the body over his shoulder and punched through the stomach of another bandit. The boy jumped off Terra Firma's massive forearm and stuck a bandit in the chest before he spun towards another one, sticking him in the face.

In less than a minute, the boy and Elemental HERO Terra Firma stood triumphantly together amongst the pile of dead bandits. Terra Firma crossed his arms over his chest and vanished. The boy pulled off his cloak and gently blanketed it over the girl.

"Thank you," she whispered. She draped the cloak around her shoulders and stood up.

"Think nothing of it," the boy said nervously. He heard storm clouds on the horizon. The trees started swaying violently in the fierce eastern winds. "Uh...looks like quite a storm is coming. Won't you come in?"

"You're so kind. Do you have food? I...I'm a bit famished."

"Fam-who?" the boy replied stupidly.

"Hungry," the girl said, realizing quickly that her knight in shining armor was rather slow in the head.

"Oh," he said awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his head. "I guess I can spare a few snacks."

He allowed her to go in first.

The girl hurried toward the ruined building then stopped. She turned and looked at the boy. "I'm Della," she introduced herself. "Pink Priestess of the Temple of Ana in Birthgarden.

"Hey, Della of uh... All that stuff. I'm Jaden. Jaden Yuki. I just finished my grade school years at Duelist Academy. Now, I want to go back and soar through the ranks of the university levels."

"A pleasure, Jaden," Della said, bowing her head. She felt a raindrop on her nose and hurried inside.

Jaden, meanwhile, dragged the bodies away from the gardens of the priory and tossed them into a cave at the bottom of a large drop behind the cemetery. By the time he got back inside, the storm had arrived. Della was sitting in front of the fire of Jaden's camp located at the priory's central nave. She was staring at the boxes and bags of strange snacks laying around Jaden's duffle bag.

Della did not wish to eat the food without permission so she kept her distance. "Cookies? Pocky? Potato chips? Chocolate milk? I've never seen these delicacies before."

Jaden laughed. He unbuckled the baldric strapped across his chest and sat down on a small wooden stool. "I'm from the East."

"From Domino?" Della gasped. "The City of Light? Your land is rich in technology so I heard. Is it true you travel with flying vehicles and have weapons that can destroy armies of thousands with one blow?"

"I guess so," Jaden said, reaching for a bag of kettle-cooked chips. "Help yourself. I'm not going to need all this by the time I reach Domino."

Della dove in at once. She opened a bag of chocolate raisins. "Oh, it's good. You, easterners, love your sweets."

"You have no idea," said Jaden. "Man, I'm starving. Summoning sure burns lots of calories."

"Where did you learn to Summon that creature?" Della asked, picking up a bag of pretzels.

"You mean Terra Firma?" Jaden asked. "Nah, he's been a buddy of mine since my freshman year of High School. I could always count on him when I was in trouble. I got some sweet new heroes to use now thanks to my training back in Rassay."

"Oh! You were at the capital? What's it like?"

"Complicated," Jaden said with a chuckle. "A country girl like you would not survive there lemme tell ya."

"What did you do there?"

"Learning how to summon monsters. I was there all summer getting taught by the best. But let's talk about you. What were you doing all the way out here in the Emerald Road all alone anyway? It's dangerous in these parts. Highwaymen have been running rampant here since this is the ideal road to take for the Termnnian Banks. And with Prince Yuri's return so close, the Church of Yeyu's been on the fritz. You know they've got Witch Hunters around here that will kill you just on the suspicion that you use magic. And you're a priestess of the goddesses."

"Whom they claim do not exist," Della said furiously. "Yes, I know. Preferably, I would have chosen the bandits over them. Bandits are gentler by comparison."

"That's a nasty comparison."

"At least they let you go when they're done with you. Witch Hunters and other vagabonds of the Church do unspeakable things to women before sending them back north to Naralia to be kept as slaves. Or worse."

"The sooner our long lost prince returns the better," Jaden said, his mood dampened by the topic. "You still haven't answered my question. What were you doing out here?"

"I was delivering something of great importance," Della replied. "A rare and magical stone. But the bandit's leader took it from me and fled down the mountain with his elite squad leaving me to his minions. They must have headed to Domino with it because they said something about usurping the throne from House Dalton. I must get it back, Jaden. Thank the Goddesses I ran into you. You must help me retrieve that stone. Are you by chance a mercenary? Name your price. The Temple of Ana will pay you whatever you like."

Jaden's smiled widened. "Aw, really? That's sweet! One magic stone comin' right up."

His phone suddenly vibrated. "Uh oh," said Jaden. "He doesn't usually call me unless it's for something serious. This must be really bad."


	97. The Cyber Knight: Part 7

**Jaden**

* * *

Jaden jumped out of the Wayshrine and hollered as though he rode a roller coaster. He stretched and jumped up and down with joy. Winged Kuriboh was cowering inside of Jaden's backpack, fearful of the ride.

The Wayshrine flashed and out came Della, still wrapped in his brown cloak. She whimpered as she knelt on the ground. Her cheeks puffed and she vomited and coughed.

Jaden laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "I uh...I guess fast travel isn't the way for you, huh?"

"No..." Della choked. "Dearest Ana, never take me through one of those again."

"Well, it's the best way to get around," said Jaden. "If we walked the whole way, it would have taken us weeks to get here. Not to mention the road is filled with many dangers. You want to run into bandits again?"

"No, of course not," Della said, shaking her head. She paused and marveled at the landscape in front of her. She saw the countryside; a patch quilt of agriculture that could be seen for miles. White houses with blue roofs dotted the landscape and white stone windmills slowly spun by a river with luxury barges sailing through its waters. In the distance, she could see the skyscrapers of Eredas looming over the mountains dominantly.

"Is this Domino?" she asked.

"Nope. Not yet. This is the City of Faircourt, one of the many regions in Eredas. In fact, the country itself is one big gigantic city. Domino is a quick train ride from here, so let's go. But first, I think we need to get you some new clothes. My cloak doesn't exactly fit a girl as charming as you. And it's not right for a lady to smell like corn chips."

Della looked at herself and nodded. "Is there a place where I can find some clothes, Ser Jaden?"

Jaden stared at her and wrinkled his nose. "Ser? I ain't no knight."

"You are in my book," said Della. "I can't thank you enough for saving me from those brigands. Had you not been there I..."

Jaden held up his hand to silence her. "Say no more," he said. "Come on, I know someone who can help us out. Madame Celeste's tavern is just down that way. She owns a boutique as well. Trust me, she'll take care of you. In the meantime, I'm going to need some money."

"Money?"

"Yeah, getting a train from Faircourt to Domino isn't cheap. Lucky for us, there's a tournament going on in the town square."

He reached into his pocket and showed her a flier. It was wrinkled, ripped, and stained with cheese from a pizza he ate earlier. There was a grand prize of 1500 in gold, a gold plate, which was worth another 500, and a special prize card called E HERO Pit Boss.

"That's two-thousand in gold," said Jaden. "Enough for you and me to take the train to Domino." He tossed her a burlap sack. Inside were gold coins, a Star Chip, and a chipped ruby and half an emerald. "That's for your clothes. Come on."

He led Della down a dirt road to a modest establishment perched by the river. It was white with a red roof, and the walls were festooned with ivy. A water wheel slowly spun in the back of the tavern. Cows were grazing behind a white fence and chickens and geese waddled about outside the tavern. A brick chimney perfumed the air with the smell of sweet, freshly baked pastries and meat.

Jaden led Della through the entrance of the boutique, which was built into the tavern. He pushed open the windowed door and a bell rang above them. It smelled of perfume and silks in there. Mannequins stood in front of the windows advertising the craft Madame Celeste was selling.

"Jaden!" said the woman. She was a Sunborne, with dark skin and bright golden eyes. She wore a pink and white gown with ruffles and ribbons. "How was your trip to Rasaay?"

"It was great," Jaden answered. "I uh...I brought a friend."

Della peered behind his sword like a curious fox.

"Don't be shy, my dear," said Madame Celeste. She introduced herself and welcome Della to her store. "What happened to her, Jaden? She looks scared to death."

"I rescued her from some bandits on the road but they left her without a stitch of clothing."

"Are they all dead?" Celeste asked furiously.

Jaden slid his finger across his throat. "Terra Firma and I gave them painful deaths."

"Good," Madame Celeste said, walking from behind the counter towards Della to get a better look at her. "Oh, the poor thing. There's no need to be scared, you're safe now. I know you must have been through a lot, so how about I let you pick out an outfit free of charge?"

"You would do that?" Della asked.

"I told ya," said Jaden. "Celeste is the best around."

"Yes, but first, she's going to need a bath." She sniffed the cloak. "Augh, Jaden, I put my heart and soul into that cloak and you make it reek like that?"

"Sorry," he said with a shrug. "I don't have a lot of napkins."

"Ugh, I'll get it washed for you, but that's going to cost you two silver coins."

Jaden shrugged and put the coins on the counter. "There you go."

"Mmm-hmm. Come on, dear, let's freshen you up." She led Della to her quarters upstairs to clean her up from all the filth she collected on the road and hopefully wash away the stench of Jaden's cloak.

Meanwhile, Jaden walked outside and sat on a bench to wait for her to come out. His belly started to rumble, so he approached a nearby food cart and ordered a turkey drumstick. As he ate his lunch, someone approached him. A lad about sixteen wearing a red sweater and torn brown trousers.

"You a Duelist?" he said.

"Uh-huh?" Jaden replied, ripping a piece of meat out with his teeth. "What can I do ya for?"

"I'm in need of a warm-up before the tournament starts. How's about a little one-on-one?"

Jaden, not one to deny a Duel, jumped out of his seat, more than happy to oblige. "A Duel?" he said. "You bet! Get your game on!"

**LP 4000**

"I hope you're ready!" shouted the boy. "I summon a monster in defense mode and end my turn."

"That's all, huh?" Jaden drew. "I summon Elemental HERO Blazeman! With his effect, I can add a Polymerization to my hand. And I'm gonna use it. I combine Elemental Hero Sparkman and Avion to create Elemental HERO Grandmerge!"

"Impressive monster, Ser Jaden," a girl with a sweet voice said from behind him.

"Thanks," Jaden said, turning to look at her. His eyes widened. "Woah!"

She looked rather different now. Madame Celeste threw out her old medieval rags and gave her clothing to suit the culture of the East. She was sporting a pink crop top with black sleeves and a splattered heart logo on the front with the silhouette of a Stardust Dragon orbiting around it. Her torn dress was replaced by a denim skirt with a pink belt. Knee-length socks, pink with black bands, warmed her legs and her sneakers were white with pink laces.

"Hey!" Jaden's opponent shouted. "Stop staring! We've got a Duel over here."

"Right, sure," said Jaden.

He attacked the face-down monster with Grandmerge. The monster was nothing more than a Basic Insect. With that creature's destruction, Jaden activated Grandmerge's effect. He used him as a tribute to summon Elemental HERO Shining Flare Wingman with an ATK power of 2800.

With the ability to gain 300 ATK for every HERO in the Graveyard, Shining Flare Wingman's ATK increased to 3700. He attacked directly with Shining Flare Wingman and Blazeman, ending the Duel in no time.

BOOM!

The boy yelled and flew across the field. He landed on his back and groaned.

"Della!" Jaden said, amazed to see her attire. "You...you look amazing."

"Thank you," Della said bashfully. She looked away. "So, that was a Duel."

"Don't tell me you've never seen a Duel before!"

Della shook her head. "No, never. I spent most of my life in the Temple of Ana. As such, I'm not allowed out into the city very often. The only reason I left was because of the stone we had to transport. I can't say anything more about it, however."

"That's okay," Jaden said, resting the back of his head on his hands. "So long as I get paid at the end, you can keep all the secrets you want."

"I admire that," said Della. "So, do Duels usually end so quickly? I felt like a blinked and it ended."

"Ah, that's because he had no skill," said Jaden. "Once the tournament starts, I'll show you some real Dueling."

"Wonderful," Della said happily. Her stomach growled like a bear. She gasped and clutched her tummy.

Jaden chuckled. "But first, lemme get ya somethin' to eat."

* * *

**Zane**

* * *

The Gray Wyvern. Not a place Zane would have chosen to meet someone of his stature. Not that it was a bad place, mind you. It was a hot spot for students who just finished classes at the Lanchester Academy for Gifted Youths. That school was a place for inventors and mathematicians capable of solving equations in seconds. He got served his fifth plate of kettle-cooked chips and his second bottle of soda. Still, Prince Michael's friend had not arrived. He checked his watch. It was 4 PM, where the hell was this person?

Zane sighed and looked up at the television screen. More videos with demands from the Aeons were being shown followed by images of the explosion left behind from the battle with the Gate Guardian. He pounded his fist on the table just thinking about the beast. How in the world did his summoner, Dargon, have enough power to conjure such a creature?

He growled. The hows and whys didn't matter. Gate Guardian was a new foe and he needed to find a way to get rid of it. Especially if it could shoot down and rip apart his Cyber Dragon prototype so easily. He was sure he worked on that thing long enough to make it somewhat invincible on the field. Against a group of Aeons, sure, his machine was a powerful weapon. But a monster? He wasn't anticipating that.

 _How can I beat a guy who's able to summon something so powerful?_ Zane wondered to himself. _With that Gate Guardian in play, I don't have the advantage anymore. I sure hope this friend of Prince Michael's is as good as he says he is. Otherwise, I'm out of the fight. Damn it! I was so close to bringing her home. She was in my arms. She was right there!_

He squeezed his glass. _I'm sorry, Alexis. Just hang in there a little while longer._

Another hour passed. Still, Michael's friend did not arrive. It was starting to get dark and Zane was growing frustrated. All this time he spent here waiting for Michael's friend, he could have been making repairs or upgrades to the Cyber Dragon.

The door to the inn opened making the bell ring. A girl walked into the tavern and when she did a lot of boy's heads turned to look at her. Whispers fluttered about the tavern like a summer breeze and faces turned red. Though the girl had her hip cocked to one side, she had a very commanding presence. Her sunny blonde hair was messy and wavy, going down to her back. Despite how late it was, she wore her school outfit from Lanchester Academy. A white blouse with a black tie, plaid skirt, leg-length white socks, and black high heels. Her blazer was wrapped around her waist and she carried a gray messenger bag that was worn out and covered with stickers and collector pins.

She approached the bar and smiled at the man behind the counter. "Orange soda, please," she said, leaning provocatively against the counter.

"You got it, Kara," the bartender said. He went to the fridge looking for her drink.

Sitting next to Kara was a lad from school who studied her from top to bottom. Kara felt his gaze on her, but she cared not and remained where she was. She took out her phone and started reading news articles, which were buzzing with activity.

"What's the story on this guy with a metal dragon?" she asked the bartender.

The man was pushing bottles aside, still looking around for the blasted drink. "I dunno," he said. "There aren't many details about him. Word on the street is he gave the Aeons a pounding. One of my pals in the Domino PD says he was over at the ports and saw them massacred."

"Interesting," Kara said, tapping the counter. "If you don't have orange, I'll just take a regular soda."

"No, no, I've got it in here somewhere." He chuckled. "This new cooler we had installed is bigger than I thought."

The lad sitting next to Kara could contain himself no more. Kara's skirt was going up and it was just so tantalizing for him. But Kara, who was so used to such childish behavior, grew eyes in the back of her head. She could practically feel his hand getting close to her backside.

"If you favor your hand, back the hell off," she said.

The lad, who was a muscular person, took her threat lightly and went for the peek. But with lightning-quick movements, Kara grabbed his arm and flipped him over, smashing him on the ground. The other patrons cheered and whistled.

"Here you go, honey," the bartender said, finally handing her an orange soda. "Nice work."

The lad groaned on the ground. "She ripped my shoulder out of its socket!" he roared.

"Serves you right," said the bartender.

But the attacker was not finished. "Come here, you!" he said, marching towards her. Without turning, Kara smacked him in the face with a lunging back kick, knocking him out. He sighed in agony and fell backward, landing on the floor with a loud thud. Security came by and dragged the lad out of the establishment.

"Whoa," said Zane.

Kara looked at Zane and winked before strutting towards his booth. She sat down on her end. "You the Cyber Knight?" she asked.

"Shh, not so loud," said Zane. "I'm pretty sure Prince Michael told you to be discreet."

"Meh, whatever. He tells me you've got a big project that needs taking care of."

"And I think he got the wrong person for the job," said Zane. "You're just..."

"What?" Kara asked, rocking her head from side to side.

"You're just a student."

"I'm nineteen, dude."

"Either way, you're still in the process of learning. My designs are way out of your league."

Kara reared her head back and started laughing. "You've got to be kidding me? You call that giant chrome Slinky out of my league?"

"Huh?"

"You know about the rail cannons they had placed on the walls outside the city?" She jerked her thumb at herself. "I designed them myself."

"You what?"

"Uh-huh. And I had a hand helping Seto Kaiba with those Generation Five Duel Disks. I also developed the schematics for the Space Elevator he plans to build really soon."

"You're..."

Kara's icy gray eyes twinkled and she smiled. "Gifted? No, I'm more than that. I've been blessed with great knowledge by Tenna herself. Probably a reward for my father, who was a great scholar, inventor, and devoted follower of the Goddess. I've been inventing things since the day I could walk."

"The Kiss of Tenna," said Zane. "Now, that's a rare gift. Seto Kaiba is probably the only I know who has it."

Kara laughed. "You know he's been gifted by the Goddesses if he can make a jet with an aerodynamically incompetent design fly. Yup. Every once in a while, a genius like he and I are born. And it's your lucky day my good fellow because this one wants to help you out. Kara Kestrel." She held out her hand.

Zane shook it. "Nice to meet you, Kara. I'm going to need all the help I can get."

Kara nodded. "I want to help. Alexis was one of my best friends growing up in Lorin. We played together a lot."

"How?"

"My mother was her Lady-in-Waiting and my father served the Queen in the royal archives."

"I never heard about you until now."

"Alexis didn't talk about me much. Our friendship was...complicated. As she and I grew older..." She paused and started giggling.

"What?" Zane asked.

Kara formed and ear-to-ear grin and mischievously bit her lip. "We started playing kissing games by the fountain in the courtyard."

"Oh..."

"We don't roll like that," she said patting his hand. "We were blooming into our womanhood and decided to...experiment. Yeah, it was fun at first, but she started growing uncomfortable. It just wasn't her thing. Boy, that made things awkward. After mom passed away, we saw less and less of each other. Before you know it, Dad moves us to Domino. I only messaged her every now and then. She went the path of the Duelist, I went down the path of the scientist."

"She means a lot to you, huh?"

"Of course, she does. She's my friend. We've drifted apart but we still care about each other. Well, enough with this wishy-washy stuff. Show me the schematics for that prototype."

"Not here," said Zane. He put two Star Chips on the table and escorted Kara out to his car. As soon as he drove off, he reached into the pocket of his black blazer, pulling out a device that displayed Zane's dragon in holographic form.

"Interesting," Kara said, taking the device and examining the schematics. "Way cool. But why a dragon?"

"The Cyber Dragon has been the symbol of my house since the dawn of technology," said Zane. "I want everyone to see his power outside of Duel Monsters as well. I tried to make it look like the card, but he just wound up looking the way he did. He was able to withstand quite a bit of punishment, but one of the Aeons was a powerful summoner who took him down."

Kara nodded and examined the design more thoroughly. "Your machine is pretty good. But how did you not think to add some sort of magic-resistant armor? You are going up against a gang of mages after all."

"Is such a thing possible?"

Kara burst out laughing. "And you say I'm out of my league. I have a feeling this is going to be a long night, Zane. There's a lot I have to teach you if you want this thing to work the way you want it."

"I'm a quick study, Kara. Show me everything."

He took her back to his room in the House of Gray. She looked around, nodding at every piece of furniture and the number of computers and holographic screens fading and appearing all over the room. She cringed at the mess Zane had on his desk, and his bed was unkempt and smelled of his bodily fluids.

"Don't worry," he said, leading her upstairs. "There's an empty chamber upstairs that I used mostly for storage. You can use it if you wish."

"It will have to do," Kara said, following him up the stairs. She stopped in her tracks and gasped when she saw a metallic serpent snarling at her from the center of Zane's laboratory.

The creature roared, causing Kara to scream wildly. The serpent had tubes along the sides of his body, keeping him anchored to the ringed platform at the center of the lab.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" she shouted.

"It's okay!" Zane yelled, waving his hands to keep her calm. "This is him. Well...what's left of him. This is just his core ( **Cyber Dragon Core** ). It's a modified version of what I had in the prototype. It's okay, he's harmless."

"You made him so real," Kara said breathing heavily as she leaned back against the railing. "Goddesses, how is that accomplished?"

"It was tricky," Zane replied, sitting behind his desk. He quickly typed something on his laptop. The laboratory rumbled. A thick, glowing, red liquid oozed through the tubes and into the _core_ as Zane called it.

"What is that?" Kara asked.

"A cooling solution," Zane replied. "He heats up really quickly. In order for me to keep him brisk and efficient, I have to get rid of a few functions. But that's not in the cards for me. I need them. If I do proceed to get rid of his flight and weapons systems, he might as well be some metal snake on the ground."

Kara marveled at his invention, but she still kept her distance. "As if he wasn't scary enough, now you want him to fly!"

Zane patted her back. "Get used to him, Kara. You're going to be working with him until we find Alexis."

"Charmed," Kara said, sarcastically. She looked at the Core one last time before following Zane into the empty chamber that would be her own laboratory. There was a solitary desk with a computer placed by the glass wall. Kara, again, nodded and examined her seat. She slid her messenger bag off and sat down. "What do you want to do, Zane?"

He showed her the Cyber Dragon card. "I want him to look like this."

Kara took the card from him and, again, nodded. "It doesn't look all that complicated for me. You already have the thing's core up and running so that saves me the job of working on his AI." She cracked her knuckles. "I'm going to need a lot in terms of materials and hardware. And it's not going to be cheap."

"Of course. And if there's anything you need, fill out a requisitions order. I'll take care of the rest. It's coming out of my pocket."

Kara smiled. "You're going to regret that, Your Lordship."

Zane smiled back. "Try me."

* * *

**Lore**

* * *

**Tenna:** Goddess of Knowledge. Ruler of machinations. Tenna is associated with mathematics, science, alchemy, and medicine. The Machine and Psychic-Type monsters are her creation.

She is the one who gave the people of the land of Eredas the blueprints to create a vast city of technology, which would one day be called Domino. She loves the races of Keya and is eager to fill their heads with knowledge so as to move Termnnia forward.

Though she is loving towards the people, most are not fond of her. Those who live to the West, the North, and the South are not too pleased with the foundation of Eredas.

Some folk find the gift of technology blasphemous and deceitful as it is a spit on the gifts the Eldari and the Stars have given the people of Termmnia. For this, her only chapel is located in Battle City, a man-made island off the coast of Domino.

She blesses those who pray to her with increased intelligence for a limited time. For this, many schools and universities prohibit students to pray to her during test days.


	98. The Cyber Knight: Part 7

**Alexis**

* * *

Eve of the second day and no one has even tried making an effort to find her. Were the Aeons that good at keeping themselves hidden? How? There must be more to this gang that meets the eye. Alexis would have seen that especially after being their prisoner for almost 48 hours. But the gang made absolutely sure to keep her locked inside her cell when they weren't on the move. If they were, she was confined to their limo, surrounded by fire mages. And not just any fire mages. These were masters of their craft. Dangerous individuals who could burn her to cinders with the snap of her fingers. She did not want to test them, for she saw their power with her own eyes. Apparently, someone survived the Cyber Knight's rampage the night before. Instead of showing him sympathy, King Aldric had him executed.

Indeed with one snap of the fingers, the wizard burned the poor guy into cinders. Even though she was afraid and humiliated, Alexis maintained calm. Not only would these guys be the death of her, but they could be the death of thousands of innocent people. Her mother was not a patient woman and had a hot temperament to boot. She went to war with people who called her fat for heaven's sake. If Alexis died, the Queen-Mother would surely blame King Eldon for her death and send her army of one million strong to attack Eredas for their lack of action in saving Alexis.

She looked outside and noticed they were at the docks. Trucks were parked in a perfect line as the Aeons and another gang known as the Lords of 113 were putting boxes of toys into their containers.

Alexis suddenly felt pressure around her neck and coughed. She glared at a girl with flaming pink hair and eyes radiating bright blue from her magical augmentations. She held on tightly to a leash attached a collar King Aldric placed around Alexis's neck with a built-in shocking mechanism if she misbehaved and a tracking device if she ran away. The girl's name was Fahrenheit. She was once a master of pyromancy at the Citadel of Mages in Katina. Alexis had seen her conjure walls of fire and animated her flames to look like serpents and birds to scare the police away. To make matters worse, she was King Aldric's right-hand woman, specially tasked with keeping an eye on the princess. She had way too much fun with that aspect.

"I'm not doing anything!" Alexis shouted, swatting the leash away. Fahrenheit grinned and tugged the leash even harder, pulling Alexis down on top of her lap. She started petting her hair, to which Alexis slapped her hand away at once and sat back up. "Why do you have to be so obnoxious?" she yelled.

King Aldric laughed, pouring himself a glass of a green, glowing liquid. "You'll get used to her, Princess." He checked his watch. Midnight. "Day three," he said. "And not a single rescue. Of course, there is that one guy who went after you. The so-called hero with the metal dragon. You wouldn't happen to know who he is, do you?"

"I haven't a clue?" Alexis said shaking her head, refusing the drink King Aldric offered. She felt Fahrenheit pet her again and knocked her hand away. "Knock it off, will you?" she snapped.

"Don't lie to me, Alexis," King Aldric said, twisting a lock of his hair around his finger. "Lying to me is hazardous to your health."

"Keeping me prisoner is hazardous to your health," Alexis retorted. "I have powerful friends. You're going to regret this. I promise you that when this is over, you'll be begging for death." Fahrenheit yanked on the leash again. "ACK!" Alexis croaked.

"Don't be so sure about that," Fahrenheit finally said. "Can I shock her?"

"No," King Aldric said, holding up his hand. "Don't. Leave her be. Let her have hope. It will make her despair in the future much more pleasurable to enjoy."

The door to the limo opened. A man came inside. He wore a messy, smelly, brown leather jacket over a tropical red shirt and khaki trousers. He had long, black hair going down the back of his head, the top was balding. And he a distinctive, grizzled beard. He was terribly stout and reeked of tobacco and old fast food. In fact, a stringy piece of a french fry dangled from his mustache. He was soaked by the rain and chilled by it, too. He warmed his hands by the heater. The moisture made the man's terrible smell worse. Alexis's face scrunched with displeasure, and she looked away.

The man grinned at the two beautiful girls sitting in front of him. "Nice," he said.

"Leave her alone," said King Aldric. "How are things looking out there?"

"The rain isn't letting up," said the man. "But our boys are working hard to make sure your money gets delivered as scheduled."

"Good. Here's your cut."

Aldric handed the man a polished maple case with gold hinges and a leather handle. The man opened it and saw tubes with gold coins inside. "Very good. Pleasure doing business with you. I'll make sure the officers at the checkpoints in town look the other way."

"And if they don't?"

"Oh, believe me, they will. I have contacts in Shadow Company, who will no doubt pay them a visit."

"Do you?" King Aldric said intrigued. He opened a secret fridge by his seat and opened it. He took out a golden bottle of brandy and showed it to him. The man bobbed his head left and right to show he would like to sample the drink. "And could you by any chance you could get this elite PMC to offer their services to me? I'm worried about this Cyber Knight fellow who tried to rescue our Princess. I have a hunch he'll be coming back."

"I think I can work something out," said the man. "Provided they get paid."

"They will be properly paid," said Aldric. "And you, too. I know a few individuals in the banks who also would like to see the Church taken out of the picture. And the Dalton Family as well. They have given my organization a rather generous donation."

"I see," said the man, taking the drink and clinking the glass together with Aldric's.

Alexis shook her head, not believing what she was seeing.

* * *

Outside, Aldric's men and members from the other gangs were hard at work loading Aldric's gold into the containers. A supervisor from the Aeons walked around with a tablet in his hands, counting the gold and to make sure the workers weren't slacking off. He wore a visor over his eyes made of chrome with glowing blue lenses that displayed windows of information.

"How long before we're done?" asked the supervisor.

"Not long," said a disgruntled worker. He sniffed loudly, for he caught a cold an hour earlier. "Just ten more crates to go."

"Make it snappy," said the supervisor. "We want to get out of here before we run into trouble. And with that Cyber Knight guy out there, I'm nervous."

"Hey, Dargon beat him," said one of the workers. "He scrapped his metal dragon to pieces. Sure, he killed a few of our boys, but he was eventually stopped."

"That's beside the point," the supervisor said, scanning the stormy skies. "This city is full of surprises. And let's not forget Prince Michael and his Archfiends are hunting us."

"Prince Michael is about to go out of town," said another worker. "Didn't you hear? Prince Yuri is due to come back next summer. And since Michael is one of the Crown Prince of Domino, he's been chosen by Yugi to serve in the Royal Alliance."

"That position is about to go to King Aldric," said the supervisor. "Alexis is due for another beating tonight. The Daltons will break. Not only do they not want to see Alexis getting hurt, but they don't wanna risk open war with Lorin. They'll cave in. And before you know it, we're gonna be up there."

He pointed at the House of Gray, dominating every building in Domino. He grinned, but then he heard a scream coming from the darkness between two containers. He turned in time to see something bright white and shining zoom from between the containers before vanishing into the night.

"What the hell?" he said. He put his fingers on his earpiece. "Noctis Twelve, what's going one?" No answer. "Noctis Twelve this is Azure One, respond!"

He heard a scream coming from behind the warehouse, followed by gunshots. And then silence. "This is Azure One to Butcher Seven. Respond Butcher Seven. Butcher Seven, what's going on over there? Hey, I'm not getting anything from Butcher Seven and Noctis Twelve just vanished. Talon One and Two, check it out."

The gang members readied their weapons and those who could practice magic put on enchanted accessories to boost the damage of their magical attacks. Azure One put the tablet away and shouted at the other workers to hurry and load the money away. "It's me," he said King Aldric. "We've got a situation out here."

"Handle it," said King Aldric. "Follett, sorry, but we've got trouble out there. I've got to bail."

Follett took a jeweled, engraved, golden magnum out of his jacket. "I'll check it out. See you in Level Five after tomorrow." He got out of the car and ran. King Aldric's limo sped away.

"What the hell is going on out here!?" shouted Follett.

"I don't know!" shouted Azure One. "My guys are getting picked off left and right!"

Follett stomped on the ground. "All right, leave the rest behind for now. The containers that are full, get them out of here at once. Get them to the Underground as fast as you can!"

The workers shut the containers. The drivers turned their trucks on and drove off into the night. Crow was watching from the shadows. "It worked," she whispered into her phone. "They're scattering like roaches in the light."

"Leave the docks to us," said Prince Michael. "I think Zane's having a little too much fun with his new toy."

Crow giggled and held out her hand. It froze over, cold steam danced over her fingers. She smashed her frozen fist on the ground, creating a ring of ice beneath her. Inside the ice was a light blue arcane circle. Crow smashed the ice and summoned her faithful companion. From the frozen dimension of the Ice Barrier, she callled upon Dewloren, Tiger King of the Ice Barrier.

He growled and shook his arctic blue fur with snowy-white stripes. He was adorned in cerulean armor trimmed in gold. Crow wrapped her arms around the Tiger King's neck and kissed the top of his head.

"Feeling frisky tonight, pal?" she asked.

Dewloren growled in reply. He was more than ready to stop evildoers. Crow climbed on top of his back. "Let's go!"

The Tiger King roared and sped after the trucks. A homeless man warming himself up to vodka saw her speeding by. He groaned and took a long gulp of his drink.

Meanwhile, Aeon gunmen scoured about the docks, looking for their assailant. Azure One hurried toward a red container. "We need to get this one out pronto," he said.

"Why this one?" asked Follett. He opened a small window to look inside. What he saw disgusted him. There were children in there. They were crying and calling to be let loose. "What the hell is this?"

"We rescued them from the Church," said Azure One. "I wanted to let them out, but Aldric told me to keep them in there until he figured out what to do with them. Now that he's gone, I guess we have to leave them to their fate. Or...since you're in the Domino PD, you can take them. You'll make yourself look like a hero."

"I like your thinking, kid. But first we need to get rid of..."

AAAACCKKK!

Follett turned around. Azure One was gone. Forget the kids, Follett turned and ran to get as far away from the docks as he possibly could, leaving the Aeons to their fate.

They huddled together in the center of the docks, cornered like rats, pointing their weapons at spells in all directions, and firing them at every shadow they saw.

"We know you're out there!" shouted a member of the Lords of 113. "You can't stop all of us!"

"I beg to differ..."

He gasped and turned around. The Cyber Knight stood in front of him. With one powerful punch, he flew across the docks and smashed against a container. Zane was pleased with the new upgrades to his exoskeleton, which was now a suit of armor. It was sleek white with neon blue patterns complete with a holographic surcoat around his waist. His armor made him look like the knights in the West. He felt like his favorite heroes. Norman the Conqueror who tamed the God Cards in his platinum armor. Ser Joey Wheeler the Black Dragonknight combining his magical Duel Armor with his Red-Eyes. Or Prince Stas of Monde, who won the War of the Golden Summer in gold enameled suit of armor sparkling with jewels in all the colors of the rainbow.

Now he could join them. If he was successful this night, he just knew that he would one day be sung about in songs and tales.

Two Aeons with rifles snapped him out of his dilly-dally. He held up his palm and created a shield with blue, hexagon-shaped tiles tinged with green. The bullets could not penetrate the shield. An Aeon with magic came up from behind and unleashed currents of lightning from both of his palms. But they rebounded off of Zane's armor.

"Thanks for that, Kara," Zane said, sniggering at the mage, who was still blasting him with lighting. "Your magic-resistant armor is working like a dream."

"Glad to hear," said Kara, watching the battle from her laptop. She sat on her bed, her legs crisscrossed underneath her. All she wore was a long, gray, shirt as pajamas. She had a string of licorice in her fingers, enjoying the show taking place on her screen, thanks to the dozens of cameras she placed on Zane's armor. She saw him blast an Aeon with his laser cannons, now improved to shoot rapidly.

"Ouch," she laughed. "That looked like it hurt."

"Warning!" said Nel-E. "Dimensional rupture detected."

"Uh-oh." Kara placed the mouthpiece of her headset over her lips. "Zane heads up. Someone just summoned something. And it's big!"

"Wha...?"

Zane was pushed away by a powerful torrent of boiling, hot water. He anchored his boots to the ground to keep himself from being swept away. The ground shook with heavy footsteps. Gate Guardian. And standing directly under him was Dargon, the Ace Summoner of the Aeons.

"Nice set of armor you got there," he said, hands still in his pockets. "It's going to look on King Aldric after I loot it from your corpse. You just never learn, do you?"

Zane laughed. "I always learn. It's what makes me so powerful. No matter how many times I fall, I come back stronger."

The containers behind him fell down and collapsed on the ground with a loud crash. Zane's new and improved Cyber Dragon ( **ATK 2100** ) roared and slithered behind him. It loomed higher and higher until it stood directly over even the Gate Guardian. The creature was coated in a sleek, reflective, white paint. It had bright yellow eyes and even a tongue to give him life. It roared at Gate Guardian. Gate Guardian bellowed loudly and thumped his fists over his chest.

"Strident Blast!" shouted Zane.

Cyber Dragon unleashed a fiery-yellow laser attack from its mouth. Dargon ducked. The blast flew over him and struck Gate Guardian in the chest. It pushed him back twenty feet. Cyber Dragon had to cool down its attack and ceased the attack. It closed its mouth, steam hissing from its teeth.

"So he has a little more firepower," laughed Dargon. "Gate Guardian, destroy his dragon now! Thuderstroke!"

Gate Guardian's pieces worked together to form an all-powerful attack. The water and winds mixed with lightning and flew towards Cyber Dragon. Compartments opened down Cyber Dragon's body. Drones flew out and formed a circle in front of him. The drones then formed an arcane barrier of fantastical design that stopped the attack dead in its tracks.

"Impossible!" shouted Dargon.

Cyber Dragon roared as if taunting him. The drones dispersed, allowing him to launch a second attack.

"Strident Blast!" Zane shouted again.

Cyber Dragon fired again. Gate Guardian braced himself for the attack. It struck him in the chest, sparks flew everywhere and he was knocked back. He dug his feet on the ground to keep himself from being knocked back any further.

"Impressive," said Dargon. "But as strong as he is, your dragon cannot defeat my Gate Guardian. You were foolish to take us on alone."

Zane chuckled. "Who said we were alone?"

That made Dargon quiver with fear. "Huh?" he turned around in time to see two metallic bodies coil around Gate Guardian's arms. He could not believe what he was seeing. Zane had two more of the damn things!

The two Cyber Dragons screeched and hissed, lifting Gate Guardian up higher and higher into the air. They pulled with all their might until they ripped his arms off. Gate Guardian howled in agony and fell. The three Cyber Dragons each launched their own bursts of Strident Blast at the creature as it continued to fall. The attacks proved too much for him. He exploded in mid-air, falling back to earth like a flaming comet. Dargon stood where he was, screaming in horror. His monster's burning ruin fell right on top of him and exploded one last time.

All three Cyber Dragons roared victoriously.

Zane's helmet de-materialized. He wanted to see his monsters with his own eyes. Something snarled behind him. He turned to look. Terrorking Archfiend stood behind Prince Micheal.

"Did you leave anything for us?" Michael asked.

"Nope. But if you're lucky, you can help Crow tack down the trucks with King Aldric's gold. "Sounds good to me." He took out his phone. "Crow where are you?"

"Uh, I'm a little busy right now," she said, still riding on top of Dewloren. He sped after the trucks with great speed through the streets of the Dragon Garden's District. "What's up?"

"Where are you?"

"Don't worry about me, I've got things taken care of."

A car with gunmen riding in the back shot down their windows and started firing at Crow.

"Guns? Come on, you guys are so old-school." She held out her palm and formed a thick shield of ice with the design of a snowflake emitting blue light deep inside. She held it over her face, blocking the bullets. The shield didn't even crack.

With her free hand, Crow fired ice spikes, blasting the tires of the car. It swerved wildly and crashed into a nearby alleyway. An SUV limousine sped up from behind her. Dewloren roared and moved out of the way before it could ram them.

"That wasn't nice!" she shouted. The windows rolled down. Mages and gunmen began assaulting her with bullets and magic. In one split second, Crow saw Alexis screaming for help from inside.

"I FOUND HER!" she shouted.

"Who?" Michael asked. "What's going on?"

"ALEXIS! THE PRINCESS! SHE'S IN THE BACK OF A LIMO!"

That was all Zane needed to hear. Booster wings formed out of his back, but before he could take off, Michael commanded him to stop.

"What about them?" he said, referring to the children.

Zane paused. Michael was right. He couldn't just leave them there. "All right, you two, take them to the Domino City Police headquarters. You, come with me."

The Cyber Dragons hissed and got to work. The children oohed and ahhed as their saviors picked them up from the docks and carried them off to safety.

"The Church is going to answer for this," said Zane zooming off into the city. His Cyber Dragon followed.

Down below, Michael took a rifle from the back of his jet-black sports car and then raced after him. Terrorking Archfiend spread his wings and followed him. The homeless man from before looked to the sky. He saw a knight with wings zoom over him with a cybernetic, white dragon trailing not too far behind. Then a black car raced down the street with a crowned demon soaring above.

The homeless man shook his head and poured his drink down the drain.

Zane found Crow, the trucks, and the limo in no time. He dove with great speed to fly above it. Cyber Dragon fired a vermillion-colored laser from his eyes, blasting the tires of one of the money trucks. It deviated violently and fell on its side, coming to a stop.

"DAMN!" shouted King Aldric. That was 500,000 in gold he just lost. "SEND THE WORD!" he shouted furiously on his radio. "TAKE THAT DRAGON DOWN! A MILLION GOLD TO ANYONE WHO BRINGS ME HIS HEAD!"

Before Zane knew it, he and Cyber Dragon were getting shot it from all directions. Three black SUV's trailing Alrdic's limo formed a perfect triangle to guard the vehicle. The tops opened and gunners with miniguns rose out.

"Oh, crap!" shouted Zane. He rolled out of the way. Cyber Dragon flew down another street to avoid the bullets.

The SUV in the front searched for Cyber Dragon. "Where are you?" said the gunner. Cyber Dragon appeared and flew towards him. "Your mine!" the gunner sneered.

Those were his last words, for Terrorking Archfiend came out of nowhere and sliced his head clean off. He then smashed the SUV with his sword. The limo driver cursed and tried to swerve out of the way. Michael came speeding out from an alleyway in his car. He rolled the window down and started shooting the limo. Unfortunately, it was well-armored, making it bulletproof.

"Shit!" he cursed, swerving to another road to avoid the traffic in front of him. Cyber Dragon flew down and smashed the front of the limo with his body.

"YES!" shouted Zane. "We got her!"

Crow and Dewloren hurried to the wreckage of the limo. "Princess!" she shouted. "Princess it's me, Crow. Don't worry we've got you."

She opened the door. No one was in there. But that was the least of her worries. She heard an ominous beeping on the floor. She looked down in time to see a metal egg-shaped object counting the last two seconds down before detonation.

"Of fu..."

The limo exploded. Frightened civilians ran from the streets to find shelter.

"CROW!" Michael shouted, running out of his car. "CROW! CROW! NO!"

When the flames subsided, he saw that Crow as entombed in a coffin of ice. Dewloren saved her just a mere millisecond before the blast could kill her. He, however, was no so fortunate. He was on the ground, cooked and injured. Zane landed beside him and knelt down. The creature whimpered and whined.

"You've done enough," he said. "Rest. You'll get your revenge soon enough." Dewloren's head slumped on the ground and he burst into thousands of snowflakes, blown away by a gust of cold wind. Zane looked at the flaming wreckage of the limo.

"Don't worry," said Michael. "They must have bailed during the battle. King Aldric is many things. But a brave man? No. He would never take his life."

"It doesn't matter!" Zane growled. "I lost her again!"

"Relax, will you? When all is said and done, we'll get them back for this. Without their Gate Guardian, they won't be so bold next time."

Police sirens wailed in the distance.

"Let's get out of here," Michael said. "Can you get her back to your place?"

Zane didn't reply, but he nodded. Cyber Dragon needed no orders. He picked up the icy box with his mouth and flew off into the night. Zane got up and went after him, while Michael got back into his car and sped away.

* * *

**King Aldric**

* * *

"That was close!" he shouted, holding tightly onto Alexis and covering her mouth. They remained hidden in an alleyway. "Think we lost 'em?"

"We sure did," laughed Fahrenheit. "They must have overshot us by a week and a half. I just got word from the drivers. They're on their way down to the slums. The bomb slowed the Cyber Knight and Prince Michael down. It looks like we got that amateur frost mage, Crow, in the process, too."

"Good work," Aldric said.

He heard a car backing up towards them. Follett leaned out the window. "Come on, let's go!" he shouted. "The cops will be here any minute."

"Come on, you!" he said, dragging Alexis toward the car. Follett opened the trunk and then Aldric tossed her in. She pleaded for them not to leave her in there, but Aldric cared not and slammed the trunk shut. He and Fahrenheit got into Follett's car at once.

"Where did that Cyber Knight come from?" Aldric asked.

"I don't know," said Fahrenheit. "But it looks like we've underestimated him. I tried reaching Dargon, but I'm getting no answer from him."

"I tasked him in stopping the Cyber Knight!" Aldric growled. "Where is he?"

"Dargon never fails," Fahrenheit answered. "It looks like our new friend was better than he was."

"Then we'll assume the worst has happened," said Aldric. "No matter. If this Cyber Knight thinks he's going to stop me, he's got another thing coming. After what we do to Alexis, the Dalton Family will have no choice but to surrender the crown to me."

It was a long drive back to Aldric's hideout, a makeshift town in the sewers underneath the Aquamarine District. Alexis was thrown into a dark room with a single fluorescent light hanging on the ceiling.

"I bet you thought you were ready to go home," Aldric sneered. "You think these heroes are going to make a difference?"

Alexis looked away to keep herself from looking at his face.

"No. Heroes only win in comic books, Alexis. This is your sad reality. You've got five days left. And as I promised, they will get worse and worse for you. And now with these punks playing hero, I am really pissed off. We're going to make you wish you were never born tonight."

Fahrenheit stood over her and smiled. To Alexis' shock, the girl took her shirt off.

"But first," sneered Aldric. "It's time for your bath."

* * *

**Follett**

* * *

The rain was pouring down even harder now. He looked to the sky. Lightning flashed in the clouds above. "Curse my luck," he grumbled with a mouth full of relish. "It's supposed to rain like this all week. Aafi better get off the rag, cuz I'm getting pissed."

Suddenly two cables slithered from out of nowhere and wrapped around his ankles. He fell forward, dropping his hot dog and then he was pulled all the way up the 50th floor of a tall building. An angry Cyber Dragon roared in his face. He screamed and flailed about like a worm stuck on a hook. He saw the two other Cyber Dragons hissing at him. The cables came from a launcher underneath their chins.

"HELP! HELP! HELP!" he shouted.

"No one's coming for you!" Zane said, appearing out of the rain. "Well, look what we've got here. A corrupted cop. I know just what do do with you."

A glowing, blue energy sword morphed out of his gauntlet. He was going to cut the cables and send Follett plummeting to his doom.

"NO! NO! NO!" pleaded Follett. "Please. Please. I have kids at home! Don't do this to me."

"Start talking!" shouted Zane. "Where are the other trucks going?"

"I don't know!" sobbed Follett. "I don't know I swear! I don't know I swear."

Zane smashed the blade against the cable. It started undoing itself.

"NO!"

"WHERE ARE THE OTHER TRUCKS GOING!?"

"Two of them are going to a warehouse in the Aquamarine District. Another pair is going to drop off the money at a town outside of Faircourt in the morning. The last one is going to Aldentor. That's all I know. I don't know where the Princess is I swear."

"Why soil a distinguished career to join a bunch of lawbreaking punks?" Zane asked.

"I had to join them!" cried Follett. "The police haven't been doing anything. Our people are being killed by those psychopaths and their fascist ideology. They have to be stopped. I had to join the Aeons. I just had to. I was sick and tired of seeing children getting hurt. I was sick and tired of seeing them taken from their parents and sold off like candy to that sick king up north! I had to do something! I didn't want my kids to be next!"

Zane stopped. It was a good thing he had his helmet on. He didn't want Follett to see the disdain on his face.

"You're fighting the wrong people, kid. You can join us. You have to. The Covenant of Yeyu had declared war on Termnnia. Please, think about who you're fighting against."

"I'll stop both the Aeons and the Church. And as for you, you're out of a job."

He cut the cable and it snapped. Follett screamed as he fell all the way down. He noticed he was slowing down. And then he stopped just a few feet from the ground. He looked up and saw one of the Cyber Dragons had caught him with its cable. Just the mere look the creature had told Follett that the Cyber Knight let him off with one final warning.

Cyber Dragon snapped his jaws, cutting the table and dropping Follett hard on his head. He groaned and rolled around on the ground in agony. Colorful lights flashed in his eyes and the world spun. He opened his eyes and saw nothing. Nothing but rain sky. Follett could contain himself no more and started crying,


	99. The Cyber Knight: Part 8

**Della**

* * *

Della yawned and slowly pushed herself up in her bed. The early light of Helios shone through her window, warming her face. She heard birds chirping softly outside in the gardens outside of the inn. She sniffed the air. It smelled sweet. Celeste was probably making that stack of sweet apple pancakes just as she promised the night before she tucked Della into bed. Della smiled and flipped to her back. She raised her hand to examine the new, iridescent polish on her fingernails. It was a gift from Celeste, who started becoming quite motherly towards her. She presented her with new sleepwear before bed, but it got so stuffy in the night that Della had to take off her pants and sleep in her underwear. It was still pretty hot this morning. Della's body was soaked in perspiration. Her hair was sticky and clung to her face.

Good thing she and Jaden had separate rooms, not that it mattered; for his snoring could be heard through the walls. Celeste, who slept downstairs, would pound the ceiling with a broom sometime in the night, yelling at Jaden to turn over or something. She felt bad that they would soon be leaving her. To be honest, she rather liked staying at the inn in this beautiful countryside. She read in her books that the Faircourt Estates, a separate nation of Eredas, was famous for its rolling mountainsides, vast, green fields, and cool, crisp lakes.

"I could live here forever," Della whispered to herself, resting her arm over her forehead. "It's so peaceful."

BOOM!

"WHAT THE FRACK!" Celeste shouted from the kitchen.

The quiet of the morning was disrupted by a powerful explosion. Della yelped, jumping toward the edge of her bed and fell off, landing on the floor with a loud thud. "Oh, ow!" she whimpered, massing her bottom. She crawled back up in bed and looked out the window. Jaden was outside in the Dueling Fields, shielding himself from the explosion created by the cannon of his opponent's Machine Attacker, who had just obliterated his Elemental HERO Lady HEAT. He supped-up his monster with Machine Conversion Factory, boosting its attack points.

"It won't do you any good!" said Jaden. "GO! Elemental HERO Sunriser!"

The new Elemental HERO warrior Jaden summoned flew out of a fiery orange arcane circle that looked like the sun. He punched the Machine Attacker in the chest, blowing it up along with the rest of the opponent's Life Points.

"Oh, no!" whined the player. "I...I lost."

Celeste came upstairs with Della's breakfast. "Of all the places for them to hold this tournament, it had to be in front of my inn. I'm going to file a complaint if this keeps up. All these explosions are driving away my customers."

Della took the breakfast tray from Celeste and sat up. "Well, if Ser Jaden is as good as he says he is, I'm pretty sure these games will end pretty quickly."

Celeste smiled and brushed some of Della's hair over her hear. "I know, but it will also mean losing you quickly. I've grown rather fond of you, child. It saddens me to see you go. But, if you're ever in town, remember to drop by for a visit."

Della placed her hand over her heart. "I promise, Celeste. I'll never forget you."

On the next round, Jaden was battling an opponent who just summoned a powerful and rare monster known as Thestalos the Mega Monarch. The flaming knight had just slashed Jaden's Elemental HERO Sparkman in half and reducing Jaden to a mere 800 Life Points.

The cocky opponent sneered and ran his thick fingers down his messy red hair. "They don't call me the Dueling Emperor of Faircourt for nothing," the boy boasted. "Don't feel too upset. There was nothing a simpleton like you could have done to defeat me. You should know, that I was one of the Thirteen Duel Kings at my school. And for good reason."

"Who the hell said I wanted a background on ya?" Jaden said rather cross. "Does it look like anyone around here gives a damn about what dorky nickname you got in school? I mean come on, man, that's just so cheese."

"How dare you insult my reputation!" the boy shouted. "Ah, no matter. Your words are just empty. Words of a loser. Hurry and begin your last turn, for I have a tournament to win."

Jaden drew his card. "Don't go celebrating just yet. I use Polymerization. Now, I fuse Elemental HERO Stratos and Elemental HERO Burstinatrix!" Storm clouds swirled over the field. Jaden's overzealous opponent looked up at the sky wondering what in the world Jaden just summoned.

"Swirl up a storm!" said Jaden. "Elemental HERO Great Tornado!"

Jaden proudly introduced one of his finest HEROES. He conjured a nine-foot-tall superhero wearing a green jumpsuit with black markings on the arms and legs and yellow bands on his boots and gloves and various parts of his body. He was shrouded with a black cloak.

**ATK/2800**

The opponent scoffed and flung some hair off his face with his fingers. "Ha. I knew you were only bluffing. So your little green man has the same attack points as my Monarch? Watch. I use the Quick-Play Spell, Rush Recklessly. This card will boost my Mega Monarch's attack by seven-hundred. So much for your turn."

Jaden smiled. "Are you done yapping about how you've got this Duel won? Cuz, I assure ya, that ain't happening. Elemental HERO Great Tornado. Do your stuff. Downburst!"

Great Tornado held his hand to the sky and conjured a gust of powerful wind that flew around Theslatlos.

The boy laughed. "You think a little wind is going to be enough to stop my Mega Monarch? Such a noob. WHAT!?" He was shocked to see that Thestalos's attack points were cut in half.

Jaden burst out laughing. "I told you that you weren't gonna win. When Great Tornado is summoned to the field, he cuts your monster's attack points in half. But I'm not done there, man. Now I use the spell, Miracle Fusion. I combine Elemental HERO Burstinatrix and Necroid Shaman in the Graveyard, banishing them. Now here comes Elemental HERO Escuridao!"

A puddle of black ooze that looked like darkness made into water bubbled in front of Jaden. From it rose a dark HERO with black armor and sharp blades for wings and his claws made for awesome weapons.

****

**ATK/2500**

Jaden gave the boy a wink. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but overconfidence is your greatest enemy. Now, Escuridao gains one-hundred points for every Elemental HERO in the GY. I'm counting eight, so therefore his attack points become thirty-three-hundred! Sorry pal, but after this, that's game!"

BOOM! BOOM!

"The winner of the tournament!" shouted the herald of the tournament. "JADEN YUKI!"

Della clapped her hands. "Yay, Ser Jaden!" she cheered. She was sitting on a picnic table eating a corn dog as she watched the matches throughout the day. After Jaden got his trophy, the prize money, and the rare prize card, she joined him. "My, my. Ser Jaden you're very good."

Jaden winked. "Not for nothing, even though some of these guys had some sweet moves, they weren't all that tough. Oh, well. A win's a win, right? Now we've got the money we need to..."

"Hold it right there!" shouted Jaden's opponent from before. He had his boys walking with him, hoping that with their presence, he would be a little more persuasive with his proposition for Jaden. He stood up straight and puffed out his chest. "That wasn't fair. I bricked on my first turn. I would have asked for a replay, but I was being a good sport."

Jaden scoffed, rather impatient for that remark. "Do you know how lame it is to hear someone lose and say that your victory means nothing because of a bricked hand? Come on, man, I beat you fair and square. Of course, if you wanna go again, I'll be happy to take you on."

"Oh no," said the opponent. "I'm not Dueling you for those prizes. I'm taking them from you."

Jaden frowned. "I don't appreciate that, man. You need to back off right now. I don't want any trouble. We had a good Duel."

"But I lost," said the opponent. "That was not how it was supposed to be. If you want to live to see tomorrow, I suggest you hand over the prize right now."

Jaden shook his head. "I'm not going to do that. See you later and better luck next year."

The opponent snapped his fingers and then windows of data appeared all around and digital cubes rained down. They formed together to form a monster called Cyberse Whitehat. His buddies cheered and laughed at Jaden, telling him that he was in trouble now.

Della took a step back. "He...he just summoned a monster, Ser Jaden."

Jaden balled his fists. "Yeah...I know. Sorry, Della, but this is going to be bad."

His opponent agreed. "Indeed they are. Hand over the prize money and prize card right now. Oh...and if you don't mind, send your cute lady friend our way, too."

Della gasped and hid behind Jaden as the opponent and his gang hooted at her to come towards them.

Jaden narrowed his eyes. "You scumbags will pay for this. Today, you will face justice. He held out his palm. An arcane circle with a big E on the center appeared over it and started spinning. "Go! Entertainment HERO Pit Boss!"

"Huh?" the brash opponent gasp, watching as Jaden conjured the prize monster he sought after. And he did so with the greatest of ease. The monster he summoned was a suave, cunning-looking card magician in colorful, yet regal, clothes. He held a deck of cards in his hands and did all sorts of magic tricks with it. He made it appear and reappear and shuffled it in an instant loop between his hands. He stopped and then drew three cards. They floated off his fingers and in front of the opponent's face.

Jaden laughed. "He wants you to pick a card."

His opponent had a disgruntled look on his face. Still, he went along with the magician's little game and chose the middle one. "Excellent choice," said Jaden. "Pit boss, do your stuff!"

Pit Boss tipped his hat. The card the opponent chose was Elemental HERO Gaia. "What's this?"

Pit Boss waved his hands in a mystifying manner until a rainbow-colored arcane circle appeared behind him. From the circle, an iron warrior shot out and raised missile launcher. He was a giant! Standing more than twenty feet high. He fired a salvo of black missiles with gold bands on the top. They rained down on Cyberse Whitehat, creating a massive explosion that sent a thick cloud of smoke and debris in the air. The opponent and his friends were tossed away. Poor Della screamed in horror. Jaden rushed towards her and shielded her from the blast. When the dust had cleared, Jaden and Della were gone, fleeing out of the town to take the train to Domino.

Pit Boss took off his hat and bowed before he disappeared.

* * *

**Alexis**

* * *

**Eve of the Fourth Day**

A mansion. It was hard to believe such a thing could be found down here in the underbelly of the world. Despite seeing the limos drive through towns made of trash and all sorts of junk, this place had exquisite architecture. It was well furnished, cleaned, and the whole place smelled of lemon on oak. Alexis looked out the window of her room - or prison cell from her point of view. Behind her on a golden cart was a whole roast of chicken stuffed with bread, corn, and potatoes, surrounded by freshly-cut lettuce and tomatoes. Next to the roast was a tub of mashed potatoes swimming in gravy, and a basket with garlic bread. No. Anything but that. A crust of bread and glass of water is what she would have preferred. All this luxury made her even more fearful.

Zane had just killed King Aldric's best summoner and cost him millions in gold. Why would he be pampering Alexis like this? She sighed and looked at the hundreds of shadows dancing on the walls. The room was dark and lit by hundreds of candles burning on the side tables on either side of her bed, on her dresser drawer, and on iron candelabras.

She looked down at the courtyard, staring at a limestone fountain shooting glowing green water from the mouth of a copper dragon head. Limos, armored SUVs, and customized sports cars slowly drove out of the gate.

There was a knock on her door. Alexis pursed her lips and did not answer. Not that the person knocking cared. They let themselves in any way. From the smell of peach, Alexis knew that it was Fahrenheit. Alexis turned to look at the girl. Fahrenheit whistled at the plunging neckline of Alexis's dress and her hair curled up with swirled bangs dangling on either side of her face.

"Don't you clean up nice," Fahrenheit said, cocking her hip and placing a hand on it. "Ooo, if King Aldric didn't need you so bad."

"Don't say anything else," Alexis commanded.

Fahrenheit bowed. "As you command, Princess. Just so you know, you're needed downstairs at once." She tossed Alexis a gold and white deck case.

Alexis caught it with ease and gasped. "My cards!"

"I kept them safe for you," said Fahrenheit. "And for good reason. It's been a while since Aldric has seen any Duel action lately and with us being on the fourth day, your time with us is almost over. He never saw a Princess play her hand in Duel Monsters before, and he'd like to see that tonight. Come on. Our guests want to see you Duel."

Alexis followed her out of the mansion to the gardens in the backyard lit with glowing flowers and willow trees with neon blue vines. Alexis saw Aldric's guests sitting around small, round, dinner tables draped in white cloth with a candle glowing in the center of each table. The guests were well-dressed and wore masquerade masks as they sipped on champagne and ate steak, despite the horribly polluted underground air. Alexis looked up and noticed that the mansion was safely concealed underneath a fresh-air dome. That explained why the plants here could grow and the air smelled sweet, unlike outside which stank of fast food and trash.

"Hold on," said Fahrenheit. "You're going to need this." She picked up a mask from a table beside the path to the gardens. It was blue and gold and decorated with peacock feathers. Then, unexpectedly, she kissed Alexis.

Alexis wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Kiss me again and I'll have you executed."

That just made Fahrenheit far more playful. For her, it seemed rather cute to see Alexis act like she still had power. She smacked Alexis hard on the butt and ordered her to walk. "Woo!" she hooted. "Look at dat ass!"

Alexis ignored her and hiked down a brick path surrounded by glowing trees and flowers that seemed to ring like magical bells. It was as though she were walking through a dream. It looked so magical. Then, she walked through a flowery curtain and that dream turned into a walk to hell.

Aldric stood up from his table in all his glory and tapped his steak knife on the back of his goblet. "All hail the Princess!" he declared.

The guest clapped for Alexis as she made her way to her side of the arena. The hemline of her dress was so high it made her uncomfortable. All eyes were staring at her legs and the generous view her neckline offered. She heard chuckles of lust all around her and the sound of tongues sliding across lips ending with wet smacks. Her opponent walked out from behind a curtain of flowers. She wore the same dress as Alexis, save hers was jet black. The girl had a white and gold masquerade mask and a rose tucked in her hair. Her wine-colored hair flowed down to her back and was speckled with white flowers.

Aldric tapped his goblet again. "Please welcome, Flower."

The guests clapped.

"Begin!" Aldric declared. He flipped a coin. He caught it and smacked it on the back of his hand. "Heads, Alexis. Tails, Flower." He lifted his palm off the back of his hand to see the result of the coin toss. "Tails."

The guests clapped.

"Good luck," said Flower. She activated a glowing Duel Disk with mosaic patterns and green trim. "I summon Lonefire Blossom. I use its effect to trade it in for Predeplant Ophrys Scorpio. I use my Ophrys Scorpio's effect to summon Darlingtonnia Cobra. Cobra's effect activates, letting me add a card to my hand. Now, I offer them both to Link Summon Aromaseraphy Jasmine. From my hand, I activate Brilliant Fusion to create Gem-Knight Seraphnite."

The guests oohed and aahed at the sight of the monstrous holograms being summoned from the machines the girls wore on their wrists.

"Seraphnite's effect activates," Flower continued. "From my hand, I summon Lonefire Blossom and use its effect to summon Mardoll, Generaid of Light in Defense Mode."

"Ah," the crowd went when Flower summoned a beautiful sage with brilliant white and gold robes, colored wine-red on the inside. She had blue butterfly wings, flowing blonde hair, and a headdress of colorful flowers.

Flower continued activating effects, sending monsters away from her hand to increase her Life Points. She was desperate to win this Duel, Alexis could see that. She had a feeling this was going to be more than just some exhibition match. Finally, she special summoned a few monsters with interesting combos and used them to Synchro Summon Aromaseraphy Sweet Majoram, another beautiful monster. With that, Flower ended her turn.

The guest clapped.

Alexis drew. "My turn!" she declared. She started her turn, making use of the effects of her new Impcantation monsters to add cards regarding Rituals. She saw the look on King Aldric's face. He was excited to see if Alexis was going to use her Cyber Angel cards. She was, and she intended to use them well with a set of monsters she added to her deck. Her turn lasted a while, making use of spells that added cards to her hand. Finally, she summoned her first monster. Cyber Angel Izana, a gorgeous four-armed warrior who stood strong with 2500 ATK.

But she wasn't done there. More Impcantations appeared and she used them. "I summon Megalith Ophiel!" Alexis summoned a heavenly statue of white limestone and gold. It was of an angel. She hovered on a platform of chrome and light-blue light.

"Interesting," said Aldric.

The Impcantations came back allowing Alexis to add another Ritual card to her hand. This time, it was a statue of black stone festooned with gold. Megalith Hagith. Alexis decided to boost the power of her Megalith monsters with a field-spell Megalith Portal. With it in play, her Megalith monsters would have to be attacked twice before they got destroyed. Hagith was then offered to summon Megalith Och, who was a statue of a white angel and a black demon, both of whom were children. Alexis used her Portal field to return Hagith to her hand, then offered Ophiel to summon him.

Flower's turn, not that there was much that she could do. The Megalith Monsters lacked in offense, but they more than made up for it in defense. Plus, there was the matter of Cyber Angel Izan, serving as Alexis's offense. Damn. It was the perfect combo. The Megalith monsters were Alexis's aegis and her Cyber Angels the Sword. Flower knew was in trouble. The Megalith monsters needed to be attacked twice in order to be destroyed thanks to the Portal field.

Alexis always started her turns stronger and stronger. She summoned an even more durable Megalith monster, Aratron who took the form of a multi-headed dragon of brownish-black stone with glowing orange patterns. With a DEF of 3000, there was no getting around him.

Finally, Alexis summoned her ultimate Angel, Cyber Angel Vrash with an ATK of 3000.

"WAIT!" cried Flower. "Please, don't do it!"

Alexis attacked and finished her off. Had she but known the consequences, she would have ceased her attack and searched for another alternative. Once Flower's Life Points hit 0, Aldric stood up and tapped his steak knife on the back of his goblet. He declared Alexis the winner, then snapped his fingers. Two men came from behind the curtain Flower walked from. They took her away, most likely to be locked in the dungeon.

"STOP!" Alexis shouted. Fahrenheit came from behind and held her back. "You can't do this! You can't do this!"

Fahrenheit leaned close to her ear and whispered. "You shut up or you'll get the same. We girls aren't viewed very nicely down here. Play your cards right and we'll get our revenge."

"Huh?"

"King Aldric's fall is coming. Be a little more patient. Your friends are close, I can feel it," Fahrenheit whispered again. "They're going to work double-time to find you, and you're about to find out why."

Aldric tapped his goblet again. "Ladies and gentle. I have some great news. My sources claim that the Kingdom of Lorin is mounting pressure on King Eldon."

Booo! shouted the guests, obviously not fans of the current King.

"Yes. And it has been discovered that the Council of XXII has put the terms of surrendering of the crown to me on the table."

The guests clapped and cheered, whistling for Aldric's success. A man walked to him and told him, even more, pressing news. Aldric ordered television screens to be wheeled in at once. Moments later, they were brought in and turned to the right channel.

There was a video with the words **BREAKING NEWS** written in white letters on a red ribbon. Ar first there was nothing but an empty podium and the concerned voices of the news anchors, telling the viewers that Her Majesty, The Queen of Lorin would be arriving soon. Two long minutes later, she came. She stood in front of the podium. The flags of her kingdom and her country stood behind her. She was clad in a snowy white blazer and skirt. Her beautiful hazel eyes flashed behind her gold glasses.

"People of Lorin. It has been more than four days since my daughter, Alexis, Crown Princess of Lorin and heir to the Sapphire Throne was kidnapped by a ruthless gang known as the Aeons," the stern blonde queen said furiously at the camera. She tried to remain calm, but her cheeks turning pink showed signs that she was having difficulty with that.

She continued. "For many years, this order of bloodthirsty, degenerates have terrorized the streets of Domino City and beyond. They, along with the radical Church of Yeyu have caused nothing but destruction. Both the Aeons and the Church kill, destroy, and even sell other people on the Shadowmarket like cattle. For many years, the people of Eredas have begged King Eldon to take action against these violent factions and organizations. Even Kings and Queens of other nations have generously come to his aid in dealing with this problem. But the enemy comes back like the roaches that they are. King Eldon. We elected you to be King to bring prosperity to your kingdom. Yet all you do is Duel, drink, and fritter away precious time of office in parties and tournaments. If you are too incompetent to deal with a small gang of thugs...why do we need you?"

The guests laughed at her question and clinked their glasses together.

"The only one who has listened to the pleas of his people was his son, Prince Michael, who in my eyes will be a fine ruler one day. But it is not this day. Four days that King Eldon has done nothing. For days I have had to watch as a gang of murderous thugs defile, torture, and break my daughter."

Her lips trembled and Alexis could see the tears welling up in her mother's eyes, causing her to sob.

"The sounds of her screaming for help. Screaming for the comfort of her mother, have haunted me. I have not slept. I have not eaten. I have done nothing but weep and listen to my supposed ally tell me time and time again that they were 'working on the situation'."

* * *

**Zane**

* * *

"Zane, check this out!" Kara shouted from her room.

Zane came running into her lab and froze when he saw Alexis's mother on the screen making her speech.

"As of right now, I am deploying five-hundred thousand troops to march into Domino. Should my daughter die at the hands of these murderers, I and other kings of the New Alliance will deem you unfit to rule. If you do not stand down and surrender your crown, I will have no choice but to declare war on Eredas."

"What?!"

"I say again. If my daughter dies under your watch, Eldon of House Dalton, you will be held responsible. And you will be seen as worthless and undeserving of that crown. The Kingdoms of Emboldor, Katina, and Thara have unanimously agreed with this notion. They too send troops to come to aid in dealing with this matter. Eldon. We will purge the city of Domino from the Aeons. The radical Church of Yeyu. And you. We give you one last warning. Find my daughter or surrender your crown."

"This is not good," said Zane.

"Do you think he'll do it?" Kara asked, closing her laptop. She looked over her shoulder at Zane. "Will Eldon surrender the crown?"

"it doesn't matter," said Zane. "Eldon's going to look like a fool either way. If he surrenders the crown to Aldric, he'll go down in history as an idiot. A King surrendering to a gangster. If she dies and the Queen declares war it will be the same. Even if he does surrender to Aldric, there's no escaping the war on our doorstep. Queen Daria will not leave with a thug wearing the crown. She'll go to war with him, too."

"Do you think Aldric will go that far?"

"He's not going to surrender the crown after getting it," said Zane. "I know what he's capable of. Kara. He's going to fight to defend it. It's a lose-lose for Eredas."

"Unless Alexis is found," Kara added. "We need to hurry, it's been four days. Have we got any leads?"

Nel-E answered that. "I have actually. While you two were working on upgrades for the Cyber Dragon, I was able to find ourselves a few interesting leads thanks to the men Zane interrogated the night before. However, these individuals are very influential figures in the underworld of Domino. One of them has mercenaries from Watch Tower Security and Logistics acting as his own personal bodyguards. They are well-armed and quick on the trigger, unlike the common Aeon thugs you've been up against. Watch Tower is notorious for making deals with the other dimension's black market, buying military-grade weapons and technology. I suggest equipping the Cyber Dragon with its new armor plating, Zane."

Kara sighed. "Looks like I've got some work to do tonight. If you don't mind, Zane, I'm gonna make a call to Lady Summer's Pizza and order myself a few pies."

"I've already ordered you the usual, Ms. Kestrel," said Nel-E. "And a diet cola. All at Zane's expense."

Kara giggled. "Aww, how sweet."

"Zane, we're going to need some help in dealing with our foes. Jaden Yuki is still a-ways from Domino but the mission must proceed as soon as possible. Shall I contact your other companion from school?"

"No!" Zane yelled at once. "Anyone but him."

"Need I remind you that Prince Michael is still tending to Miss Crow. He will be of no help tonight."

Zane rubbed his shoulder and looked out the window at the city. "That kid always rubbed me the wrong way."

"Zane. Put your pride aside. So he defeated you in a Duel once. How do you humans put it? Cry me an ocean?"

"Cry me a river, dear," Kara corrected her as she typed a requisitions order for materials to build another Cyber Dragon design."

"Thank you, Ms. Kestrel," said Nel-E. "Zane. If there's a lot more a stake now than Alexis's life. The fate of this entire country now rests on the shoulders of you kids."

Zane sighed. "Fine. Get him."

* * *

A homeless man wrapped in a tattered cloak shivered in the rain, pouring down on him relentlessly from the unforgiving autumn clouds. He wrapped the cloak around himself and tucked his beard into his shirt. Suddenly, a black hotrod with flame decals raced down the street and stopped in front of the curb. The old man whimpered in fright as men wearing Elemental HERO masks stormed out of the car with weapons and burlap sacks. The gang cheered and hooted as bank robbing was a thrill for them. The homeless old man watched as they walked up the tall, limestone steps of the bank. He heard gunfire, explosions, screaming and yelling. The alarm bell rang, signaling that the robbers had little time before the authorities arrived. It sickened the man to the core. Too long had he seen things like this happen. Despite humankind building towers that reached the sky and having the ability to cast magic to heal the sick, people resorted to behaving like hooligans.

It didn't take long for the bank robbers to come down the steps of the bank with sacks fully loaded with gold coins and Gold Ereadian Notes. A robber in a Sparkman mask opened the trunk and they dumped their loot inside.

"It would be wise of you to return that before things turn ugly," said the old man.

A thug wearing an Avion mask laughed and shouldered his shotgun. "For you, old man, it's way too late for that."

The old man was unmoved by his words. "If you wish to see tomorrow, I suggest you surrender now."

"Or what?" mocked a robber with a Bubbleman mask.

"Do not test me, fool."

The tattered cloak of the old man slowly peeled back and flashed a platinum medallion emblazoned with a letter D on the center.

Thump!

A giant, muscled, hulk of a monster landed behind the old man. It wore tattered purple shorts and bore an iron mask with long, wild, black hair protruding from underneath it.

"Dreadmaster. Let these sinners taste justice."


	100. The Cyber Knight: Part 9

**Alexis**

* * *

"Your Megalith cards are impressive," Fahrenheit said, scrolling through Alexis's deck. "They compliment your Cyber Angels beautifully. A perfect marriage of defense and offense."

Alexis sipped her tea, still shaken by the brash ultimatum set up by her mother. "In some cases, the Megalith monsters are the offense. So all that stuff you did back there. All that flirting. Was it just you acting the part?"

Fahrenheit laughed and dropped on the moth-eaten lounge chair by the waterfall in the sitting room. She put her feet up on the glass table. "Nope. I really do like you. But you're a princess and out of my league, so I can only play around with you until it's time to kill you."

Alexis rolled her eyes.

"Your mom would have my head if there was ever a thing between me and you. She's a traditionalist, right?"

"You have no idea," Alexis replied. "She never liked me coming to Domino because she absolutely hates technology. However, I'm her best negotiator when it comes to trade and other matters of the kingdom. But, even a stern mind can change. All people do. She was coming to like the city and the Daltons. But now... I can't...I can't believe she'd do this."

Fahrenheit set Alexis's cards down on the table. "Well, you'd be surprised what a mother is willing to do when her child is taken from her. You ever heard of the tale of Arasik and the Doomkaiser Dragon?"

"I do," Alexis said with a smile. "It was my mother's favorite story."

Fahrenheit crossed her legs and sat back. "Tell me the story. It's been so long since I heard it. And I suppose that the story told by a hot princess like you will make it even more endearing."

Alexis shook her head and paused to gather her thoughts. "Well, you know the basics of the tale. It all starts with Arasik, Goddess of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Needless to say that each one of her children is a treasure to her. Tathelrion, Verronex, and Tolthion the Sapphires of the Northern Star are said to be used by Seto Kaiba. Did you know this?"

"No," Fahrenheit said with a shake of her head. "What role do they play in this?"

Alexis laughed. "Nothing. Just a little _did-ya-know_ if you catch my meaning. But I digress. There was one Blue-Eyes who was very special to her. Lassina the White. When she transformed into a human, she turned into a maiden so great in beauty, that flowers bloomed wherever she walked. Lassina was Arasik's greatest prize. But she also gained the attention of an undead dragon. The Doomkaiser Dragon. While she was picking flowers, Doomkaiser Dragon swooped her up and took her to his domain in the Shadow Realm. Arasik mourned for her daughter. She turned the cosmos inside out and almost destroyed the entire world looking for her. My mother might do the same."

"She certainly has the power to do so, Alexis. She could burn this whole city to the ground looking for you."

"I hope it doesn't come to that. Why are you here, Fahrenheit? You hate what he does. You hate how he treats you. How he treats us. You saw what he did to Flower. He auctioned her off like she was some cheap antique!"

Fahrenheit bobbed her hand up and down, telling Alexis to lower her voice. "There's not much we can do for Flower or the other girls. As for why I'm here, you can thank the Covenant of Yeyu for that. Just like everyone else who joined." She reared her head back and looked at the Lightsworn fresco on the ceiling. "I wasn't always like this. I used to own my own business in the Dragon Gardens District. A flower shop and a cupcake cafe melded into one."

Alexis snickered.

"Did I say something funny?"

"No. I mean, no disrespect. It's just...A tough-looking street punk like you? Growing flowers and making cupcakes? Sorry, I just don't see it."

Fahrenheit shrugged. "It's true. I grew the flowers in the park. _She_ made the cupcakes."

"She?"

Fahrenheit sighed. "An Elf girl by the name of Idrialla. Poor thing. I found her cowering under a tree. She was a runaway slave from Naralia. I took her in and I grew to love her. You shoulda seen her, Alexis. Rosy cheeks, emerald green-eyes, hair like sunlight made into silk." She chuckled. "And those cute pointy ears. But it was her hair that I was obsessed with. I loved running my fingers through her hair when we cuddled; when we cooked; when we took our walks in the park. Not long after she settled in with me, I discovered she was a really great baker. I suppose it was her craft when she was a slave in Naralia. She made cupcakes for me during a bake sale to help fund my garden."

"Fund your garden?"

Fahrenheit laughed and nodded. "Duh. It's on city property. I had to pay an extra tax to the king. You think it was easy keeping that thing up?"

"And Idrialla's cupcakes really helped you out, huh?"

"That's an understatement. There were people lining an entire city block just to wait for her cupcakes. When there were no more ingredients, they literally paid her to buy them. And a little extra to reserve a few."

Alexis set down her teacup. "She sounds like a sweet girl. Tell me, Fahrenheit. Do you really think Idrialla would approve of your joining the gang?"

"Idrialla's dead!" Fahrenheit said at once.

Alexis blinked rapidly. "I...I'm sorry. What killed her?"

"Tolerance," Fahrenheit answered coldly. "The Covenant of Yeyu descended from Baldorum, came to our lands and destroyed everything we held dear to our hearts. By the time Idrialla and I wanted to marry, the Temple of Ana was torn down in place for a monument to Yeyu. That temple has been in our city since the foundation of the world, and the people who swear to protect us let them tear it down and form it into a place of worship for their looney cult. In order for me and Idrialla to marry, we needed a certificate and blessing from the temple. But there wasn't any for miles. We didn't have the money to travel far for just a blessing so we made a gamble. Idrialla and I had no choice but to ask the Covenant to bless us and legalize our engagement."

She shook her head.

"I have never seen a man so angry before, Alexis. He yelled at us. He called us names. He said we were an abomination in this world. They decreed that we are not allowed to love the way we do, even if our Goddesses say we are allowed to love who we want. And even if I had a pair of balls between my legs, they still wouldn't marry us. Idrialla was an Elf. To the Covenant, her kind is seen as parasites. Something to be squashed. In fact, the priest ordered soldiers from the Covenant Militant to detain us. Luckily, I know a little magic."

Fahrenheit snapped her fingers and created a green fireball. "I fought our way out. But not before I burned that hateful priest into ashes. It would not end for us there. I came home one day and found our bakery on fire. Idrialla was hanging naked from a tree. Her beautiful ears."

A tear rolled down her cheek.

"They were cut off, most likely sold to a Witch Hunter for a sack of gold. I was depressed. I was alone. Until he found me. Aldric. He promised me that if I joined him I would get my revenge against the Covenant. And revenge was sweet. He boosted my powers with this killer elixer his alchemists brewed up. My flames became more potent, and I gotta say, I love the pink and green color it gave my flames. I burned down their schools. I incinerated their monuments. I roasted their followers. They started to fear us."

"That's not the way!" Alexis shouted. "Killing indiscriminately as they do doesn't make you any better than them!"

"And talking to them won't make them stop! Tolerating them won't end the violence and the purging that they feel obligated to spread across our lands. Tolerance...is for the weak!"

"So is murder," said Alexis.

"We have to do something, Alexis." Fahrenheit examined her hands. "What if more people get hurt? People like me? I don't care what you think of me. I'm doing the world of favor getting rid of them. Seeing them melt like candle wax is the medicine that cures me of the pain of losing Idrialla."

Alexis looked away. "So if being by his side gives you such a high, why did you whisper revenge in my ear? Why do you want to get back at Aldric?"

"Because he's changed. He needs to be stopped, Alexis. It was one thing having him be King of Eredas to root out and purge the city from the Covenant. But now his mind has been poisoned by a fell power. I'm scared, Alexis. He aims for something much bigger. Aldric got his hands on a weapon that could not only make him king but High King of Termnnia as well. He could take down Prince Yuri."

Alexis smirked. "He believes that huh? Prince Yuri will never be ousted from the Diamond Throne. The God Cards chose him. They will never turn their back on him."

They heard cheering outside.

Fahrenheit gulped. "If that's what I think it is, they will now."

The both of them walked outside to join the throng of Aeons surrounding a truck that honked merrily as it drove into the courtyard. King Aldric pushed his way through his followers to get to the truck. The back door slid open and two Aeons carried a metal trunk towards the ramp, which lowered. Aldric rubbed his hands in great anticipation to see the content of the trunk.

The trunk let out steam and whirred as various machinations clicked and spun to unlock it. The lid opened, folding itself up as a sleek, black, pedestal raised from the bottom of the trunk. The pedestal held a black egg decorated with scrollwork. It opened. An orange gem was glistening inside, glowing with the light of the sun.

"At last," Aldric said, picking up the gem. He held it up for all to see. The Aeons cheered. A tall one in black armor walked towards him carrying a crown. Aldric bowed his head as the black-armored Aeon put the crown on his brow. It was a perfect fit. Sunflares seemed to burst from the crown. Aldric's eyes were glowing bright and his body was covered with orange runes.

"What is that?" Alexis asked in horror.

"We are in trouble," said Fahrenheit.

* * *

**Meanwhile...**

* * *

"It would be wise of you to return that before things turn ugly," said the old man.

A thug wearing an Avion mask laughed and shouldered his shotgun. "For you, old man, it's way too late for that."

The old man was unmoved by his words. "If you wish to see tomorrow, I suggest you surrender now."

"Or what?" mocked a robber with a Bubbleman mask.

"Do not test me, fool."

The tattered cloak of the old man slowly peeled back and flashed a platinum medallion emblazoned with a letter D on the center.

Thump!

A giant, muscled, hulk of a monster landed behind the old man. It wore tattered purple shorts and bore an iron mask with long, wild, black hair protruding from underneath it. Lightning flashed, revealing the creature for a brief moment, filling the bank robbers with fear.

"What the hell is that man?" shouted the driver, who was sporting a Necroid Shaman mask. "We need to get out of..."

CRASH!

Something landed on the car, smashing it flat as a pancake. The bank robbers lunged forward in fear, yelling and screaming as they landed with a splash on the sidewalk. The robber with the Avion mask stuttered and pointed at a shadowy figure looming over them. A purple-red cape fluttered in the stormy breeze. Burning, red eyes pierced the darkness and drilled a hole into the souls of the bank robbers.

"Dangerous," said the old man, rising up from the ground. "So good of you to join us." The man removed his tattered cloak and revealed himself to actually be a young boy with piercing blue-eyes and silver hair, tucked under a black skullcap beanie with the same D on his medallion emblazoned on the front. He sported an expensive black, leather jacket with a hood trimmed in white fur. His jeans were torn and bloused into black boots. A platinum chain dangled from his hip, jangling, and jingling as he slowly stepped towards the robbers. Underneath his jacket was a layered cuirass made of orichalcum with red neon lights for the sake of display.

One of the robbers fired a gun at the boy's chest. The bullet deflected off the plate. When he aimed for the boy's head the hulking monster grabbed the man by the arm, lifted him up and then closed his fist, crushing him like a bug. The other robbers cried out in horror, hearing the sickening sound of bones being ground to dust and the ill-sounding symphony of flesh squishing wetly in the behemoth's grip.

"It's him, dude!" sobbed one of the robbers. "It's the kid the boss warned us about."

"Aster Phoenix," said the robber in the Sparkman mask. "Oh, we're screwed, man. Look, kid. Come on. We'll share some of the loot with ya."

Aster continued to walk towards them. The hulking monster flung the glob of flesh from his palm and wiped the filth on his purple shorts. Meanwhile, Dangerous was watching the men, snarling like a demon, ready to strike if any of them made an attempt to run.

Aster scoffed. "Destiny HERO Dreadmaster. Let these sinners taste justice."

Dreadmaster raised his fist. The robbers screamed one final time before it came down and crushed them. Cars bumped from the impact, their alarms started wailing. The street lamps flickered.

Aster suddenly heard a slow clap. Someone walked out of the shadows of an alleyway across the street. He realized there were four of them, three boys and a girl with long, red hair, shaved on the side.

"Finally. We were getting bored waiting for you," said a boy, sporting a sleeveless coat colored white with white trim. He sported a beanie over his bright blue hair.

"The hell do you want?" Aster asked.

Dangerous turned around to face the group. Dreadmaster cracked his neck.

"You're Aster Phoenix," said a very young boy who looked no more than ten. He was bald and wore a green hoodie and khaki cargo pants. Upon seeing Aster, he flipped his green baseball cap backward. "We've been looking for you."

"No, shit," said Aster.

The bruiser of the group, a mastodon of a young man, smashed his fist against his palm. "So you're the Knight of Domino City, huh? HA! You don't look so tough."

Aster rolled his eyes. Like he never heard that one before. "I suppose these bank robbers work for you?"

"Used to," said the boy in the trench coat. "They were our meal ticket to getting to you. Our client, King Aldric, is paying quite a lot of money to anyone who takes you and this so-called Cyber Knight out of his city."

"You're looking for him, too?" Aster wondered. "I was kind of hoping he'd show up to stop these bozos, but I think he has other matters to attend to. Pfft. Some hero."

The little boy chortled obnoxiously. "Don't you know anything, Phoenix? War is on our doorstep. King Aldric is going to stop it and show what a true leader he really is."

Aster pointed at him. "Shut up! How does siding with criminal thugs and kidnapping the princess prove he's any fit to be a king?"

The little boy's sneer faded. "Uh...I'm not sure."

The leader in the white coat ruffled the kid's head. "Tomba, shut it, bro. It's politics. Way too complicated for someone your age."

"But he makes a good point, Luros," Tomba said, smacking his hand away and fixing his cap. "How is that going to prove him a good king?"

"Taking Alexis isn't about making him king," said Luros. "She's nothing but a bargaining chip in Aldric's game. The fact that the Queen of Lorin has sided with other kingdoms to march down here proves the whole world is playing right at his hand."

Aster couldn't believe how oblivious these youngsters were. "Armies from the most powerful kingdoms in Termnnia are coming here. Even if by some miracle Aldric claims the crown and has thousands of knights stupid enough to follow him, it's a losing situation for him. Are you people truly this stupid?"

The girl with the flaming red hair stepped forward. "You don't know Aldric like we do, kid. He has his hands on something that could change the whole tide of this war. The Heart of Helios."

Aster's eyes widened. "You can't be serious? King Aldric has a Gem of Horakhty?"

"You know your stuff," said the girl. "I don't know how he got it, but he did. And now everyone on the streets is joining him. Which leads us to you. He knows talent when he sees it and wants you to join the Aeons."

"I work alone."

The girl sneered. "He figured you'd say something like that. Boys, let's show Aster his choices." She held out her palm. A red arcane circle formed over it and was then emblazoned by flaming designs. "Salamangreat Heartleo!" she shouted, summoning her monster.

"This is gonna be fun!" Tomba said. He too conjured a monster. "Pyrocesslayer Magma!" he shouted.

The biggest member thumped his fists on his chest. "Dinowrestler Chimera T Wrexle! Kick some ass!"

Finally, Luros went up. "Come on out, Kaiser Vorse Raider!"

Tomba laughed, seeing all their monsters outnumber Aster and his two Destiny HEROES. "Now you've got no choice but to come along with us! Either way, it doesn't matter. King Aldric is gonna pay us for bringing him both your support or your head."

"Were it so easy," said Aster. "I'm impressed you idiots have the power to Summon eidolons into this world. That takes a lot of discipline and hard work. But you decide to waste your talents with criminal thugs and wannabe kings. You think you have me cornered because I only have two monsters out? Ha! I don't need two monsters. Dreadmaster is all I need to take you guys down."

The clocktower over the bank started ringing midnight. Dreadmaster flexed his muscles and let out a loud howl.

The group ordered their monsters to attack. Dinowrestler Chimera T Wrexle locked hands with Dreadmaster. The two of them tried shoving each other in a show of strength, but the group did not abide by any morals whatsoever. From behind, Pyrocesslayer Magma attacked, slashing Dreadmaster in the back. Dreadmaster roared in agony, then Dinowrestler started jabbing Dreadmaster in the kidneys and ribs. Kaiser Vorse Raider jumped out of nowhere and smashed his halberd against the side of Dreadmaster's helmet. The helmet vibrated horrible, disorienting Dreadmaster. Dangerous could watch no more and flew into battle, tackling Kaiser Vorse Raider to the ground, his cape flapping wildly behind him.

"Get 'im! Come on!" cheered Tomba.

Aster backed away then rolled to the left to avoid being smashed by Dreadmaster who was knocked backward by Salamangreat Heartleo. Dreadmaster landed on the stairs, crushing them instantly.

Aster looked at the carnage behind him, failing to notice Luros and his big friend running towards him with swords. Aster held out his palm and summoned four red blades to block their charge. It worked, the two boys stopped in their tracks. Aster picked up two of the long blades and taunted his two foes to come get him. They took the bait and stormed towards him. Aster blocked each attack flawlessly. Each time their weapons struck his blades, it created sparks. Aster moved like the wind, disorienting his two opponents who started to feel like they were out of their league.

Tomba hurried to a nearby trash can to pick up the custom baseball bat he had hidden there, but the girl with red hair told him no. He looked up at her and whined. "Aww, come on Roja. I wanna fight!"

"No. Let Luros and Longlast deal with him. They know what they're doing. You power up your Pyrocesslayer."

Tombo looked at his monster who had his attacks blocked by Dreadmaster, using his massive iron shackles as a shield to repel the attacks. Salamangreat Heartleo clawed him from behind. Meanwhile, Dangerous and Kaiser Vorse Raider were having a violent brawl down the street. Kaiser Vorse Raider swung his halberd around, trying to overpower Dangerous with his strength. But Dangerous moved like a shadow, popping out of every dark corner to strike the improved beast-warrior. Kaiser Vorse Raider then waited for him to make the same move. Dangerous appeared out of the dark, but Kaiser Vorse Raider was too quick for him. He swung his halberd to the right and smashed Dangerous in the chest.

Dangerous flew backward and landed on the sidewalk, smashing into a street lamp and knocking it down. He moved his head from side to side, grunting softly from the pain, and blacked out.

Dinowrestler Chimera T Wrexle then appeared behind Dreadmaster and held his arms up. Salamgreat Hearleo started punching him in the stomach. Tomba cheered, mocking punches in the air, pretending he was Heartleo. Then, Pyrocesslayer readied for the final blow.

"We're winning!" cheered Tomba.

"STRIDENT BLAST!"

Yellow lasers rained down on Pyrocesslayer and T Wrexle. They both crashed to the ground. Luros and Longlast cowered in fear and ran away.

Aster looked up. "Huh?"

The Cyber Knight had arrived. All three of his Cyber Dragons flying behind him at great speed. One of them smashed into Kaiser Vorse Raider and wrapped its coils around him. It squeezed him with all its might until he let out a loud screech and shattered like glass. Luros's body was overcome with great pain and he fell on the ground limply.

"Luros!" Roja shouted in terror. She ran towards him and carried him back to their alley.

Longlast grunted like an angry rhino and charged at Zane. Zane held up his palm and fired a pulse blast that knocked him back into a tree, smashing it. Zane used the pulse cannons on his palms to get Pyrocesslayer to back away. The second Cyber Dragon flew down and shot an upgraded Strident Blast at him, blowing his head off.

"NO!" cried Tomba. He fainted from the pain.

"We need to get out of here!" shouted Longlast, limping towards his friends. "T Wrexle can handle those overgrown metal salamanders!"

So he thought. Like two jets, a couple of HEROES flew down the street and smashed the Dinowrestler in the face. One was a warrior of gold with a red cape. The other was a heavily muscular warrior in neon yellow spandex.

"Captain Gold?" said Aster. "And Electrum?" He saw Jaden and Della running towards them.

Longlast saw them, too, and started to back away. "Oh...shit!" he said. "It's Jaden Yuki! The Hero of Red River!"

Roja saw the monsters he summoned, beating T Wrexle down. "His Elemental HEROES! They're amazing."

Luros was recovering from his agony. "We can't face them like this. Not with the Cyber Knight and Jaden here at the same time. We'll get them another day!"

Roja summoned back Heartleo. "You haven't heard the last of us, heroes!"

"Damn right!" Longlast said, putting Tomba over his shoulder. "We're gonna mess you all up bad next time!" He ran into the alley, disappearing with massive steps. His friends followed.

"Let them go!" Cyber Knight said to Electrum and Captain Gold.

Jaden finally caught up to them. "Woah! Zane? Is that you? What's with the sweet getup?" He looked up at the Cyber Dragons, flying above him, scanning the streets for more enemies. "Are those..."

"Yeah," Zane answered.

"Are they..."

"Yes."

"Sweet." He looked down at Aster, who was sitting on the sidewalk trying to catch his breath.

"Hey, Aster. Haven't seen you since the academy. What's up?"

Aster scoffed. "I had it taken care of. I didn't need your help."

Zane's helmet dematerialized to reveal his face. "Glad to see he hasn't changed."

Aster looked up at Zane and examined his cybernetic armor. "What the hell have you been doing since school ended, Zane. Late-night vigilante work?"

"I couldn't let you have all the fun."

"I'll bet. I take it you're finally in the game with Alexis's kidnapping, huh?"

"So it's true?" said Jaden. "Alexis. She's really been taken by the Aeons?"

Zane nodded. "And we've only got a few days left before they kill her. If her blood is spilled, the Queen-Mother and her allies are going to unleash their armies upon Eredas."

"I heard about that," said Aster, standing up and accepting a bottle of water from Zane. He looked at Della. "Who is this?"

Jaden backed up to let the girl walk forward. "Oh, guys, this is Della. She's a Priestess from the Temple of Ana. We're here to find some sacred stone she lost or something."

"What stone?" Zane asked.

"I was tasked with delivering this stone to Emboldor for the coming of Prince Yuri next summer. This stone is a rare and powerful artifact known as the Heart of Helios."

"Oh no..." groaned Aster.

"The Heart of Helios?" said Zane. "I thought it was a myth. Michael was right."

"It's real alright," said Aster. "And King Aldric has it."

"Oh dear!" cried Della.

Jaden put his hands on his hips. "No way. You're telling me the leader of the Aeons has it? What can it do?"

Aster scoffed. "The question is what CAN'T it do? The stone was so powerful it almost killed the God Cards in the War of the Giants. That thing will give you super speed, super strength. If you had a hold on it, Jaden, you'd be an Elemental HERO yourself."

Zane kicked a trash can so hard it flew down the street. "Great! This just complicates things."

Aster shook his head. "It doesn't make any sense. If he has this all-powerful stone, why would he go through the trouble to kidnap Alexis and force her mother to declare open war on us? Can't he just use the power of the stone to overthrow King Eldon?"

"He can't because the stone is not complete," said Della. She reached into her shirt and took out a silver case shaped like a heart. She opened it and revealed a glowing orange gem. Or a part of it.

"What the hell?" shouted Jaden. "You had that on you this whole time?"

Aster walked closer to examine the shard. "How did this happen?" he asked. "How were you able to cut the stone in half?"

"I was not the cause of its breaking," Della answered. She closed the case and tucked it back in her shirt. "The stone was broken in half long ago by one of the Seven Golden Aegis Kings. He smashed it under his boot, breaking it into two equal pieces to keep it from destroying his friends. Slifer, Obelisk, and Ra. The Temple of Ana found both pieces thousands of years later. I am more than just some priestess, my friends. I am an Oracle."

Zane and Aster knelt in respect. Jaden scratched his head. "Huh?"

"She can speak to the Goddesses, idiot!" Aster said impatiently.

Della nodded. "Yes. It is because I am closer to Ana that my order gave me the second half of the Heart of Helios for safekeeping until we reached Emboldor, where Yugi Muto was going to put it back together."

"I knew Yugi had it in him to put a Gem of Horakhty back together," said Jaden.

"Of course, he does," said Aster. "He's an Eyar. He can do anything. As for you, Della, you outta be ashamed of yourself. How could you let the Aeons gain possession of the stone?"

Jaden frowned at that. "Hey, back off, Aster."

Della stepped forward. "I can speak for myself, Jaden, thank you. As for you, buster!" She poked Aster on the chest. "It wasn't my fault! I had no idea we would be attacked by foreign mercenaries working for a criminal organization. Let's face it. Swords and fireballs do little to repel against drones, anti-magic machines, and guns."

"But when I found you, you were chased by western highwaymen," said Jaden.

"I was long gone from the assault before I encountered them," Della replied. "Those other men wanted my bottom more than they wanted the stone."

"You saved her from creeps," said Zane. "Nice work, Jaden. But now it looks like we've got ourselves a problem. Alexis is down in the Underground surrounded by mercenaries and Aeon thugs. Even with your HEROES and my Cyber Dragons with their upgrades, we're going to have a hard time getting her out of there."

"But how do we get there?" asked Aster. "There have to be a thousand entrances, many more of them hidden, that lead to the Underground. If we don't find the right entrance, we could be searching for Alexis for days. And she doesn't have that amount of time left, Zane. They'll kill her before we can find her."

"Not quite," said Zane. "Instead of digging him out, we'll draw him out."

"What can I do, Mr. Zane?" Della asked.

"Oooh no!" said Jaden. "It's too dangerous. We'll take care of this. Besides, you have the second half of the Heart of Helios. We can't risk you getting caught."

"He's right," Aster agreed. "I imagine Aldric's powerful enough with just one half. You incompetence saw to that. We can't afford to let him get the second piece."

Della snapped. "You know, I really don't like you Aster Phoenix! I'll have you know I can take care of myself! I am skilled in the arts of White Magic and Illusion. True, I can't summon big brutes like you fellas do, but I can...HEY!"

One of Zane's Cyber Dragons grabbed her by the skirt with its mouth and lifted her up.

"HEY! HEY! HEY!" she yelled. "What is this!?"

"Take her back to my room at once," Zane commanded.

"Let me go!" shouted Della. "Unhand me you ugly beast!"

"My friend Kara will take care of you," Zane said, struggling not to laugh. "And as for you," he said to the Cyber Dragon. "Make sure she stays there."

"NO!" shouted Della. "How dare you! All of you! You can't treat me like this AAAAAAAAAAAA!" Cyber Dragon took off with Della into the night.

Jaden chuckled. "Poor girl. But, uh, Zane. Now that only leaves us with two Cyber Dragons. You kind of left us at a disadvantage here."

"Not quite," said Zane. "Kara Kestrel, my lead engineer and designer in the Cyber Dragon Project, has come up with an artistic way to boost the power of my beasts."

Jaden beamed. "Aw, cool! So, like new weapons and stuff?"

"Sort of," chuckled Zane. He looked at his two remaining Cyber Dragons. "Let's just say whoever said TWO heads are better than one is a total genius."


	101. The Cyber Knight: Part 10

**Della**

* * *

"This is so undignified! Put me down!"

Cyber Dragon pushed the windows open with its snout and then dropped Della on the floor.

"Oof!" she cried after landing with a thud. "You cut that out!" she shouted. "If I had my way, I'd turn you into scrap metal."

Cyber Dragon pulled its head out of the room.

"Hold on! I'm not finished with you! Come back here! I demand you take me back to Jaden and the others at once! Hey!"

Cyber Dragon roared in her face. Della whimpered and cowered behind a sofa. Cyber Dragon snorted and slammed the windows shut with its tail and zoomed into the clouds to remain out of sight.

"Oh!" Della groaned and crossed her arms. "Men! The world will be so better off without them."

She heard singing from upstairs. Curiously, she followed the melody up a spiral staircase into the laboratory where Zane worked on his Cyber Dragons. The music was coming from a room in the east wing. She walked down a long hallway with stone waterfalls on either side of the path. She slowly opened the door and saw the cause of the music. All around the room where holographic blueprints and windows of mechanical dragons and weapons systems. At the center was a girl in her pajamas singing and dancing as she designed a new beast for Zane.

* * *

_Once upon a time, there was a boy, an innocent youth_

_Born into our beautiful kingdom_

_The boy grew into a king, who saved our world_

_In a time when the God Cards had risen_

_And burned the whole realm with a roar_

* * *

_Once upon a time, there was a boy, a beautiful boy,_

_Who tamed the God Cards of Horakhty_

_And created a beautiful kingdom_

_Surrounded by mountain and glistening shores_

_Where Humans and Elves sang in joy_

* * *

_Once upon a time, there was a boy, a glorious king_

_Entangled in the fury of an ancient war_

_He raised a mighty sword, burning with the light of the sun_

_And felled all his foes with its flames_

* * *

"Oh!" Kara said. She removed her headphones. "You must be Della."

"And you must be Kara," Della replied.

She wondered at the lab and the strange gizmos and contraptions, hard at work on a new weapon Kara was designing for Zane's Cyber Dragon. Della leaned forward and examined one of the holographic screens projecting next to one of the machines. It read **Photon Generator**.

"What is all this? What are you doing?"

Della waved her hand around, creating a sort of lock, which logged her off a certain window with more private designs. "You think a numbskull like Zane could get those beasts running at maximum efficiency all by himself?"

Della rolled her eyes and scoffed. "After what he did to me, I don't know what to think."

Kara couldn't help but laugh at that. She saw what Della had gone through on the camera built into the Cyber Dragon's upper jaw. She told Della to take a hot bath while she prepared her soup and fresh, dry clothes, which turned out to be a long jumpsuit with hearts and flowers. Della found herself looking ridiculous. Kara's excuse for giving her that was that it was the only one she had. She wasn't all that into pajamas when she slept. In fact, the long pajamas were a joke gifted to her by Zane as a joke when she worked really late one night.

Kara watched as Della drank her soup. "So you're an Oracle, Zane tells me." She bowed. "It's such an honor. There are so few of you remaining in the world."

"The Orcs saw to our demise long ago," said Della, marveling at the blueprints of the dragons Kara was creating, floating around the room as if they were decorations. "This is amazing. You built all of these yourself?"

Kara got up to return to her computer. "I haven't built anything yet, dear. They're just some designs I hope to incorporate in the future. I'm working on a Cyber Dragon for my own."

"Will Zane approve?"

"He'd better if he wants me working on these things. Besides, watching all the cam footage of his battles stoked me to make one for myself. It looks like wicked fun."

Della pointed at one of the blueprints. "Is this one yours? The one you're building?"

Kara sat down in front of her computer. "Uh-huh. I hope Zane coughs up the money for him. I am so stoked about the design. I call him Seiger."

Della nodded. "Seiger. I'm sure he'll be born one day."

"Probably not," Kara laughed, touching the screen with her finger to access a bird's eye view of the city. "Those three Cyber Dragons Zane has. They cost us three hundred million gold to make."

"Gracious!"

"Yeah. And that was from Zane's private funds. It costs another three million to upgrade the damn things. Zane's rich, but he's a little paranoid about losing his status as a billionaire. One more big project and he's sinking to the bottom. It'll be a while before he finds any business ventures that will allow me to build Sieger."

Della rubbed her shoulder and tapped her foot on the ground, pondering what to say. "Perhaps the Queen will pay him a reward for rescuing the Princess?"

Kara laughed. "Zane's not doing this for a reward, hon. It's more of a matter of redemption. He wants to help people."

"Redemption?"

"Yeah. Before Zane started thinking about dressing up in fancy costumes and taking down bad guys, he was a designer of high-tech gadgets. He built drones that could increase the efficiency of our agriculture tenfold. In the sky, UAV's patrolled our borders and kept bandits away. Those robots you see cleaning up the streets. Yeah, those were made by him. By the time he graduated from Duelist Academy's grade-school levels, he was already a self-made billionaire; his fortune second to Seto Kaiba. Needless to say that Zane's status as a Pro Duelist helped a lot in that venture. As much as Zane loves his gadgets, he loves Duel Monsters so much more. Zane didn't waste his fortune on himself, though. He built schools, new Dueling Arenas that were affordable for anyone who wanted to play in them. And he added some new facilities to the Duelist Academy university level. Doesn't surprise me as he's going back there to learn Link Summoning and other stuff. Not to mention he's obsessed with Dueling Prince Yuri when he returns from exile. But something bad happened."

"Huh?"

"A year ago, some creep named Nesbit, one of the leaders of the Termnnian Bank, convinced Zane to start building weapons. And why not? War was on our doorstep. Prince Hector, Yuri's cousin, started marching on Emboldor to take the crown from him. And up north we have King Forrest and his 'Holy Crusade' ready to wreak their vengeance on us. Zane built drones and weapons to hold back our enemies. But evil has a way of getting its hand on what it wants. A fanatical terrorist franchise, known as Bright October, was able to highjack Zane's drones and even attack convoys carrying weapons he designed from schematics he acquired from the other dimension. Gold October used their new toys to assault the Elves of the Azure Mountain Realm. And they slaughtered them. None survived. Women. Children. Butchered like lambs."

Della gasped. "Oh no!"

Kara nodded and took a sip of her coffee. "I read in the paper that it hit Zane hard. He took responsibility for what happened to the Elves. If mere bandits could hack into his machines, he reckoned he wasn't so smart after all. Poor guy."

"Well, what does he expect to do with his Cyber Dragons?"

"Wipe away the cancer that plagues this city. And beyond," Kara answered. "Those dragons are like nothing I've ever seen before. And it's about to get so much better."

* * *

**Zane**

* * *

As usual, the docks of the Waterfront District was alive with activity. Zane watched as a force of a hundred men were loading cargo into trucks with the emblem of the PMC, Watch Tower, on the doors. What he saw next made him shiver.

"What the hell?" Zane muttered, zooming the camera towards the docks. "Guys, they've got Cuirasses."

"What?" Jaden asked. He was watching the activity on the pier from another building.

"Mechs," Aster answered from the shadows of an alleyway outside the docks. "Humanoid combat vehicles from Balodrum. Those babies caused lots of damage in the Crystal Wars up there. That was a civil conflict that nobody could win. These things are devastating."

"And they also aided the Covenant of Yeyu in wiping out the True Dragons in the Night of Flames in Tears," Zane answered. "Dragon slaying machines. It's because of these monstrosities that True Dragons no longer fly our skies. Not even the Blue-Eyes White Dragon could stand up to them. Hmm, judging by their sleek designs, these are Generation 10 models. That means they're going to have stealth capabilities."

Aster groaned. "I guess that's going to be hell for your targeting systems, huh?"

"We'll see what they can do," Zane answered with uncertainty in his voice.

"It should be an even fight," Nel-E explained. "Miss Kara took the liberty to equip your Cyber Dragons with a brand new stealth coating from Paradius. Your dragons will prove hard for them to hit as well."

Zane cringed. "Paradius. I can feel my bank account screaming."

Aster peered through a magical looking glass. "Hmm, that symbol on their shoulders. An ace of spades with two crossed swords behind a shield in the background. It's Albriet Squadron."

"Speaking of the Crystal Wars," Zane added. "Those guys were in the Battle of Silverwine River. They took down an army of hundreds with just five mechs."

"How in the hell did Watch Tower Security get their hands on Gen Tens?" Aster wondered.

"They can get their hands on anything if they put their minds to it," said Jaden. "So how are we gonna take these guys out?"

Zane radioed Kara. "Kara? It's Zane. Do you read me?"

"Lima Charlie," she singsonged. "Over."

Zane felt a tug on his stomach. He groaned, not in the mood for games. He silently muttered a prayer, hoping Kara was not doing what he thought she was. This was not the time or the place. He took a deep breath and asked her: "What's the status on Pharos?"

He heard a laugh crackling on his earpiece. "I didn't quite get that. Over."

Zane felt his blood boiling. He knew it. He just knew she was up to it again. Joking while he was on the field. "Are we really going to do this again? I don't have time for your games."

"Uh, time for what? Over," Kara joshed him.

"Kara?"

'What? Over."

He rolled his eyes. "Would you...Grrrr! Kara, does anything matter to you?"

"Does what matter to me? Over."

"Does the mission matter to you...O-ver."

"Ah, got that. Yes, it does. Over."

"Then can you PLEASE take this a little more seriously! If Pharos is ready to deploy...Over."

"Uh...gimme a sec. Over."

The radio crackled.

Zane groaned furiously. His helmet dematerialized so he could rub his temples.

"Where does she get these corny jokes?"Aster asked.

"Earth," Zane responded. "She's obsessed with their media."

Kara returned to the conversation. "It's going to be a while, Zane. I mean, Pharos is combat-ready, but in order for me to make the final adjustments on it. And with the delivery, I'm going to need another forty-five minutes."

"That's a hell of a long time," said Aster. "What exactly can this Pharos of yours do?"

"You're about to find out," said Zane.

Kara spoke. "I hope this will suit your needs for the next couple of weeks, Zane. I won't be able to come into the lab for a while."

"Why's that?"

Kara groaned. "Dude. I've got midterms. I need to study."

"Ah. I see," said Zane. "Yeah, you better get on that, then."

"Sure," Kara replied happily. "I'm heading out tomorrow morning. I don't want to miss Pharos in action. If my calculations are correct - and they are! - this should be most impressive. Boys, do your stuff. Nel-E, tell 'em what you've learned."

"The target is a Dwarf named Barrus Ironhorde, founder of Watch Tower Security and Logistics. They are under much scrutiny from the King for their ruthlessness and for numerous investigations of corruption. Watch Tower controls the Ka'l Kamoora District in the slums of the King's District. They run protection rackets on the citizens for security from the Royal Guard, desecrate Elven ruins for rare and magical artifacts, and aid slave traders to smuggle their cargo across the country to other regions, especially Naralia."

"You don't know how long I've been waiting for this," Aster said, sneaking through the shadows of the pier. "Watch Tower was supposed to keep an eye on my father. But they walked out of him when someone gave him a better offer, giving his killer the moment to strike. He stared at his palm, already conjuring an arcane orb set to summon one of his Destiny HEROES."

"You sure your HEROES can handle this enemy?" Zane asked. "They've got mechs designed for killing dragons and wiping out armies."

Aster scoffed. "I traveled the world for years learning how to conjure only the best HEROES, Zane. I'm sure Jaden can say the same."

"Yup. I've got all kinds of HEROES ready to save the day."

Zane nodded. "Hold on. There's a limo pulling up by the pier. An armored truck limo of all things."

Aster rolled his eyes. "For the love of goodness," he groaned. "That just reeks 'Hey, I'm the bad guy!'. Don't these idiots know anything about discretion?"

Jaden chuckled. "This coming from a guy who can summon a giant hulk in purple shorts into battle?"

"Lock it down, both of you!" said Zane. He waited until the limo stopped in front of a warehouse. He felt his body freeze when Barrus Ironhorde walked out of it, surrounded by two mercenaries in thick, bulky, black bomb disposal armor. They had thick armored flaps over their shoulders, going down to their feet and they fielded miniguns. Zane held his breath as the Dwarf stroked his thick, bushy, red beard, waiting for the limo's owner to come out. The door opened. Aldric stepped out, followed by two girls. One of them was...

"ALEXIS!" cried Jaden. "Zane I see Alexis!"

"Yeah, so do I," Zane said, trying to quiet him down.

His visor zoomed in. There was no mistaking her. The golden hair, the glistening hazel eyes. It was her. He found her. But why would they bring her back to the surface? Zane guessed that Aldric was using her to make him look good. A mere accessory. It made Zane sick to his stomach seeing her beauty bastardized in such a way. He balled his fists, his knuckles cracking. If these cowards didn't have guns on them or cast magic, she would have beaten them senseless. He had seen her break the jaw of a poor fool who had the audacity to stalk her in school. Not to mention she was deadly with a sword, on the count that she trained with the Ebony Knights in Elleria with her friend, Princess Evelyn. Sadly, Alexis was no mage herself. If she was, the story would be quite different. Mayhaps he would have read in the papers about how Alexis would be saving him from them. Crow sure pulled him out of trouble with mere firebolts. Zane sighed, picturing Alexis blowing them up with magic. If only. If only.

Aldric and Barrus were just talking. Then they laughed and shook hands. Aldric walked to Alexis and dragged her forward so the Dwarf could see her. Aldric slid his finger down her chin then smacked her derriere.

Too much!

Zane snapped and took off. His two Cyber Dragons screeched from the clouds and thundered after them as fast as two jets. He activated his wrist-mounted laser cannons and started bombarding them with an aerial assault. He destroyed a few vehicles, a load of crates, and a jeep that sent two Watch Tower mercs flying in all directions.

"ZANE!" he heard Alexis cry out.

Barrus was already making for the warehouse. "Albreit Squadron! Where are those fools? Deploy! We're under attack! It's him."

Zane ignored him. He went straight for Aldrich. He was ready to punch him and beat him. Alexis grabbed a dagger from one of the dead mercs and jabbed it into his back. Aldric howled in agony as Alexis repeatedly jabbed him over and over again. He turned and swatted her away with so much force that she smashed into a crate and shattered it. Zane then plowed into him and smashed the Aeon King against the wall. He jabbed Aldric on the kidneys and his ribs. He was ready to smash his face in. He struck, expecting to see a cloud of red mist. Instead, Aldric was smiling at him. It took Zane a while to realize that Aldric had his fist on his grip. Then, a horrible pain went up Zane's arm. Aldric was crushing his gauntlet with his bare hand.

"Fool," he sneered and punched Zane halfway across the pier.

"This is not good," said Aster. "Come on, Jaden."

"I'm right behind ya! Appear, Elemental HERO Gaia!" He smashed his fist on the ground and summoned his HERO. Gaia raised his cannon, pointing it at the sky, and fired a salvo of missiles on the convoy of Watch Tower vehicles. He noticed a girl in flaming pink hair pulling Alexis away towards the park. "Stay here," he commanded Gaia. He then jumped from the building and summoned another HERO. "Soar on in, Elemental HERO Flame Wingman!"

The one-winged hero appeared. He dove from a portal that appeared over the building and picked up Jaden. Jaden swung himself on Flame Wingman's back and commanded him to attack the mercs below with a rain of flames coming out of the dragon head on his right arm. He noticed the Albreit mechs taking off, ready to engage them in battle.

"Uh oh," said Jaden. "Aster, we need you, man. Flame Wingman, drop me off here. I'm going to help my friend." The HERO landed next to a parking lot. Jaden jumped off Flame Wingman's back and drew his iridescent sword.

"Look!" shouted Aldric, he could see the light of the blade from where he was. "That...that sword! It truly exists. The Sword of HEROES. It's beautiful! I want that sword! Get me that sword!"

"Aw, crap!" Jaden grumped, running off into the woods. Aldric's Aeons chose to go after him and left the pier and Zane to the Watch Tower mercenaries.

"Get me that sword!" shouted Aldric. He cracked his knuckles. "I'll take care of the Cyber Knight."

Zane was still trying to pick himself up. His visor showed him nothing but static and distorted graphs. Nel-E started giving him the damage report. When Zane learned that he had been hit with the force of ten tons of dynamite, he shivered. That was just one punch. The stone. It was giving him super strength. Aster was right. Aldric was walking towards him confidently, not caring that there were mechs and giant HEROES engaged with one another all around him. He grabbed Zane by the throat and lifted him up.

"So, you're the big hero everybody's talking about, huh?"

He tossed Zane like a toy towards a brick building. Zane smashed into it, breaking through the wall and causing it to collapse. Aldric held up his fists and laughed like a maniac. He felt a thud behind him, then slowly turned. Elemental HERO Flame Wingman stood behind him. The HERO raised his right arm and unleashed a jet of flames as hot as the surface of the sun. To this dismay, Aldric stood as though it was a mere gust of warm air. He sprinted towards Flame Wingman and smashed him in the chest with his fist. The HERO grunted and soared across the street, smashing into a crane and knocking it down.

The two Cyber Dragons swatted away two mechs and soared towards Aldric, assaulting him with their Strident Blast attacks. They did nothing to him.

Aster could not believe what he saw. "This can't be happening!" he cried. He summoned Destiny HERO Dystopia and told him to attack Aldric. Dystopia flew towards Aldric. Aldric raised his arms and held them over his fist. Dystopia flew smashed into him. Aldric dug his feet on the concrete and soared through it as though it was dirt. Then he grabbed Dystopia by the neck and threw him back at Aster. He tried to run, but the HERO soared towards him at great speed and knocked into him. Aster and Dystopia rolled to a stop. Meanwhile, mechs from Albreit Squadron flew towards Gaia. They took him down in less than a minute.

* * *

**Della**

* * *

"Can't you do something to get that thing ready quicker?" Della urged Kara. "They're getting killed out there."

"I'm working on it!" shouted Kara, fumbling on the keyboard. "I just... I never expected the Heart of Helios to be this powerful. Aldric has turned into a god."

Della gasped. "Don't say that! Remember, he only has half of the stone. We can still turn this around? Send me over there with your Pharos."

"That's out of the question, Della! Besides, it's not ready yet."

"I'm the only one who can help them, Kara. Please. Please, let me do this everybody, please."

"Just what do you intend to do?"

"Your machine still needs a boost in power. Perhaps my half of the stone could..."

"NO!" Kara knew at once what she was suggesting. "It's too dangerous. We don't know what your stone could do to Pharos. It's still unstable and with a boost like that, you can kiss the royal family and half of Domino goodbye."

Della got on her knees and prayed. "Ana. Please. I know I'm not ready yet. But I need you to trust me..."

"That's all we can do," said Kara. "I'm sorry."

_Ana. Elenari un ammar. Vo yex vonno mas vuus venidicion. Vo liat detrimarus._

Kara froze. She turned to look at Della. "That's...that's Celtran. No one has spoken that language in years."

Della's hair started glowing like the sun. Her eyes turned a shade of amber with runes growing in the iris. She slowly turned and said: _Kara. Awenneth yistar vionath._

Kara fell out of her seat and crawled towards the wall. "What the hell are you?"

Della walked out of Kara's room then touched the main computer of Zane's lab. Suddenly, all of her screens turned royal red with gold font. The lab started to shake, alarms wailed. Suddenly, Pharos' power levels reached the top of the charts and continued to climb.

Kara ran for her computer and typed the commands to launch Pharos. Far away at sea, a strange contraption broke the surface. It was colored bright white with glowing circuit board patterns. From the center of the platform arose a pointed tower.

"NOW ZANE!" shouted Kara. "ZANE ANSWER ME! ACTIVATE IT! USE PHAROS!"

* * *

**Zane**

* * *

Zane struggled to pull himself out of the rubble. His armor was ruined, but he could still hear Kara shouting at him to use the machine. Aldric was coming towards him, ready to finish the job. Behind him, the mechs from Albriet Squadron followed. His Aeons marched to follow their leader like mindless zombies. Zane choked from the dust. He noticed some of them carried sledgehammers and jackhammers, blowtorches and saws. This was it. Aldric was no doubt going to command his Aeons to tear Zane apart. He noticed a light from the corner of his eye and looked towards the distance. He saw a bright green glow radiating from out at sea.

"Pharos," he coughed. Then he smiled. "Now, it's time." Thankfully, the wrist-mounted computer on his gauntlet still worked. "Cyber Fusion!" he shouted.

Aldric stopped. Zane's Cyber Dragons loomed over Aldric. He laughed and held out his arms to taunt them. "You want to do this again, boys? Come at me! With the Stone of Helios! I am invincible!"

Suddenly a ray of green light hit the two Cyber Dragons. They screeched and then swirled together as if they were made out of liquid. A cloud of steam enveloped the pier and sparks of electricity snapped in the air. The light from the sparks revealed the silhouette a looming figure. It was Cyber Dragon but...it had two heads. Spikes went down its necks and back. The left head had a yellow orb on its head and burning yellow eyes. The second head had a protective dome with blue markings. Its eyes were dark green.

"Aldrich!" shouted Zane. "Allow me to introduce, Cyber Twin Dragon!"

The creature roared. The Aeons ran away, thinking it was best to let Aldric and his stone take care of it. After all, this thing had the power of two Cyber Dragons in one and it was much bigger.

"COME ON!" Aldrich shouted. "I can take you!"

The two dragons took that challenge and fired yellow lasers at him. Like before, he crossed his arms over his face to act as a shield against the blast. BOOM! He felt himself getting pushed back. It meant the dragon was strong, but if he was holding on to the blast, he was safe. Or so he thought. He felt a stinging pain and screamed. The blast subsided. Cyber Twin Dragon roared victoriously. Why? Aldric wondered. He looked at his arms.

They weren't there.

They were gone.

He screamed in horror, wailing as though he was a child who lost his favorite toy. He turned to look at Zane and fainted. Suddenly Zane heard music coming from Cyber Twin Dragon. A song he heard many times when he worked with Kara in the lab. It was a song from Earth, the world beyond the Gate.

_\_

It was a good tune, Zane thought. And he was not at all surprised that Kara chose it to play as his new Cyber Dragon fusion slaughtered their enemies. Cyber Twin Dragon fired its laser attack at a group of Watch Tower mercenaries. They screamed as they flew into the air, scattering in all directions. Cyber Twin Dragon then used his tail to whip at a cluster of Aeons into the horizon. Once again, Cyber Twin Dragon roared victoriously. Flames began to tower up into the air. Two black SUVs raced towards him. The tops opened to let gunners with miniguns rise up to take a shot at the beast. The bullets smashed against the dragon's armor, doing no damage to the beast. Cyber Twin Dragon snarled and unleased its double Strident Blast attack. The so-called legendary Albriet Squadron and their mechs were taken down in two minutes flat. Zane's beast was unstoppable. Pharos, with its combination of advanced technology and magic called Polymancy (The art of fusion), was a complete success. Cyber Twin Dragon was super smart. Super strong. And alive. It seemed more biological than mechanical the more Zane looked at it. It's reaction time was quick and it almost responded to enemy attacks with a cringe. From pain or disgust, Zane did not know, nor did he care. The Aeons and the Watch Tower mercenaries were being annihilated.

"Zane!" Alexis shouted, running through the chaos. Jaden was behind her, Elemental HERO Flame Wingman was soaring above them, bathing more enemies in flames while Cyber Twin Dragon was blasting away mechs. They were nothing to it. And he was keeping Alexis safe as she made her dash for Zane.

After many days, Zane could finally hug his friend. When he held her, he didn't let go. He didn't want to let go. It took him some time to grasp at the fact that this was real. He could control his emotions no more. He clamped his teeth shut to keep from sobbing. But he could not contain his tears. They dripped from his eyes, splashing on her forehead.

She tried to comfort him. "I'm all right. It's okay."

Zane collapsed to his knees, bringing Alexis down with him. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'm so sorry!" He looked around. "Where's the girl that tortured you!?"

"You mean me?" Fahrenheit said approaching them.

"You!" shouted Zane. His photon blade morphed from his gauntlet and hummed violently. "I'll have her head."

"Don't!" Alexis said at once. "She didn't want to do those things to me. She didn't really have that much of a choice. She's the reason why I'm here. She helped me escape."

Zane looked at the pink-haired girl, who was uncaringly scratching her nose. "That's the way of it," she said. "I want my revenge against the Church. But Aldric's mind twisted to madness the moment he learned about the gem. I don't want to risk the open war and putting a madman on the throne to take down an organization. I was willing to go far, but I have my limit. Lex, no hard feelings, right?"

Alexis narrowed her eyes. "No. As far as I'm concerned, you enjoyed what you did to me, even if you were conflicted deep inside. Idrialla would not have approved of this. If you really want to keep her memory alive and avenge her spirit, you're going to have to find something else to do with your life. This is only going to get you killed. Look around you." She held her arm up at Zane's Cyber Dragon and the Elemental and Destiny HEROES standing around the group. "You'll be making enemies with the wrong people. They stopped Aldric's plan to be king. They sure as hell can stop you. I appreciate you helping me escape, but if I catch you with these scumbags again, I'm locking you in the dungeon for life. And if there's to be an appointment with the headsman, I'll gladly sign the document. Got it?"

Fahrenheit smiled. "You're a tough little bird when out of your cage, Princess. I have a feeling you can be someone even stronger. Am I free to go?"

Zane and Aster were about to protest, but Alexis held up her hand to silence them. "By order of the Princess of Lorin, I pardon you of your crimes, Fahrenheit. Go. Make something better of yourself."

"Do you have any idea of the atrocities this girl has committed?" Zane growled.

Alexis sighed. "She killed priests and members of the Church Militant. As far as I'm concerned, they're animals who needed to be put down. But those days are over, right?"

"No, promises, ya little cutie. So long as the Covenant of Yeyu is still active, I'll be hot on their trail."

Alexis narrowed her eyes. "Then I give you twenty-four hours to get as far away from me as possible."

Just then, Zane remembered something. The Heart of Helios. Aldric was still wearing it. Zane turned to look, but he was gone. He then spotted him running for a van. His arms were growing back. He gave Zane the middle finger and then flew away. The stone gave him the power to fly.

"NO!" Zane shouted. He tried to take off but his suit was too damaged.

Fahrenheit made a blowing noise through her lip. "Oooo, tough luck there, hero. Looks like this isn't the last you've seen of Aldric."

"Cyber Twin Dragon! Go...!"

"Let him go," Aster said weakly as he hobbled towards him. "Did you see the way he took off? He's long gone by now and out of your dragon's range."

"But he still has the gem," said Zane. "We have to stop him! He won't give up on getting the crown."

"He has part of the gem, remember?" said Aster. "He has a few good moves, but your Cyber Twin Dragon just proved he can be beaten. Unless he takes Della's half, Cyber Dragon is tougher than he is. The next time he decides to start a coup, we'll be ready for him. What matters now is that Alexis is safe. And I got this chump over here."

Destiny HERO Dystopia was dragging Barrus, who was tied up in chains. "I'm going to end him once and for all. As for you, Alexis, try to be a little more careful next time, huh."

Alexis laughed. "Hey, don't worry about me. Where are you going Aster?"

"Well, there's still a big city full of criminals," he answered with a cocky shrug. "And they're all asking for a date with Destiny." He looked down at the Dwarf. "But this guy is gonna wish he was never born." He snapped his fingers, commanding Dystopia to follow him. The Dwarf mumbled and cried for help as he was dragged away.

Alexis cringed, watching them as they turned a corner. "Eesh," she said before looking at Jaden. "Glad to see you again, Jaden. I see your training in Rassay proved very effective." She marveled at his Flame Wingman, standing there in the flesh. "Using your newfound powers for vigilante work, huh?"

"You can say something like that," he replied, sliding his finger back and forth under his nose. "I mean, it wasn't my idea, but after seeing Zane and Aster in action, I've got to say it's cool to see my HEROES kicking butt outside of a Duel. I think I'll join in on the fun, too."

Alexis couldn't help but chuckle. "Man. Cyber Dragons. HEROES. And that Revendread guy I read in the papers. Aldric and the bad guys of Domino better watch out now that you guys are in town."

Zane formed a big grin. "I like the sound of that. Beats sitting in the office all day signing documents. And Prince Yuri is coming home soon. We need to get this city cleaned up for his arrival."

"Sweet!" Jaden said with a big leap in the air. "Count me in, Zane! What about you, Alexis?"

She shook her head. "I don't want to be the damsel in distress forever," said said. "But I'm not ready yet. Having skill with a blade won't do me good against criminals with Earth-based weapons and magic like the Aeons. I'm going to fix this problem soon and take my mom's advice."

"So you're finally going to study magic and take it seriously?" Zane asked, ruffling her hair.

"Hey!" she said, swatting his hand away. "Of course, I am. I'm going to be stronger than both of you, mark my words. Who knows. Maybe someday, I'll be the one saving you, Zane."

Jaden laughed out loud, rubbing the back of his head. "Man. Zane, I'll never let you live that one day, I'll tell ya."

Zane sighed and punched Jaden in the arm to shut him up. "Kara," he said. "Contact King Eldon. Tell him to let Queen Rhodes know we have her daughter."

She squealed on the radio. "Good job! I'll let him know right away."

Zane gave Alexis another long and affectionate hug. "All right, Alexis. Let's get you home."


	102. The Cyber Knight: Part 11

**Two Months Later**

* * *

"How were your final exams?" Zane asked, stopping his car in the parking lot of the Domino City central station. The snow was falling down from the clouds, blanketing the city with thick sheets of white. Bright yellow light strings were wrapped around every tree for miles.

"I passed them all," Kara cheered. "Now all I've gotta do is buy my cap and gown."

"Congratulations," Zane said, sipping on a salted caramel hot chocolate. "So can I look forward to you helping out in the lab? Or do you have other ventures?"

"Other ventures? After the way you kicked ass last time? No way. You pay me better than my old man for these projects and I'm having way too much fun with this new design you gave me. Wanna see the progress?"

"Put it up," Zane said. His dashboard showed him the projection of his newest creation. One he hoped would be up and running soon. Aldric was still on the run, and he has the Heart of Helios. With this, Aldric would have no choice but to stay in the shadows. He nodded, seeing the model spin in front of him.

"He's perfect," Zane said. He sipped his caramel again.

Kara shivered. "He's awesome but, uh, don't you think three heads are a little too much, Zane? That thing is really scary. And wicked powerful. His power levels rival that of the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon."

"Not good enough," said Zane. "Give him a little more oomph." His watch beeped. "I better go. It's almost time for Alexis to leave."

"All right, Frankenstein. Any word from Jaden and Della?"

"They're still looking for Aldric," said Zane. "You really think Della is a..."

"Don't worry about what I think. I believe I have a lot more research to do before I can confirm my suspicions. The moment I saw that girl, I knew she wasn't normal, Zane. You be careful."

"Mmm," said Zane. "I'll see you when you get back from break."

"Of course. See you then. Over."

"Fuck off," he chuckled, hanging the line. He got out of the car and hurried into the station to find Alexis, who was waiting for him so she could say goodbye.

"So you're heading north?" Zane asked.

"To Elleria," Alexis replied. "I'm going to stay with Princess Evelyn and attend a magical prep school called Madame Chocolarde's School for Gifted Girls."

"Gifted?" Zane asked. "As in magic? But you don't know..."

Alexis snapped her fingers and created flames. She smiled.

"Oh. When?"

"I learned the basics after school let out. I wanted to surprise you. But...Aldric got to me."

Zane wrinkled his nose as Alexis snapped the flames away. "Such a shame you didn't learn about it sooner," he said. "That would have helped you out the night Aldric's boys kidnapped you."

Alexis shrugged. "That's all in the past, Zane. I'm going to be haunted by this experience, but I sure as hell am not going to be weakened by it. Besides, it's a good prep school to go to before Duelist Academy. I'll definitely learn a thing or two about magic there. Dual majoring in Duel Monsters and the Arcane Arts ought to be fun. And with High King Yuri joining us, I think that's going to be a real treat."

Zane chuckled. "Good luck to you Alexis. See you in a year."

"Yeah. I'll write to you whenever I get the chance. Oh, mom wanted you to have this."

She reached into the pocket of her coat, then handed him a ring with the escutcheon of the Queen engraved on an aquamarine on the top. She put it on for him and smiled when it was a perfect fit.

"Yup. My mom has officially declared you Thane of Maplecourt, it's a very luxurious estate in our lands. Feel free to move in any time you want."

"Huh. I don't know what to say, Lex. But...thanks."

"Of course, I told her you're going to have your hands full here." She winked. "She knows your secret. She swears on her honor as a White Rose that she won't tell anyone."

"I'll keep the city secure until Yuri comes home," said Zane.

"Yeah, well, don't think you guys are going to have all the fun. Once I develop my skills, I'll be out there helping you out. That's a promise. Oh, I heard rumors of a girl who can summon True Dragons out west. If she ever makes it here, you need to ask her for aid. Goddesses know you're going to need that kind of power on your side."

"Until she gets here, I've got things covered," Zane said happily.

The last call for the train was announced. Zane watched as his friend joined the long line of people boarding to get on. She found a window seat and waved at him. Zane waved back and watched her disappear into the horizon.

* * *

**Aldric**

* * *

He smashed his fist on the table. His underground manor, once full of loyal Aeons, was now empty, with only his top officers surviving the assault. After his defeat, no one wanted to side with him. He got cocky and paid for it dearly. Even with the Heart of Helios in his control, he failed.

"WE WERE SO CLOSE!" he shouted, throwing the table out the window, smashing it to pieces. "This stone! I thought I was supposed to be invincible! What happened? Why doesn't it work!"

"Maybe because you don't have the full stone, fool!"

Aldric turned to look at the intruder. Someone was stepping out of the shadows. A figure, clad in a black hooded coat with plates of armor on the chest and shoulders walked into the light coming from the lamps outside. He removed the hood and revealed himself to be a man with long, whitish-pink hair and eyes as brown as decay.

"You," Aldric said, backing away. He tripped on a chair and fell, landing hard on his butt. "B-Bakura!"

"So right," Bakura answered, taking a seat on one of the chairs. "Let's talk about your future."

* * *

 


	103. The Gray Prince

**The Loremaster**

* * *

"Look out!" The Loremaster shouted.

Collette turned around just in time to see the Pale Beast jump out of the shadows and attack her. Even though her sword was huge, she swung it as though it was a tiny rapier. She sliced the creature's head off and finally, the ruins were clear of monsters. Unfortunately for Collette, there was no chest of gold coins or a legendary weapon. But for the Loremaster, it was paradise. Scrolls, scrolls, and more scrolls followed by a big, giant, tome at the center of an old and musty table.

"Well, at least one of us is happy," Collette said, snooping around the old chamber for anything of value.

"I told you that history and stories are my treasure," said the Loremaster. "Broadening our scope of the past will do more good for the world than a giant trunk of gold coins. This one, in particular, is just what I've been searching for."

Collette looked over his shoulder to see the book. She shrugged. "I guess we'll never know what's in it," she said. "It's locked."

"It's really no big deal," The Loremaster said. He opened one of the belts around his waist and took out an iron key with a big blue D at the end. He unlocked the book with the key and flipped through pages detailing Heroes from another world. "Ah, yes. Yes, this is excellent. It explains everything."

"Everything about what? What are all those warriors?"

"HERO monsters," said The Loremaster. "They come from a dimension that is one giant city that spans for eternity. It is divided into two halves. Dark City and Skyscraper. Skyscraper is home to the Elemental HERO monsters. They share that world with the Masked HERO monsters. And Dark City is where the Destiny HERO monsters dwell with the Vision HERO monsters. They torture the souls of evildoers who are unfortunate enough to get trapped in their world; forced to play an endless game of heroes vs villains for all eternity, doomed to lose the fight no matter what they do. Sometimes, a select few can harness their powers and summon them into battle, just like Jaden did with Zane. And Aster too. In fact, this book will help fill me in on some juicy info about his powers. I just wish I could sit down and interview him. But he's out there in the dark streets of Domino City hunting bad guys and looking for clues as to the whereabouts of his father's murderer."

Collette clasped her hands together and bent her knees. "Do you think we'll meet him? I sure hope we do. I'm a big, big fan of his."

The Loremaster chuckled. "I'm sure we'll cross paths someday. But for now, I owe you a story."

"Yes, you do! Tell me about Aster Phoenix. Tell me, tell me, tell me!"

"Easy there," The Loremaster said, sitting down on the old armchair behind the desk. "Calm down before you hurt yourself." He took out the Book of Heroes. "Hmm." He flipped through the pages. "Ah, here it is. Aster Phoenix. Commonly known as the Gray Prince by the bounty hunters going after him..."

* * *

**Part 1**

* * *

**December 10th**

**Year 17 4AOS**

Rain fell relentlessly from the sky that evening as a silver-haired boy waited patiently for his meal.

He was shielded by a red patio umbrella, spread wide enough that he was kept dry and comfortable. The sweet smell of hot meat seasoned with herbs and the restaurant's secret sauce perfumed the air and wet his mouth. His belly rumbled as he drummed his fingers along the edge of the table. The innkeeper's daughter, a pretty young lady, watched him from the window with interest. He was a very handsome young man and his clothing made him even more appealing in her eyes. He was kept warm from the rain thanks to a black hooded jacket made of wyrm hide. His jeans had stylized rips and zippers along the thighs for display. His silver hair was tucked underneath a black beanie with a red D on the front. The girl repeatedly asked if the silver-haired boy wanted to eat inside where it was warmer, but he refused politely.

"Well, are you going to talk to him?" the girl's father asked from the kitchen window, holding the boy's order of ribs.

His daughter snapped out of her dilly-dally and blinked rapidly. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Come on, honey. I've seen you eying him since he got here. I'm happy for you. It's about time you started thinking about a nice boy to settle with. You've been working too hard both here and at school. You're young. Go out and have some fun. I mean look at the guy. He doesn't look like he's in a relationship right now."

"He doesn't look like he wants to be in one," the girl said, picking up the plate. "I've tried talking to him, but he just wants to be left alone."

"Keep trying, honey."

The girl picked up the plate and walked outside into the patio where the boy wanted to sit. It was lit by paper lamps and iron lamp posts mounted on the corners of the ivy-covered brick wall that surrounded the patio. Trees that lined the sidewalk on the other side of the wall were decorated with white string lights to celebrate the coming of Holiday music from the other dimension played softly from the speakers hung on the walls of the restaurant, also festooned with ivy. She had the boy's meal safeguarded by a spell that kept it dry and trapped the warmth.

"Thanks," said the silver-haired boy.

"You wouldn't by any chance be Aster Phoenix, would you?" the girl asked.

"Yeah."

"I'm a big fan."

"Thanks."

"My name's Adina."

"I read your tag. I know." Aster picked up a white condiment dispenser and squeezed it. Globs of the restaurant's famous sauce dripped all over the ribs on his plate.

The girl grew nervous, for it looked like he was getting agitated. "You sure you won't come inside? The weather is getting awfully bad."

"I told you before, I want to eat out here. Stop asking me or I'll hold out on your tip."

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Aster said, picking up a rib and biting into it. "I'm expecting company. If you don't mind, I'd like to meet with them in peace."

Adina bowed. "Sorry for troubling you. I just wanted to...you know...go out."

Aster chuckled, tossing the cleaned bone onto the plate. "Find someone else. Don't get me wrong; you're cute, but I'm not the one for you. I'm not right for anybody to be honest."

"I understand," said Adina. "I'm sorry. You just look like you need a friend. Want my number? Maybe we could talk sometime."

Aster picked up his drink. "No. You need to stay as far away from me as possible."

Adina said nothing more and turned to go back inside to leave Aster to his meal. When she was gone, Aster dug back into his ribs, biting into them savagely, moaning at the sweet flavor. "These are good," he murmured to himself, completely oblivious that he was being watched from far away. A sniper, draped in a long, black, poncho watched Aster from atop a gargoyle. He watched the boy from his multivision scope, using the thermal option to keep a close eye on him. There was no one around. He was all alone. Seeing that, he signaled his fellow operatives to move in.

_-Cobalt One to all units, that's our guy_

_-Roger Cobalt One. Saffron Moving in._

_-Maroon moving to position. He's not getting away._

Soldiers wearing all black gear and black berets lowered their night vision monoculars and raised their weapons, forming a perimeter around the restaurant. Another team swarmed the rooftops like ants to provide overwatch. They knew what their target was capable of and they weren't taking any chances. Cobalt One still watched Aster, zooming in on him with his goggles. His sniper was meant for anti-tank purposes. One shot from that monster-of-a-rifle and he would blow Aster's upper body clean off. He did not care.

45,000,000 Star Chips. Dead or alive.

Whether the kid came in peace or in pieces, he and his comrades would be set for life.

Aster, meanwhile, ripped the sweet meat of a rib as he hummed to a jolly Christmas song on the radio. He did not like the idea of having a holiday from another world -especially a world as corrupted as Earth- become so mainstream, but he found himself rather enjoying this time of year. Those who celebrated it were peaceful and viewed it as a time to waste their money on commercial goods, whose prices were ripped in half for the holiday.

The assault team on the ground moved forward, coming closer and closer to Aster, still oblivious to their presence. He was lost in his meal and the lovely colors of the holiday lights that glimmered on the trees lining the sidewalks of the city. The music warmed his soul. He was in nirvana at the moment, and the soldiers were going to take advantage of that.

They gathered around the wall and stood still. The door to the patio opened. A man in a black trench coat and fedora walked out of the restaurant. He strolled towards Aster's table and took a seat. Aster noticed an escutcheon pinned on his collar. A shield with crossed swords on the back and two dragons standing on either side of the shield, with two stars shining over their heads. The name **DracoNET Security and Logistics LTD** was written in blazing white letters underneath the shield.

The man reached for one of Aster's ribs and ate one. "I love this place," he said, finishing it with two big bites. "You come here often?"

"Yeah," Aster replied.

"These are good. But you can't beat Sweetwater's BBQ downtown. Ever been there before?"

"Sometimes. But their meat is too pricey. The taste doesn't make it worth it if you ask me. But their Red Mountain Burger is the main reason why I head over there."

"Ah-ha!" said the man. He reached for Aster's drink and took a sip to wash down the ribs. "Mmm. Now that is a tasty burger. You've got good taste, kid. Very good taste. That meat just melts in your mouth. That, plus the secret sauce and the artic lettuce." He brought his thumb and index finger to his lips and kissed them. "Perfection. I tell you, Old Lady Sweetwater is too good for this side of town. A lady with prodigious talents such as hers belongs in the King's District or something."

"She doesn't mind," Aster said with a shrug. "She's not much for glitz and glamour. She prefers cooking meals for the kids at Rosenkruz Academy. Travels there from her bistro all the way to their district in her food cart just to see them smile."

"Kind old lady. I hear she has cancer."

"Cancer, here, is as curable as the common cold," said Aster. "It's old age that's making her sick. If you're that worried about it, that leaves me to believe you're from the other world."

"No denial here," said the man.

"Who cares? I get the feeling you didn't come all the way out here to talk about Old Lady Sweetwater's ribs."

The man grinned. "You are sharper than they led you on to be. No. But there's someone who wishes to see you and needs you to come with us. They wish to examine you for your...unique abilities."

"They just want my friends," said Aster. "Well, I ain't talkin'. You're just here to sweet talk me into coming quietly with you."

"It's for your own good, kiddo. Someone put a bounty on your head that has every lowlife in this city looking for you. Not even your pal, The Cyber Knight, is going to get you out of this mess." He chuckled, stealing another one of Aster's ribs. "Actually, they want to discuss that matter with you, too."

He tossed the clean bone back on the plate.

"It's hard to keep a secret in this town," said Aster.

"Indeed it is," chuckled the man. "We saw you and some other kids with monsters duking it out with mechs in the harbor months ago. There are eyes and ears all over this place, kid. Do you know how many security and logistics firms work around the clock here? Some of them are deep, dark, private. Seto Kaiba has his own drones and whatnot all over this place keeping close tabs on his interests and his properties. He had to ever since Emerald Fire won the election last week. With those Covenant of Yeyu nutcases walking around the city, everyone is on edge. All this chaos means more demand for folks like me. The Gold Rush is what we in the private security sectors have begun to call it."

He reached for a rib, but Aster spat at it, stopping him from going any further. The man sat back and adjusted his coat. "But I digress..."

"That's an understatement."

"Too right. So I'm going to lay it on you as clearly as I can. We've got squads of our best soldiers with their sights on you right now. Do yourself a favor and come without a fight. My daughter is a big fan of yours, so do it for her sake. And I'm sure she'll hate me for life if she found out it was me who killed you and had you turned into the lab to be butchered like a frog in science class. Look, my client doesn't care for the bounty. But my men. They're just itching to take you out right here, right now. And our orders were dead or alive."

Aster narrowed his eyes.

The man chuckled. "That's right. Alive or dead, our client gets what he wants, there's something inside of you that makes him...tick. There's no escaping, Aster Phoenix. Even if by some miracle you were to get away from us tonight, there's nowhere to run. Every scumbag is on the lookout for you, on the count of the bounty. And our best soldiers will search for you from now until doomsday. If you take a piss, we'll know about it. If you sneeze, we'll hear it. If you kiss your lover, we'll know about it. But unlike those savages out there looking to cash in on the bounty, we'll take care of you."

"I have no interest in being a lab rat," said Aster. "If you want what I hold, you'll have to pry it from my cold, dead, fingers."

"Well, you just made a little girl unhappy." The man got up and exited the patio.

Once the door shut, the soldiers under his command jumped over the walls and aimed their rifles at Aster. Their lasers dotted his body. He sighed, putting a handkerchief over his plate of ribs. "Can't even finish a meal in peace," he said.

"Hands up, Phoenix!" said one of the soldiers.

"Piss off," said Aster.

"Your funeral, kid. Take him out."

Aster looked up at them. His eyes started glowing bright purple. A cloud of violet mist formed behind him. From the cloud, a warrior emerged. Destiny HERO Dystopia was its name. He stood eight feet tall, wearing a black bodysuit with three lines glowing bright blue on his arms and legs. Over the suit, he sported plates of armor colored gold and blue, trimmed with white. A red D was blazing on his forehead. The warrior raised his fists and slammed his fists on the chests of two soldiers, knocking them into the air. They screamed as they flipped through the night and slammed into the side of a building, the impact smashing their bodies, killing them instantly.

The sniper seized his moment to shoot. He fired, the big round sliced through the rain. But just before it could hit Aster, a monster took form behind him. It shielded him with its cape, blocking the bullet. Destiny HERO Dangerous snarled, shielding his master from the mercenaries. He saw his chance and then sprung into action. First, he eliminated the sniper on the gargoyle. Dangerous sliced the rifle to pieces with his claws, grabbed the sniper by the poncho, and tossed him to his death hundreds of feet below. In a streak of purple, he returned to the patio and assisted Dystopia in dealing with the others as Aster finished his meal in peace.

His foes were smashed, ripped to pieces, and tossed into the night like ragdolls. An APC arrived carrying backup soldiers with heavy weapons. Aster wiped his mouth of sauce and stood up. He summoned back Dystopia and Dangerous to conjure another monster. The belltowers rang midnight. Now was the time for one of his strongest beasts to emerge and finish his foes.

"What the hell is that!" shouted the driver of the APC. He spotted something large hanging from the top of a nearby skyscraper. It was a giant, wearing a metal mask and torn purple shorts. His wrists and ankles bound by shackles. The giant jumped from the tower and let out a powerful grunt as it smashed his fists on the APC, smashing it to junk in seconds, and killing everyone inside.

* * *

"Amazing, isn't he?" A man in a white labcoat stared at the footage from the bodycams the soldiers wore. He adjusted his monocle, marveling at the monsters on screen.

"You knew my men couldn't take him down, didn't you?" said the man who spoke to Aster earlier. "But you sent them after him anyway. That's not cool, old man! Those guys cost a lot of money."

"I am fully aware of the loss of your teams, Burke. But do not fret. I suppose this means its time your troops had an upgrade. No worries. I have a remedy for that."

"Yeah?"

"Yes, new and improved gear for combat against his Eidolons. But it will be some time before they're ready. In the meantime, don't lose sight of him. Clean kills only. The boy means nothing to me if he gets blown to pieces."

"I can't promise anything," said Burke. "My men want that bounty. And they'll do whatever they have to do to claim it."

The man in the lab coat scoffed. "Mercenaries. I knew it was a mistake hiring you dogs. It seems their interests are in favor of the man who put up the bounty for his head."

"Can't blame them. That's a lot of money. Aster deserves it if you ask me. He's a kid, but he has pissed the wrong people off. Now the criminal underworld has declared war on him."

"Then see to it that they don't interfere with this operation, Burke. The Gremlin is a small, spoiled, and overzealous fool, but not to be trifled with. And if he gets his grubby hands on that boy, I fear things will get...messy. Both for Aster and for you."

"Is that a threat, Doctor Guarnizo?"

"Don't test me, Burke. I wouldn't want to ruin our partnership now that I have the pieces in hand. I just need a board to play with them. Have your men set up checkpoints along the Azure and Dragon Gardens District. No one is allowed in or out until Aster is captured and brought to me."

"Is that legal?"

The doctor sniggered. "I have friends who will make it legal."

"Understood, Doc. You'll get your lab rat. Just don't screw with me or my men again. You think you're the only one with friends in high places? The DracoNET executive board will tear you limb from limb if anything happens to me." He spoke into his watch. "All units, close off the following sections. We've got the green light. Order 111 will now commence."

* * *

**Part II**

* * *

"I think I lost them," Aster said, leaning against a brick wall. A few helicopters rumbled in the distance, but he had a feeling he was going to be okay. For now.

Destiny HERO Dangerous chuckled as he watched Aster from the edge of the building's roof. His cape flew wildly behind him as though it had a mind of its own. Aster heard a deep rumbling in his head.

"Rough night?" Aster took out a flask with a glowing energy drink from his pocket and gulped it down. "That's putting it mildly, dude. This is going to be a very, very, long night indeed. I have to go back to the apartment and get my gear."

Another rumbling shook Aster's head. "I know they're probably there! But I can't let you guys do all the work. Just summoning you and the others tired me out. I feel like I just ran a mile. Maybe two." He tried to catch his breath. He looked at his arm and yanked the sleeve back. What he saw distressed him. His flesh was starting to become translucent blue and his veins were turning a deep shade of purple.

"Mmmm," Dangerous went, stroking his chin with a clawed hand.

"Damn it," Aster groaned, slamming the back of his head against the wall. "This isn't going to help me any. If I keep summoning you guys, it's going to wind up killing me. My dad was right. Having the power to call you guys was both a gift and a curse."

Aster dug into another one of his pockets to find a silver case with syringes filled with a blackish-red liquid. Aster yanked the cap off the needle and braced himself. He jabbed the needle over his breast and clamped his teeth shut as the fiery substance coursed through his body. For a brief moment, he felt fiery pain, then his body relaxed. He looked at his arm. The bluish color of his flesh seemed to return to normal and his veins were less swollen, but not by much. There were still big patches of blue mapped with purple veins.

"Shit," Aster heaved. The liquid was given to him by one of his Destiny HEROES, who went by the name of Double Dude.

"Shit indeed," said Double Dude, appearing before Aster. He peered at the boy from behind round spectacles. His face concealed by a long, lavender muffler. He was elegantly dressed in a black swallowtail coat and top hat. He clutched a cane in his hand, which was used both to help him walk and bash the skulls of his foes. "Hello, Aster."

Aster rubbed his chest. "What's happening to me?"

"I told you those were just for temporary relief of the side effects caused by summoning me and my brethren into the world, Aster. Heroes we may be, but heroes who serve very close to the darkness of the Shadow Realm. You cannot toy with Shadow Magic and not face any consequences. I told you that. And yet there you go making a big HERO of yourself fighting crime like a comic book hero. I digress. You're dying, boy. I fear my elixir is only slowing down the process."

"No fair!" shouted Aster. "You told me you'd help me find my dad's killers! Well, I've had you guys for years and so far I've gotten nowhere!"

"Nowhere?" Double Dude tsked. "You made a name for yourself out here, Aster. The criminal scum of this city are afraid to go out at night because of you. Yes, when we first made the pact with you all those years ago, we said we would help you find the ones who murdered your father. But, I never said it was going to be instantaneous. Did you honestly believe you could just call us and then lead you to the perps like common hound dogs? We need clues, Aster. And I fear beating up crime lords and stopping bank robbers isn't good detective work."

"I was hoping one of them would lead me to my father. The scumbags of this city are all part of one big ecosystem. They work together. They know each other."

"That maybe so, but this ecosystem as you call it is almost infinite. You're just following the trail of a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy. I've been telling you that for years, but you'd rather listen to your arrogance and your lust for revenge. Those feelings have led you on nothing more than a wild goose chase. And you have no one but yourself to blame for that."

"Or maybe you are just useless," Aster countered.

"Useless?" Double Dude said. In a flash, he transformed into his alter ego. A tall, muscular brute of a monster with long, wild, gray hair and burning red eyes. His fingers wrapped around Aster's throat. Double Dude lifted Aster up from the ground swung him to the other wall, and slammed his back against it. "USELESS!" the monster shouted. "WHO WAS IT WHO HELPED YOU SURVIVE ALL THESE YEARS SINCE YOUR FATHER DIED BOY!"

Aster grunted for air. His legs kicked up and down. His hands struggled to try to pull just one of Double Dude's fingers off.

"YOU WOULD BE NOTHING WITHOUT US!" Double Dude continued to shout. Mist came out of his mouth like smoke. "YOU WOULD BE STUCK IN THAT ORPHANAGE HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR US! IF YOU FAILED TO LOCATE YOUR FATHER'S KILLER THAT'S ON YOU!"

"Okay, okay! I get it! I get it!"

Double Dude let Aster go, dropping him unceremoniously on the ground. Double Dude returned to his more gentlemanly form. "Forgive me," he said.

"Whatever," Aster coughed, gasping for air. He was suddenly assaulted with flashlights. He then heard voices and heavy footsteps running towards him. Was it more mercs from DracoTEK? As the light got closer, he noticed they were just ordinary folks in heavy winter clothing. They were balaclavas to hide their faces. Aster was nervous, but deep down he couldn't help but wonder how people could be so stupid and so obvious. Wearing those kinds of things in the dead of night was a testament of how bad a person was. It was like a beacon shouting out: "Hey! I'm a bad guy!"

The men pulled out knives, baseball bats wrapped in chains, brass knuckles, anything they could find in their homes to break Aster's bones.

"That's him all right," said one of the men. "He's the kid the Gremlin wants."

"He's so young. You sure you want to do this?"

"Are you kidding? There's a bounty of forty-five million Star Chips out for this kid. Capturing him could set us up for life."

"Stay back!" Aster shouted.

"Yeah? Or you'll do what?"

Aster stood up. "Watch this," he tried to summon Dystopia, but he was too weak. He collapsed on the ground, much to the amusement of the men.

"Ooooh, yeah, that's really scary!" teased the one with the bat wrapped in chains. "What in the world makes you so damn special? Who cares. If they're willing to pay that much to have you dead, we're more than happy to oblige."

Aster stood up and tried to punch the guy, but he dodged and smashed his bat against' Aster's gut. Aster groaned and heaved in agony, collapsing on the ground. Someone kicked him on the right side of his torso, knocking the wind out of him. He heard the men laughing and mocking him. They danced around him and took turns kicking him. One of them found a wooden crate and smashed Aster's head against it. The man with the bat was ready to smash his skull open.

"You fellas are a bunch of cowards!"

The men quieted down until only the rain splashing against the city could be heard. Someone was strutting down the alley like a supermodel. The loud clip-clop of stiletto boots echoed in the night. The men cackled when they saw a clearer picture of the lady approaching them. She was swinging her cane around. She wore a black leotard that glittered every time she moved, fishnet stockings, and a white dress shirt with a bow tie, and a sleek black swallowtail jacket. A magician's top hat fit snuggly over her long, wavy, jet-black hair. Her irises were glowing bluish-green arcane circles, causing one of the thugs to feel uncomfortable.

The man with the baseball bat, however, was pleased that she had come along. He shouldered his weapon, cocking his head to the side as he admired the young woman's curvaceous figure. "Well, hello there, gorgeous. This is kind of a bad time for a strip show. And it ain't even my birthday. Aren't you cold in that getup?"

"The fabric is enchanted with heat. So it keeps me warm," said the magician. She took her hat off as she bowed. "Now, loves. If you would be so kind as to back away from the boy."

"Can't do, sweetheart. This guy is our ticket to the big time. Maybe you'd like to come along and..."

"I'm sorry, my love, but that wasn't a request. It was an order. Back away from him now and you may live. Choose to fight and I fear things will get nasty."

"Oh, with you, I'd love for things to get nasty, baby. What have you got underneath that hat? Bunnies? Flowers? Come on. Surprise me."

"Bro, come on," said one of the thugs. "Her getup is raunchy, but she ain't someone I wanna mess with. She's a mage."

"A mage? Ha! No way. Emerald Fire is in control of the Senate here in Domino. Their kind is being hunted down like the dogs they are. This chick here. She ain't no mage. Just some stripper who thinks she can mess with the big boys."

The magician wrinkled her nose. "You sure about that, love?"

"I am. Now be a good little girl and stand aside as we beat this slimeball to a pulp. Maybe I'll consider you coming along with me to the King's District. I plan to buy an entire building with the money I'm gonna make turning this kid in."

"Exposition, exposition," the magician sang. "Goodness gracious. Why must you mask and jacket types always narrate what you're about to do? It's pathetic actually."

"Making fun of me now, doll? Too bad. I actually kind of liked you. Well, now you're about to get the spanking you deserve. Get 'er boys!"

"Oh, I don't think so," said the magician. "This is goodbye, loves."

She took off her hat and sprinkled a blue, shimmering, powder on the palm of her white-gloved hand. She blew on it, scattering the powder into the air. The powder then formed into a mist. From the mist erupted a loud roar. The magician puckered her lips, making affectionate kissing sounds to call the beast out of the mist. The men stepped back when they heard growling coming out of the blue mist.

The magician strutted beside the mist, still making kissing sounds with her lips. The mist dispersed revealing a Duel Monster known as The All-Seeing White Tiger.

The magician had her beast outfitted with a black leather collar etched with beautiful scrollwork and a star-shaped diamond hanging from it. The magician siked her Eidolon at the thugs. It jumped on the one with the baseball bat and ripped out his throat. The magician turned her cane into a wand and launched a devastating spell that caused them to explode, leaving behind cinders and their clothing, fluttering through the wind like ghosts. The All-Seeing White Tiger charged after another thug and pounced on him, ripping away at his back until it was nothing more than a glob of meat.

When the thugs were eliminated, the magician walked towards Aster. She bent down and held out her hand to help him up. Aster, shocked at what he just witnessed backed away from her until he was against the wall.

"It's okay," she said softly. "Come on."

Aster took her hand and with her help, he got back up on his feet.

"So you're the famous Aster Phoenix. The Knight of Destiny. The Hero of Domino City. Or are they calling that Cyber Knight guy the Hero? I dunno. Lots of you brief and cape folks have been popping up lately."

"Who are you?" Aster asked.

The magician took off her hat and bowed. "Francesca Popelina Jourdenette of House Orléans, at your service."

Aster grunted from the pain in his gut. "What do you want? Are you here for the bounty?"

"Pfft, darling, I make fifty million a year with my magic and good looks. That bounty means nothing to me."

"So what are you doing out here fighting crime if you have it so well?" Aster asked.

"It's my city as much as it is yours, Aster. You think I do magic and dress like this for show?"

Aster examined her from head to toe. "Yes."

Francesca giggled. Her tiger returned and laid down behind so Francesca could sit down in its back. "Fair enough. Well, it turns out my magic act draws out some bad eggs in town. Some guys this city can do without. Ever here of the Gemini Brothers?"

"Organ harvesters," said Aster. "I saved a few people from their farm last year. They're slippery bastards."

"Oh, close. Very close. You see they WERE organ harvesters and the USED to be slippery bastards."

Aster paused. "You killed them?"

"Actually..." she jerked her thumb at her tiger, which burped.

"I see. Nice work. They even gave my buddy the Cyber Knight a hard time. But you still haven't answered my question. What do you want with me?"

"Someone very close you personally sent me into town to find you."

"Another person out to find me," Aster groaned. "Who are you working for?"

Francesca plopped a gummy bear into her mouth. "Have you heard of Kyle Jables?"

Aster nodded. "Yeah. I do. You mean he's here? Why didn't you say so? Let's go!"

Francesca bobbed her hand up and down. "Patience, love. We have to do so with great discretion. DracoTEK, for some reason, have started closing off all ways into the Azure and Dragon Gardens districts. I have to steer clear from them because their boss is a big hater of magic users. But why in the hell did they close off these districts? What are they up to?"

"Yeah, they're doing it because they're after me."

Francesca laughed. "Oh, baby, it is just not your night, is it? The Gremlin has everyone in the city out looking for you with that bounty AND there are DracoTEK mercenaries searching for you as well? Man, it must suck to be you." She smiled. "Hmm. Somehow I never thought your life would be this exciting."

Aster scoffed. "Believe me, it only gets worse."

* * *

**Part III**

* * *

**Emerald Section**

* * *

The night was terribly still and cold. In the sky, helicopters from Cerulean Section scoured the streets looking for Aster, illuminating every nook and cranny with their searchlights. Emerald Section's lead squadron marched down the streets of a quiet neighborhood. Dogs barked from afar and owls hooted in the trees. The hum of cars poisoned the silence and sirens from first responders wailed loudly from the distance.

"Did you guys hear what happened in Sector 4?" asked a grunt, following his team into the Azure District's central park. They were assigned to investigate a strange disturbance that wiped out their 4th Squadron.

"I heard a lot of things going on, Jenson," said the squad leader. "Try and be a little more specific."

"Well, I just got some news from Black Section that one of their drones spotted some major magic activity down there. They spotted some chick in a really sexy magician's getup. She came out of nowhere and saved Gray Prince from a group of thugs looking to cash in on the bounty."

"I think I know what you're talking about," said the team's sniper. "Some of our men went missing not long after Order 110 went up. Their last messages reported some girl casting magic spells and summoning an overpowered white tiger into battle. She launched fireballs from her hat. Turned Cobalt 4 into doves. Things of that nature. If anything, we better keep an eye out for her. I don't want to tangle with a mage, that's for sure."

"Yeah, well, she hasn't met Emerald 1 yet," sniggered Jenson. "We can take her on. We've got the best gear. And not to mention Gray Prince is with her. He's half dead. Those thugs beat him good."

"You have no interest in Gray Prince," said the squad leader. "You just want us to run into that girl."

Jenson laughed. "Are you kidding? Of course, I would. I don't know about you, but from what I heard, she's really hot. We should do our jobs and arrest her. She's interfering with our mission. Yeah, let's arrest her and take her back to headquarters so we can...interrogate her. Heh, heh, heh."

"You're an idiot if you think guns and bullets can stop a mage, Jenson. I don't want to handle and wizards or anything like that until we get that new tech from high up. I heard Doctor Guarnizo has cooked up some new toys that could give us an edge against mages. Jenson, I don't know about you, but I do not want to deal with any magic folk right now. I just want to track down Gray Prince and get this night over with."

The sniper gripped his weapon tightly. "Yeah, I really do want to get out of here on the double. All this commotion is going to attract those heroes I've heard so much about. The Cyber Knight. Man, we're gonna be totally screwed if he decides to show his ugly mug around here tonight."

"Do you think it was him who wiped out Emerald 4?" asked Jenson.

"I doubt it," said the squad leader. "Those Cyber Dragons of his are pretty huge monsters. There's no way we could have missed them. Either way, we need to keep our guard up. The Gremlin's bounty is so high, every scumbag from Domino to Cobalt City is swarming down here. Maroon Section is currently at war with them in Sector 5. It's a fucking mess. This kid, this Gray Prince as they call him. He's more trouble than he's worth."

"I agree with you, boss. Those D-HEROES of his. Talk about power. You saw what they did to Saffron and Cobalt Section. Twenty-five of our best troops dead in a matter of minutes. If you ask me, we're out of our league. This is work for Shadow Company or something."

"I'm transferring to them as soon as this job is over," said Jenson. "They pay better, have the Gucchiest gear, and they can actually handle fighting mages cuz they're affiliated with the Church's Templars. Those guys know how to exterminate magic users."

Emerald 1's leader was not too pleased to hear that. "Yeah, well, until that happens, you're under the employment of DracoTEK! I don't wanna hear any more crap about defecting or I'll gun you down myself! Am I clear?"

"Sir!" "Sir!" "Got it, boss!"

"Good. Now weapons up! We're nearing the park."

The team was soon enshrouded by the darkness of the dead trees, stretching on forever and ever. Their branches concealed all the light from the city. The team put down the NODs and spread out to search the area. Emerald 1's leader tried to communicate with Emerald 4. He was answered with nothing but eerie static.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," said Jenson.

"You know, all of a sudden looking for that magician chick doesn't sound like a bad idea."

"Shut up! All of you!" shouted the squad leader. "I think I see something up ahead. Watch my six."

Emerald 1's leader saw an arm sticking out of the bushes. It was clothed in black, with an elbow pad. The hand, covered by a black glove with carbon fiber knuckle guards, was still gripping the Earth-manufactured G36. He called out to the soldier. Nothing. No response.

"Come on, soldier, talk to me," he said, getting terribly nervous. He got nearer to the arm. The wind howled, chilling him to the bone. He touched the rifle and pulled it. The arm followed until it finally came out of the bush. It wasn't attached to anything.

"Oh, Goddesses!" said Jenson. "We've got a maniac on the loose."

"I don't think a person did this," said the squad leader. "Keep an eye out guys, this is going to be…"

He felt something drip on his shoulder. The squad leader put his fingers on whatever it was and examined it. He turned on the flashlight mounted on the side of his CRYE helmet and examined the substance. It didn't take long for him to realize that it was blood.

"BOSS!" shouted his troops. "BOSS STAND BACK! GET AWAY!"

More blood dripped on his fingertips. He looked up. Something was moving behind the tops of the trees. Whatever it was, it was huge! And had very sharp teeth. The leader had no time to scream, for the massive creature swooped in and clamped its teeth down upon him. Jenson fired instinctively out of fear. The flash from the muzzle revealed that the monster chomping down on his boss. His legs dangled sickeningly from the mouth. The dagger-like teeth were bathed in his blood.

"It's a dinosaur!" shouted one of the soldiers.

Indeed it was. Its long tail slithered out of the ground and swatted two of his squadmates away. It let out a roar that was so primal. So terrifying. He could see that someone was brave enough - or stupid enough - to put a leather collar around its neck. There was a metallic device at the center glowing red. That didn't matter to Jenson. One by one, he saw his fellow soldiers getting smashed by a giant foot, smacked with a tail. Or engulfed in that vice of sharp teeth. Soon, Jenson and the remaining soldiers of Emerald 1 would realize that they were not alone. As they ran away from the carnage of the dinosaur, a loud woosh hissed through the cold air, followed by a sickening WHACK!

Jenson looked at the man right beside him. He seemed to be spazzing out. Once he went on his knees, he realized why. There was an arrow stuck to his chest. It went in deep, by the looks of it, piercing even the tough dragon scale vest he wore. Another woosh flew by Jenson's ear. He heard a grunt followed by a sickening thud against the leaves and pebbles. The soldiers started to panic. Jenson turned and saw that someone shot another soldier in the eye with an arrow. Someone was out there in the darkness. And they were hunting his group.

"EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF!" shouted Jenson, taking off into the woods.

Woosh! Woosh! Arrows flew out of the darkness, missing him. He looked back. He saw his friends getting shot by arrows as well. Those lucky - or unlucky - enough to be shot with them, were then attacked by the dinosaur.

"NOOOO!" shouted Jenson. He didn't want to be next. He dropped his rifle and ran as fast as his legs could go. Adrenaline, pumped by the fear, fueled him to go faster. His chest ached and his throat was stinging him. Breathing in all the cold air wasn't doing him any good at all.

Thump! Thump! The earth was shaking underneath his boots.

The trees were being snapped like twigs. That horrible roar trailed behind him. He turned for just a brief second and saw piercing, amber eyes glowing in the darkness. It was coming after him. It was coming to kill him. Jenson screamed so high he sounded like a little girl wailing for a lost toy. "HELP ME!" he shouted with all his might. Only the loud roar of the monster behind him answered.

The stomping was getting louder at his back. He could almost feel the teeth upon him. He didn't want to go down that way. No! He wanted to live. He wanted to get out of his terrible business and just go home.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The dinosaur was gaining on him. There was no escape. He didn't know where to go. There was nothing but trees everywhere. And it was so dark, he couldn't see!

He kept running and running. And then he felt a paralyzing pain stick him from behind. He wailed in agony and collapsed on the ground. He thought the dinosaur had gotten him. He looked over his shoulder and noticed the arrow sticking out of his back. The hunter, whoever it was, had gotten him.

The bastard was helping the giant dinosaur with the hunt. Jenson turned helplessly and saw the mass of armored flesh approach him. He screamed, holding up his arms in vain. Then he felt pain going down his body. Like he was being stabbed multiple times. And he found himself face first against something warm and slimy. It smelled awful. In those horrible moments, Jenson realized he was stuck against the tongue. Oh, Goddesses, he was inside the dinosaur's mouth!

It had gotten him!

He screamed as the monster bit down on his body. He felt as though someone lit his entire being on fire as his bones snapped over and over and over again. Jenson was left with only one thing. He prayed with all his being that it would all be over soon.

* * *

**Aster**

* * *

"Are you hearing this?" said Francesca.

"Yeah," Aster grunted. "There's something big out there. It's coming from the park. Come on. We've got to check it out."

"No," pleaded Francesca. "That didn't sound like mercenaries to me. We should just ignore it and make for…"

"No. That roar sounded familiar. Come on!"

Aster freed himself from her grip and sped off as fast as he could toward the park. Francesca cried out for him to stop and come back. But he did not listen. Francesca gave up and followed after him into the park. The roar thundered from the darkness again, sending a chill up her spine. For safety, she summoned her All-Seeing White Tiger again to guard her and Aster from the creature making that noise out there. It sounded so far away, but it still forced her to cover her ears. What in the world was it?

"Don't let me down," she said to her beast, petting its neck.

"Hey, Francesca!" shouted Aster. "Check this out!"

Francesca and her tiger sprinted into the park. "It's so dark in here," she whined. She snapped her fingers to create a ball of flame, lighting a wide radius around her. "Where are you?" she called out.

"Over here," said Aster. He was kneeling down over the bodies of a few dead soldiers.

"What did this?" Francesca said in shock.

"You mean who did this?" said Aster. "These guys were shot down with arrows."

Francesca pointed at the ground beside them. "Look at the size of those footprints. It must have been some kind of animal."

The roar echoed from the forest again. "Not just any animal!" Aster said running toward the direction of the roar. Francesca looked at her tiger and sighed before going after Aster again. It wasn't long before she and Aster stopped, staring in aw at the armored back of the dinosaur that had wiped out the squad of soldiers.

"I knew it," said Aster. He sounded almost glad.

Francesca, on the other hand, didn't like that sound of his glee, for it meant they were going to go after it. "I take it you know what that thing is."

"I do," said Aster. "That would explain the arrows on the dead goons back there. An archer with a big-ass dinosaur as a companion. That means only one thing. Hassleberry is in Domino City."

* * *

**Part IV**

* * *

"My apartment is down this way," Aster told Francesca. But before he could go any farther, he grimaced from a sharp pain burning his arm. He fell to his knees on the ground, squeezing it with all his might.

Francesca shook her head and held her hand over his shoulder. She closed her eyes and muttered a spell, which formed a leafy arcane circle that sprinkled white and gold petals in all directions. At once, Aster felt his pain subsiding.

"It's not much," Francesca said, deactivating her spell. "But it will help with the pain."

"Thanks," Aster grunted. "I appreciate it."

"What's doing this to you? The HEROES?"

"They're a part of the problem," Aster said, breathing slowly to relax his body and his nerves. "There's….something inside of me that allows me to conjure the Destiny HEROES from their world. It's a powerful artifact known as the Heart of HEROES."

Francesca gasped. "I thought it was just a myth."

Aster slowly got up and took off his jacket. "Take a listen?" he asked. "I think you'll be surprised."

Francesca sat down on a boulder and beckoned him towards her. She was a little bashful at first, but she worked the courage to place her ear against his chest. Yes, there was a powerful heartbeat going on in there, but it was fast; she worried Aster was getting a heart attack. It came as a shock for her to find out it was normal for him.

"May I?" she asked, clutching the hem of his shirt. He nodded. Francesca lifted it up. What she saw made her blush. His body was well-built for one so young. Ah, but he was an Eldori. Though he looked like a boy of fifteen, Aster was a few months away from being twenty. Long and fruitful youth was their gift, and it really showed with Aster Phoenix. Francesca bit her lip and took a deep breath. She then took her glove off with her teeth, pulling it off her hand from the tip of the middle finger. She placed her hand against his chest which was radiating a light blue glow from within. She saw his veins were glowing as well.

"Aster how did you get this?"

"My dad gave it to me," he replied, sitting down next to her. "A week before he was taken from me actually. He found it on an archeological trip in the Great White Mountains. It goes without saying that finding that artifact was a blessing in disguise. Or...Destiny, if you're feeling dramatic. See, I was born with heart problems. Ever since I was born, it's been an endless struggle to survive. Needless to say, dad got rid of my heart and replaced it with the relic he found in the mountains. The Heart of HEROES is a powerful artifact that allows me to be intuned with the life force of the Destiny HEROES in their world of Dark City. The one who wields the power of this artifact can call upon an army unlike any other." He chuckled proudly. "My D-HEROES can kick some pretty serious ass as you no doubt have seen. But it comes at a price. It slowly consumes its host."

Francesca gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. "How have you stayed alive for so long?"

"I can answer that," Destiny HERO Double Dude said, coming out of a vortex of shadow. "My brethren and I love the boy very much. As much as I hate being sentimental, we've grown awfully fond of the boy. His father is the one who made us into cards for this game you call Duel Monsters. Might I add, we are very proud of this. We have some pretty neat effects." He coughed into his fist. "But I ramble again. As a result of my meticulous study in the realm of alchemy, devised an elixir for Aster once the Heart of HEROES started taking its toll on him. Sadly, I'm afraid to say, it's only stalling the side-effects. Soon, not even the elixirs will work. If Aster doesn't find 'him' soon, he will surely die."

"Him who?" Francesca asked.

"The Heart of HEROES is just one half of the artifact," Double Dude explained. "The key to making it work without any pain or poison for Aster is a Destiny HERO by the name of Plasma. Without his influence, the Heart of HEROES is nothing but a curse."

Aster coughed. "Thanks a lot."

"We do what we can," said Double Dude. "That's what you get for playing with Shadow Magic so arrogantly."

"Do you think there's a way we can find Plasma?" Francesca asked. "Maybe find a way to save Aster?"

"I don't know," said Double Dude, adjusting his glasses. "Plasma was the most stubborn of our order. If he refuses to be found, he can make it so. We have searched for him for years, but there's not a trace of him. Unless he finds it in his heart to show up, I fear Aster will be dead in seventy-two hours."

Aster expelled his frustration with a heavy sigh and slapped both palms over his eyes. "Well, that's just great. I was looking forward to facing Prince Yuri in Duelist Academy. Looks like I better buy myself a tombstone."

"There is a chance we could find Plasma," said Double Dude. "It's a rather small one, though. But I sense his presence somewhere in this city."

"You sure it's even him?" Aster asked.

"Oh, yes. I know that monster's aura anywhere. I would have mentioned it to you earlier, Aster, but the aura is rather weak. I didn't want to get your hopes up as that would quicken the pace of your condition."

"It's better than nothing," said Aster. "At least we have a lead."

"But we don't know where to start looking. As I said, Aster, he could be anywhere. And the Aura is weak because he jumps between worlds whenever he feels like it. He could be five feet in front of you one second, then five leagues away the next. It's hard to keep tabs on him."

"It doesn't matter," Aster said, trying to smile through the pain in his arm. "That aura you feel. It's him! He's here! Something out there is luring him to this city and we're gonna find him!"

"Assuming the Gremlin's goons and those mercenaries from DracoTEK don't get to you first," said Double Dude.

"Who is this Gremlin I keep hearing about?" Francesca asked. She used her foot to scoot a pile of twigs and leaves in front of Aster then lit them on fire with a snap of her fingers. Though it was small, Aster felt as though he were in front of a sauna.

"Thanks," Aster said, shivering. "Thelonius Masterson Chesterfield IV. Better known by his nickname 'The Gremlin'. A name well deserved, cuz he is short and butt-fucking ugly." Aster smiled and crossed his arms over his chest. "That was my bad. Destiny HERO Dangerous slashed him across the face and forever scarred his so-called 'pretty mug'. He's arguably Domino City's most ruthless crime lord, who specializes in selling weapons in the black market, mainly ones from Earth. And, provided he gets his slice of the pie, he finances dozens of the most notorious criminal gangs here in Domino, one of them being the Aeons, who recently kidnapped Princess Rhodes."

"He sounds well connected," Francesca said, scratching her leg with the heel of her left boot. Then she laughed. "And no wonder he has it out for you."

Aster scoffed. "No. As much as he's after me for revenge, he really wants my heart."

Francesca's smile faded. "You mean he knows?"

"Yeah. Apparently. I don't know who gave him that info, but my life has been hell ever since he found out. If he gets his hands on my heart, there's going to be no stopping him. I have to find Plasma."

"Can't the HEROES just choose not to fight him?" Francesca asked.

"We cannot," said Double Dude. "Once someone puts on the Heart of HEROES, we are bound to them in a blood contract. Yes, the artifact will slowly kill the fat bastard, but with our power, he could build an unbeatable empire that could plunge this city into even more chaos. And things are bad enough as it is with those Yeyu bastards taking office."

"That makes sense," Francesca said with a shiver. "We must make sure that doesn't happen." She snapped her fingers. "Oh! I heard something about DracoTEK wanting to use you as a lab rat. Whoever hired them must know about the Heart as well."

"Not surprised," said Aster. "Remember, Gremlin has info about me. He could sell it to anyone he wants. Every goon in his payroll is running around Domino looking for me tonight."

"We're going to have to lay low for a while, babe," Francesca got up from the boulder and strutted towards the gate Ultimate Tyranno destroyed. "Now is not the time for heroics. You are in no shape to fight. Besides, I think your friend Hassleberry has everything covered."

"But what the hell is he doing here?" Aster wondered. "Last I heard, he was in Feldia aiding the Princesses of House Delago with a coup."

"The coup was won," said Double Dude. "My young master, you should read the papers a little more."

"I hate the news," Aster grumbled. "Come on, let's go find him. Maybe he'll keep us off our backs."

"No, you're not well enough!" Francesca said, grabbing him by the arm. "I have a safe house where you can rest. I'll go look for Hassleberry and then head to your place to get your gear."

"I can't sleep now," Aster said. "Last I checked, I have seventy-two hours left to live."

"Lack of sleep is going to shorten that time!" snapped Francesca. "Come on! Do you want to find Plasma or not?"

"She does have a point, sir," said Double Dude. "You are not boding so well. And your temperature is dropping. We must get you to shelter immediately."

Aster kicked a pebble away. "Fine. We'll go. But just for a couple of hours." He was about to get up, but he stopped when he saw something slithering in the skies above. "What in the hell is that?" he wondered.

Francesca backed away in fear. "I don't know, but it's coming right towards us, dude!" She held up her palms, ready to cast a few spells to shoot it down.

"Wait, hold on!" Aster cried out, jumping in front of her and holding out his arm. "I think I know what that is!"

The thing close enough for him to realize it was a Cyber Dragon. It was smaller than his other models and had wings, orb patterns, and bright green eyes. The small Cyber Dragon landed in front of them. It was seventeen-feet tall; possibly the smallest in Zane's fleet. Still, it was large enough to not be trifled with. Aster stepped forward, and as soon as he did, a compartment opened in the Cyber Dragon's chest. A wrist-mounted computer, headpiece came out of the compartment.

"Cool," said Aster. He took the treasures and put them on.

The headpiece let out a soft jingle to show it had activated, then formed a HUD over his eye. The computer he put on his wrist turned on. After staring at the Truesdale Enterprises logo for a few seconds, he saw an image of a blonde girl with dark blue highlights sitting in her room while eating a bowl of ramen noodles. At once, Aster recognized her as Kara Kestrel. She was clad in a white t-shirt with sky blue sleeves. The front of the shirt had the numbers 01. She sat on her chair crisscrossed.

She blew on the bowl to cool down her food and looked up. She went red in the face, feeling foolish when she realized she was live on the camera feed. "Oh! It's on! Can you see me?" Kara asked, adjusting her cam.

Aster nodded."Yeah. So you're what Zane's engineer looks like. You're kinda cute."

Kara laughed. "Thanks, I guess. That's flattering coming from a former TDF Champion. So. You're in a bit of a pickle from what I understand."

"You can say that."

"Zane and I learned about DracoTEK's activities in Domino. While he would gladly like to come over and help, I'm afraid he's got his hands full with the leaker who identified and exposed him as the Cyber Knight."

"I saw him make the announcement last week," said Aster. "But it looks like it's done more good than harm. Everyone in Domino celebrates him as a tights-and-cape hero."

"Well, publicly, it's done wonders for him. But legally, not so much. Now that everyone knows he's been producing cybernetic weapons, they want their hands on his technology. The military got burned in the Senate hearing but I doubt that's the last we're going to see of them. Anyways, these DracoTEK guys are in Domino looking for you."

"I know that. I've had run-ins with them all night."

"Oh. Wow, I didn't know things were heating up that badly. But listen, I can be your eyes in the sky for as long as you need me. Zane is worried about your condition and sends you this Cyber Dragon to aid you in battle. That way, you won't have to call out on the Destiny HEROES as much. His name is Nachster. Consider it your early Christmas gift."

"I appreciate it," said Aster. "I guess this is his way of putting water under the bridge for beating him."

Kara wagged her finger sternly. "Hey, I wouldn't bring up that Duel anymore, kiddo. Zane was rather leery about giving you one of his Cyber Dragons. Well, I guess not give, per se. Maybe borrow is the better word. He wants it back as soon as your business with DracoTEK is concluded. Or when you run out of time and the Heart of HEROES kills you. If it does, Nachster will expel it from your chest and hand it over to us for safekeeping."

Aster scoffed. "Wow. I just know I can always count on you guys," he said sarcastically.

"What do you plan on doing now?" Kara asked. She started slurping on some noddles.

"I'm here with the Fantastical Francesca. She's going to offer me a place to say so I can rest. I guess I should take a break."

"Where's it at?" Kara asked.

"Where's your safehouse at?" Aster asked, looking back at Francesca.

"I'll mark it on your map," said Francesca. She typed the directions on the GPS, although it proved rather difficult with her long fingernails. "Ah, finally. There you go."

Kara slid on her chair to the next screen. "Freemont Street. That's not good. You guys are gonna have a hell of a time getting through to that place. DracoTEK set up checkpoints on every part of the Prince Michael Freeway. A while ago, I just tapped into their coms. Get this, one Commander Ravenheart is down their overseeing the operation himself. Keep a low profile, guys. Zane and I have had run-ins with him before. He's dangerous. When DracoTEK wants something you have, they're going to take it. And they're not known for asking politely. That's why Zane offered to help you when he learned they were after you."

Aster nodded. "Understood. Can you dig up any info on these guys? Why are they so interested in me all of a sudden? Do they know about the Heart of HEROES? If so, who told them?"

"We're betting it's that weapons dealer, the Gremlin!" said Francesca.

Kara nodded her head. "Yeah, I've heard of him. Zane toppled tons of his operations in the last few months. But him being involved with DracoTEK is not a probability. He's the one who put up that bounty to find you, Aster. So why in the hell would he want DracoTEK involved if they want to take it for themselves?"

"She raises a good point," said Aster. "But we've also gotta consider maybe DracoTEK went back on the deal and want the Heart all to their own. And that guy in the coat. He said his troops were in on the bounty, too."

Kara rolled her eyes and scoffed. "They're mercenaries, of course, they are. I wouldn't look into that." She tapped her bottom lip. "Aster, you said you ran into a guy in a coat from DracoTek."

"Yeah."

Kara squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath. "Shit."

"Something I should know?"

"No. Not until I paint a clearer picture of this. If you want to get to that safe house, this is the best route to take. Be careful guys."

"Hold on," Aster said before she cut the feed. "Do you have any info on a giant dinosaur walking around the city? Or the name Hassleberry?"

"Yeah. That name popped up more than once. Whoever that guy is, he has DracoTEK operators spooked. I have reports about a ghost hunting them in the streets. Before they can fight back, he vanishes and then some big monster devours the squad."

Aster chuckled. "That Hassleberry sure is kicking some serious ass."

"It's nothing to celebrate about. Commander Ravenheart is calling in reinforcements from their headquarters in the Cerulean District. The Crystal. An addition fifteen-hundred troops are on their way."

Francesca gasped. "Fifteen hundred? Goddesses, that's an army! How are they able to pull this off? This isn't legal."

"With the likes of Emerald Fire in the Senate and most of the congressional districts, I don't know what the hell is legal anymore," said Kara. "I can tell big stacks of Royal Notes were given around. Hmph, a fat Christmas bonus if I ever saw one. Trust me, I'm gonna find out who gave it out. Once I do, I'll fill you in. Maybe then we can figure out who the hell wants to cut up Aster so bad. I suggest finding your buddy Hassleberry first before putting your feet up."

"Why?" Francesca asked. "Aster needs to rest."

"I understand. But so long as he and his Ultimate Tyranno are out there on a rampage, they're going to make things hard on all of you. His last known sighting was here, near the statue of Norman the Conqueror in the Clock Plaza. It's not far from your safe house, so take advantage of that while you can."

"I really appreciate this, Kara," said Aster. "Tell Zane I said thanks. And Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas. Be careful guys. Stay on the route I made for you. Good luck."

* * *

**Part V**

* * *

The bells all over Domino rang 2. It was late and a blizzard was reported to be rolling in. It was the 10th day of the Blizzard Dragon's mating season, the most destructive time of the season. The storms they were conjuring in the mountains were growing fiercer. Aster definitely had no choice but to seek shelter immediately. He and Francesca snuck through really old buildings in the slums just like Kara directed. It was a very long and smelly road, but if it meant they would avoid trouble from DracoTEK or the Gremlin's bounty hunters, then it was worth it. Really sick people crowded in the ruins of what was once a luxurious suite. But with the influx of immigrants from Balodrum and Naralia pouring in, the arms were shut down to be made into a shelter for them. Despite this, it was a complete hell hole. There was no electricity or heaters to keep them warm. Everywhere Aster stepped there were puddles of urine and even human fecal matter piling up on the floor.

People coughed in their miserable corners. A few gas lamps, lanterns, and flashlights were all that lit the place. And barrels lit with fire provided some warmth.

"The Emerald Fire Slums," said Francesca. "What a piss hole. I feel I'm going to need three showers after we leave this place. Those politicians are such clowns. Why do you call those into a foreign country and claim to give them a better life just to leave them in misery? Despite all these years of hell and hunger, they still come. It doesn't make any sense to me."

"Politicians are fools," Aster commented, opening a window to a fire escape hatch. "To put your faith in them makes you an even greater fool." And that was all he had to say about that. They jumped over an alley into another ruined building that was part of the slums. This one was almost devoid of life, with a few squatters living here and there in their own little sanctuaries. After making it to the left wing of the building, they heard the rumble of a helicopter and bright lights dancing in the night. Aster and Francesca ducked.

"Shh!" Aster put his finger over his lips. Francesca responded by nodding her head in compliance. They both peered over the window and saw an old playground with rusty equipment. Soldiers in dark black armor and striped backpacks fielding Gauss Rifles formed a perimeter around two individuals who were arguing with one another.

"The objective is to take him alive!" shouted a woman, wearing a long overcoat with a brown fur collar and tactical shades with a HUD on the lenses. "Those are the doctor's orders and you…"

A man wearing a BDU colored in the company's custom camouflage pattern made a sharp about-face and looked at her. He was bald and sported a grizzled beard. A green shemagh scarf was wrapped around his neck. "No!" he roared with a thick accent from the swampy countryside of Bellethon. "Our orders are to take him down. I'm calling in reinforcements. We've got the all-clear to send half the company into Domino."

"I know her," said Aster. "That's Professor Fontaine from Duelist Academy. What's she doing here working for DracoTEK?"

"Stop and think about what you're doing Commander Ravenheart!" shouted Fontaine.

"Think about what I'm doing?" Commander Ravenheart shouted back, going right to her face and pointing right at her chest. "I know exactly what the hell I'm doing. Gray Prince is going down. And last I checked, our orders were Dead or Alive. Alive is no longer an option, Ms. Fontaine."

"Dr. Guarnizo wants…"

"Dr. Guarnizo said he wanted the Heart of HEROES and that's what he's going to get. I'm taking no more chances against this kid. He and that bastard with the dinosaur just decimated more than a dozen of my men. I'm not going to write any more letters to loved ones, telling them their sons or fathers or whatever were killed by psychopaths who think because they can summon monsters they're above the law. These kids are going to get exactly what they deserve!"

He signaled the pilot to spin the rotors of their helicopter. "Come on! Move it!" he shouted at the pilot to quicken his pace. "We need to get out of here. There's a blizzard coming."

"When last I checked!" Fontaine yelled over the engine. "We both answer to…"

"NO!" Ravenheart shouted even louder, spraying Fontaine's face with spit. "You are wrong there, Ms. Fontaine. You answer to Dr. Guarnizo. I answer to the members of the DracoTEK Board of Directors. And Senator Smitt and the Department of Eredian Defense. I don't give a flying fuck about what some mad scientist wants."

He sat down on the edge of the chopper.

Fontaine was not too pleased to hear that. She sat down next to him. "That 'mad scientist' is the majority shareholder of DrakoNET and Head of the Paradias Science Department. You'd better be careful how you speak or else Gray Prince isn't going to be the only enemy you'll have here."

"I am done talking to you, bitch! Shut your trap or I will!"

The helicopter took off into the night, leaving behind a squad of soldiers, some of whom were K-9 units.

"This is really bad," said Francesca.

Aster nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Dr. Guarnizo. Mother fucker. I should have known he was behind this."

"What role does he have in this I wonder?" Francesca asked.

"He's the one who helped my dad put the Heart of HEROES inside of me. Not from the goodness of his heart either. He could care less that I was having heart problems as a kid. I knew from the start that he wanted a lab rat to see if the heart worked or not. When he saw that it did, he's been after me since. I wouldn't be surprised if it was him who sent that assassin to my house."

"Yeah, me neither. Those Destiny HEROES of yours are something else, aren't they? I can only imagine the devastation they can cause in the wrong hands. The quicker I get you to your friend, the sooner we can get the hell out of here. Come on."

The two exited the ruined buildings and stuck to the shadows for quite some time. It was an even more miserable scene out there. Hordes of people were bundling up in cardboard boxes and tents. Aster took one look at them and figured they were doomed. The temperature was dropping and the wind was picking up. Indeed, a blizzard was on the way, and if that was the case, these people were not going to make it through the night.

"Hey, pretty lady," one of the homeless men said, sitting miserably in front of his makeshift tent of blue tarp, bags, and ragged cloth. "Mind warming me up with those legs?"

Francesca ignored him, then snapped her fingers to make the meager fire in front of him grow bigger so he could be warm. But her kindness came at a cost. She made sure the flames singed his eyebrows off and burned the tip of his nose. "Oof!" he howled, reeling backward and knocking down his shelter.

"Poor sods," said Francesca. Even though she looked like she should be doing late-night magi shows, the fabric was enchanted to make her feel as though she were taking a stroll in the middle of the summer. "I wish there was something we could do to help them, huh, Aster. Aster?"

Aster was not behind her. He was leaning against a wall, breathing heavily. He felt as though his body was both frozen and on fire. He was having difficulty walking and keeping up with Francesca.

"Oh no," said the magician. "This is terrible. We need to get you to shelter as soon as possible."

They heard a scream coming from down the alley. A woman was shouting for help. Her shouts were blood-curdling and mixing with malicious laughter. A little lad came running out of the alley with a disgruntled look on his face.

"Help!" he cried out. "Help! There's a lady getting mugged! Someone help her!"

"Someone needs our help," Aster grunted. "Come on."

"Aster, there is no time for this. We need…"

"It will only take a second," he protested. "There's a woman in trouble. Come on. She needs our help."

He struggled to stand up. When he was on his feet, he sulked toward the boy. "Hey," Aster called. "What's going on?"

"You...you're Aster Phoenix aren't ya!" said the boy. He wiped tears from his eyes. "Please! You gotta help that lady! They've got her overpowered and she needs help."

"Don't worry," said Francesca. "We'll help her. You stay here."

"Golly, you're the best!" said the boy. "Hurry! Hurry before they kill her or something!"

Aster and Francesca wasted no time and hurried into the alleyway where the woman was. The phone in the boy's pocket buzzed. He took the phone out eagerly and checked the message. As promised, he got 50 silver coins for completing his part. The boy sneered and disappeared into the night to spend his money on cards and candy.

Meanwhile, Aster and Francesca had to cross through another town of tents and cardboard huts. They entered the alley at last, then sighed in disappointment. They were too late. They saw a lifeless body facefirst in a black, glassy, puddle near a dumpster. Aster stomped his foot on the ground, angered that the perpetrators got away. Still, he had to make sure the woman was okay. He tried to run, but he couldn't; his limbs felt as if they were frozen together. Francesca gently pushed him toward the wall and told him to stay put.

"I'll check it out," she said. "You stay right here and relax yourself." She waited until Aster complied, and lightly slumped against the wall to show he wasn't going anywhere. She then hurried to the woman to see if she was still alive. "Ma'am," she said. "Is everything all right?"

She approached the body. The woman's clothes were torn and her flesh was white and cold as stone. Francesca flipped the woman over and froze solid upon seeing a plastic, lifeless dummy looking straight up at her. Even though it had no expression, Francesca felt as if the dummy was taunting her. She looked down its neck and saw a note pinned to the chest. Written in messy, but very threatening letters it read:

**You're in my sights. Run!**

Francesca looked around. Who? Where? She saw that the alley was open more than a yard long. Ahead, behind a small forest of oak trees and the Wall of St. Aveneccia were the buildings of the Star District. The tallest building, The North Diamond Tower, stood dominantly over the others; its upper half concealed by the clouds of the storm fast approaching. But there didn't seem to be anyone there. She turned - thankfully - and saw something dancing on Aster's face. A red dot.

"ASTER!" she shouted. "GET DOWN!"

He did and then a large chunk of the wall he was leaning against was blasted to pieces. Debris and dust scattered in the air. Francesca ducked as well, then crawled behind the dumpster. But what of Aster? No, there was not much she could do against a sniper. She didn't even know how far away he was or where he was. There was only one thing she could do. She took off her hat, reached inside to dig through its infinite inventory and uncovered a smokeball. She sent it rolling to the center of the alleyway and it burst, creating a veil of smoke. Aster rolled away from his position, again doing so in the knick of time; for the ground he laid on a second ago was blasted by the powerful bullet, leaving behind a deep crater.

Unknown to them, the frustrated sniper called for reinforcements. He had both Aster and Francesca cornered and wanted to take them down himself. Though under orders from the Gremlin to take Francesca alive, he couldn't find it in his broken code of honor to leave her to such a fate and would accept the deduction in his pay for killing her. He saw a convoy of cars approaching the alley where they hid. The Gremlin's med arrived to finish the job. Now all that was left was to keep watch and make sure they didn't get away.

"Aster!" Francesca cried out when she saw the headlights of the cars piercing the darkness, blinding her. She summoned the All-Seeing White Tiger to come to their aid, but a heavy gunner burst out of the car. He was equipped with a powerful vulcan, which he used to pepper the tiger to pieces.

"NO!" Francesca cried out as her tiger disappeared.

"It's the magician!" one of the thugs shouted. "We're coming for your little ass, girl!"

"Yeah! Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide!"

"Ogre 1!" shouted an obnoxious voice on the radio. It was the Gremlin, overseeing the operation through their bodycams. "Don't underestimate them! You may have heavy firepower, but they can still use magic. Tire them out and then capture them. Kill Aster if you want, but bring me The Fantastical Francesca alive and unspoiled. I have a score to settle with her."

Thanks to Kara's technology, Aster was able to hear everything he was saying. "You are not popular around here, are you?" he tried to joke.

"Look who's talking," Francesca replied with a weak chuckle.

"They won't get you!" He held out his palm. He was going to summon something.

"Aster, no!" cried Francesca.

The summoning was complete. Aster regurgitated some sort of inky liquid and he rolled to his back. Something took form in front of them. At first, Francesca thought he conjured a giant wall of stone. It was actually a Destiny HERO named Defender. His sturdy stone body turned the bullets to powder upon making impact with him. His glowing red eyes pierced through a rusty metal grate he used for a mask.

"My elixir!" Aster groaned. "Give me...my…"

"No!" shouted Francesca. "Your condition will get worse."

A screech radiated from the sky and the thugs were showered with electricity. Cyber Dragon Nachster flew over them and screeched, drawing their fire.

"Aster!" shouted Kara from his wrist-mounted computer. "Aster! It's Kara. Come in!"

"We're pinned down!" shouted Aster. "We need help!"

"I know! I'm sorry I didn't pick them up sooner. They were hiding in garages all over the place."

"There's so many of them!" cried Aster.

"And it's only getting worse. More bogies are heading your way. They want to take you down. And squads of DracoTEK mercenaries are inbound to investigate the disturbance the Gremlin's men are causing."

Aster groaned. "Man, I just love the holidays. It really brings people together, huh."

"Sit tight, guys," said Kara. "You have help on the way. Prince Michael and Prince Jon of Riftgaard are here. They were sent by the King to investigate DracoTEK's activities, but they were ambushed by the Gremlin's goons and got trapped here. Now they're being hunted as well, both by them and DracoTEK. I'm worried. Whoever is in charge here doesn't want any survivors, and they don't care who they have to silence."

"Yeah," Aster agreed. "We're in deep shit."

The radio crackled. "I've informed Michael of your situation and he's on his way. Nachster will hold Gremlin's goons off for as long as he can until they arrive. Just try not to summon anything, okay?"

"Yeah, too late for that," Francesca shouted. "Aster called upon some wall and now he's in bad shape."

Kara sighed and pounded her desk with her fist. "Damn it, Aster. Just hang on, all right. Help is on the way."

Francesca smacked the back of her head against the dumpster. "Oh, you're an angel, Kara."

The puddle next to her rippled.

"Did you feel that?" Aster asked.

"LOOK OUT!" shouted one of the gunmen. Ultimate Tyranno came bursting out of an old building and started chasing away a second convoy of thugs, coming to help the others. Bullets lit the night, but they failed to penetrate the dinosaur's armor.

Just then, arrows flew from the shadows, striking more and more of the Gremlin's thugs. Their boss's cries flooded the radio channel. "Gremlin here! What is going on out there! Ogre 1! Ogre 1! Status report now!"

"Huh?" Aster said as another arrow flew out of the darkness and struck the heavy gunner in the throat.

"Aster Phoenix!" the cheery, southern, voice of Tyranno Hassleberry transmitted from Aster's computer. "Aster, Aster, Aster. So you're this Gray Prince I've been hearing about. Still needin' me to drag your ass outta the flames, I see."

"At least it's not Exodia coming to char you like last time," Aster chuckled. "It's good to see ya, buddy!" Aster felt like laughing. Instead, he could put his head down and relax. For the first time since this horrible night began, he felt safe.

"Care package inbound for yer lady friend!" Tyranno said. Something came falling out of the sky. A black case. White parachutes released and it landed safely in front of her. "Go on, open it," Tyranno urged her. "Yer gonna need it if ya want to help out Aster."

Francesca did. The case was lit up in white from the inside. And there was a collection of bottles with liquids colored blue, green, and red. And there were two that were iridescent, glowing in all the colors of the rainbow. Mana restoration potions in all flavors of potency. Francesca drank the blue one and felt herself feeling rejuvenated.

"Oh yes!" she called out. "Look out boys! Let me show you how it's done."

She stood up and strutted towards the battleground as though she were walking down a runway. Another convoy of bad guys was fast approaching. She wrinkled her nose and smirked arrogantly. She opened her hands, forming white arcane circles over her palms. Then a larger one formed in front of the convoy. She puckered her lips, making a kissing gesture and unleashed a rain of glowing white swords. There were thousands of them, slicing the vehicles into scrap. With a wave of her arm, she commanded them to flow back towards her. They surged toward her direction like a wave. She twirled and sent them flying back at another group of cars that tried to get away.

Then, an attack helicopter from DracoTEK flew out from behind a building and unleashed a salvo of missiles heading her direction. The swords flew towards the missiles and intercepted them. Then a Terrorking Archfiend jumped out from behind the helicopter and slashed it in half.

"Oh?" Francesca said. She turned and saw armored trucks and attack vehicles from DracoTEK coming her way. She would have like to use her Storm of Swords spell again, but it was sadly a technique she could use once a week. And it drained her.

Someone ran past her. Someone large and very muscular. He carried an ax shrouded with lightning. He jumped into the air and smashed the ax on the ground, creating a powerful quake that sent the vehicles flipping through the air like toys. He was clad in a gray cotton hoodie and jeans. Half his head was shaved while the other half had slick, dirty blond hair swayed to the side. A part of it formed a bang over the left side of his face. Terrorking Archfiend landed gracefully on the crater the young man created. The Archfiend's master came walking out of the shadows of a building, sporting a very classy jacket and tight black pants. He looked like he was going clubbing by the way he looked.

Francesca fixed her hair and bowed at once, realizing she was in the presence of two Princes of Termnnia. Michael Octavius Dalton, Crown Prince of Eredas. And the beast with the lightning ax was Prince Jon Jahangir of Riftgaard. Hassleberry came jumping down the top of a building to join them. He certainly looked like a soldier, clad in multi-cam trousers and sporting a custom vest to carry his things. A sword was sheathed to his back along with the quiver to hold the arrows of his compact bow.

"Lookie here, boys," Michael said, to which Prince Jon cackled, shouldering his ax.

Aster hobbled to join them. Michael spotted him and said: "And then, there's this asshole."

"Nice to see you, too," Aster croaked. "What the hell did you guys do to get caught up in this mess?"

"We were hoping you'd tell us," said Jon. "King Eldon wanted us to investigate why a PMC would want to close off large and very populated sections of the city like this without rhyme or reason. The next thing we know, an old foe of Prince Michael sends his armed band of morons to try and take us down."

"You'd think they'd stop trying right about now?" Francesca laughed.

Jon smirked. "Indeed."

Michael chuckled. "Well, it's good to see you again, Fran."

"You know each other," Aster sighed. "Typical."

"Not personally," said Francesca. "But I was hired to perform a show for his eighteenth birthday. What a night, eh?"

"One I'll never forget. Nor the maids. Took 'em a week to clean all that glitter off the floor. And the carpet. I told you not to pop out of the cake in that spot. If Mother saw that mess, she would have had you executed. What about you, Jon?"

"I don't remember much of that night, save Summer was having fun dancing with our magical friend here. That rum at your party was powerful stuff."

Hassleberry stepped in. "While it's nice and all to see y'all again, I don't think this is the best spot to be lingering. There are more DracoTEK dudes out there and twice as many thugs working for the Gremlin. And there's the matter of that sniper who had Aster pinned down earlier. I've been on his trail for days, but he always manages to slip away."

"I know who he is," said Jon. "And it surprises me not that he's been able to avoid you. He's a former member of my order. The Wolves of Riftgaard. I'll tell you more about him when we get out of here. Aster looks like he needs some medicine and some rest."

"Not you, too," Aster murmured.

"Don't worry," said Francesca. "My safehouse is down this way. It's guarded by a magic spell that only I can unlock. We'll be safe there."

"Perhaps there's a way we can regroup," said Jon. "We're going to need to if we hope to survive this night."

"Trust me handsome, I have all we need in there."

* * *

**Part VI**

* * *

She led them through the park and into an abandoned theatre. After a short trek through the ruins, they stopped in front of a brick wall. Francesca placed her hand on it and it rippled away to reveal a door.

"Welcome to Casa de Francesca," the magician said, opening the door, leading her companions into a luxurious suite lit with crystal chandeliers and pink neon trimmed along the walls. There was a bar fully stocked with expensive brands and a fridge stocked with snacks. The den had a billiard table with a red glass lamp hanging over it.

"Very nice," said Jon.

As they got settled and helped themselves to refreshments, Francesca took Aster to her room and had him undress so he could lay in bed to rest.

"We're making a big mistake," he said.

"The only mistake is having you out there in that condition," Francesca said, her outfit was dematerializing as she walked behind a dressing screen. "Look at that weather," she added.

Aster looked out the window. The city was blanketed by a veil of ice and snow. He could barely see the buildings. "Just for a little while," he commanded. "I'll sleep for a little while and then we're heading out."

"You are in no condition to be commanding us, Aster. In fact, if it weren't for me, you'd be in the Gremlin's hands right about now." She walked out from behind the screen, now wrapped in a white towel. "Try and be a little more grateful and drop that 'I don't need help' bullshit. It's stupid and cliche."

"I know," Aster said with a sigh. "I just don't want anyone getting hurt because of me."

"Michael and Jon are Princes of Termnnia. Those two reek of incredible power. I'm sure they can handle themselves. We've got Hassleberry and his Ultimate Tyranno and that Cyber Dragon watching the sky. We're going to be safe here. You just rest. In the meantime, I'm going to take a shower. When I'm done, I'll make you something to eat. Any requests?"

"What can you whip up?"

"I can make just about anything in there. How about a burger?"

Aster smiled. "Sure. Sounds good. And thanks."

"You're welcome. Now get some sleep."

"That's going to be hard to do," Aster said, trying to close his eyes. "My visions keep me awake most times. One of them terrifies me more than all the evil lurking out in that city."

"Visions?"

"I don't know how, but somehow, I can see things that have not yet come to pass. Just recently, a tongue shriller than all the music has been haunting my nightmares."

"What do you see?"

Aster sighed. "Divine Beasts...mourning a dead King."

* * *

He awoke around five the next morning. His head hurt and his body ached. Rest, they said. You'd feel better, they said. No. He just felt worse. And his sleep did very little to replenish the mana he lost summoning his D-HEROES last night. Just as he feared, he saw a vision of a flaming world with mountains crumbling and the Divine Beasts crying out in agony for someone they held dear.

Aster felt the pit of his stomach growing cold at the thought of it. If the dead king from his vision was who he thought it was, then this world was in even more danger than he thought. Perhaps, he was killing himself for nothing. If the supposed Song from the Divines would not be enough to quell the evil in the world, mayhaps his D-HEROES were of no use either, and he was killing himself for nothing. He stretched, then stopped at once when his left leg touched something smoothe and surprisingly warm.

Slowly, Aster turned his head. It took everything inside of him to keep from screaming in shock. Francesca was sleeping right next to him. She was laying on her belly, her raven-black hair strewn all over the pillow and veiling her face in ragged curls. She was clad in a gray tank top, the strap dropping down her left shoulder. Other than that Aster had no idea what else she had on or if she anything else at all. He didn't even have time to think about it, for the shock of seeing her beside him caused him to fall out of bed. He landed on the floor with a loud chunk!

"Ow!" He rubbed the back of his head.

Infuriated, Aster stood up, fists balled in anger. He felt like screaming at Francesca and telling her to leave at once. The nerve of her laying in the same bed as he. Talk about invasion of personal space. But once he looked at her more closely, he thought better of it. She looked so peaceful. The magician cooed like a dove and nuzzled her pillow before laying still once more. Her mouth seemed to form into half a smile. Aster then looked at the night table beside the bed. There was a triple-decker cheeseburger with bacon, lettuce, cheese, pickles, candied onions, and a yellowy sauce flowing down the side of the sandwich and pooling over stacks of fries. A bottle of Aster's own energy drink was there as well to wash it down. It was the meal Francesca promised him. Part of the sandwich was bitten off. A pink sticky note was placed on the energy drink. A message from Francesca in cursive letters read:

**Sorry. I ate some.**

"Don't be mad at her," Double Dude said, sitting by the fireplace as he read a book, detailing the long and complicated history of House Kaiba. "There was nowhere else for her to sleep. And that is HER bed after all." He licked his index finger before turning the page.

"Did she…"

"I kept a close eye on you all night, sir. And no, she did not take advantage of you while you slept. She is not that kind of person. The audacity of that mindset of yours, Aster Phoenix."

"I woke up next to a girl!" Aster cried out. "How did you think I was going to react!?"

"Shh!" Double Dude went, pressing his finger over his lips. "You'll wake her."

Aster growled. He sat down on the side of the bed and ate the meal as quickly as he could, then searched for his missing clothes.

"They're folded over there," Double Dude directed him towards the lighted vanity mirror, cluttered with Francesca's make-up kits. "I took the liberty of cleaning them for you, sir."

Aster wasted no time and put his clothes back on.

"I am happy for you, though, sir. She seems to have taken a liking to you."

"I'm not going to get involved," Aster said, putting his pants back on. "The only thing on my mind is finding Kyle. And then possibly going on the search for Plasma." He stopped talking, noticing that the safe house was quiet. "Where are the others? Are they asleep?"

"Your friends left early this morning," Double Dude replied. "There was been a spike in activity out there on the count of this...Gremlin fellow. Prince Michael left you a gift before he left. Here." He held up a black ring with a red ruby inserted inside of a skull's mouth. "It belongs to Her Majesty, Infernalqueen Archfiend. She thought it best that you take it since you are one with the shadows. Go on. Take it."

Aster did and he put it on at once. Suddenly, his aches and pains were gone. "Whoa!" he breathed.

"It won't stop the Heart of HEROES from killing you, but it will make summoning your HEROES as less painful experience."

Aster looked at his arm, which now had an even more sickly appearance to it. He didn't want to, but he had to do what he had to do. He injected Double Dude's elixir into himself. The arm's color hardly came back.

Double Dude closed the book and set it down on the table. "That should last you the whole day. So long as you don't summon anything too powerful like Dreadmaster or Dogma."

"I understand," Aster groaned from the sting the medicine caused him. "Nothing too big."

"I do hope you listen to me this time, sir. Your friends look like they are more than capable of handling those threats as well. You have allies. Use them."

"I will. But I still have to head back to my place and get my gear."

"Francesca already took the liberty of acquiring it for you."

"What?"

Double Dude stood up from the chair and opened a polished mahogany wardrobe containing Aster's set of four red-bladed swords and his layered orichalcum chestplate, shin guards, and vambraces. And the jacket with the white fur-trimmed hood with the D-HERO symbol emblazoned on a medallion in the front.

"She was out all night braving the dangers of the city and the blizzard getting your things. Show the girl a bit of gratitude, dear boy."

Aster put on one of his gloves with carbon fiber knuckles. "Gratitude. That's all she's going to get from me."

He suited up as quickly as possible.

"You're leaving?"

Aster turned and saw Francesca getting out of bed. To Aster's relief, she was wearing bright orange workout pants to sleep with that night. "I'm coming with you."

"That's not a good idea," said Aster, sheathing his fourth sword over the third, both hanging on the belt on the left side of his hip. "Before you say anything, I appreciate you helping me. You found me, fixed me up, fed me, grabbed my stuff, and I'm grateful. But I've wasted enough time. I've got only two days left to find Plasma. I won't last long out here without him."

"I can help you!" Francesca insisted.

"No. You can't. Last night. That was only the beginning. It's going to get far worse out there the longer Dr. Guarnizo goes on without me in his clutches. The same goes for those scumbags from DracoTEK. The storm's over. The sun's out. Their reinforcements are most likely crawling all over this area. It's not safe for you out there."

"Oh, because you really handled yourself out there really well, huh? When are you going to get this through your thick skull, Phoenix? You need my help!" Her nightwear vanished and in seconds, Francesca was back in her magician's outfit. She held out her hand, her top hat materialized in her fingertips. She gave it a spin and put it on. "Like it or not," she said. "DracoTEK is annoying, but Jon and Michael are going after the real cancer here. The Gremlin and his syndicate. Take care of him, and those bounty hunters will scatter back to where they came from like roaches. Then, let's work together to take down DracoTEK and kick them out of this city." She held out her hand. "Partners?"

Aster sighed. He shook it reluctantly. Her smile made his chest get tied in a knot. It was so condescending and arrogant. Like she knew her charms worked against him. He hated that look and said: "Alright. Just don't get it my way. Oh, and if I catch you sleeping next to me again, I'm feeding your ass to Dreadmaster."

They walked out into the city. Helios was high in the sky, bringing much-needed warmth to the cold morning. The snow was melting all around them. The sky was orange and pink, and a mist hung in the air. Ultimate Tyranno's footprints were embedded deep in the snow heading north toward the center of the King's District.

"What's going on over there?"

"Gremlin is said to operate there," Francesca answered. "Supposedly, he's hanging out in one of his many underground clubs overseeing the Op to take you out. But he's got another thing coming if he believes he can take on two Princes of Termnnia. I mean, how cool is that?"

"Yeah, sure," Aster replied, looking at the computer Zane gave him. Nachster was still in the sky keeping a close eye out for trouble. There were a few red rings on the map, but nothing to get excited about. So far, both the Gremlin's gunmen and the soldiers from DracoTEK were huddled in one area for some odd reason. "Sometimes, I wish life didn't have to be this complicated."

Francesca looked at him. She wanted to place her hand on his shoulder to comfort him, but he was still plenty mad waking up and seeing her beside him earlier. Even she had to admit, it was a tad much and disrespectful to not think about how he would feel, but she was so damn tired from being out in the city all night. She didn't even think about it. She just undressed, climbed into bed, fell asleep and that was the end of it. She didn't mean to insinuate anything.

"I think many people who fall on hard times wish the same thing," she said after a long pause. "But all we can do is decided what to do with the time that is given to us."

"Gandalf?" Aster asked.

"Yes. He's one of my favorite storybook characters. In fact, it was he who inspired me to be a mage."

"Well, it's in your blood after all," Aster said with a chuckle. They crossed through an abandoned basketball court. "You are an Axenion."

"I know, but I had a mind to be a Duelist than a mage. But reading about wizards in Earth Mythology, I couldn't help but want to be like them. Maybe someday I will."

"It's a beautiful dream," said Aster. "But one that might never come true if you continue living a life such as this. You should have kept to your studies in the Adamantium Citadel. You're a powerful mage now, but a few more years there, you could be a master wizard."

Francesca sniggered through her nose. "I didn't want to be there any longer, Aster. I'm too...adventurous. I'm nineteen-years-old. I've got my whole life ahead of me. I don't want to spend a majority of it with my nose stuck in books and scrolls until the Arch-Mage deems me ready for mastery. I wanted to entertain people with my spells more than I wanted to singe them into ash. And I wanted to teach those that fear magic that there is nothing to be afraid of. We can do beautiful things with it, which is why I traveled around doing shows with my gifts in illusion and charms. I have a bit of a sorceress in me, yes, but that's a side of me I want contained mostly. Magic is misunderstood. Some think of it as a weapon to bring chaos and death. But that's just an overused portion of what it can do. If used the right way, magic can build so many wonderful things."

She stopped and knelt down by a pile of weeds, killed off by the winter chill. With a wave of her hands, Francesca made them bloom to immense size and beauty.

"But, if there are those who need to be punished with it, so be it. And unfortunately, I've discovered way too many bad eggs in this city that need to be burned to ash."

"Ah, there you are," Prince Jon called out from the top of a building. "Did you sleep well, princess?"

"Like a log," Francesca replied.

"I was talking to Aster."

Francesca started laughing, to which Aster frowned. "Funny," he said. "So what's the gameplan for today?"

"We hunt for the Gremlin," said Jon. "I think we're in enough trouble as it is with those mercenaries running around. We should take him down first."

"Any idea where to start looking?" Francesca asked.

"No," said Aster, "but before we do any hunting, first thing's first."

* * *

**Part VII**

* * *

"You've got to be kidding me," Jon said, sitting next to Francesca on the opposite side of the booth they shared with Aster. They were in a coffee shop owned by a kind woman named Celeste, who ran an inn and boutique up north in the countryside near the border to Elleria. During the holidays, she came down to the city to spread cheer and buy toys for the children. Fortunately for Aster, she was in town and opened up her shop.

"More orange juice, Aster?" the Sunborne woman asked, approaching their table with a pitcher filled with the ice-cold beverage.

"Please," Aster begged. "And thanks for the free slice."

"Anything for you, son," she replied filling up the cup. "If you another slice of pie, let me know. Horakhty knows I could use a customer right about now. Those mercenaries are making it hard for business. Whoever that fugitive they're looking for is, I hope they find him soon. It's almost Christmas."

"What is this Christmas?" Jon asked.

"Not from around here, is he?" Celeste asked.

"No," Jon replied. "I'm from Riftgaard. We don't have technology like this nor your holidays."

"It's an Earth-based tradition," Celeste replied. "One I find rather fun. We all do. With all the wars going on, we could use a little fun to cheer us up. Anything for you, honey?"

Francesca shook her head. "I'll have another hot chocolate."

"Make it two," Jon said.

"Four," Michael said, coming into the shop. "Mind if I sit down?"

Aster scooted over to give Michael his room. He was accompanied by girl with jet-black hair. She was bundled up in a black coat and a royal red scarf and a black beanie. "Aster, Francesca," Michael said, "This is my girlfriend Crow. She's gonna help us deal with the Gremlin."

"Hi guys," she said, with a timid wave of her hand.

Celeste clicked her tongue. "Doing some more vigilante work out there, young Prince?"

"You have no idea," Michael said with a chuckle. "How fortuitous that Aster craved some of your pie right now. I need some info." He handed Celeste a sack filled with rubies and coins.

She bobbed her head up and down, weighing the sack with her hand. "Ah, that kind of info," she tucked the sack into the pocket of her apron. "On your little Gremlin friend, I suppose?"

"Yes," Crow said, snuggling next to Michael. "Any info you can offer will be greatly appreciated."

Celeste bit her lip. "Very well, I'll let you in on what I know, but be very careful out there, kids. These are some really bad people. It may be fun for you smashing their hired guns, but I'm sure they've come up with ways to keep themselves safe from you. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"You have to," Michael said urgently. "The sooner we do, the sooner we can kick DracoTEK out of Domino."

"All right," said Celeste.

"Oh, great," Aster groaned. "I don't have that kind of time left. I need to find Plasma now." He looked at Francesca. "I told you I didn't need any sleep. We wasted a good night. I could have been out searching for him."

Francesca crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. "In that storm!" she yelled. "You are a fool. And don't get mad at me! If I hadn't pulled you out and dragged you to my place, you'd probably be dead and your heart would be in the hands of our foes."

"There's still time," said Michael. "Infernalqueen Archfiend bought you plenty of it."

Aster growled. "It doesn't matter how many magical rings you give me. I'm on borrowed time, Michael! Until I find Plasma, I'm a dead man walking."

Tears started coming out of his eyes. He scratched his head. "My life practically started. I'm supposed to live for thousands of years. I couldn't even live out twenty! It's not fair! Why is this happening to me? I didn't even get to do any of the things I wanted. I didn't get to spend time with my dad! I didn't start a family. I didn't see the world. Why?"

"Aster…" Francesca whispered.

"I'm scared…I don't….I don't wanna die!"

Michael placed his hand on top of Aster's and squeezed it. "Hey. We'll figure something out. Trust me. Trust us. We won't let you down, Aster. But it's going to be hard finding Plasma with all these mercenary thugs out looking for you. Let's deal with the root of this problem and take them down together. No one is going to get your Heart. And you are most certainly not going to die. I won't let that happen. You have my Archfiends and my sword."

"And you have my ax," said Jon. "And Gearfriend the Iron Knight will serve you, too. I won't let you get die."

"I won't either," said Francesca.

The door to the cafe opened. Hassleberry came walking into the shop, exhausted. "Guys," he said. "Sorry I'm late. I was trying to shake that sniper friend of yours, Jon. He's good."

"Gjallarhorn," Jon replied. "Yes. He was a fine marksman in my order. But his hate for the Covenant caused him to grow rebellious and corrupt. It wasn't enough just killing our enemies, he wanted to torture them. Make them suffer. I banished him from the Wolves of Rifgaard when he started shooting children."

"Did you try and stop him?" Michael asked.

"Yes. He was due for execution, but it was foiled when his radical followers helped him escape. We never saw him again. I heard nothing until Michael told me that Naralians and Covenant believers were being hunted here in Domino by a sniper. I just had to come down and help."

"I'll help you stop him," said Aster. "It's the least I can do for sticking your necks out for me. Well, then, I say we best get ourselves ready. Celeste, thanks for the meal. But I think we better get going."

"Very well. I'll send you all the info I have into that fancy wristwatch of yours. Be safe out there, kids. I'm rooting for you. And if ever you desire a cup of coffee and a slice of pie, my door is always open to you."

They paid her for the refreshments and left. But as soon as they stepped out, they were greeted by a most peculiar sight.

A Blue-Eyes White Dragon roared as it flew over them and soared off into the distance.

"You guys saw a Blue-Eyes White Dragon just now, right?" Aster said. They all nodded yes. "Good. I'm not going nuts."

After that odd sighting, they proceeded to the King's District to begin the hunt for the Gremlin and hopefully end this terrible nightmare.

* * *

**Dr. Guarnizo's Report**

* * *

_This is the audio log of Dr. Phillipe Guarnizo, Head of Science and Technology of the Paradias Corporation, dated December 10th. Year 17 of the Fourth Age of the Sun._

_I will be recording these throughout the entirety of Operation Black Heart. Things have taken quite the turn here. Order 111 is a complete success. As expected, not only has the plan captured and contained Aster Phoenix in my board, but a great deal many bright and talented youths. Gifted individuals who arrogantly deem themselves as Heroes of Domino City._

_The crime lord who goes by the name 'Gremlin' has been a very useful asset in my operation. With the bounty placed on Aster's head, thousands of armed delinquents have flocked to the city. And as I foresaw, they were quick to plunge the city in total anarchy. With their numbers so great, they began to attack the innocent and police forces of Domino. We were soon able to coax King Eldon to hire my friends in DracoTEK in a peacekeeping operation. Fool that he is._

_With the ongoing violence in the city escalating, my plan to close the city and contain Aster in a secure area of operation is a total success. The Gremlin was easily quick to go against me, as I predicted. He too has knowledge of the Heart of HEROES and wants the power for himself. Luckily the mercenary soldiers of DracoTEK have the training and equipment to deal with both Gremlin and Aster. And hopefully the other heroes I caught in my net._

_I will read more on them later; for right now my interest has been piqued. It seems a new player has entered my little game. I just reviewed new footage from the body cams of DracoTEK's Jade Division. They were...torn apart. Uh...just...just amazing. He was quickly identified as Hassleberry Kenzan. Goes by the ridiculous codename: Tyranno. Most likely due to him being from Feldia, home of the Dinosaur Lords, and that his deck is based on those creatures. He is quite an interesting specimen, this lad is. He is an Eldori with tan skin, a very muscular build, and his blood is teeming with Dinosaur DNA. Perhaps this explains his Eidolon, Ultimate Tyranno, which he summons when Ravenheart's men surround him. Hassleberry and Ultimate Tyranno. The two of them have spent the last few hours massacring Commander Ravenheart's men, and I must say, it's quite entertaining._

_That creature. It can only be described as nothing short of a miracle of evolution. I have never seen such a big thing move so quickly. The two of them are more than just Eidolon and Summoner. They are one. They have paired each other with a powerful bond. I researched him a little more thoroughly the night I saw him, and I made a most extraordinary discovery. Some time ago, while on a paleontological expedition in the badlands up north, there was a terrible rockslide that injured both him and his partner, a girl by the name of Nanette 'Nixie' of House Danteya. They were both severely injured with Nixie having shattered the ulna bone. Tyranno's tibia, so I read via the medical reports, was ground to powder. Though they were far away from any medical help, the diggers miraculously had access to advanced medical teams thanks to Kaiba Corp, who sponsored the dig to uncover new dinosaurs to be used in the game of Duel Monsters._

_With their highly advanced equipment, the doctors proceeded with a very strange procedure. They replaced the young one's broken bones with the fossils uncovered in the dig. Since dinosaurs have been proven to be related to dragons in more ways than one, it came to no surprise that some magical phenomenon took place after the surgery was complete. Thanks to some close friends at the Domino City Museum of Natural History, I was able to receive the journals of Dr. Jaylen Danteya, Nixie's father, who was keeping a keen eye on his daughter. It was soon discovered that Nixie and Hassleberry had their spirits infused with the souls of the dinosaurs, whose bones saved their limbs and lives._

_The dinosaur's spirits give the kids super strength, super speed, and lightning-fast regeneration. Incredible. Capturing them will be a tricky process, but from what we gathered from living dinosaur species today, they can be controlled with simple sounds. Perhaps the same results will be produced when we begin the hunt for the boy. Once I conclude my business here and capture Hassleberry and Aster, I will send a team to recover Nixie, whose soul is infused with a much stronger creature. I must have them at once. I only pray that Commander Raveheart and his mercenaries don't get too trigger happy and spoil my specimens._

_They must be properly studied, for this is a scientific breakthrough of incredible proportion. A fusion of souls. How extraordinary. Perhaps my goal with the Heart of HEROES is not as impossible as I thought._

_End of log._

* * *

"What are you doing?" Aster asked, leaning against an iron railing. He watched as Francesca was stretching in front of him, limbering herself up for the battle ahead. Jon, Crow, and Michael were talking to Hassleberry by a fountain, which was turned off due to the cold weather. He didn't know what they were saying since they were far, but from the laughter, it must have been funny. Francesca, meanwhile, did not reply to Aster's question quickly. Instead, she just smiled at him and bent forward to touch her toes.

"Exercising," she said, standing back up. "What's it look like?"

"Do you have to do it so close to me?"

"It's only for a short while," she said. "Getting kinda tense, huh?"

"No."

Francesca laughed. A puff of purple smoke burst on her head and her top hat appeared out of thin air."Hey, Aster, I was just thinking."

Uh oh.

"When this is all over and we find Plasma. Well...do you think we can maybe...go out?"

"You're joking."

"I am not. You owe me for saving you. Don't you think you should repay the favor by having dinner with me?"

Aster scoffed. "I can pay you if you want. But a date? Nuh-uh."

Francesca still kept that irritating smirk on her face. She was tenacious and horribly stubborn. She took a brave step forward and got in Aster's face. "You sure are a heartbreaker Aster. I'll give you that. But I know you feel something for me."

"Yeah, nausea."

"No, that's not what I'm picking up. You've been looking at my rear end since we first met."

He shrugged. "Not like you give anyone much of a choice. Your leotard and tailcoat don't exactly cover it up, you know. So that's kinda unfair."

Francesca straightened up. "Well, I guess there's no changing your mind."

"Why me, exactly?"

"I like you. I always have. You're brave -stupid- but brave. And you're a famous, top-ranked, Duelist. Speaking of which, the Kaiba Corp Classic is due to start in a few weeks. At least let me accompany you for the duration of the games. Who knows. Maybe you'll grow to like me."

"Well, if you wanna go as arm candy, I guess I can't stop you. But I wouldn't get your hopes up."

"How much you wanna bet you'll be begging me to be your girlfriend when the tournament is done?"

Aster chuckled. "I dunno. What do you have in mind."

"Well, how about this? If by the end of the games you feeling nothing, I'll leave you alone forever. You'll never hear from me again. But, if time passes and you find me worthy of your heart, I want a kiss. A big one for the whole world to see as you win the trophy and revel to the sound of the hearts of all your screaming fangirls breaking."

Aster burst out laughing. "Quite the theatrical one, aren't you?"

"I'm in show business. It's how I am."

"All right then," said Aster. "But I'm only doing it because of the opportunity to finally get you out of my life."

Francesca smiled. "I don't see that happening."

"I don't see that kiss happening, so it's a win-win. Come on. Let's go. Michael's calling us to follow him."

* * *

After hours of battling on the streets against gangs and divisions from DracoTEK, the team approached the ruins of a temple, which was once dedicated to the Seven Mothers, the most important Goddesses in the Termnnian Pantheon. Aster was not very religious, but it pained him to see such a structure in complete disarray. There was graffiti marring the snowy, white limestone, many of them tags from the various Duel Gangs that prowled the city streets. The beautiful mosaic windows were smashed by vandals, the gold scepters, swords, shields, and wings of the beautiful guardian ladies were stripped away by thieves. Weeds and smelly, dry, brushes replaced the colorful flowers that once added a dash of color to the temple. The great bells of silver and myrrh were long gone by now.

Francesca looked at the temple in great sadness, hands pressed against her breaking heart. It was here that her mother and father were married and had her baptized in Mana's name when she was born. After the Yeyunists came and demanded that the city succumb to their way of life, many temples, such as this one, were forced to close under the pain of being called a racist or whatever 'phobe' the cultists enjoyed tagging those who did not agree with their points of view. And it often worked. Funding was cut, names were slandered, lives were ruined. They had no choice but to submit to their wishes and make way. In a few months, this beautiful temple was going to be demolished to make way for a Church of Yeyu.

"Those bastards," Francesca whispered. "Pox on them all. All the treasures in this place, gone, stolen. I'd hate to think what they've done to them. I hope Prince Yuri sees the evil in these people and bans their way of life."

"Michael says he will try to convince him so," said Hassleberry.

"We all will," said Jon. "Long have these people waged war against my kind. They wish to 'civilize' us."

"What?" Francesca said in shock. "The Covenant has a reach that far north?"

"They're everywhere," said Michael. "Thanks to Jon's Wolves, they've been able to be kept outside their border. Not to mention that giant spirit that now guards the country. The Soul of Silvermountain, correct."

"What a powerful beast," Jon said proudly. "We don't need the protection of the Divine Beasts with that creature's ancient power protecting us, nevertheless we joined the Alliance anyway. Is this where we'll find your Gremlin?"

"It's marked on the map," said Crow. "Perhaps Celeste got the info wrong. Why would a criminal gang want to have a hideout here?"

"Celeste is never wrong," Michael replied with certainty. "I've always counted on her for information. She's our eyes and ears. I tell you, she has birds everywhere who tell her what's what in this city. I can tell you the story of the janitor working on the eightieth floor of that building right now, that's how sure I am of her information."

Aster thought to ask Kara to see if the location was correct. "What do you think?" he asked, typing on the holographic keyboard.

Kara had to finish her sandwich before answering him. "Hold on," she said. She took a long drink, after which, she burped. "Excuse me," she said. "I took a look at those blueprints your friend sent to you earlier. You are not going to believe this. There's an entire network of tunnels honeycombing underneath the city. And they're ancient. They don't go deeper than the Underground, but they go down for miles. There are buildings down there. They must be Elven ruins."

"Of course," said Michael. "After the Vollanti made landfall here, they aided Men in defeating their Golden Elf slavers. Ha! I imagine having hordes of Blue-Eyes White Dragons would have made that conquest very easy. After they received their blueprints from Tenna (Goddess of Knowledge) they built the city over the old Elven structures as a symbol of their dominance over the Elves. I had no idea they were still structurally sound after all these ages."

"They're sound enough for the Gremlin to have a base of operations down there," said Kara. "Okay, there is a secret passage in the tombs underneath the temple. I'll direct you from there once you find the entrance. Be careful. I'm...pick...up...wha...hey..."

"Kara!" cried Aster. "Kara come in!"

"I'm afraid you won't be hearing from her," said a deep, familiar voice coming from the static on Asters' computer. Her pretty face was replaced by one belonging to an old man, bald, with scruffy, gray muttonchops and a thick, long beard. A monocle sat over his right eye.

"Sam Hill!" Hassleberry cried out. The man's face was menacing and almost frightened him.

"You!" Aster snarled.

"My how you have grown, my boy. You were but a sprout when I last saw you. Now you're a man. You know why I am here. Why you are hunted?"

"You want my heart."

"I can give you a new one," Dr. Guarnizo promised. "You can trust me. I know how much you suffer. I know you want your pain to end." He stepped away from the camera lens. Two soldiers in white coats wheeled in a cart with a white sheet. Dr. Guarnizo pulled it off to reveal a white, synthetic heart with glowing blue patterns. "You can reclaim what has been taken from you, Aster. You can finally live a normal life. I just want the Heart of HEROES, Aster. That's all. I promised your father I would take care of you, and care for you I shall. Just trust in me. It does not have to end in violence."

"Just what in the hell do you need the Heart for?" Aster asked. "Why do you need it so bad."

"The hows and whys are my business, boy! If you do not take my offer, I will have no choice but to authorize lethal force on you and your friends. Is that what you want?"

"We can take ya!" Hassleberry boasted. "We're not afraid of you old man."

"Take that thing you made and shove it up your ass," said Aster. "My Destiny HEROES stay with me."

"Then I assure you, Aster, we have nothing more to discuss. I will hunt you down and gut you like a fish. And your friends will serve as valuable specimens for my research. I shall enjoy tearing apart your corpses."

The feed cut. Something strange then happened. A black radio tower rose out from the top of the temple. It was covered with subwoofers. It then released a terrible screeching sound. The companions groaned in agony and covered their ears.

"What...is….that!" shouted Crow.

"I don't know!" Jon shouted. "Hey, what's wrong with you Hassleberry?"

Aster looked at his old schoolmate. Something was most definitely wrong with him. He was snarling like an animal. Drool oozed through his teeth and his fingers curved to resemble talons.

"No!" shouted Aster. "Come on, Hassleberry! Fight it!"

"But he can't," Dr. Guarnizo's voice boomed from the loudspeakers inside the temple. "It's in his nature to lose control when assaulted with frequencies such as this. Have fun destroying your friend, Aster."

"Kenzan!" Francesca shouted.

He was gone. Tyranno Kenzan's eyes slit, giving them a reptilian-like appearance. Then, a smoky, red and black aura enveloped him as he growled. He let out a beastly roar and the smoke took the form of Ultimate Tyranno's upper half. Out of nowhere, metallic spikes rained down from the sky, forming a rin around Aster and Hassleberry. The spikes formed a protective barrier, keeping them locked in. But they were not alone.

"What is this?" Aster heard Dr. Guarnizo say on the pad. Clearly even he was not expecting this.

Someone walked through the barrier like it was nothing. Someone armored in a midnight blue suit with red patterns. He carried two katanas on his back and what appeared to be a long polearm. His helmet revealed only one eye, shielded by a protective HUD that displayed data. He had very thick pouches on both legs and on the utility belt around his waist. He reached into one of them and threw a metal collar around Hassleberry's neck.

The doors to the temple burst open. A very small and very hideous Half-Elf walked out, surrounded by two armed guards. He was no more than four feet tall and horribly stout, so much so that he seemed ball-like in appearance. His face was horribly creased and his ears were long and pointy, depicting his Elven heritage. One eye was terribly large and yellow and his nose was pointed. His skin was powdery white and his hair looked like spiderwebs over his face.

"Aster Phoenix," he said, puffing on a cigar. "Got your hand caught in the cookie jar, didn't you?"

"Thelonious!" snarled Dr. Guarnizo. "You are going against our deal?"

"Afraid so old chap," wheezed the hideous man they called Gremlin. "There's a lot of money in front of me, far more than anything you and those jarheads can offer. Two Princes of Termnnia, a boy possessed with the soul of a Dinosaur, the Heart of HEROES, and a lovely mage whose ass is going to look good mounted over MY FIREPLACE!"

"Hello, Mr. Chesterfield," Francesca said, forming purple arcane circles over her hands. She summoned her All-Seeing White Tiger. "It's good to see you again, too."

"It's not going to be like last time, love," said the Gremlin. "I've got the best swordsman in Eastern Termnnia under my payroll and it looks like he's got some toys that has put this Kenzan fellow under my control. How does this work Sai'boru?"

"Just think of it as a video game," the assassin in black armor said, spinning his polearm. "Do me a favor and make sure the one with the dinosaur DNA doesn't get in my way. I've waited a long time for this moment."

"I don't have time for this," Aster growled, drawing two of his red blades. "Sai'boro. I should have finished you off a long time ago."

"Your tactics and magical abilities are impressive, Aster Phoenix. But I have surpassed you and today I'll prove it." He summoned a monster. A warrior named Six Samurai Shien. Hassleberry snarled and the spiritual form of Ultimate Tyranno roared.

Sai'boro - meaning Backstabber in Go-Aki - lunged forward and his polearm met with Aster's blades. But as quick as Aster was, nothing could prepare him for the assault from the left by Shien. He rolled out of the way to avoid being beheaded by the Six Samurai's blade, but then he landed in front of Hassleberry, who raised his foot, the Ultimate Tyranno did the same and smashed the foot on the ground, creating a large crater. Aster was safe; for he summoned another form of HERO to save him. Elemental HERO Phoenix Enforcer.

"No fair!" jeered the Gremlin. "Well, take some of this!" he moved the joystick of the controller around like a little boy playing video games. He forced Hassleberry to strike Aster with his claws. Whatever move he made, Ultimate Tyranno mimicked. The spiritual dinosaur's claws slashed through the air, barely missing Aster. Shien came out of nowhere and kicked him. Then Sai'boro attacked with his polearm. Aster dodged it as well, thanks to Phoenix Enforcer's aid.

Francesca felt so helpless watching him in there alone. Jon materialized his ax and tried to smash the barrier, but it was useless.

"We're going to have to stop him," Crow said, summoning Dewloren, King of the Ice Barrier.

"Ooo, she's got eyes on me!" laughed Gremlin.

"Boss, they're gonna kick our asses," said one of the guards.

"Not today they're not." Gremlin whistled. "All right, boys and girls! Move on and do your stuff!"

A Hi-Speedroid Kite Drake flew out from between two buildings. There was a boy riding it. He laughed as his mechanical serpent unleashed a rain of lasers from its wings, assaulting Francesca and the others.

"Tomba!" Aster shouted. "That means!"

He heard laughing from the rooftops. It was just as he feared. Luros and his gang had returned. And they had new monsters to summon and do battle with. Luros was standing proudly beside Folgo, Justice Fur Hire. He looked down at Aster and grinned, seeing him trapped like a rat inside that protective barrier. They were truly gifted kids being able to tap into the monster world and find whatever monster they wanted to do battle. Such a pity they were working as mercenaries for scumbags like the Gremlin. The ground behind Jon suddenly imploded, and from beneath the streets emerged a Samurai Destroyer. It raised its massive fist in the air and attempted to crush Jon like an ant, but Jon was quick, summoning his companion, Gearfried the Iron Knight. The knight's great strength was able to hold back the giant's attack like it was nothing.

The largest member of the gang, Longlast burst out of the whole his Samurai Destroyer made and tackled Jon with the force of a freight train. The force he used to knock Jon back sent them flying towards a nearby street lamp, causing it to bend like a paperclip and collapse.

Michael attempted to run for him. "JON!" he cried out. But a Lunalight Sabre Dancer got in his way. His Archfiend General appeared from a purple mist and intercepted both her blades. Roja, the female member of Luros's gang laughed and clapped from underneath a tree. "Hello, my handsome prince," she said. "I'm a huge fan."

Jon pushed the huge Summoner off. Longlast, pressed his feet against the ground to brake to a stop and then lunged forward to attack Jon again, fighting him in hand-to-hand combat while their monsters battled on the streets. Though Gearfried the Iron Knight was smaller, it outmatched Samurai Destroyer in terms of speed and strength; for each blow from his bladed arm was like being struck in the face with a cannon.

"Just you and me big boy!" Longlast shouted, putting up his fists.

Jon balled his fists and they sparked with lightning. "Prefove vet juundar meyot a heeya heeya!" he cursed in his native language. He shot streams of lightning from his palms.

"Uh oh!" Longlast said, jumping out of the way.

"He's a Prince of Termnnia, Longlast," Luros said from above. "Do not underestimate him."

Just great, Aster thought. Just bloody great. His friends were surrounded by foes and he was trapped in a forcefield against arguably one of the finest swordsman in Termnnia. And Tyranno Kenzan had lost all control of himself and turned feral. The spirit of the dinosaur now took full control of Hassleberry. And to make matters worse, Gremlin was in full control of both the dinosaur and Hassleberry. He laughed, pressing buttons on his remote control as though he were controlling the avatar in a video game.

He was getting tired and there was no way of holding them back. They were just too strong. Even if he dodged one attack, two more would be waiting for him. Shien and the dinosaur were working well together. And then Sai'boro would come out from Aster's blind spot and attack. Aster stopped to get a moment to breathe. He noticed something that frightened him. Michael, Crow, and Jon were being led away from him and Francesca. Their battles were taking them farther and farther down the streets until they were barely seen.

Francesca wanted to help Michael and the others, but she was stuck in combat with the girl, Roja. Her Lunalight monster was keeping both her and her All-Seeing White Tiger pinned down around the front of the temple. This was bad. Luros and his gang must have been hired to herd them away from each other! Damn it! And they fell for it. Michael and the others were being called away. Beams of lime-green lasers rained down on the forcefield. Cyber Dragon Nachster was flying around in circles, desperately trying to break it open. But he could not. Sai'Boro's technology was surprisingly superior to Zane's. But how could that be?

There was no time to ponder that. Aster realized there was only one thing left to do. He had to send Nachster away. He would be of no help here. Even though the summoners were kids, they had conjured some very powerful creatures. Nachster would get captured and probably be lost to the Gremlin or worse. The Royal Eredian Military.

"Thanks for your help," he said. "But I think we have to part ways for now. Go back to Zane and tell him I failed."

Nachster would not listen. It tried to shatter the barrier again. Nothing. Aster smiled and said: "Leave to Zane to bring so much life into these creatures. You're making me feel bad. Go on! There's nothing left for you to do. Go before you get caught!"

Cyber Dragon Nachster stared sadly at Aster. It nodded its head and zoomed away never to be seen again. Aster turned in time to see Lunalight Sabre Dancer kick Francesca in the stomach. Roja was laughing, still standing underneath the tree and clapping. Aster gasped when he saw the blood staining Francesca's outfit. She was hurt and she was hurt bad.

"GO!" Aster shouted. "Forget about me! Just run away! Get out of here!"

Francesca shook her head and smiled. Using the last of her magical power, she formed a ball of light and commanded Aster to tell Elemental HERO Phoenix Enforcer to stand in front of it. The HERO did. Francesca, with all her might, launched the ball of fire at the ground. It shot underneath the barrier and popped out of the ground from the other side. Phoenix Enforcer touched the ball of light, which gave him the power to transform into a new monster.

"You're in for it now!" shouted Aster. "Rise! Elemental HERO Shining Phoenix Enforcer!"

The monster was very true to his name. It shined so brightly that it made the light of Helios look dull and gray. Francesca then lay on the ground, weakened. But her All-Seeing White Tiger did not back down. It fought back the Lunalight Sabre Dancer. It was still defending its master. Shining Phoenix Enforcer then flew towards Hassleberry and assaulted him with a flurry of punches. Hassleberry, despite the beating he was receiving, was growling and snapping his teeth.

"Come on! Come on!" whined Gremlin. "Get up! Oh, this is so unfair! You must be cheating!"

Six Samurai Shien tried to get the shining enforcer from behind, but it missed; for the enforcer vanished in a beam of light and appeared behind Shien instead. Shien, too, was too quick for that move. They both dodged each other's attacks and landed safely on the ground. They then circled one another and attacked again.

While that was going on, Sai'Boro returned to continue his assault against Aster. He struck him in the gut. Aster wheezed in agony and flew across the battleground and smacked against the forcefield. Sai'Boror held his arms out and walked in a circle arrogantly. He felt as though he had won the match. The sun was covered up by a thick layer of clouds and freezing rain began to pour down on the earth. Aster looked around for Jon and Michael. They were gone. Out of sight. Who knew where they were now. Poor Francesca was on her back, moaning in agony. She had been sliced across the belly by Lunalight Dancer's blades. All-Seeing White Tiger was still fighting it back valiantly.

"Good! Good!" cheered the Gremlin. "Now, Sai'Boro, if you would kindly extract his heart so we can be done with this."

Sai'Boro removed a dagger sheathed over his thigh. "With pleasure," he said. "I have defeated you Aster Phoenix. Your silly legends die today. All that training with the monks and knights of the western kingdoms have proven nothing against my techniques. Now, you die."

"No," Aster groaned. "If I am going to kick the bucket today, it won't be with you cutting me up like a frog in science class. I'm going to end things the right way." His hand slowly rose up and was enveloped in purple fog. His eyes were glowing dark red and his skin was growing paler with each second. "If I go down...I'm taking you with me."

"ASTER NO!" Francesca shouted.

Aster snapped his fingers. His mouth and his eyes let out bright, fluorescent-blue light as though they were torches. He was screaming a high-pitched call like a banshee as he offered his life force to summon Destiny HEROES Dystopia, Dreadmaster, and Dogma. But they did not move. Instead, they allowed themselves to be swallowed by a cyclone of darkness. What took their place was a gigantic warrior in black armor and a shadowy cape. The Destiny HERO symbol was emblazoned in red on his chest and he carried a large sword in his right hand.

Francesca sobbed. "It's him. One of the strongest of the Destiny HEROES. Dominance!"

Aster fell on the ground, gasping for air. He committed suicide summoning that creature. Dominance. It sure lived up to its name. He lay there on the gravel and watched as his creation slowly decimated the forcefield Sai'Boro created. Knowing he was out of his league. Sai'Boro sheathed his weapons and called back Shien. He looked at Aster's corpse and nodded as if he vowed that they would meet again one day. That just left Hassleberry and the berserk dinosaur spirit that took control of him. Dominance did what he did best and completely decimated Hassleberry and his spirit in a matter of minutes. When the battle was over, Dominance let out an eerie cry of victory and returned to the Dark City where it came from.

At once, Aster felt dead, but he could still see everything that was going on around him. The next few moments felt like a film where he would doze off every now and then. He saw images of the Gremlin walking up to him. Then, the warlord stopped and backed away.

Aster looked up and saw Commander Ravenheart looking down at him, pointing a gun at his forehead.

"Stand down, Commander!" Fontaine shouted. She had two soldiers in heavy, black, gear by her side and they were aiming their rifles at him. "Do as I say! DracoNET isn't going to care what happens to you now that we've got Aster."

Ravenheart bared his teeth, still pointing the gun at Aster's head. "Fine," he said. "Let's get going."

He saw Hassleberry stalking towards him, still feral from the soundwaves. Fontaine removed a rifle from a holster in her back and shot him three times with darts. Hassleberry coughed and moaned before he collapsed, falling to the ground hard on his back.

"Looks like the doctor's got that new weapon he's always wanted," said Ravenheart. "Prep him for extract!"

Two soldiers in tactical hazmat suits got to work at once, putting Hassleberry in a metal coffin which was then attached to a helicopter that was going to transport him away.

Gremlin waddled towards him. "Hey! I need him! He could come in very handy in a tight spot that lad."

Ravenheart pointed the gun at him to shut him up. "You've caused enough trouble as it is."

"And my reward?" Gremlin asked. "Those boys I called over on that hunt have boosted my army tenfold. But it's going to be expensive maintaining them."

"You'll get your money then," said Fontaine.

"And what about her?" Gremlin said greedily.

Her? Aster wondered. Her who?

He heard a girl grunting in fear as she was brought forward by two DracoTEK soldiers who had her handcuffed in strange bondings. They pushed her forward so she could land at the Gremlin's feet. Francesca.

"Don't try casting any magic, sweetheart," said Ravenheart. "Those are Vallantium Cuffs. They cut off all strings to the arcane world."

"Vallantium, eh?" said Gremlin.

"Yeah," Ravenheart replied. "Metal from that green asteroid that struck the Axis Ocean hundreds of years ago. Those freaks from the cult of Yeyu think it's a weapon from their god to help them combat the mages. I sure found my uses for it. This bitch won't give you any trouble so long as you contain her with the metal. Consider her a gift from the Doctor for your cooperation." He kicked her in the gut. "Freak!" he said, spitting on her face. "She killed my men all through the night. Killed them in cold blood. Make sure she suffers, Gremlin."

Gremlin cackled as he loomed over his prize. "Oh, she will know suffering beyond her wildest dreams, Commander." He started to pet her hair. Francesca started crying, fearing for her life. She could not bear to think of the hell she was about to go through.

His men picked her up. "Let's go!" he said. "Send her to my quarters when we get back to the estate and have her cleaned up. I'm going to host a party tonight and I want her looking her best."

Francesca screamed as she was carried away to a limo. But she would not ride with them. Gremlin opened the trunk and his men tossed her inside. He whacked her in the head with his cane and slammed the trunk shut before walking back into the limo and driving off.

"Get Gray Prince prepped for extract!" Fontaine commanded.

Aster could not believe what had just happened. His friends were all gone. Taken to befall terrible fates right before his eyes. And there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. He rolled on his back and saw Ravenheart looking down at him holding onto a rifle.

"Listen here, Gray Prince. I'm gonna have this jammed up your rear the whole time. Now, you walk over to that chopper nice and slow. Make any sudden moves, and I'm gonna blow your fucking brains out. Now get up!"

Aster tried but he couldn't, so Ravenheart picked him up and brought him back on his two feet. "Don't fuck with me!" Ravenheart shouted. Aster felt wobbly. He couldn't stand, but Ravenheart smashed the butt of his rifle against his face. "Don't fuck with me, Gray Prince. MOVE IT!"

Aster hobbled towards the helicopter and stopped. Ravenheart kicked him forward. "Move!" Aster wasn't getting any closer. He tried to walk. He swayed left and right, trying to obey Ravenheart's commands. But he was too weak. And he was scared. Ravenhear then smashed the rifle butt on the back of his head. Aster grunted and stumbled forward and rolled to a stop in front of the chopper. "MOVE BITCH!"

Two DracoTEK soldiers picked him up and sat him down inside the helicopter. "Got you now, Gray Prince," one of them said arrogantly.

"Get him to headquarters!" Ravenheart commanded. "I'm going to clean up the rest of this city. Move out!"

He rallied up his soldiers, all of them getting into their armored vehicles, which scattered all over the city to hunt down rioters and gangs who were just decoys to get Aster in Dr. Guarnizo's hands. Poor bastards. They expected an exciting hunt, but now they were going to get massacred for the sake of publicity. Surely that was going to make the company look heroic. The helicopter rose over the city. By the time they were over the skyscrapers, Aster lost all hope that Michael and Jon would come to his rescue.

Who was he to believe that? Last-minute rescues were something that happened in movies. There was nothing he could do now but accept his fate. He sniffed and let a few tears roll down his cheeks. All he wanted to do was to help people. He wanted to be a hero like the warriors in his cards. Be a hero and clean the city up of evil so no other child would have to live the agony of losing their parents. This was not how it was supposed to end.

He thought for a moment that blood had gotten in his eyes. The world around him turned blood red.

"What the hell's going on?" asked the pilot. The helicopter shook violently.

"What are you doing dumbass!" shouted one of the soldiers.

"It's not me!" said the pilot. "That was jet wash!"

"But I didn't see any jets!"

"Something flew directly over us!" said the pilot.

"HOLY SHIT WHAT IS THAT!" shouted one of the soldiers.

Aster couldn't see what 'that' was. But he did see a blood-red dragon head reach inside the helicopter. It grabbed one of the soldiers and pulled him out. The dragon growled and grabbed another one, but this time, it devoured him whole.

"Mayday! Mayday!" shouted the pilot. "Commander we are under attack by an unknown aerial enemy! It just killed Ruby 1 and 4. We are going down! I repeat we are going SHIT!"

The dragon ripped the cockpit apart and then snapped the pilot's legs off. The last thing Aster saw before blacking out was a pair of yellow eyes peering at him from the doorway of the helicopter.

* * *

**Part IX**

* * *

Aster opened his eyes and found himself back in front of the temple ruins. He was still inside the wreckage of the helicopter but it was dripping with blood. Wires sparked around him and the radio was buzzing with activity. Aster tried to move, but he was paralyzed with incredible pain. He looked to the left and saw his savior looking down at him. It was him. The monster he was searching for.

Plasma.

It just stared down at him with great disappointment. Someone else was walking towards him. A man with black hair and glasses looked down at Aster and shook his head. He wore a long black trenchcoat and a crimson scarf. Both his hands concealed in black winter gloves.

Kyle Jables knelt down and inspected the boy. "I'm so sorry," he said. "Let's get you home."

* * *

When he opened his eyes and regained consciousness, he wished he didn't wake up. Pain rushed through his frame, making him feel like he was run over by a train. Everything hurt. At first, the world around him was nothing but a blur. But he could make out a fan spinning over him and soft jazz music coming from a nearby jukebox by the window, which offered a grand view of the Sea of Rosenkruz in the distance as well as the cityscape. He then picked up the sound of a spoon pinging against the side of a mug.

When his vision cleared moments later, he recognized his childhood guardian, Kyle Jables, preparing him some herbal tea. "You're awake," he said. "Good. I was beginning to worry about you." He paused for a moment, waiting for Aster to respond to him. "It was foolish, you know. Summoning all those monsters at once when you lack the power to do so. It's no surprise to me that the Heart of HEROES was killing you at an even faster pace."

Aster looked at himself in the looking glass sitting on the side table beside the couch he slept on. His face was veiny and swollen. Upon seeing that thing looking back at him, Aster turned his gaze away from the mirror. He looked up at the ceiling. Kyle came by with a tray of soup and the tea. It was bitter tasting. He gagged, wanting to spit it out, but Kyle forced him to drink it all. He then fed him the soup to wash out the taste of the drink he gave Aster. Even though the tea was foul-tasting, he could feel his body getting more relaxed and even lighter. Kyle came by with a bowl of water and a sponge. He gently took off Aster's clothes and started scrubbing him down to clean him.

"How long was I out?" Aster asked as Kyle rubbed his arm with the sponge.

"Two weeks," he replied.

Aster turned to look at him with lightning speed. "Two...weeks? But...I was supposed to die in two days."

"Plasma is preventing that from happening. Congratulations. He is yours now."

"You...you serious?"

"I am. He was with me the whole time. That's why we hired that magician to go look for you and bring you home."

"Why her?"

"She's the daughter of a very close friend of mine. I trusted her with my life."

"I wanted to get to you sooner but…"

"I know. You and your friends got arrogant. You wanted to take on a top-tier PMC like DracoTEK yourselves. And more than a thousand criminals? All to act like heroes and save the day. You all learned your lesson." He sighed. "But even if you did seek me out sooner, I would not have been able to meet you. My flight to Domino was delayed. By the time I got here, it was too late. DracoTEK already closed the city down. There was nothing I could do. It wasn't until you unleashed your power and summoned Dominance that Plasma was drawn to you and sought you out."

Aster sat up. "OH NO!" he cried. "Hassleberry! Francesca! They...they were captured. They need help. What of Prince Michael and Jon and Crow?"

"Prince Michael and Jon have sailed to Akuuda to aid their friend, Marcel, whose country is being invaded by Naralia. King Forrest wants their resources, as does that fool from JayceTech." He laughed. "Goddesses know he doesn't want Zane to build anymore Cyber Dragons."

"What about Francesca and Hassleberry?"

"It's been a long time since anyone last saw them," Kyle replied, gently pushing Aster down so he could rest on the pillow. "I tried looking for Franny. But I fear she's gone. Once you disappear into the underground of this place, odds are you will never be seen again. Hassleberry. I don't know what's happened to him. But if I know Dr. Guarnizo well, he's probably in pieces right about now."

"No! There's still a chance that they're alive! I know it! Now that I have Plasma, I can save them."

"Is that what you think!" Kyle shouted. "You have to be strong now! They're gone, Aster. They're gone and you will never get them back. You know what happens to girls who become slaves in the Underground. You know how sadistic Phillipe is. What he does with his specimens. Even if by some miracle they're alive, you can't save them, so don't even try. You couldn't even save them when they were by your side, what makes you think you can save them now? You can't even save yourself. Even with Plasma controlling the magic of the heart, it can still kill you if you become reckless. Recklessness is what caused you to lose your friends in the first place. Even if I wasn't there, you should have gone to my place. But you didn't. You all wanted to be big heroes and save Domino like comic book warriors. You don't take your Destiny HEROES seriously enough. Continue to act this way, and neither will they. Especially not Plasma."

"No…" Aster groaned. "They can't be…"

"That is the harsh reality of life, son. You can't save everyone. But you can still punish those who have hurt them. We both know Phillipe, Gremlin, Luros, and the bastard who murdered your father are still out there. Use your HEROES to punish! Not to save, but punish. That's what they do, Aster. That is what they were created to do. Destiny HEROES don't save people, they punish evil. They make sinners suffer! They make wrongdoers taste the blade of justice! Use that anger inside of you to boost the power of your HEROES. Kill Domino City's scumbags and Plasma can make you more powerful than you can ever imagine. Only then will you be able to save the ones you love. Do you understand?"

He handed Aster the card. Aster nodded slowly and took it from him. He stared at the beast and rubbed his finger down the rising image of the ultimate rare foil.

"Yeah...I think I do understand. Show me what I have to do."

* * *

**The Loremaster**

* * *

"I had no idea things were so hard for him," Collette said, twiddling her thumbs. "I always thought he had it made, you know. He's handsome, he's rich, he's got the power to summon D-HEROES. "But having the power was killing him. And so slowly. I wish there was something I could do to help him."

"Well, he's got plenty of help now that he was with Kyle. He took Aster out of Eredas to the Emboldor to have him trained further in swordsmanship and martial arts. And to perfect his summoning techniques to call on his D-HEROES faster. As to who helped Aster, it's going to be hard to stomach..."

* * *

**Part X**

* * *

Now, this is more like it, Aster thought as he relaxed in the warm water of the hot tub. Steam billowed from the surface and bubbles plopped all around him. He was in the garden in the highest tower of a castle in the mountains made just for him. Rose bushes formed into a dome over the tub making it feel like a sanctuary. He picked up a cube of caramel and plopped it into his mouth. He leaned his head back and listened to the sound of the birds chirping one final time before the sun went down. A stone waterfall poured into the tub. The sound it made was making Aster very sleepy.

Candles and a chandelier of elk antlers provided his only light source, shrouding the bathing area in a warm, golden light. He ate one more caramel cube and then dozed off. When he did, the summoner saw this as the right moment to attack. An 8-Claws Scorpion was summoned. The insect monster snarled silently and scurried toward Aster, ready to strike him with his poisonous tail before tearing him apart with his pincers. Aster was oblivious to the monster in the room. He was lost in his own serenity to notice it coming towards him.

8-Claws Scorpion now stood directly over him. He wiggled his mandibles in excitement. Green ooze dripped from them. It was acid that would soon be injected into Aster's body, turning his insides into gloop so he could be easier to devour. All of a sudden, a creature appeared in front of 8-Claws Scorpion. Destiny HERO Dogma came to Aster's rescue. He spread his wings as a sign of dominance, warning the insect to back away. But it proved a stubborn predator, thanks to its hunger. Dogma raised his bladed hand and sliced off 8-Claws Scorpion's tail. It screeched in pain and was put out of its misery when Dogma jabbed his sword through its flesh. 8-Claws Scorpion hissed and evaporated in green glowing particles. Dogma, content with his work, nodded triumphantly and disappeared.

Aster shook his head. "I win again," he said. "You really need to stop doing that. It's not funny."

Francesca walked into the dome of roses giggling. "I think it's quite funny. And, hey, if I win, I'll be rich. There's a bounty on your head, remember?"

"Hilarious," Aster said, opening one eye to get a peek at her. She wore nothing but a mantle of thin, white silk. Her hair was up and curled and her body was well-oiled.

Francesca walked to a table and held out her hand. A plate holding a cupcake with a lit candle magically appeared in her fingertips. "Happy birthday," she said softly. She knelt down by Aster's side and held it in front of his face.

Aster smiled at her and blew it. "Hmm, hot tub bubbling" — He reached for a lock of her hair and toyed with it — "you almost naked. It looks like you knew what I wished for."

Francesca giggled, setting the cupcake on a table. She leaned down and kissed Aster passionately. Aster got a whiff of the many scents coming from her radiant skin. Her hair smelled of citrus, and her body was doused in scented oils. Cherry.

She got up and walked to the other end of the pool while letting the mantle slip slowly off her body. Finally, it dropped. Aster took a deep breath, marveling at the magician's divine body. The oils she applied had glitter in it, making her body twinkle like the stars above as she sensually shook her hips, walking to the other end of the pool. She stood there and posed for Aster one final time before jumping into the water.

Aster turned his face to the right to keep his eyes from being splashed with hot water. She swam towards him, keeping her buttocks over the surface to tantalize him. When she finally reached him, she climbed on top of him and buried her mouth into his.

"I never want to leave this place," she said. "Let's be up here forever."

"We can," Aster whispered.

Francesca rubbed her nose against his then adjusted herself to help Aster find his way inside her. Soft moans escaped her when they made contact. It was the moment she had been waiting for. She looked at him with that cheeky smile of hers and brushed his cheeks, lips, and chin with the tips of her breasts.

"Happy Birthday to ya, Aster!" Hassleberry called out.

Francesca screamed and climbed off of him. Aster turned and looked at him furiously. "Dude!" he shouted. "What part of no entry do you not understand?! Did they replace your brain with a dinosaur's as well?"

"I didn't mean to intrude," Hassleberry said, his face growing warm at the sight of Francesca's exposed breasts. She sunk until the water was up to her shoulders. He struggled to find out the words to say. "Ahem," he finally said. "I didn't mean to intrude on ya. It's just that everybody is waiting for you downstairs."

Aster splashed the water with his fist. "They can't wait?"

"Well, no. Prince Yuri is here."

Francesca gasped. She and Aster looked at each other. "We'll be down in a minute."

"Really?" Aster groaned sadly.

"We must go, babe. He is the future High King after all."

"All right," Aster sighed in defeat. "And knock next time, damn you!"

Hassleberry turned to leave. Francesca got out of the water to pick up a towel from a silver cart by the pool. Then —

"Aster!" Jaden said, walking into the bathing area with a basket of cards. Della followed him with a red package wrapped in a gold ribbon "I got you...whoa!"

Francesca screamed and sunk back in the water again. "Not again!" she shouted.

"You, too!" Aster shouted.

"Oh, dear," Della said, covering her face with Aster's present. "I am so sorry. I didn't know this was THAT kind of party. I didn't bring my bikini."

"I don't think this is that kind of a party, Della," Jaden said.

"What's all the commotion?" Alexis said walking in with an armful of gifts. "Oh, whoa! Okay. You and the magician are a thing, it seems. Geeze, haven't you two heard of a lock?"

"Really, Princess," groaned Francesca. "There's something great that goes along with it. It's called knocking."

All of a sudden Zane walked into the bathing area with Kara and Syrus. Kara blushed and held her hand over Syrus's eyes. The poor boy made awkward expressions at what he saw.

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Aster moaned. "Happy Birthday to me, right? How fortunate that I'm in my birthday suit."

Zane chuckled awkwardly. "Well, if this was a bad time, you should have texted me or something."

Aster shook his head. "This is the last time I'm hosting a damn party."

A portal opened in front of him. Prince Michael and Prince Jon of Riftgaard entered, well-dressed in suits and carrying parcels of gifts.

He narrowed his eyes. "Oh, yeah, definitely the last time."

"Okay," said Jon. "Aster, if you don't mind me asking, did you grab that ass or did you smack it."

"Stoooop," Aster groaned. "Can you jokers give us some privacy so we can change, please? By the way, where's Prince Yuri? We can't leave him alone down there."

"He's right here," Jaden answered.

"What?" Aster said turning. All he saw was Jaden standing by the entrance. "Where?" he asked again.

"Right here," Jaden said, holding up a bloody skull with a crown around its dome. Aster noticed the water turned cold. The candles went out. And then, blood oozed towards him. His friends lay dead all over the bathing house. Francesca was leaning forward against the edge of the pool with a sword stuck to her back. Elemental HERO Avian, Sparkman, Bustinitrix, and Clayman surrounded him. But their colors were darker and their eyes were red. They laughed at Aster and then formed into twisted-looking monsters. Dark versions of themselves.

Aster turned to look at Jaden. He was gone. Instead, he saw a behemoth armored in black standing in his place. The blood of his friends slithered towards him and formed a dark-red cape.

"What the hell are you?" Aster asked. Something flew over him. A Duel Monster with a dark-blue leather suit appeared behind him. It had three claws which it used to stick through Aster's body. It lifted Aster out of the pool so he could face the armored demon.

"I am fear! I am your undoing! I am the timeless curse, the end of all things! Now, you'll learn the way of darkness!"

The armored fiend smashed his fist through Aster's chest. Aster screamed, blood poured out of his mouth. He felt a hot, fiery pain inside of him, then it stopped. The black-armored one chuckled and presented Aster with the Heart of HEROES. And then he crushed it before his eyes...

Aster almost screamed. He sat up in bed at once and breathed heavily. He felt his chest, checking to see if there were any puncture wounds. Thankfully, there were none. And there were no vile monsters surrounding him. He shivered. His body was soaked in sweat, chilling him to the bone. Aster grunted fiercely as he tried to remove his shirt. He finally got it off his head after a long struggle and tossed it across the room where it landed with a splat.

That was the third night in a row that he had a nightmare of a demon armored in black. When he realized that he was safe and sound, he slammed his head back against his pillow. He sighed, putting his forearm over his head. By the time the sun rose up, he finally found sleep.

* * *

**The Loremaster**

* * *

The loss of his friends haunted Aster for many months. He could not remember what a good night's sleep was. The only thing that kept his mind calm was the killing of evildoers. He didn't know why, but when he watched his HERO monsters slay them, it brought him calm. It made him forget his past mistakes..."

* * *

**September 4th**

**Year 18 4AOS**

Aster was in the courtyard, slashing someone's intestines out with a newly forged blade. Behind him, two Destiny HEROES snarled, ready for their next victim. Plasma and Dogma stood on either side of Aster, waiting patiently for the next batch of criminals to be pushed into the ring.

"Choose a weapon!" shouted the red-armored castle guard. "Quickly, come on."

The poor condemned criminals had one chance for freedom today with a trial by combat. If they slew Aster Phoenix, they would be given an escort out the castle walls after being pardoned of their crimes. But none of them could find such a victory. The arena was red with blood and gore. There were those who believed he was a coward, hiding behind his two Destiny HEROES, but he shut them all up when he sprung into battle first.

He walked around, shirtless with only the belt of his baldric for his sword strapped over his torso. He wore long, black leather trousers bloused into boots plated with engraved steel. Around his neck was the symbol of the D-HEROES tied with a black cord. The blood of the failed combatants dripped from his sword of silver steel.

A brave prisoner charged at Aster with a ball and chain. But then Dogma stepped forward and sliced him across the belly. The man heaved in horror when he saw that his guts had fallen out. Aster bounded toward the prisoner and jabbed the sword into his forehead. Plasma then picked up the man's corpse with the mouth of the dragon head he had for a left arm and devoured him. A stream of red energy then flew from Plasma's claws and flowed into Aster's chest, feeding the Heart of HEROES. The prisoners dropped their weapons and begged him for mercy.

Dogma showed them none and smashed them all with his bladed arm. When they were all dead, a slow clap broke the silence.

King Antilles Dragonheart, the King of Dragonrock, was standing tall, applauding Aster for a job well done. "Bravo," he said. "Bravo. My friends! Allow me to introduce the new Royal Executioner of House Dragonheart. Aster Phoenix the Gray Prince of Domino City. The Knight of Destiny and Terror of Eredas. Let all who wish to stand before me tremble at his name."

King Antilles' subjects clapped. Aster crossed his arms over his chest and bowed. Meanwhile, the lady of the castle walked into the ring, stepping over the carnage like it was nothing. The guards around the courtyard stopped what they were doing and bowed in respect for her. She led a dragon with a chain as though it were a common dog. Des Volstgalph was the name of the beast. The girl was Princess Alexandra von Klause of Dragon's Nest. She smiled seductively at the new royal executioner for her uncle's House. The House of Dragonheart.

"Ahem," she said.

Aster turned to look at her and then gave a half bow when he realized who she was. She was radiant as Kyle said she would be. Alexandra wore a revealing white leotard and a tassel around her waist shaped like the wings of a Light and Darkness Dragon. Her cape split into two parts. The right, bearing the emblem of Von Klause, was colored white to resemble the White Knight of the House. The left side was colored black and sported the sigil of House Dragonheart, from where her mother descended from. A crown on her beautiful brow resembled four dragon heads with glowing crystals hovering over their mouths.

"Aster Phoenix," Alexandra said, admiring his body. "Allow me to welcome you to Dragon's Nest. I trust your journey was a comfortable one."

"It was, I guess," he said, sheathing the sword back onto the scabbard on his back. "You're the famous Slayer of Lords and Princes I heard so much about."

"They didn't give me much of a choice," Alexandra smiled. She walked around Aster slowly as she examined him. "You seem to be in good form." She looked at Dogma and Plasma, who were both still standing in her world. "Mr. Kyle Gables spoke very highly of you to my uncle. Let us hope you can deliver on your promises. A lot of gold is being paid for your services."

"You doubt me?"

"At the moment. My uncle has powerful enemies that need slaying and you came up on the top of the list. I have faith in you, though. And I would love your company. It can get rather lonely here."

"I'm just here to be his royal executioner. You have criminals all over this city and I promise I'll take care of them."

"I'm sure you'll do well, Aster," Alexandra said, touching his biceps with her fingertips. "You know, Uncle Antilles said I can give you one command. Be a good boy and see that you fulfill it for me."

Aster narrowed his eyes. "What do you want?"

"I want you to come for me if ever I was in a tough situation. Do so and I shall...reward you. Greatly."

Aster scooted back. "Your uncle pays me enough. Speaking of which, I have to go see him."

"Of course," Alexandra said with a nod of her head. "I do hope we can speak on a more professional level when the time is right."

"Talk, yes, but don't be expecting anything else." He walked past her and headed to the salts where Antilles and his guests were feasting as they watched Aster and his Destiny HEROES slaughter the prisoners.

Aster bowed once he stood in front of the table. "Your Grace," he said.

"Aster, dear boy. Please, help yourself to whatever is on my table. We have exotic treats from across the oceans here. Bananas, coconuts, swordfish, king crab. There's chicken if you want. Beef, pork, anything you want."

"No thanks. But I do greatly appreciate your hospitality."

"And I thank you for coming here so quickly." He looked around at his guests. "Leave us," he said. They all stood up and left them alone. Antilles held his hand toward one of the courtyard exits and led him out to the gardens, which offered a pleasant view of the mountains and the countryside hundreds of feet below. "You know why I have called you here, yes?"

"Yes. You need help taking care of some people. Folks who are making things rather hard on you, right?"

"Yes. As you know, Prince Yuri returns to us in a few short months. I want him to come back safe and sound."

"Really? You know I heard a lot about your policies with those Gates and Yuri's return. There are those who say you're purposely stalling his return. That you want to get the Heart-EartH crown for yourself. I mean, who can blame you? You did summon Slifer the Sky Dragon a few years before Yuri was born, too. Must have been hard for you after they chose another instead of you."

Antilles just looked at him and smiled. "I will not lie to you, Aster. There are some nights where the thought of how close I was to the ultimate seat of power in the world keeps me up. Many a time has my mind wandered, lost in the memory of that day when I played the beast. But, I am not one to toy around with destiny. The throne was not meant for me and there is nothing I can do about it. The pain is there, but I do not let it cloud my judgment, nor do I use it to hinder the return of the king. Pay no mind to those rumors, my son. They are the whispers told by Yugi Muto and his friends. They are self-righteous fools who thnk that intervening with his life will save him from his enemies. Little do they know that as the more the use the Gate, the closer our enemies get to discover where he is. Thanks to their meddling, Marik Ishtar sends his Rare Hunters through the gate looking to hunt him down."

"Is that true?"

"Yes. Sadly it is. Not too long ago Yugi ordered a session of congress to address this issue. He wanted to bring Yuri home quickly, but he has sadly not mastered the basics of Duel Monsters. Can you see how that is problematic?"

"Yeah, I do. What's a High King with three powerful Gods in his deck if he can't Duel to save his life. If I came to him and challenged him for the Diamond Throne with the Dueling Pact, I could easily take him down and become the High King myself."

"Right!" Antilles said. "You are a smart boy. Smarter than Yugi. And did you know Yuri has some competition in the form of his cousin, Hector Delgado? He has been seen marching along the coasts of Emboldor with a large army. I have no doubt in my mind that he's here to challenge Yuri when he returns. Thankfully, the Senate saw my point of view in this matter and have agreed that Yuri is not to come back until he proves himself a strong Duelist."

"I see," Aster said with a nod. "So what does this have to do with me?"

"A great deal much," Antilles answered. He stopped over a scenic lookout with a view of the lake below. "As I have said, Yuri has enemies out there seeking to take his life. I need you to hunt them down and bring them to justice as my executioner. Will you do this?"

"Of course. If it means helping out Yuri, I'll do it. And I'm not going to lie, you're a pretty good guy, Antilles. A lot of the things I've heard about you seem to be over exaggerations."

"Much of what you heard is. Yugi and his friends can't get their sanctimonious agendas done with me around so they paint me as a villain who is bitter that he lost his chance to be High King. I am bitter but I am no traitor. I love Termnnia. It is my home. My place of birth. And I will defend her until my last breath. And my High King as well. If he goes down, Termnnia goes down with him. Orcs are amassing in number across the ocean in the Black Continent, which means they have leadership over there. And they only fiend who has even given them leadership was the Dark Lord Anubis."

"You think he's returned?"

"Many of us seem to think so. Look around you. The days are growing darker, civil war is breaking out all over Termnnia like the pox, Fiends are popping up from the Shadow Realm and stalking the countryside, and there are breakouts of diseases one has never heard of. It makes my hair stand on end."

"I'll do it," said Aster. "I've also had a bad feeling in my gut about this. My Destiny HEROES sense it, too. What would you have your Royal Inquisitor do?"

"That is what I like to hear. And as a matter of fact, I have your first assignment ready. Go forth to the town of Pinehold. It has come to my attention that there is a Rare Hunter hiding out there. My sources tell me he is selling information. Information with the whereabouts that lead to Prince Yuri's secret location in the other world. Whether that is true or not is of no concern. We cannot let a risk like that go unchecked. Find the Rare Hunter, interrogate him, and then have your Destiny HEROES make an example out of him."

"You can count on me."

Alexandra came up from behind them. "Are you leaving so soon, Aster?" she said. "Won't you stay for the night? We're hosting a lavish party tonight and I need a partner."

"I'm afraid I'll have to pass," said Aster. "I've got work to do."

"Oh, stay for a while, son," said Antilles. "Kyle and I have pooled together our resources to have new armor forged for you. However, it's not quite ready yet and needs prepping, which should take the whole night. Stay awhile. Relax. Have a bit of fun. Then, rest up, don your armor, and be on your way."

"All right," said Aster. "I guess I could use some food and a drink."

Alexandra giggled and clapped her hands. "Wonderful. See you tonight."

* * *

**Part XI**

* * *

Aster walked out of the wayshrine and was found himself in the countrysides of Thara, home of the great banking families and the Termnnain Trading Guild. If Emboldor was the crown of the world, then Thara was its pocket. For now anyway. With the war against Forrest in the North and Prince Hector in the South, their funds have started depleting their funds with countless demands for loans, many of which were never paid back on the count of their customers losing their lands to King Forrest.

Aster slipped a grey poncho his cloak over the expensive, mastercraft leather armor King Antilles had made for him. His red, diamond-shaped shield was polished until it reflected like a mirror and his new sword was fit snuggly on his back with a baldric.

"You're looking healthy," Double Dude said from the D-shaped pendant around Aster's neck. "Plasma's power has healed you of all your ailments. How do you feel?"

"Peachy," Aster said, not in the mood to talk. The Heart of HEROES no longer stung him like it used to. For once in his life, Aster felt what it was like to have a normal, beating, heart. He walked down the hill towards the logging town of Pinehold where he began to ask around for information on the Rare Hunter said to dwell here. Naturally, nobody knew a thing. Even though the Rare Hunters disbanded after Yugi defeated Marik in Battle City years ago, they were still shadowy characters, hiding like rats in the underbelly of the world to keep from being found.

He should have known better than to believe it was going to be easy to find him. But, if Antille's sources could confirm he was around here, then perhaps someone knew something. He kept pressing on until dusk fell. By then, he asked everyone in town. He sat down on a wooden bench, exhausted.

"Nobody knows a thing," he grumbled.

"You had the dream again last night, didn't you?" Double Dude asked.

"Now is not the time!"

"Hush, dear boy. People might think you're insane if they see you speaking to no one. Have you ever considered...you know? Getting laid for once."

"Shut up. I'm not into that kind of thing. Not now."

"You obviously felt something for that Francesca girl. You dream erotic things about her every night. She was the closest thing you had to a love interest, don't you think? The night you woke up to her beside you, you couldn't help but have a warm fuzzy feeling inside of you."

"I try my best to ignore it. She got close to me and look what happened. She's gone and there's nothing I can do about it."

"You're really just giving up on her?"

"It's been too long," said Aster. "I know what Gremlin does to people he doesn't like. Beautiful girls aren't safe from his malice. Once he has his fun with you, he ends you. For all I know, her head is mounted on his wall as he promised."

"I see. You just assume she's dead to make things easier on yourself."

"It's for the best. I'm not interested in love. My only duty now is to the king. If Francesca got caught, that's her fucking problem. I told her not to get too close to me. I'm moving on, don't bring this topic up again."

"I understand. If she is out there, I feel so sorry for her."

"Not my fucking problem anymore. That's life. You can't save everybody. And I'm done trying."

"We Destiny HEROES may punish those who go against justice, Aster, but it is still our duty to protect the innocent. Regardless of what The D has taught you, we are not mindless killing machines."

"Plasma disagrees with you. He is proud of what I'm doing. His opinion matters to me. Yours does not. Now shut up and leave me alone."

Aster didn't hear a thing after that. He got up from the bench and looked at the stars forming in the darkness of the void above. "I told her not to get close to me. I warned her. It's not my fault she got turned into a strumpet."

"Looking for me," someone said behind him.

Aster turned and saw a hooded figure standing on the other side of the fountain garden behind the bench he was sitting on. It was a Rare Hunter all right. His cloak was tattered and dirty, the hem caked with mud. He removed his hood to reveal a man with tan skin, a pointed nose, and spiked violet hair. He held up a standard Battle City Duel Disk that was out of shape. It was scratched, cracked, and was mended with duct tape.

"I know you!" Aster chuckled. "You're the Rare Hunter Yugi beat in Battle City. So now you've reduced yourself to selling information on Prince Yuri, eh? That's some pretty classified information. One that only Yugi and the Heroes of Rassay know about. How do you know where they've been hiding him?"

"Information is a commodity that can be easily be traded," said the Rare Hunter.

"That is true if someone has the lips to make that information said commodity," Aster countered. "Who told you the whereabouts of Prince Yuri?"

"It doesn't matter now! I've already revealed his location to my Master Marik!"

"Marik!? He's back?!"

"Yes, and we've established a new order of Rare Hunters who have knowledge of the new rules and new cards."

"I suppose that gives you a reason to come back after all this time. The rarity in the cards has doubled since Battle CIty."

"You are correct. Thanks to the Gremlin, we know you hold the rare Destiny HEROES."

"Rare-shmare," said Aster. "Pegasus made them mainstream not too long ago. They're a brand new archetype for the game in the new Duelist Packs, which, of course, has me on the cover, if you haven't noticed."

"Yes, the Destiny HEROES have been printed in the thousands now, but you hold the very first ones," said the Rare Hunter. "That alone makes them very valuable. Your cards also hold a magical power that my master wants. And I will take them from you the old fashioned way. With a Duel!"

Aster scoffed. "You're not going to face me with fake Exodia cards, are you?"

"Fool! I've come a long way since then. Now, let's begin!"

"You first," said Aster.

**LP 8000**

"Very well, I shall begin! I play the spell, Banishment of the Dark Lords to add a monster to my hand! Next, I use Trade-In to discard this Level 8 monster and add two cards to my hand. Next, I use the effect of Darklord Amdusc. I discard it and another Darklord to add a Darklord to my hand from the Graveyard. Then, I use Trade-In to send the Darklord to the grave and add two cards to my hand. Now, I use Darklord Contract to special summon Darklord Superbia!"

**Darklord Superbia**

**ATK/2900 DEF/2400**

"Now, Aster, with Superbia's effect, I can special summon this card from the Graveyard. Darklord Nasten!"

**Darklord Nasten**

**ATK/2600 DEF/2600**

"Now, I have two powerful beasts on the field. And with Nasten's effect, I pay 1000 of my Life Points to pick a Darklord Spell or Trap in the Graveyard and apply its effect. I choose Banishment of the Dark Lords and add Darklord Ixhcel to my hand. And I'll discard her to add two cards to my hand. Now I summon Darklord Ukoback. Now, I'll use him and Superbia to Link Summon, Wee Witch's Apprentice! So long as she's out on the field, all DARK monsters gain 500 points, raising my Nasten's attack to 3100! I end my turn."

"My turn! I play Destiny Draw! I discard a Destiny Hero to draw two cards."

"You won't! Thanks to my Ash Blossom, your spell is canceled out."

"Fucking hand traps," Aster grumbled. "Fine. I play Fusion Destiny. Now, I send two Destiny HEROES from my deck to the Graveyard to Fusion Summon Destiny HERO - Dangerous!"

**Destiny HERO - Dangerous**

**ATK/2000 DEF/2600**

"Nice! Now, from the Graveyard, I use Elemental HERO Shadow Mist to add a DARK monster to my hand. Now, I summon Elemental HERO Solidman!"

"I use the effect of my Naster. By paying 1000 of my Life Points, Naster will activate this trap card from my Graveyard, The Sanctified Darklord. When you activate a monster effect, this trap will cancel it out and my Life Points will increase by your monster's attack points."

"Fine!" Aster grumbled again, feeling irritated that his stuff was being negated. I'll use Dangerous's effect to discard a card and send a Destiny HERO to my Graveyard from my deck. Now, I'll tribute him and Solidman to Link Summon, Xtra HERO Cross Crusader!"

**Xtra HERO Cross Crusader**

**ATK/1600**

**LINK-2**

"Xtra HERO?" said the Rare Hunter. "I thought there were only Destiny and Elemental HEROES?"

"Oh, there's more. Let me show you. Using Cross Crusader's effect, I special summon Destiny HERO Drawhand from the Graveyard. Because he was summoned this way, we can both draw a card."

Aster summoned two more Destiny HERO monsters and used the spell, Masked Change to summon Masked HERO Danki! Now there were Masked HEROES the Rare Hunter thought. Aster summoned them over and over and over again until he had just what he needed to wipe out his field and finish him. He tributed three of his D-HEROES and summoned Plasma to take control of the Rare Hunter's Naster.

And that, as they say, was the end of it. Even though all the monsters vanished from the field, Plasma remained. Aster drew his sword and walked towards him slowly. Plasma held up his dragonic arm and snapped its jaws.

"Come on," said Aster. "You and I hare going to have a little chat."

The Rare Hunter laughed. "Really? You think I'm afraid to die? I'll tell you everything, but it won't do you any good. As I said, the Neo Rare Hunters are on their way to hunt Yuri and his Black Tyranno down."

Aster laughed. "Neo Rare Hunters, huh? Come on, you guys can do better than that. Oh, well. Start talking, chump. Who is giving out the info about Prince Yuri."

Before the Rare Hunter could say anything, he crunched on a toxic pill.

"WAIT!" Aster shouted.

Too late. The Rare Hunter was already foaming at the mouth. "Long...Live…Anubis."

His eyes rolled to the back of his head. He was gone. His skin was turning pale and his veins turned black, blood poured out of his nose.

"Damn. He's gone."

As Aster stumbled off into the forest, he was being watched. The vile form of Yami Marik sniggered as he hid behind a fence where he watched the Duel. He rubbed the sphere of his Millennium Rod and looked at a boy who scoffed at Aster's performance. He was a priest with a red-visored mask and red and black armored robes leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

"What did you think?" Yami Marik asked.

"He's got some skills," said the boy. "An amateur at best. Destiny HEROES aren't that good. They're a cheesy archetype promoted by Aster Phoenix's screaming fangirls. But that's not why I'm here. You got to watch your Duel, now can we get down to business? I need my card."

"Of course," said Yami Marik. "I understand you have a lot of work to do. Bakura has placed a lot on your shoulders, hasn't he?"

"It's nothing I can't handle," said the masked priest. "The card. Please."

Yami Marik took out a ritual monster from his pocket and gave it to the masked priest. "The Dark Being is no ordinary card," he said. "You do best to take great care in this task, young one. You could end both our enemies and us. Good luck to you."

* * *

**The Loremaster**

* * *

"And that's about all I can say about that. Aster continued to serve as the right hand of Antilles. And no one ever saw him again. Some say he stalks the wilderness alone, and with no one but his D-HERO monsters to keep him company. Aster Phoenix. The Gray Prince. The Lonely Hero."

Collette sighed and began to sing.

* * *

 _O' there was once a HERO evil men greatly_ _feared,_

 _Of a boy they had deemed m_ _ore a monster than man,_

_A stone-hearted killer with the coldness of death in his eyes_

_He foolish vowed to the D's of the Dark, asking them for their aid_

_But the HEROES demanded his heart as their compromise_

* * *

_Where did Pater go!_ _Why did you leave me so?_

_Father come back! I'm scared! Save me from them!_

_I miss your embrace! Save me from them!_

_Save me from them!_

* * *

_He summoned foul monsters, and his body did burn_

_But thieves and slayers, they had their turn_

_They faced justice at last and they flee from him_

_And their cries ran all through the night_

* * *

_Where did Pater go!_ _Why did you leave me so?_

_Father come back! I'm scared! Save me from them!_

_I miss your embrace! Save me from them!_

_Save me from them!_

* * *

_The innocence he once had now faded away_

_There was nothing he felt when he started to slay_

_Like the monsters he summons, he thirsts for their blood_

_And his family name sinks in the mud_

* * *

_Where did Pater go!_ _Why did you leave me so?_

_Father come back! I'm scared! Save me from them!_

_I miss your embrace! Save me from them!_

_Save me from them!_

* * *

_The Vile Blood-D nows takes over his life_

_And no longer does he shine in the light_

_He now wanders the world all alone_

_But once in a blue moon, he looks to the skies_

_He sheds tears and prays with all his might_

* * *

_Where did Pater go!_ _Why did you leave me so?_

_Father come back! I'm scared! Save me from them!_

_I miss your embrace! Save me from them!_

_Save me from them!_


	104. The Knight of the Stars

**Alexis**

* * *

**December 8th**

**Year 17 4AOS**

"We will be arriving soon, my lady," a chamberlain in black robes embellished in gold said from behind the door of her room.

"I'll be ready," Alexis answered meekly. She stared out the window at the ocean below the cliff.

Her friend, Evelyn, Princess of Elleria was making tea for her in the kitchen of their triple-decker wheelhouse. "You sound nervous," she said.

"Wouldn't you be?" said Alexis. "I promised my mom I would be a good little girl and attend the boarding school. But...Aw, Evelyn. That wasn't for me. That's not what I wanted to learn."

"What were you expecting? Target practice? Learning complicated spells to conjure a firestorm to incinerate your foes?"

Alexis scoffed at the sarcasm in her friend's voice. "Well...yeah. But it was just too...I don't know. Soft. Your bath is ready, My Lady," she started mocking the maids. "Your breakfast is ready, Alexis. Your bed is prepped. Would you like me to help you breathe? Would you like me to wipe your ass!" She stomped her foot on the ground.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Evelyn said, holding up her hand. "There is no need for such language. I tagged along to try and quell any anger from the queen-mother, but it looks like the one who needs to be calm is you."

"I wanted to learn to be a mage," Alexis sighed, looking back out the window. "I didn't mean to snap. I haven't been the same since Aldric and his friends kidnapped me. I don't want that to happen again. I was going to the boarding school to learn to fight. To be strong. Instead, I go there to learn manners in Princess 101."

"Well, you're not exactly a mage, Alexis. It's not something that can be taught. Yes, you do have a little mana in you to conjure a few flames with your fingertips, but that's about it. You're not gifted with that kind of magic."

"Of course, I'm not." Alexis started to pace back and forth. "I don't have the smarts like Zane to build machines of war. Or the Mana to summon Elemental HEROES like Jaden. I'm just a nobody. Just your generic, average-as-all-hell Termnnian Princess. But that's going to change. I promise you."

* * *

Their carriage, at last, made it to the capital city of Aquarius. Trumpets blared, announcing their arrival.

The city was cleverly built as a gigantic three-layered water fountain gleaming white. The towering skyscrapers, blue-domed temples, and golden spires poked over the walls of the layers of the fountain. Colossal walls of water dove down each layer until it crashed into a large man-made lake where an army of Sea Serpents guarded the city of the queen alongside a fleet of iron ships and squadrons of air vessels floating gracefully around the base of the fountain city. The third level of the fountain was the Queen's home and site of the Azure Palace, a marvelous structure of glass, steel, and stone chased with gold designs and giant crystal columns with grottos, divine gardens, and waterfalls pouring out of every tower, arch, and building of the Azure Palace.

The second level was were the nobility of Aquarius lived and the lowest level was where the common folk nestled in tall apartment buildings, townhouse neighborhoods, or mansion estates for those who could afford it.

Below the fountain was a walled city, spanning a radius of eight miles. And beyond the wall, standing five meters high, was a patchwork quilt of agriculture dotted with inns, small markets, and farms as far as the eye could see.

"Wow," said Evelyn. "Now that's a city!" Even though she had seen the city many times in her lifetime, it always took her breath away when she saw it. Evelyn could not tear her gaze away from the sight. By the look on the coachman's face, it was his first time here. He heard that the South was full of architectural wonders, but nothing like this. A city? Crafted to fit on the levels of a giant water fountain? How could it be possible?

"Wow," he shivered, finding it hard to maintain his balance. "How do those structures support all those buildings?"

"Carefully," said Alexis, not in the mood to answer questions. She tossed him a gold coin. "Very, very carefully."

Evelyn gave him one, too. "Did you know our city is so beloved that Seto Kaiba named a city he built on Earth after it."

"That's enough, Evelyn," said Alexis. "Come on."

A rather pretentious fellow awaited the two girls. He wore a boring outfit with a ruffled collar. He bowed monotonously and raised himself up. "Princess Alexis and, Lady Evelyn I imagine," said the man. He raised a megaphone and shouted: "Please welcome Alexis Rhodes the First of Her Name. Lady of the Sapphire Throne, Princess of Lorin, and Heiress to the Dynasty of the White Rose."

The citizens of Aquarius cheered. The man stood up straight and stretched his ruffled collar to let in some air. "If you would follow me this way please, ladies."

He turned around and walked for the chromed gates of the city then to an elevator of glass and gold that took them up a water-filled tunnel all the way to the top of the fountain. The bell over the elevator gave a ding announcing that they had arrived at their destination. The man bowed and bid them adieu before he sulked into the gardens to find a wine steward for a stiff drink.

"Hey, what's going on over there?" Alexis asked. She pointed to a crowd of people on the side of a man-made lake with water the color of dark teal with island gardens and structures of chrome steel with water pouring from thin slots.

Colorful fireworks burst over their heads. Arcane circles and other dazzling displays flew into the air causing them to cheer. "Some kind of magic show," said Evelyn.

The magician was a shadowy-haired Human with violet eyes, sun-kissed skin and an arctic white smile which caused the crowd to cheer every time she displayed joy. She wore a glittery black leotard, fishnet stockings, and a white dress shirt with a bow tie. She had on shiny black stiletto boots, and a sleek black swallowtail jacket to complete her generic magician look.

She had a fancy magical black top hat where she pulled out candies, party favors, and ultra-rare Duel Monster cards for a group of children celebrating the birthday of a young boy named James, the son of an elite Termnnian banker who lived in the second level of the city. Needless to say, the magician's looks drew a much more mature and infatuated crowd.

The pretty magician saw Alexis and Evelyn, then flashed her smile again. It seemed to twinkle just like a Christmas tree.

"Ladies and gentlemen," she said, "thank you so much for coming to the show and honoring Master James's special day. Let us all wish him a happy birthday!"

To finish her show, she held out her hands and set off a display of magical fireworks. Some rockets shot out of her hat and erupted into fireballs manipulated to be shaped like songbirds. The children got up and chased them around the gardens of the Azure Palace.

"Woo!" cheered the magician. "Off they go!"

When the children were gone, she held out her hat to collect donations. All the men in the crowd were under the spell of her immense beauty. They offered her generous bounties. One man had no gold and asked his wife if he could pay the magician with her jewelry to which he got slapped across the face.

"Thank you. Thank you," said the magician. "Thank you very much. Thanks. Glad you appreciated the show."

The birthday boy tugged at her coattails with his free hand. The other hand clutched a sack of gold coins.

"Oh, thank you," said the magician.

"Please come again to my party next year, miss," said James with a high, scratchy voice.

"You are so sweet," said the magician, her eyes still glued to the two princesses. "Glad you enjoyed the show."

James beckoned her forward to whisper something in her ear. The magician frowned and rose up, patting the child on the head as she walked away. "Sorry, honey, I don't think that's legal in Termnnia."

She approached the princesses and bowed, while politely slipping off her top hat. "Princess Alexis I presume?" said she.

"I am. That was an interesting show you put up. Well, done."

"Thank you, Princess," said the magician. With a flick of her wrist, the magician created a bouquet of roses wrapped in a red bow, and handed them to Alexis. "I am so sorry about what happened to you in Domino, Princess. Good thing that city has lots of heroes to count on, eh?" She bowed. "Francesca Popelina Jourdenette of House Orléans, at your service."

"Ah," said Alexis, after smelling the roses. "So you're The Fantastical Francesca. Yes, I know a girl named Ezra, who is a huge admirer of yours. She talked so much about you at the academy."

"I see my fame is getting around," Francesca said giggling. "So, what brings you back to Aquarius, Princess? I heard you would be in Elleria for a year. It's only been a few days."

Alexis shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it. Sorry."

Francesca droned sympathetically as she put her hat back on. "Ah yes. I did not mean to offend. You are the Princess after all. Your affairs are not mine. I meant no offense, My Lady. Have to keep tabs on all who enter our fair city. There's a group of Covenant radicals running about the streets. They call themselves the Platinum Dawn. They anti-magic, anti-Duel Monsters, and are prejudiced against non-humans."

"Can't have that in my city," said Alexis. "We're going to have to see about that. Just because their party won the elections over in Domino doesn't mean they'll be so victorious here."

"I'm sure you will bring great change to our city, Princess." Francesca pinched her thumb and index finger together, holding them high over her head. She lowered her arm. A black hooked cane materialized out of thin air. She tipped her hat to the group. "Well folks, it's been a real slice. I'll see you around."

When she was gone, Alexis and Evelyn climbed up the stairs into the Azure Palace. An escort of royal marine knights took the group into the throne room. It stretched a hundred yards long and was colored in blue marble. The columns looked like water made solid and the ceiling was a giant aquarium with all sorts of fishes swimming in glowing reefs of coral alongside bottom-dwelling sharks.

The white banners depicting the White Rose of House Rhodes hung from rods of gold over the flying buttresses. Ahead of them was the Sapphire Throne. The throne stood twenty feet high and doubled as a golden water fountain. The seat was inlaid with shimmering galaxy-cut sapphires in wavy designs along with the green marble seat.

Sitting on it was Alexis Rhodes's mother. She looked at Alexis like a vulture ready to ravage a carcass. "Well, daughter. You're back early. You have a lot of explaining to do."

* * *

**Part II**

* * *

Queen Daria Rhodes XVIII ordered Alexis to bathe and change her clothes at once. Alexis left Evelyn by the fountain in front of the throne and traveled upward to the highest parts of the castle to her room so she could clean herself up. She changed into something simple, a white blouse and a black skirt, for she did not feel like burdening herself with heavy dresses, some of which required her to slip into a corset. That was something she was in no rush to put on. When she returned to the throne room, the Queen stood up and told Alexis to follow her outside so they could be in the sunlight. The air conditioning in the throne room was so horribly chill, and the water splashing onto her skin from the waterfalls and fountains helped her none.

The Queen stood tall beside Alexis. Her long, golden hair, went down to her ankles in elegant curls. It was so long and so wide, one could mistake her hair for a cape. Her gown stretched far behind her, blinding any who saw it with its dozens of egg-sized diamonds. Many in the kingdom adored seeing them side by side. They often said Alexis was a mirror image of her mother had it not been for the size difference. Those who were in their way parted and bowed. Her sword, encrusted with aquamarines, sapphires, zircon, and diamonds flashed at her hip, getting as much attention from the people as the Queen's beauty.

Alexis looked at it from the corner of her eye, loving how the gold hilt and guard were crafted with wavy designs that resembled waves. _Fountainbrand_ was the name of the legendary weapon, for it was crafted in the forge that doubled as a fountain in front of the throne. It was as much a symbol of authority as the crown on the Queen's head. One day, Alexis thought, they would be hers.

"It hasn't even been long since you left for Eredas and already you defy your teachers and drop out of the school," Queen Daria said, fanning herself. "Alexis. What am I going to do with you?"

Two Black Luster Soldiers in Azure and gold armor followed behind them, carrying halberds with banners of the house and tall, decorative, tower shields. A third carried the excess of the Queen's dress.

"They didn't teach me what I wanted, Mother."

"What did you want, Alexis? Hmm? Don't answer that. I know what it is you want. Daring swordplay. Magic spells. The conjuration of monsters. You wish to fight as your friends do. Well, I needn't give you my answer to that notion."

Alexis breathed heavily out of her nose to expel the stress building up in her chest. "So you don't want me defending myself? You want me to get kidnapped again, Mother?"

"It won't happen again. From this point on, you are to remain here and act like a proper lady."

"What? But what about the Academy? I have to finish my studies there, Mother. I've been accepted to its university levels. I must go."

"You learn here, dearest. I will not have you out there again."

"But I don't want to be here forever! I want to learn how to fight! All my friends are out there participating in the war against Forrest. I want to help them!"

Queen Daria sighed and kept walking.

"Do you have any idea how I felt when I was in Aldric's clutches, Mother? How useless I felt? I was nothing more than some...toy! Some object to arouse him and his friends. I never felt so useless. And to know my friends were putting themselves at risk for me. Risking their lives because of my weakness! Argh! I can't! I don't want to experience that again! Let me learn to use my magic to the best of its ability! At least hire a swordmaster so he can teach me."

Daria stopped and looked at the frescos of sea serpents on the walls. "How many times must you be put in danger for you to learn that you are not as strong as you think you are, dear? In the world of Duel Monsters, they call you strong. They call you unbeatable. A Queen even. You play a good game of cards, my darling, but I fear the world of Duel Monsters differs from real life. Here, in the real world, you will not have spells and traps to get you out of tough situations. Nor will you be able to summon monsters to aid you and defend you."

"Maybe I could if you'd let me learn."

Daria blinked rapidly and scoffed. "Atticus wanted to learn to be a great warrior. And look where it got him."

"It won't be the same, Mother. I promise..."

"He promised, too!" she almost shouted. "You will not leave this castle! You will not learn magic or anything of that nature! I command it! If you wish to fight, use our armies. That's what they are there for! But you will not set foot on the battlefield, young lady. That's not even where you'll go. I know what it is you want. You wish to join your friend, Zane. Well, I forbid it! I will not have you rushing off to Domino City and act like those masked vigilantes wreaking havoc on our land because they have the power to do so. Let Domino solve its own problems. In time, my daughter, you will know your place."

"What place? Mother, you've been stuck here for so long you fail to see the outside world. Up north, King Forrest has conquered all but southern Elleria and our Allies are getting weaker as this war with his escalates. The Covenant won a huge election in Eredas. One that could jeopardize the rule of the King. So many officials from Emerald Fire have taken office. Most of Eredas could be turned into a Covenant state. What good would being trapped in this ivory prison do for us? Mother. We have to stand up to Forrest and the Covenant. We have to fight."

"King Forrest wastes his time and his armies," Daria responded, leading her daughter into the gardens. A peacock called from behind the hedge of white roses. Daria plucked one from the hedge and tucked it behind Alexis's ear. "Prince Yuri is returning to Termnnia. He will bring balance to our land again. You will see. All this worrying and all this fighting will be for naught."

"It's still a long way away from now, Mother. Who knows what will happen between now and then."

Daria looked at Alexis and shook her head. "You are not to leave this castle, dearest."

"You are making a huge mistake, Mother!"

"I will NOT lose you again!" Queen Daria shouted, grabbing Alexis by the shoulders. "I cannot. I cannot bear the sorrow of seeing you in the clutches of those...those things again." She straightened herself up. "And I won't. I have arranged a Special Security Force made special for you."

"Oh, Mother, don't!" Alexis pleaded. She followed her mother through the gardens to a balcony with a pool. The water reflected the trees and the hedges so perfectly, it looked green.

There was a knight standing under a white tent. The knight was leaning against a long, white table with his arms crossed over his chest. He had handsome armor, of that Alexis, couldn't argue. But what was he doing here?"

Queen Daria stopped. "I have arranged for the best knights in all Termnnia to come down here and join the illustrious order I have created for you, dear. An order, I hope, can go on for generations, securing the royal daughters of my bloodline. Alexis. I present to you the Princess Guard."

"Oh, joy," Alexis said sarcastically.

Queen Daria smiled. "And allow me to introduce your first knights. Reveal yourself to us, young man."

The knight bowed his head and took off his helmet, revealing spiky, jet-black hair and a sharp face that went red upon looking at Alexis.

"Alexis! My Alexis!" he said with a weak, scratchy voice. "I told you that one day I would be your knight in shining armor."

Alexis stepped back, if her eyes had gone any wider, they would have most certainly popped out of their sockets. "CHAZZ!"

"I see you two know each other," said Daria. "Yes. I have instructed Chazz to be your knight-champion. He will follow you everywhere you go."

Chazz went even redder. "Uh...I like the sound of that."

Alexis's cheeks puffed and she gave a heave.

"Are you all right?" Chazz asked.

Alexis nodded. "I'm fine...I just," she rolled her hand. "I just...threw up in my mouth. A little bit."

Someone laughed from behind them. Alexis and the Queen turned to see a young man in a black pin-striped suit walking towards them. His hair was short and spiked and he wore sunglasses with ruby-red iridium lenses. He sucked on a cherry lollipop as a soldier wheeled in a black, armored, cart behind him.

"No..." Alexis gulped. "Veran Jayce? You hired Veran Jayce! For what?"

"To outfit your Princess Guard with state-of-the-art weapons, my dear. We're going to need his tech."

"You couldn't get someone from Truesdale Enterprises?"

"And have you close to Zane? No. I think not."

"Well, well, well! I must have been born under a lucky star to be under the service of such beauty. So, uh, which one of you is the Princess?"

"Hello, Jayce," said Queen Daria, unphased by his terrible flattery. "You came so quickly."

"Starships, Your Highness. Those babies can take you anywhere in hours. You want to get to Rassay through horse and carriage, you're talking a year on the road. But my new modes of transportation will get you there in a matter of hours."

Alexis folded her arms. "Yeah, and, uh, we've got waystations that can get you where you want in seconds."

Jayce pointed at her. "You're a smart girl. But not everyone can afford the luxury of these so-called waystations. And if I heard right, Emerald Fire is planning to shut down these waystations."

"I'd like to see them try."

Queen Daria held up her hand to silence her daughter. "What can you do for us, Jayce?"

Jayce yanked the lollipop out of his mouth. "Well, first off, we're going to install your new security system. You'll have all eyes on Alexis. 24/7 surveillance. Motion detectors. Laser defense systems. If Alexis sneezes you'll know about it. If she pees you'll know about it."

"Excuse me!"

"I love my job," Chazz drooled.

"Hey!"

"Interesting," said Daria, talking over Alexis again. "And what about weapons for the guard?"

"I'm so glad you asked, Your Highness because I've got..."

He got a text message and his phone let out an annoying jingle.

"One moment, please. Ah, it's from Zane. Probably upset about the hearing taking place."

"What hearing?" Alexis asked.

"Oh, just a little something about those dragons he built. Yeah, sorry, babe. They're no longer a secret. He just made the announcement last night and everyone, including my partners in the military, is all over it."

"You want a Cyber Dragon for yourself, don't you?" said Alexis.

"Who doesn't, baby? Those things are the cream of the crop. Once Zane loses those dragons - and believe me, he will - they'll be ripe for purchase on the market. They're gonna sell like hotcakes. Well, cuz of me, of course. But I'll put them back up after I make some of my own modifications to them. Make them better. Maybe make them come in tactical black." He chuckled. "Either way, they're gonna be better than Zane's, lemme tell ya. By the way, let's see what he wants."

**U look like gay!**

"What an idiot," he said putting the phone away. "Where's he getting these jokes from? Ahem, anyway. We at Jayce TEK want only the best for our clients. And you, my beautiful royal babes, deserve nothing more than the best. It's time for the creme-de-la-creme." He snapped his fingers. The cart's lid automatically opened. "Let's see what Santa's got in his bag of toys."

He rubbed his hands together and pulled out a rifle.

"M4 Dragonfire. The Termnnian modified version of Earth's lame and ancient M4 Carbine. Fully customizable. You can put everything and the kitchen sink on it. She can spit out magical rounds of 5-5-6. That's right. Bullets can be modified with Mana Crystals and give the bullets any enchantment you want. Fire? No problem." He touched the bottom of the magazine, causing it to turn fiery red. Embers flickered in the air.

"Thunder? You got it." He touched it again. The magazine turned bright blue and electricity sparked from its surface.

"How about acid?" He touched it. The magazine turned a poisonous shade of green with a dark green fog enveloping it. He touched it touch and the enchantment faded. He kissed the barrel of the rifle. "The kids love it. But if you want something a little more compact, I've got just the thing for you."

He took out a tan-colored rifle that was smaller than the Dragonfire. "JTF-200 Serpent Night Dragon. It's small. It's slim. You can barely feel the recoil. Feeds on 300 Blackout, a beautiful ammo type from Earth, one of our most endearing partners by the way. You can keep it anywhere. Just look at how it beautifully folds. You can tuck it in your backpack, under your coat, under your dresses if you feel like going commando. But if that doesn't make happy then this will."

He pulled out a massive firearm. He pulled back the charging handle on the side for dramatic effect. "This, Your Majesties, is the JTF X-9000 Hurricane. This baby is the result of thousands of years of warfare. She fires five hundred rounds per minute and has one purpose. To do what she was manufactured to do."

"Adopt me daddy-o!" shouted Chazz.

"Knock yourself out, big guy," Jayce said, tossing the weapon at Chazz.

Jayce crunched on his lollipop after he was done showing off the rest of the weapons in his cart. "So. What do you think?"

Queen Daria nodded. "I'll take them all, thank you, Jayce."

"Mother, don't do this. We don't need any of these weapons. If you'll just..."

"My checkbook is in my quarters. If you'll follow me, please. Ser Princeton."

"Your Highness!" Chazz answered at once.

"Take Alexis to the throne room. Her friend is waiting. And make sure she stays in the castle."

* * *

**Part III**

* * *

Night had fallen over Lorin but Alexis could not find it within herself to sleep. She was too furious over what her mother had done to her with all the added security in the castle. What's worse, she was going to be kept from attending Duelist Academy and finishing her studies there with her friends.

"It just came out of nowhere!" she shouted at Zane, who was speaking to her via video chat. Her phone was on the lamp table beside her massive bed as she brushed her hair for the night. "She hired Varen Fucking Jayce to install the security here."

"Watch your language," Zane said with a chuckle. "You're a Princess of Termnnia."

"Oh, shut up," Alexis grumbled, setting down her brush. She screamed in fury as she slammed her back against her bed. The red velvet curtains of the canopy over her massive bed fluttered from the impact. "It's not fair."

"After what happened last time, I don't blame your mom for being so protective. With Atticus gone, there's no one left to take the throne except you. You have to look at it that way."

"I can't believe you're taking her side," Alexis said, rolling to her belly. She picked up the phone and glared at Zane. "Again, need I remind you Varen Jayce, your business rival, installed security all over the Palace to keep an eye on me. I feel so violated. What if he's been watching me. I had to pee in the dark because I'm so paranoid he's looking at me with a small camera or something."

"What would darkness matter to him?" Zane said, sniggering. "He probably has night vision."

"ZANE!"

"I'm only kidding."

"Don't! For goodness sake, this is terrible. I'm a prisoner in my own home. I'm never going to get out of here, Zane. Yuck, and Mother invented this order known as the Princess Guard. You won't believe who's their commander. Chazz Princeton."

Zane burst out laughing.

"Asshole! Shut up! It's not funny." Her phone beeped. An image with Jaden's profile pic appeared. She tapped on it, adding Jaden to the chat.

"Hey, Lex. Zane. What's up? Or should I say Cyber Knight?"

"Hey, Jaden," Alexis replied sadly. "Where are you?"

"I'm up and about. I'm in Thara right now, helping some folks fight off a bandit king."

"Lucky you," moaned Alexis. "Where's that girl who was with you? Della."

"She's doing well, just sleeping. Once we find an inn, bam! She's out."

"Well, at least her half of the Heart of Helios is safe," said Zane. "By the way, have you found out where our friend Aldric is?"

"Not a clue," Jaden said with a shake of his head. "He just vanished. After what your Cyber Twin Dragon did to him, I don't blame him for not coming back."

Alexis rolled to her back and held her phone over her face. "Still, we need to keep an eye out for him. Even though it's half the stone, there's still great power in it. He completely overpowered your Elemental HEROES Jaden."

"I've got a new arsenal of monsters on my side," Jaden said with a smile. "Ones that will give him a run for his money."

"Don't underestimate him," said Zane. "I'm on vacation with Kara at the moment, but I'm still on the lookout. That bastard can show up when we least expect it."

"With that new Cyber Dragon in your arsenal, I doubt it." Her face shrank in sorrow. "Glad you guys are out there making a difference."

"Whoa, you sound like you're down in the dumps," Jaden said. "What's going on, Zane?"

"Queen Daria is a little paranoid about letting Alexis out of the palace after that fiasco with the Aeons. To make sure that never happens again, she locked Alexis in the palace forever. She hired a security and weapons dealer to install security in the palace to keep an eye on her."

"Gee, that sucks. Sorry about that Lex."

Alexis's eyes rotated as she blew her hair off her eye with a puff of air from the corner of her mouth. "This sucks alright. Mom won't even let me go to the academy with you guys and finish the University Levels. I have to take them here."

"What! We can't go to school without you, Lex! It's not right."

"I'm going to figure something out," said Alexis. "And I think I know just how. Guys, I'll talk to you later."

She ended the chat and snuck out of her room. She heard loud snoring by the door. Chazz was sound asleep at his desk. Drool was pouring out from the side of his mouth. Alexis shook her head and silently dashed down the halls, keeping to the shadows. Black Luster Soldiers marched down the halls with sea warriors called Kaiser Sea Horse. Alexis hid behind a large curtain and waited for them to pass. She heard a lot of drills buzzing and ladders clanking as they were carried around. Alexis breathed a sigh of relief, spotting the contractors haven't set up their security systems yet. But that didn't mean she was in the all-clear.

Alexis delved farther and farther into the palace until she reached a chamber with golden doors carved with statues of the Cyber Angels, who were servants of the Light Goddess, Entuli. Alexis removed a key she had around her neck and unlocked the door to the chamber. Inside, she heard the gentle sound of water fountains bubbling over the pools surrounding a shrine with a domed gazebo in the center shaped like a star. Beams of silver and red light from the three moons over the sky shone down from the tall windows of the chamber and illuminated something standing on a pedestal. A suit of magnificent armor made of platinum and glowing multi-faceted gems stood gleaming on a wooden rack.

Alexis shut her eyes and remembered the tale her mother told her of the suit. The suit was worn by the first Queen of Lorin, Lady Belladonna Rhodes the Angel of Entuli. She was a valiant warrior who aided Tiberius the Uniter with the ancient alliance of Termnnia. Belladonna was a poor war maiden who tried to save her village from being conquered by a band of mercenaries fighting for their Barons in the War of 50.

As bravely as she fought to hold them back, she was defeated and taken prisoner, then later sold as a slave. For over a year, she was abused and beaten by her captor, a warlord by the name of Marcus Blood-Knuckles. A name befitting a monster like him; for his hands were stained with the blood of the women he beat. One day, Belladonna prayed to the Goddess of Light, begging for a way to escape her torment and set her people free from the Barons. The Light Goddess took great pity on the poor woman. A brave and noble warrior such as she should not be cursed with such a fate. No one should.

Entuli responded by sending forth a Shooting Star Dragon, which conjured a star that lit up the sky for days. After many days, Belladonna made it to a pool of blessed water, where she bathed to wash all her bruises away and filling her with holy light from the Belt of Entuli, a constellation of stars that shined brightly in the northern sky. When she emerged from the water, she found a set of armor crafted in the forges of Andranda, Goddess of the Smiths in collaboration with Entuli, who had the steel infused with her divine light. With her new armor, and the aid of Tiberius and the Divine Beasts, Belladonna Rhodes vanquished the vile barons and then Tiberius the Uniter named her Queen of Lorin. There she had the great city of Aquarius built over the springs where she bathed and was given new life.

The water in the pools around the pedestal ahead was from that spring. Alexis took a deep breath and stepped into the chamber, crossing over a bridge of glass and gold to get to the pedestal. This was the first time in many years that Alexis had seen the armor for herself. The last time she was here was when her mother took her there before leaving for her freshman year of High School in Duelist Academy.

The helmet.

On the front of it were three slots where powerful gems once stood. But they were lost when Daria's mother Queen Neniyan - the last woman in the family to don the armor - was defeated by the Dark Lord Anubis, many years before the Song of the Divines was sang. Anubis removed the gems from the helmet and had them consumed by three horrible monsters, who scattered to the darkest parts of the world to keep them from being found by House Rhodes again.

This night, Alexis swore to fix that. No, there was no magical fairy or a Shooting Star Dragon to guide her on a magical quest. She didn't even know where to start looking for the lost gems. But she was not going to win her mother's trust or win her freedom by being stuck here. She sighed and removed her nightgown.

"Mother. Forgive me."

She whispered those words sadly. Not waiting for the chance to think about the heartache she would put upon Daria, Alexis dove into the pool. At first, it was dark. But then, she saw the bubbles around her started glowing and rang like bells. Alexis looked at herself. The scars she received when she was captured by Aldric were fading away, healing before her very eyes.

Then...the darkness around her turned bright until Alexis found herself in a realm of light with bubbles floating all around her. Leaves of light fluttered in the currents as though they were in the wind. And then she saw it. A glowing, white, tree was there in depths. Once serving as a temple maiden, Alexis realized it was Telterrion the Tree of the Stars. And at the roots of the tree was a sword. Alexis swam towards it. Her determination to wield it aided her against the currents of doubt that were trying to hold her back from getting the weapon her ancestors used thousands of years ago.

As she got closer to the tree, she felt another powerful current push her, but she would not falter. She kept on swimming until he got closer and closer to the blade.

The leaves of Telterrion swirled around her as she gripped the blade sent to her by the Divines. She held her breath and lifted the sword from the limestone pedestal. It was at the moment that she knew things would never be the same. She heard a powerful voice echoing in her head.

"O' Warrior of Light. Go forth and cleanse the world of the Jade Flames!" The Goddesses called to her. "Become our champion!"

Back on the surface, it was still dark, with only the moonlight illuminating the chamber. The water in the pool in front of the pedestal started to bubble. A hand reached out from beneath the glassy black surface, clutching the hilt of a very long and very beautiful blade.

* * *

**Part IV**

* * *

She arrived from the woods around morning, wrapped in a messy, torn, cloak with a hood to conceal herself. She was surrounded by white trees with bright red leaves, shrouding the forest with a ruby red aura. The white pebble path she walked on stood out from everything else. A river of white in a landscape of red. Alexis kept to herself as she walked the path, keeping her head down as she passed travelers and merchants who bade her hello. She just nodded her head and kept walking. Even though Aquarius was many leagues behind her, she was still in Lorin, her kingdom. But before she could go searching for the gems to fit in the Helm of Stars, she needed to make one very important stop. Before leaving the palace, she heard a voice in her head that told her to go to this place. Who the voice was, Alexis did not know.

She followed another path away from the white pebbled road and strayed down a slope until she saw a shrine of snowy-white limestone through a curtain of leaves. But as beautiful as the sight of the shrine was, Alexis's face creased with displeasure upon smelling the horrible stench of tanned hides, tobacco, piss, and flatulence. Once she cleared away from the trees, she could make out tents, walls of beer kegs, torches, and tanning racks with animal skins stretched on them. Thin wisps of smoke from the numerous campfires about the camp slithered into the early morning air.

Bandits. Just my luck.

She heard them laughing and playing on accordions and drums as they sang crude songs about Queen Pharmellica, who was taken captive by goblins when she lost a war to them thousands of years ago. She was bound in chains and dragged out of her castle where she was unceremoniously marched for miles to their subterranean sanctuary in the caves of the nearby mountains and was never seen again. Not long after her disappearance, drunken bards started writing songs lampooning her fate. None of them were pleasant stories.

Alexis hoped to avoid any unpleasantries, but with bandits, that was not likely. As soon as they saw her walking down the path, they dropped what they were doing and stood up to greet their visitor.

" 'Oo are you?" a skinny, pock-marked, bandit said, pointing his truncheon at Alexis. "Well? Are yoo gonna say somethin' or wot?"

"I just want to visit the shrine," Alexis responded. As soon as she spoke, the bandits hooted with glee.

"Lookie here, lads! A little fawn got lost in the woods."

They all cackled.

"Wot yoo doin' all the way out here, love?" asked a short bandit in wooden armor. He carried a small ax, with a leather handle coated in tar.

"I told you before. I just want to see the shrine."

Someone walked from behind her and yanked the hood down, releasing her golden hair, which flowed down her back. "Yoo came to the wrong shrine, girly!" said the bandit. His breath smelled of beer and lust. He took a lock of her hair and smelled it. "Strawberries," he groaned.

"I just want to see the shrine," said Alexis. "That's all. Let me see it, and...I'll do whatever you want. Deal?"

The bandits hollered as though they won a great victory. "Yoo mean it?" asked the pock-marked bandit.

"Cross my heart," Alexis said, batting her eyelashes. "I just want a peek at the shrine. That's all."

"And then we can get a peek at yoo?"

"Sure." Yuck!

The bandits parted and jeered as Alexis walked through their camp and up the steps. None of them wondered what her business was with the shrine. That would be their last mistake. Aleix found the fountain and shook her head in disgust. Even though the water was holy, the bandits were using it to brew their beer and wash their mouths. Alexis pulled her cloak back to free her arms. The bandits reeled back in shook to see them armored in vambraces that looked like light made into steel. At once, they drew their weapons. Something was not right here. Alexis held her hands over the fountain. The water started glowing bright blue, then it slithered out of the fountain to empty slots on the vambraces, then formed into blue jewels.

Suddenly, two cauldrons on either side of the shrine burst with blue fire. The bandits started to shout in fear.

"She's a witch!" shouted the pock-marked bandit. "Kill 'er!"

But as soon as he raised his sword, Alexis opened her eyes. They were milky white. Then, two figures were taking form in the fire. "Oh, sod," a bandit said, dropping his crossbow and running away. He was the smart one.

The figures were two, tall, blue-skinned, multi-armed women. The one on the left carried two swords in each hand of her upper arms. The lower set of hands both clutched a long halberd. The woman on the right had a battle-ax on one hand. The other set of the woman's arms had a spear. Cyber Angels Izana and Dakini had been summoned. Without a word, the two Cyber Angels began slaughtering the bandits. Revenge for them desecrating their shrine. For a few seconds, the forest echoed in a violent and gory symphony of steel cutting flesh, mixed with a chorus of grunting and choking. Their high-heeled boots stomped and rustled the leaves on the ground.

Then the forest was silent, save for the call of a hawk in the sky and the churning of the water in the fountain.

"Filthy scum," said Izana. A bandit was on the ground letting out the death rattle. She smashed her ax on his skull to put him out of his misery. She turned to look at Alexis. "You. Come down."

So she did. Alexis stared at the two creatures she summoned. Yes, they made their appearance numerous times when she Dueled, but these were not holograms or Phantoms. They were real. Alexis could hear them breathing. She could smell them. Dakini stepped forward. She jabbed her halberd on the ground and ripped Alexis's cloak off to reveal her armor she wore underneath. "You are from the House of Rhodes?" she asked.

Alexis nodded. Try as she might, she could not find the right words to say.

"Of course she is," said Izana. "She wouldn't be wearing the Armor of Entuli if she wasn't. It has been a long time since we have been summoned. What has become of Anubis."

"He is dead," Alexis replied. "Prince Daveed of House Wallcroft killed him."

Izana and Dakini looked at each other.

"Dead you say?" asked Dakini. "This Prince Daveed must be a very powerful warrior."

"Well, he killed Anubis when he was just a baby."

Izana wrinkled her nose. "Child. Do you think us fools?"

"It's the truth!" Alexis implored her. "Eighteen years have gone by since that happened. After he killed Anubis, the baby boy was dubbed the future High King of Termnnia. Now, he is set to return come summer."

"I have heard something like this," said Dakini. "But what do you mean by return? What has happened to the boy?"

"He was sent to Earth for safekeeping. Anubis was gone, but there was still much evil in this world. Assassins and villains began hunting him like he was some sort of animal. Some have taken arms to do something about that. Heroes popped up all over Termnnia to clear the way for him. Recently, many of my friends have begun the fight to clean up Termnnia in time for the return of the Crown Prince. I thought I could join in fighting the good fight."

Dakini laughed. "You?" She leaned forward to look at Alexis straight in the eyes. "What makes you think you can fight? I sense much fear and doubt in you. I can practically smell it." She sniffed the air around Alexis mockingly. "She is not pure."

"You've been kidnapped?" Izana asked.

Alexis nodded. "Yes. I was taken captive by a gang of thugs a few months ago. I...I was too weak to fight them back. And they took advantage of me by using me as a bargaining chip. I don't want that to happen again. I want to help rid this world of people like that. I don't want anyone to experience what I did. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. And I want my Prince to be safe."

"The poor thing," Izana said, looking at Dakini.

Dakini shrugged. "I see you also wish to prove yourself to your mother. She has much fear in her. Fear for you."

"Much," Alexis replied. "So much that she kept me prisoner in my own home. She went too far having all those people lock me up like that. I refuse to live a life like that. If I have to denounce my title as Princess, I will, but I will never go back to living like that again. I don't want anyone to have to worry about me anymore either. Teach me. Entuli said you would."

"She did," Dakini agreed. "She sent you forth on a quest to find the gems that once fit the helm you carry. But that will be an impossible task with you as green as you are. You are still just a little bud. But the Cyber Angels will do as we are told. We will take care of you and teach you. Eventually, you will blossom into the warrior you wish to be. But heed my words, Alexis of House Rhodes. Your training will not be easy. I will break you. You will most likely fall down the path your brother took."

Alexis narrowed her eyes and took a step forward to look Dakini in the eyes. "Bring it on."

* * *

**Part V**

* * *

**One Month Later**

The White Reach of Thara was as vast and beautiful as Alexis had heard. It was a vast wilderness with high cliffs, towering waterfalls, and an ocean of pine forest, all standing humbly under the watch of the Great White Mountain's majesty. What's more, there were dozens of hot springs and geysers shooting off into the air hundreds of feet high. Truly the word had been denied from Alexis for far too long. With a sight like this spanning before her, she nodded, realizing that spending a whole month on the top of a cold mountain training with the Cyber Angels was worth it. They taught her a style known as the Dance of Glaives, in which she could summon the weapons used by her Cyber Angels as companions in battle. So far, she mastered the skills to conure just one of Dakini and Izana's weapons into the world and dance her foes to shreds. And they taught her swordplay as well and a magical ability called Swordcraft, where she could use her blades to give her — or a companion — bonuses in combat.

It was not an easy task, however. They kept Alexis fighting from dawn until dusk, even if it was snowing fiercely, and they had her dressed in a thin loincloth of all things to test her endurance, and she was forced to eat snow and a crust of bread. She even had to build her own fire to keep warm. That took a while for her to make. The first three nights were cold and miserable for her.

Every time she failed or misstepped, Dakini would slap her cheeks, legs, and buttocks so hard, she felt as though she was hit with a frying pan. She felt like giving up and fleeing down the mountain, but the memory of being bound and abused by King Aldric and Aeons — however painful it may be — was the fuel that kept her going. The urge to kill him forced her back up on her feet.

Also, if there was a time in the future when she could summon all the Glaives, then she was looking forward to completing her training this divine style of battle. She smiled, wondering what Zane and Jaden would have to say if they saw her in Domino with these unique gifts. What would the Queen Mother think?

So much winning, she thought. She closed her eyes and breathed in the crisp, sweet, mountain air.

Beautiful were the only words that escaped her glossy lips. She surveyed the land around her until she spotted a ruined castle mounted on an island surrounded by a moat of hot, boiling water. She saw tents and tables and chairs scattered here and there and a few fires being lit, telling her that the castle was not as deserted as she thought it was. The arrow slits and windows were all glowing with a flickering amber glow, meaning there were fires and festivities going on inside.

"This is the place," said Dakini, whispering in Alexis's ear from the crystal pommel of the sword she had sheathed on her back.

"I see," Alexis said, exhaling a long and nervous breath. "All right. Let's do this."

"Do not be reckless," said Izana. "Remember what we taught you. Stay cool, be elegant, and be fast. They will be no match for you. I taught you as well as I could up on that mountain. Now, show us what you have learned."

The crystal went silent.

Yup. Alexis was going to be alone in this fight. The castle ruins, as inviting as they were, had been occupied by a group of bandits, led by a king who was in control of one of the Gems of Entuli. If so, this would be a tough fight; for the Gems gave the user, unnatural abilities. And that was just one Gem. Alexis feared to think about what would happen if someone had all three. She took another deep breath and walked down the dirt path down the mountain.

She was draped in a tattered, brown cloak to keep from drawing too much attention. If anyone saw the splendid new garments the Cyber Angels dressed her with, she would turn into a beacon for bandits and other vagabonds. Thankfully, the disguise worked. Usually in Termnnia, figures who were hooded and cloaked meant bad news, and people steered clear from her on the road.

As she got close to the ruins, she passed by signs written by someone with poor penmanship and festooned with bones, skulls, and candles. The signs read:

_**Danger!** _

_**Go Bakk!** _

_**Do it now fool!** _

_**I'd turn bak if I were U whoreson!** _

Alexis chuckled, rolled her eyes, and shook her head, still making her way to the ruins. A band standing a poorly made stage were gleefully playing songs as a gang of mercenaries were roasting a huge pig over a fire and frying beef and steak over stone stoves. The air was perfumed with the smell of hot meat, beer, and even popped corn. It would have looked like a noble gathering had it not been for the people trapped in cages. They were begging for mercy and sobbing, pleading to be let go in exchange for whatever they wanted. Alexis stopped, not daring to go any further.

A wagon being pulled by a Mad Sword Beast rolled in with a fresh catch of young girls. The mercenaries whistled and catcalled as they swarmed the wagon, some of them reaching in to touch them.

"The poor things," whispered Izana. "They were taken from their villages. The whoreson responsible for this atrocity goes by the name King Cleaver. Ah, look. The young men, they will be forced to work in his mines. Those poor boys won't last long down there in those terrible conditions. You have been ordered by the Goddess, Entuli, to kill him. Too long has this animal persecuted the people of the White Reach, selling them and exploiting them like livestock. Not only that, but he holds someone very dear to her captive."

"I will do what I can," Alexis whispered. "There are so many of them."

"There she goes doubting herself again," said Dakini. "We teach her skills that allow her to slay a dozen foes at once, and she is afraid."

"Show respect, Dakini!" snapped Izana. "She pulled the sword from the Tree of the Stars and has the blood of the first Knight of Starlight coursing through her veins. Like it or not, Entuli has chosen her to spread her light across this world, plagued in sin and darkness."

"Very well, but I don't have my hopes set high with this one. Not if she continues to act this way."

"I'm not afraid!" said Alexis. "I'll show you."

"Please, do so," Dakini said before going quiet once more.

Alexis muttered some choice words ("I heard that," said Dakini) before marching towards the encampment. She removed her cloak, letting it fall to a heap on the ground. When she stepped past the gate, the camp went to a standstill, watching the girl in clothes of white and cerulean march through as though she owned the place. They would have approached her as they did with the girls in the wagon, but they saw the sword on her back and dared not to make a move. Ever since the birth of Prince Yuri, heroes were popping up all over Termnnia. Perhaps this girl was one of them.

Someone tried to stop her, a big, shirtless brawler — no doubt the biggest person in the camp. He told her to relinquish her sword at once and walk into the nearest cage with the rest of the girls. Alexis turned into a streak of light and then reappeared behind the man, continuing to walk towards the castle. The man, however, stood still. Then, blood started to pour out of his abdomen. He coughed and wheezed in fear, feeling himself fall apart. Alexis had cut him in half in the blink of an eye. The other mercenaries wheeled back in fear, some of them even fled into the wilderness. Alexis walked up the steps and burst through the doors. What she saw disgusted her.

There was a very stout man sitting on a dwarven throne, slurping from a black and gold goblet. He wore a crown on his head with the Gem of Entuli shimmering on the centerpiece, crafted to look like a lion was devouring the gem. King Cleaver, no doubt. He laughed as a girl his men kidnapped from the river kingdoms was sold to a gang from the Iron Mountains.

When she was taken away, a young man in his twenties was brought forward to be auctioned off, no doubt to work in the mines, drafted into the Narlian army, or be sold to Aurelia to fight as a gladiator in the Mouth of Zorc. Either way, his life, and the lives of many others would be hell if Alexis didn't think of something quick.

The young man was sold to work in the ruby mines of a local warlord. When he was dragged off the stage, the king stood up.

"Gentlemen! The auction is not over! I have but one more treat for you tonight. I give her to one lucky winner. View her as a token of my thanks for many years of brotherhood and business." His men cheered and threw coins at him. "Thank you, thank you," he said, basking in their adoration. "Winky! Binky! Bring her over."

Two gnomes pulled a girl forward with an iron chain fastened to a shackle around her neck. She was wrapped in a brown cloak. There must have been something very heavy and thick behind her, for the cloth was bloated. Her hair was pale gold in color, and tied into a braid so long it could touch her ankles. On the front, her forehead was covered by ragged bangs with two braids on either side of her face. She sobbed; tears rolled down her cheeks in her terror.

"What's going on?" Alexis wondered. How could things like this exist? How could it go unpunished? Why was it even a thing!? Just — just why?

"Psst," someone said beside her. Alexis turned her head and saw a young woman with long, honey-colored hair in a cage with the sign reading SOLD written in big red letters by the door. She sported a black jacket with a fur-trimmed collar, smelling sweet like apple cinnamon. Alexis sniffed the scent one last time, for it was a relief from the stench of cooking meat and mud. And most of all…sweaty bandits.

The girl's jacket went down to her ribs, as did the white top she wore underneath, showing off her core. Her leather pants matched her jacket's color and she had on a belt with an assortment of pouches attached to it. The buckle was shaped like a roaring lion made of iridescent gold looking like the holographic foil like an ultra-rare card and was studded with diamonds.

"Who are you?" Alexis whispered back. "And what is that around your neck? That glowing thing?"

The girl laughed. "You're looking at a Vallamantium Shackles. These were made from that metal of that asteroid that crashed into the world some time ago. Apparently, they create an anti-magic field severing the strings to the world of the arcane. I have a gift that could get me out of here, but with this baby on my neck, I'm as useless as a campfire underwater. Oh, and see that sword King Cleaver is holding. Does it look familiar?"

Alexis shook her head in shock. "That...that's Gallatin! The weapon used by the King of the Noble Knights! Wha...how? How does this beast have it?"

"It's mine," said the girl. "I would explain why, but now is not the time. His name isn't King Cleaver though."

"I didn't think so, and there is no need to explain who this pig is. I know him. He's Ser Godfrey. Champion of Normandia. Or at least he was until the Dragon Summoner exposed him for the slug that he is and retired the title of knight from him."

"I see you and our friend go way back. Oh, I'm Leona by the way. Leona Beineix at your service" — She chuckled — "Well, at least until I get this thing off. Be a pal and remove it for me? We don't have a lot of time."

"But she is no ordinary girl!" King Cleaver said. He snapped his fingers. The gnomes yanked the girl's cloak down and revealed not only her body, but a set of four, huge wings with bright, white feathers hued with gold. The King's friends stood up and cried out in awe at the sight of her.

"Is she…" Alexis babbled.

"Yup," answered Leona. "Poor thing's an Arva. The Winged Folk of the Great White Mountains."

"I thought they were extinct!"

"Not this one. She's the reason I'm here. I was sent by the Temple of Entuli on a rescue mission to save her from the auction. But I wasn't expecting them to have anti-magic technology. Someone big is behind this organization. The question is, who? Judging by the emblem on your sword, you're from the temple, too?"

"Something like that," said Alexis.

"What a wonder isn't she?" boasted Godfrey. "We found her on an archeological expedition searching for gold trinkets and the like in ancient Celtran ruins. She thought she could stop us, fool that she is. Didn't anticipate we'd have Vallamantium on us. Caught her as easily as a fawn in the woods. A very lovely fawn, might I add" — He picked up the girl's arm and gave her a twirl, though he had to move around a bit to avoid getting knocked by her tremendous wings — "She's got hair like beaten gold, eyes that shame the sky, and her skin the color of cream. And not to mention these lovely wings of hers. Have no fear of her flying away though, boys. We had them clipped. So having them on her is completely optional for you now. And she's pure if you know what I mean. The last Arva and her flower is ripe for plucking. Let's start the bid at 20,000, shall we?"

"25,000!"

"40,000!"

"I'll bid 100,000!"

"I bid your lives!" shouted Alexis. She walked toward the stage, pushing and shoving her way until she looked at the king from the front of the stage. "Let the Arva go now and you may live."

Godfrey paused, looking down at her. He then burst out laughing as did everyone else in the castle.

"You," he said. "I know you. You're that whiny princess from Lorin. Yes, the one who was kidnapped by young Aldric."

"A princess!"

"The girl from Lorin?"

"The Heir of House Rhodes!"

"Let the Arva go now!" Alexis demanded.

"Your sword is quite masterful," said Godfrey, ignoring her outburst. "Hand it over. I'll be taking that now if you please."

"Over my cold, dead fingers!" Alexis threatened him, to which Godfrey laughed.

"Dead? No, girl. We're not going to kill you. You are a Termnnian princess. There are warlords all over the country who will pay nicely when I sell you. Boys, take her!"

"Let's see you try," said Leona, walking down the steps to join Alexis. "So you're Princess Alexis of Lorin. I trust you can fight."

"You'll be surprised by what I can do," Alexis said, drawing her sword.

"Nice iron you got there," Leona complimented. She looked up at Godfrey. "I'll be taking mine back soon after we've dealt with your friends."

"What can you do, you sodding wench!" laughed one of the bandits.

"This." Leona's body was outlined in an aura of royal blue and her long hair started to wave like golden flames. From behind, emerged a tall, handsome warrior with armor of plated platinum steel accented with gold and edged with polar bear fur. Alexis went down on one knee, bowing respectfully for the noble warrior Leona summoned.

Artorigus! King of the Noble Knights, the one who created the Round Table of Rassay where the High King and his allies would meet and make the alliance to wipe out the Barons thousands of years ago. He turned to look at Godfrey and held out his hand. Godfrey reeled back in fright, thinking Artotigas was going to blow him up with some sort of powerful spell. Instead, he felt the massive greatsword on his back start vibrating. It flew off, ripping his clothes in the process, leaving Godfrey standing on the stage in white boxer shorts with hearts. "GYAH!" he screamed, covering himself.

The sword hummed as it flew back to Artorigas's grip. He caught the sword by the hilt and gave it to Leona.

"Thanks, my friend," Leona said, waving the sword gleefully.

"Oh, sod!" said one of the bandits.

"I'm not afraid!" said a very eager one in a full plate of iron. "If we take down the legendary Artorigus, we'll go down in history as the best warriors in Termnnia! Men, you with me!"

His friends raised their swords and charged, thinking all five of them would take down the King of the Noble Knights. Artorigus held out both hands and conjured his two blade, Caliburn and Excaliburn. He stepped in front of Alexis and Leona, then smashed the five wannabe warriors with just a mere bitch slap, sending them all flying across the room and smashing through the walls out of the castle. Alexis's turn. She stepped forward, her garments turned into the ancestral armor she got from the temple. The helm materialized over her head and a bluish-pink visor concealed her face. A HUD turned on, revealing all sorts of information to Alexis to aid her in battle, and it even displayed the amount of Mana she had in her pool. Her armor summoned Izana, who stood proudly beside Artorigus.

"Anyone else think can take on the King of Noble Knights?" Leona asked confidently.

The rest of the bandits screamed and made a run for it, storming out the narrow door. Alexis and Leona stood where they were laughing as the vile humans struggled to get out of the castle.

"Let's go after them!" said Leona.

"You go ahead," Alexis said, turning to face Godfrey. "I have some business to take care of." She walked up the steps to confront the disgraced knight.

"No!" he cried out. "You...you can't do this!"

"Oh, I can," said Alexis. "You're going to pay for this barbarism, Godfrey. But first, I need my family's Gem back."

"What? This...this jewel is yours?"

"Yes, now hand it over."

"Never! If you take this from me, I'll have nothing! I...I'll fight you!"

"Ooo," laughed Leona. "Those are some very threatening words coming from a guy in his underwear. Alexis, cut off his head and be done with it."

Alexis raised her blade. Ser Godfrey raised his arm in a vain attempt to stop it from killing him. He screamed as Alexis swung down the sword for the finishing blow, but when it smacked his forearm, the sword made a loud pinging sound as if the bone was made of steel.

Alexis gasped. "What the…"

Godfrey was at a loss for words, too. "Ah, so it works," he said happily, and in shock, for he thought he was going to die a moment ago. He got up and kicked Alexis in the stomach, sending her flying across the stage and smashing into empty cages with enough force to bend the steel.

"Incredible!" he said, looking at his arms. "The legends are true. This is the power of the Gems of Horakhty! And to think there are two more out there. Ha! With one alone, I'm invincible!" He ran towards Alexis, grabbed her by the chestplate and threw her over his head like she was a ragdoll before smashing her on the floor. He picked her up and threw her again.

Artorigus and Izana jumped up to try and rescue her, but Godfrey jumped higher than he thought he would and kicked her and the King of Noble Knights in the stomach. Artorigus grunted as he rocketed across the castle and smashed through the wall like he did with the bandits earlier. Izana flipped through the air and smacked against a column.

"Oh, Goddesses!" Leona breathed in shock. "Incredible power!"

"Quickly!" cried the Arva girl. "Release me from my binds. I can help you! Hurry, the Glaive of Entuli needs our help!"

Godfrey kicked Alexis in the stomach. She flew across the stage as though she were a ball and landed on the ground with a great crash.

"Dakini! Izana!" Alexis cried out. "I don't think we covered this one in basic training!" She stood up and wondered how in the world was she going to take down such a powerful foe.

* * *

**Part VI**

* * *

"This can't be happening!" Alexis thought.

Armor, weapons, and abilities blessed by the Goddess of Light, and she was getting beat by a fifty-year-old out of shape human in his heart-patterned boxer shorts. An epic fail beyond all measure. Alexis dodged a ramming attack that Godfrey was growing accustomed to using. She could not afford to be hit by something like that again. It felt like being smacked head-on by a freight train. Leona jumped onto the stage and swung her sword so fast she looked like a blur. Alexis was dumbfounded how she could use such a large weapon so easily. Despite her speed, Godfrey's Gem of Horakhty gave him the power he needed to block each attack with his bare hands. She jumped and performed a spinning kick that sent him tumbling off the stage and through the wall.

Leona shouldered Gallatin and tossed some hair over her shoulder with her fingertips, thinking she had overpowered him and won. But Godfrey came soaring back into the castle like a comet. Leona saw this and dodged his attack with an elegant backflip. Godfrey's foot smashed on the ground, demolishing the stage. The impact caused the castle ruins to quake. Dust sprinkled from the ceiling and the elk antler chandelier rocked back and forth until it fell down. He held his arms up victoriously and gave a loud battle cry as he spun around, basking in his own gloriousness. Alexis cringed, seeing his boxers droop down and reveal the crack of his sweaty butt.

"I'm gonna be sick," Leona said, standing next to Alexis.

"Please, let me fight!" the Arva girl begged.

"Out of the question, honey," said Leona. "It's too dangerous. Just stay where you are and let us handle this."

Godfrey sprinted towards them, jumped, held out his fists and smashed them on the ground. He stood up and cackled. "All right, ladies!" he said yanking his boxers back up. "I've had lots of fun punishing you, but now it's time for you to accept the facts. You can't beat me. Get into your cages now, or I'll shove you in there myself."

Leona held out her palm and summoned Noble Knight Peredur and Pellinore, two mighty horsemen of the Round Table. They both galloped towards him at great speed, lowering their swords as if they were lances. Godfrey thought he could overpower them like he did Alexis and Leona. Even though the swords didn't slice his limbs off, the impact stung like hell. Godfrey howled in pain and fell backward. Alexis sprinted towards Godfrey and jumped. She landed on Godfrey, squeezing his neck between her thighs to cut the air from him as she reached for the crown.

"NO!" he croaked.

He headbutted her, striking Alexis on the chest sending her away with a flip. Peredur and Pellinore dismounted and walked towards Godfrey. He ran towards them and tackled them to the ground. Both Noble Knights got up at once, their capes whooshed majestically as they made way for Godfrey to get up. He wound up hurting himself the most. Leona ran towards him and struck him in the back. Godfrey yelped and turned to counter her attacks with his wrists. Alexis came in from the left. He grabbed Leona by the collar of her crop top and swung her in Alexis's direction, causing them to crash into one another. Pellinore and Peredur didn't give him the chance to rest. They came from all directions, moving like the wind, and trying to keep Godfrey confused. Alexis had enough. She began to perform a Dance of the Glaive and summoned Dakini's halberd to aid her in the battle against Godfrey. Her weapon was doing damage to him, stinging him with each strike.

Leona was ready to give taking the gem another shot when

— "I can help you!" the Arva said from below the ruined stage. "Please, unbind me."

Leona looked at her and sighed. "Okay, but don't hurt yourself. We need you." She jumped from the stage and cut the shackles with Gallatin, causing them to disintegrate.

She was finally free. She stood up and raised her wings, sparkling in the sunlight peering through the openings in the roof. She held her hands together in prayer and garments began to form on her. A top and loincloth of thin, white silk slithered over her delicate skin. From them emerged pieces of brilliant white armor accented in gold. Gold decorative ornaments looking like helms of a ship formed on both sides of her hip acting as tassets. Gauntlets, greaves, also white and gold formed on her arms and legs. Then, a huge shield and a massive sword of brilliant design materialized on the grip of both her hands.

"Whoa," Leona said, stepping aside. "Got get him, girl."

The Arva moved as though she was a streak of bright light. Godfrey didn't know whether to look right or left. Before he realized what had happened, the Arva was standing right in front of him, holding the crown and the Gem of Entuli. She crushed the crown to dust with her hand until all that remained was the Gem.

"Here you go, My Lady," the Arva said, handing Alexis the first of three Gems. Once Alexis had it in her fingertips it flashed and vanished, then reappeared seconds later on the empty slot of her helm.

Leona walked to Godfrey, who was pleading for mercy. She ripped his boxer shorts off with one quick yank of her arm and herded him outside, poking his buttocks with the tip of her sword.

"Thanks," Alexis said. "If I had known you could do that, I would have let you go earlier."

"Do not underestimate either your foes or your allies," the Arva girl said. "A lesson you must learn for future battles."

"Got that right," Alexis said, getting up. "I...I can't believe this. Nobody at home is going to believe this. You...you're a real, live, Arva! I thought the Covenant killed the last of your kind thousands of years ago."

The girl shook her head. "I am not the last. There are still few of us left. Many of us have come out of hiding now that you have taken the mantle as the Knight of the Stars and the return of the one-true-High King has brought us hope as well. It has been prophesized that he would bring ruin to the Church of Green Fire."

"Seems like Prince Yuri is bringing hope to everyone nowadays. I just hope the hype is real and he can deliver. What's your name."

"Forgive me, My Lady. I am Alicia. With your permission, I would like to come with you on your quest to find the other two gems."

Alexis blinked and looked around wondering what to say. "Well. I uh...how can I say no. If the Gems are powerful enough to give a guy like Godfrey that kind of power, who knows what else I'm going to face out there."

They heard Godfrey screaming outside. Alexis and Alicia hurried outside to see what Leona was doing. Low and behold, she stuffed the disgraced knight and now bandit king into a cage and locked it. Pellinore raised it up high with a chain and then left him up there.

"Well, that should hold you until the Termnnian Rangers come to arrest you. Of course, it might take some time for them to get here since your castle is in the middle of nowhere. Hopefully, the vultures are going to have a merry feast with your eyes. Have fun up there!"

"Let me out of here!" shouted Godfrey, smashing the door with his fists, hoping to unlock the power he had a few minutes ago. "Let me out! Let me out!"

The three girls ignored his cries for help and walked down a dirt path away from the castle ruins and into the mountains. Even though they were quite a ways from the bandit camp, they could still hear Godfrey screaming from his prison even from a mile away. Finally, he screams faded and all they heard was the soothing sound of the river and the trees. The distant roar of a Curse of Dragon echoed across the forest. Thankfully, it sounded like it was many miles away.

Alicia ran to the river and washed her face and her arms, sticky with mud and the fatty oils that soaked the hands of her captors. She hung her wings over her shoulders and then doused the feathers with handfuls of water. She brushed the feathers carefully with her hands and sighed.

"So she's coming with you, huh?" Leona asked. She opened one of the pouches on her belt and scooped out a handful of sunflower seeds, which she popped into her mouth. "Well, I guess that means I'm tagging along, too."

Alexis looked at her. She didn't know why, but she was actually quite looking forward to that. Leona was quick with her blade and those Noble Knights of hers could come in handy in a tight spot. Not to mention she loved how gallant and handsome they were. "Really?" she asked. Leona offered Alexis some sunflower seeds, to which she politely refused. "I'd welcome your company. There's still so much about this Knight of the Stars business that I can't quite get a grasp on. I might need some help along the way. If it's not too much trouble."

Leona crunched the seeds and spat some shells out. "Of course. I mean, I have nothing better to do."

"What about the temple?" asked Alexis.

"I'll see to them later," Leona said, spitting out more seeds. "But this sounds far more important. The legendary Knight of the Stars is back. And an Arva, too. A very beautiful Arva. Hmm. Something tells me hanging with you is going to be great fun."

She shoved more seeds into her mouth.

Alexis wrinkled her nose. The way Leona ate the seeds, it seemed like she was trying to hold back from a nasty habit. "Do you smoke?" she asked.

"Used to," Leona answered. "The seeds keep me from succumbing to my addiction. Anyways, I offer you my sword, and my Noble Knights, Princess. Count me in."

They shook hands. "You sure?" Alexis asked. "The Cyber Angels told me some pretty terrible monsters hold the Gems." She tapped her bottom lip with her finger. "But that makes me wonder…"

"Hold on," Leona interrupted. She noticed Alexis's blue bow was crooked, probably from the battle. Being stuck with OCD, she told her to turn so she could fix it. "There." She spat out another shell. "You were saying?"

"Right. Thank you. How in the hell did a complete wimp like Godfrey get the Gem in the first place?"

"That is a good question," said Alicia. "If you ask me, I think someone helped him."

"I think so, too," said Leona. She spat out a few more shells. "Perhaps they know about you, Princess."

"I'm not afraid. I'm pretty sure we can take on any danger out there if we stick together."

"Wonderful," Alicia said with a light clap of her hands. "Thank you so much for getting me out of there. Both of you."

"If only we had come sooner," Alexis said sadly. "I just heard he clipped your wings. Is that true?"

Alicia's face went from happy to sad in a few seconds. She flapped her wings and sighed sadly. "Well, at least I still have my strength."

Leona spat out some sunflower seeds. "But it's part of who you are. I feel like we've failed you, Alicia."

"I would rather lose my wings than my life, that's for sure. While this handicap of mine is rather...disappointing, I am still thankful I left there with my freedom and my life."

"I still wish there was something more we could do for you," said Alexis.

"I cannot ask for anything more," she said. "But it seems that this quest will require some supplies. Potions, elixirs, food, That sort of thing."

"And money," Leona added. "If I'm not mistaken, there should be a town about a day's walk from here. Maybe we can stop there and gather what we need. Alexis, you're a good Duelist, right?"

"Yeah, I can play a good game. What do you need me to do?"

Leona opened another pouch and showed her a roll of parchment advertising a Duel Monsters tournament in the town. "I think we found a way for us to fund this little adventure. The grand prize for this tournament is 5000 in gold coins and a free dinner at the local tavern. Think you can handle the competition?"

Alexis grinned and nodded her head. "Are you kidding? I can win those games in my sleep.."

* * *

**Part VII**

* * *

The town of Varyn Court finally came to view at last. They heard sheep, cows, and horses in the farms around the city wall. A rooster crowed from the fence of a blacksmith, already at work tending to the horseshoes of a group of Templars from the Church of Yeyu, on their way to Sobek to claim the Empire from the Pharoah and plunder their infinite supply of gold.

"They'll never succeed," said Alicia.

"Careful that they don't see you," Leona said, grabbing her by the shoulder. She spat out some sunflower shells. "You're the last Arva. These Yeyu folk are the ones responsible for the extinction of your people."

"I am not afraid of them."

"Nor should she be," said Alexis. "You saw what she did to Godfrey. We couldn't have defeated them without her. Besides, we're in Thara. You don't get any more anti-Yeyu than this place. What could possibly happen?."

"THERE YOU ARE!" Chazz Princeton shouted, jumping out from behind the trees.

Alicia grabbed Alexis and held her tightly as Leona stepped forward and summoned Flame Noble Knight Renaud, who raised his flaming sword and pointed it at Chazz, the tip was a mere inch from his nose. Chazz screamed, feeling the heat sting his flesh.

Alexis freed herself from Alicia's embrace. She patted her on the shoulder and thanked her. "What the hell are you doing here!" Alexis shouted at Chazz. "How did you find me?"

"You have a tracking device," Chazz grunted. Jayce put in on your deck case."

"HE WHAT!" Alexis fumbled through her belongings until she found her deck case. "Where is it?"

"Under the big jewel," Chazz stuttered.

Alexis tried to pull the jewel off but it was wedged on tight.

"Here," Leona said, coming with a big dagger sheathed on her boot. It took a bit of work, but she got it off. Sure enough, they found the tiny tracker stuck onto the bottom of the jewel. Alexis ripped it out and tossed it across the forest.

"Who else knows I'm here?"

"N-n-nobody. J-j-j-just me. I swear."

"Just when I thought you couldn't get any more creepy. You go and follow me like this. How the hell did you get here so fast?"

"When I learned you were in the Kotor Region, I took a wayshrine. I just arrived this morning."

"Well, I need you to leave, Chazz. I have no use for you."

"You don't mean that!" Chazz said, falling to his knees. He started groveling. "You need me! I'm your knight in shining armor. It was meant to be, Alexis. Why do you not see it? Why? Why? Whhyyyyy?"

"Is this guy for real?" Leona asked, finding Chazz's groveling to be quite pathetic.

"Don't get me wrong, he's a strong Duelist," said Alexis. "Very highly respected in the game of Duel Monsters. When he plays, he's strategic, cunning, and dare I say, cool. However, when it comes to girls, he turns into...well...this."

"You think I'm cool?" Chazz said looking up.

"Sure, but don't think anything of it. For Entuli's sake, don't!"

Chazz bowed; his face as red as a Mystic Tomato. "Well, Alexis, I am glad to hear that. But as a sworn Knight of the Princess Guard, it is my duty to take you back home."

"Not without a fight you're not," said Alexis.

"A Duel?" Chazz said with a creepy grin. "I'd hate having to go rough on ya, but if that's what it's going to take to bring you back to the Queen, so be it. Let's do this!"

Later on in the Duel, Chazz summoned perhaps the strongest monster in his deck. "I tribute Armed Dragon Level 7 into Armed Dragon Level 10!" He shouted. He yelled out the beast's name so loud, it echoed for a long time across the forest.

Armed Dragon Level 7 stood up on both its hind legs and started growing bulkier and taller. He grew until he stood over the pines and cast a shadow over Alexis. A 3000 ATK points, Chazz felt as if this monster was the key to naming him the Hero of Lorin. He activated his dragon's effect, discarding a card to destroy all face-up monsters Alexis had on the field. Her Cyber Angel Dakini and Cyber Blader were wiped out, leaving her wide open for a direct attack. Chazz shouted the order and his dragon got to work. It raised its claw but Alexis was at the ready.

"I activate Hallowed Life Barrier!" she shouted, activating her trap, which prevented her from taking any damage this turn at the cost of a card in her hand.

"You're only prolonging the inevitable, my sweet, Alexis. If you surrender, I promise we'll take a romantic walk through the streets of Rosengarden for the weekend."

She heaved.

"What?"

Alexis spat bile out of her mouth. "No worries. I just threw up in my mouth, a little. Ugh, seriously though. Don't make any plans because I'm not going anywhere, Chazz. I'm not that scared little princess getting kidnapped and held for ransom anymore. I can take care of myself now. I don't need my mother, I don't need Zane, and I definitely don't need you!"

Chazz felt as though someone jabbed a flamberge through his heart. "N-n-n-no! You don't mean that!"

"I do! And if I can't make you understand that, maybe she can! I draw! What do you know? Pot of Greed. I draw two cards. It's over Chazzanova! I use the spell, Machine Angel Ritual! And I'll use two Cyber Angel Idatens as an offering to Ritual Summon, Cyber Angel Vrash!"

A chain of beautifully designed glyphs formed behind Alexis. They honeycombed over one another and then formed a much larger glyph. From the glyph, emerged Vrash. She was over nine-feet-tall and hovered over the ground. Her suit had green glowing patterns and was colored pink and white. She had six translucent wings and a golden halo hovering over her back.

She too had 3000 ATK points. She was even with Chazz's Armed Dragon Level 10. But just before Chazz was going to gloat about how they were equal, Alexis activated a flurry of effects that were going to break his already shattered heart into a billion more pieces. First, when Vrash was summoned to the field, she destroyed Chazz's Armed Dragon. Small openings in her halo launched an assault of glowing, golden balls, that peppered Chazz's dragon with massive explosions. The beast wobbled from left to right and collapsed into the forest with a great crash.

"MY DRAGON!" Chazz shouted. His Life Points were reduced by 1000, thanks to Vrash's special ability.

It was not over for him. The two Idatens in Alexis's Graveyard powered up Vrash by 1000 points each, increasing her ATK to 5000. Vrash's wings started glowing spring green and they fired a laser as bright as sunlight at Chazz, finishing him off.

"Hooray!" cheered Alicia. "She won!" She jumped and her wings spread beautifully, spreading actual gold dust into the air. "She's staying! She stays!"

Chazz, though sad that he lost the Duel, could not believe what he was seeing. "Ah-ah-Alexis? What the hell is that thing?"

Alexis wrinkled her nose and punched him on the top of the head.

"OW!" Chazz shouted. "What gives?"

"Show some respect!" Alexis scorned him. "That's no way to address a lady. She's Alicia. Believe it or not, she's an Arva."

"The Winged Folk of the Great White Mountains," Chazz breathed. "I...I thought they were extinct. The Church of Yeyu hunted them all down, it was recorded."

"There are still a few clusters of us left," said Alicia. "Many of us have been living in winged fortresses in the sky."

Alexis felt so terrible for her. "And will your people come out of hiding when Prince Yuri returns?"

"That remains to be seen," said Alicia. "Even though he is responsible for the killing of Anubis, I cannot put all my trust in him. My people have yet to see what kind of person he is. What kind of High King he will be? How strict is he going to be with the Church? I understand your love for this Prince, but the Church has ways of buying people onto their side. It's happened once, that's why my kind was slaughtered alongside the True Dragons in the Night of Flames and Tears. We trusted the High King."

"You have every reason to be wary," said Chazz, his face was glowing red at Alicia's attire. "I...uh...I don't trust Yuri either."

"Bull-to-the-shit," said Alexis. "Hey, Alicia, looks like you've gained someone's fancy."

Alicia's cheeks turned pink and she blinked rapidly. "Oh? Meaning what?"

Leona put an arm over the angel's shoulder. "Alexis, let's not get her involved in these matters. And you, 'Chazz', put your tongue back in your mouth, stand up straight, keep your cheeks from flushing and act like a proper knight!"

"You'd better do what she says, Chazz," giggled Alexis. "Leona hails from a long line of knights and champions."

"My ancestor was also a Noble Knight of the Round Table," Leona added. "Chivalry has died since knighthood became mainstream. Now even the piss boy can be knighted. That's we have animals like 'Ser' Godfrey running around abusing their title. It is my goal to see the title of Knight restored to its former glory. Can I expect you to act like a true knight, Ser Chazz?"

Chazz stood at attention and saluted. "Yes, ma'am! You can count on me!"

Alexis sighed. "I guess that means he's coming with us?"

"He'll be under a tight leash," said Leona. "Knights respect women, not drool over them like bandits and peasants. Am I understood?"

"Uh, sure. Yeah, of course."

Leona smirked and looked at Alexis. "Come, you have a tournament to prepare for, yes?"

"Right. It should be no big deal."

"Hold on," Leona said, holding up her palm to stop her. "You cannot go into those games with your Cyber Angels."

"Why not?"

"Because a girl with Cyber Angels just slaughtered two camps full of bandits, remember? As far as I'm concerned, every gang here in the mountains is looking for you. And there are probably many more like this guy on the lookout for you, too."

"There are," said Chazz. "The Queen offered a reward of five-hundred thousand gold crowns for your return."

Alexis placed her hands on her hips and kicked a pebble off the road. "Oh, Mother," she grumbled. "She could be using that to fund the Alterias up north or something."

"In any case, you cannot go about this place with the name Alexis. You should be uh…" She snapped her fingers. "You should go by the name Anya Luxford."

"Sounds like a sturdy name," Alexis said, then pondered it for a while. "It will have to do. I'm sure I'm going to need some new threads, too. Just a little something my armor can't fix."

She tapped the center jewel and her armor plating converted into an indigo outfit with gold buttons and trimmed with dark blue. Her hair fading into brown on the tips and formed into a ponytail tied into a big blue bow. Her eyes changed from brown to green.

"Amazing!" Chazz said in awe. "I mean...uh...Wow. That certainly does the trick."

"Oh," Alicia said, pulling on the indigo skirt to examine the gold scrollwork etched on the left side. "Only the Goddesses are capable of creating such wonders. And such fine material, too."

"You've got the name and the looks down," said Chazz. "But what about a deck? Not a lot of players can use Cyber Angels, especially this far out West. You'll arouse suspicion."

Alexis took another deck out of the case strapped to her thigh. "Oh well," she said. "My Megalith Deck will have to do in the tournament. I'm not all that upset. These guys pulled me out of some pretty tough situations before, so I'm still confident I can win."

"Good," said Alicia. "I will stay at the inn until it's time for us to leave."

"A wise choice," Alexis said with a nod. "Goddesses only know who else is looking for you out here."

They approached the Dueling Grounds at the center of town where hordes of young Duelists were hoping to make a name for themselves with these games. Alexis signed in just in time, for the time to begin the tournament has begun. The lord of the town, a man in a purple and gold coat by the name of Castellan Moroque opened a scroll and read a fruity speech about honor and this and that. Finally, it was time to begin the games. When he was done with his speech, fireworks burst in the sky and the Duelists scattered all over town to find areas to play in and win their gold coins.

At the fountain, Alexis was challenged by a young man who was being watched by his master, an elderly man in a red robe. The young man was an energetic youth who enjoyed showing off his smile which twinkled. He wore a black and red sleeveless karate jacket and white athletic pants with a black stripe to the side, revealing that he was still a beginner in the school his master taught.

"I won't let you down, Master!" he brashly said, showing off his muscles. The old man grumbled, not believing that an arrogant punk like him could make it this far. "You just watch! I'm going to win this tournament and make you proud! You there, girl? Hate to break it to ya, but you'd better start packing and head home. I've got this one in the bag."

"The tournament hasn't even started and already you think you've won?"

"Sorry, but you're not worth my time," the young man said, bulking his arms to a group of strumpets passing by. "I desire a challenge. Why don't you try someone who's more your level? My master is the best Dueling instructor this part of the Great Whites."

Alexis frowned. "You challenged me, remember?"

"Sorry, but I forgot my master taught me never to beat on girls. Isn't that right, Master?"

"Just Duel the young lady, Skyler. You're making a complete fool of yourself."

"If you say so, Master," said Skyler. "You can start first, since I'm a gentleman and all."

"Ugh," Alexis drew her card. "I use the effect of Impcantation Chalislime. By revealing it, I discard a card and special summon, Impcantation Candoll. Candoll's effect activates, allowing to add this spell to my hand. And I'll use it. Impcantation Inception. Now, I tribute Candoll to Ritual Summon, Megalith Ophiel!"

A giant angelic statue of snowy-white limestone rose out of the ground and hovered next to Alexis. It hovered on a technologically advanced floating device, which seemed odd for a statue that looked like it was made in ancient times. The angel's curves, bumps, and spikes was accented in gold.

**Megalith Ophiel**

**ATK/1600 DEF/2500**

Skyler flexed his muscles. "Ha! Master. See? I've already got her on the ropes. She summons statues with high-defense, thinking they'll be enough to stop me. You always taught me that psyching out your opponents is one of the best ways to win a Duel. Looks like my strong arms, have made her second guess herself."

The old man grumbled. "I did. But I've also taught you that overconfidence is your greatest enemy, boy. And your overconfidence is clouding your judgment. The girl is not finished yet."

"No, I'm not!" she snapped. "With Ophiel's effect, I will add a Megalith monster to my hand. Next, Impcantation Inception activates from the Graveyard."

"Wait!" Skyler held formed a T with his hands. "Time out. You must be dense. Cards can't be activated from the Graveyard. They've been used, that's why it's called the Graveyard."

"Some cards can," said the old man. "...Idiot."

"You should let me play my cards first before talking, dude. Anyways, Inception activates and allows me to discard an Impcantation from my hand and special summon one from my deck. And Inception returns to my hand. Now, here's, Impcantation Talismandra and I'll offer him with Inception to Ritual Summon, Megaloth Hagith!"

**Megalith Hagith**

**ATK/1300 DEF/2600**

"With Hagith's effect, I add a Field Spell to my hand. Now, I'll play it, Megalith Portal! Next, I activate the ability that makes my Megalith monsters rather special. I can Ritual Summon them without the need of a Ritual Spell Card. I offer Hagith to Ritual Summon, Megalith Och!"

**Megalith Och**

**ATK/1000 DEF/2700**

"Watch closely," Alexis teased him. "I use Megalith Och's and chain it with Megalith Portal. Portal returns Hagith to my hand and Och allows me to draw a card and discard a card. I offer Ophiel to Ritual Summon Hagith and draw a card thanks to him. Next, Preparation of Rites, adding a Ritual Monster and Spell to my hand. Now, I set a card face-down and end my turn."

"Boy that took forever," sneered Skyler. "Now I'll show you how an apprentice of the Wyvernback School can Duel. First, I use Mind Control to take possession of your Hagith! Next, I play a Field Spell of my own. Magical Meltdown. Now, I summon Aleister the Invoker, which lets me add the powerful Invokation spell to my hand. Next, I use him and your rock to Link Summon, Aleister the Invoker of Madness!"

"I activate my trap!" Alexis announced. "Megalith Emersion! With it, I return Och to my side of the field. Then, using Portal, I offer them both for Megalith Bethor! And when he's summoned, I can target cards you control up to the number of Ritual Monsters in my grave, and I can destroy them."

"Oh no! I didn't get a chance to use my super-cool combo!"

"Ugh, too bad for you."

In no time at all, Alexis swarmed the field with her beautiful Megalith Monsters. When she summoned the one known as Phaleg, it was all over, for it increased the attack of Alexis's monsters by 300 for each Ritual Card in the Graveyard. Now, her monsters such as the multi-headed dragon statue Atatron and Bethor had their ATK raise past 4000. With one final attack, Alexis beat the young and arrogant Duelist and won her first coin.

Her Megalith Monsters helped Alexis soar through the brackets until she achieved victory. She collected her prize from the Castellan and then she and her companions returned to the inn to rest and eat before returning to the road and resume their quest for the two jewels.

* * *

**Part VIII**

* * *

Alexis walked out of the inn that night after she had awoken from a terrible nightmare. She saw herself underwater. She shivered just thinking about that cold, dark, world she found herself in. Bubbles floated all around her and she saw something flashing in front of her. A gem. But as it got closer, them gem turned into a horrible sea monster. It roared and devoured her whole.

Beads of sweat rolled down her face and her body still quivered in fear. She used the sheets she had wrapped around herself to wipe them off then looked to the mountains. The metallic blue glow of the dawn was peeking over them, but it was still dark enough that she could see the stars above.

"What ails you?" asked Cyber Angel Vrash. She appeared behind Alexis like a phantom.

"Whoa…" Alexis whispered, stepping away from her.

"Don't be frightened, my lady."

"Sorry. I just didn't expect to see you. You...you're like the strongest angel I have. Are you hear to teach me your dance?"

"Oh no, young one. You still have a long way to go before you can use my powers. But I come bearing you a gift. Hold out your hand."

Alexis did as she was told. Suddenly, a beautiful silver bow appeared in her grip. Alexis gasped, marveling at the divinity of its design. It was crafted with statuettes of angels with six wings and there was a centerpiece that acted as a shield depicting the mighty Judgment, the Dragon of Heaven and the Arch-Lightsworn Michael and it was crowned with six pear-shaped gems glowing blue. The rest of the weapon was glowing with bright blue accents around the angels. A quiver appeared on the ground by Alexis's feet matching the design of her bow.

"Alexis, Knight of the Stars and Champion of Entuli. I present you with Ver'Dalas. The Flame of the Stars. This weapon will guide you to the remaining gems which are being protected by two terrible monsters. The first one dwells within the lake of Vennost, and it is guarded by the monster you saw in your dreams."

Alexis felt her grip on the bow loosen when she heard that. "I had a feeling I would be running into that thing."

"It's dangerous, yes, but we have taught you so much since you first took the armor from the temple. We are all quite confident in you. And you have made some very good friends on your journey. The Arva is the one I am most curious about. Hmm. I have a feeling she will be the key to many good things in this world. Take care of her."

"I will. She's the last of the Arva. The people Entuli created. It was not chance that I happened upon her."

"No, it was not. You two were destined to meet. Both your destinies are entwined with the Light Goddess. And with the future High King."

"I hope she learns to accept him. Alicia seems to have a feeling of distrust towards Prince Yuri."

"The last High King whom her people swore allegiance to succumbed to the power that the Church of Yeyu promised him. It led to the genocide of her kind. She has every reason to be questionable of this new prince. Perhaps she will learn to love him as the people do."

* * *

After Vrash left, Alexis used Ver'Dalas to map her course to the second Gem of Entuli. When her friends awoke she led them into the wild where they trekked for days until they reached a lonely lake surrounded by tall mountains and thick pine forests. A thick veil of mist hovered over its choppy waters. The world seemed filtered in grayish-blue from the stormy sky above. The lake made Alexis and her friends feel uneasy. Save for a few crows calling out from the dark pines, it was silent. No animal made a sound. Even the water was still as if it were nothing more than a curtain hiding a deep, dark secret.

Alexis was reminded of tales her mother told of monsters, hiding underneath the rivers and lakes of Termnnia. She told these stories to keep Alexis from venturing away from the royal caravan as they trekked across the kingdom to attend balls or sessions of parliament. To keep the baby Alexis away from the water, her mother haunted her with tales of how the monsters lured travelers to their doom and gobbled them up whole so they could digest slowly for a 1000 years in their bellies.

Needless to say, the stories worked in keeping Alexis away from the water. She made her terrified of sea monsters all her life since then. But now, she had to go down into the depths and face one.

"I'm going down with you," said Leona, taking her jacket off.

"You can't be serious," said Chazz. "Who knows what's down there. We don't even know what we're facing."

"He's right," Alicia said, shivering with fear. Bad enough that the environment around the lake was spooky, but now they had to deal with a sea monster who lived below the lake. She was terrified just being ten feet near its shores.

"Ser Chazz," said Leona with an authoritative tone. "Would you please stay here and guard the Arva?"

"Uh...sure."

Leona looked at him sternly, her eyes flashing with disdain. "Is that any way for a knight to address his lady?"

"I mean uh…" He stood up straight. "Yes. Yes, My Lady. I will guard Alicia with my life."

"Good. Wait here until we arrive. "If we do not return by nightfall, take Alicia to the nearest Temple of Entuli. My order wishes to see her."

"It won't come to that," Chazz promised. "I know you guys would be successful."

Across the lake, they saw a heard of elk coming towards the edge of the lake to drink. Normal enough. But then, all of a sudden, something rose out of the water, grabbing two elk with its mouth. It towered high above the lake, standing tall at more than thirty feet high. Being knowledgeable of all the Duel Monsters in the game, Alexis immediately recognized it as Divine Dragon Aquabizzare.

And at the center of its head was the jewel Alexis needed to complete her armor. Alexis donned her magical armor and dove into the lake alone, where she fought the vile beast for hours. It seemed like neither princess nor beast was going to falter. At once, Alicia took flight and conjured her armor pieces and weapons to aid the warrior princess against the beast. The lake churned violently with massive waves created from the powerful attacks launched by Alexis and the rolling and plunging of the giant lake serpent.

At last, Alexis slew the giant monster and claimed the jewel.

"There is no time to celebrate yet," she said. "There's still one more left."

And the last one was held deep in the darkest reaches of the earth. This beast would be far worse than any of the monsters Alexis had to face. It was known as Subterror Behemoth Umastaryx. This took the effort of Alexis and all her friends. Needless to say, Alexis learned far too much to let this beast of rock come between her and the Jewel of Entuli. Then again, Umastaryx was not going to just let this little girl take his treasure; the jewel that he had guarded effortlessly for more than hundreds of years. It is said that throughout that battle, Alexis had learned to shape her armor into two different forms. The second form was given to her by a divine blessing from Alicia, who used a prayer of white magic to bless the weapons of her friends with holy magic.

Finally, the beast was slain and Alexis took the jewel and completed her quest. From the body of the giant monster appeared a winged stallion sent forth from the Goddess Entuli herself. It was dubbed Vexia, the Stallion of the Southern Stars. And she would serve Alexis for the rest of her days.

* * *

**The Loremaster**

* * *

"Where is Alexis now?" Collette asked.

Alicia and Leona went west together and were not seen again. I tried getting information on their whereabouts, but there are some stories not even I can tell. As for Alexis, she had no intention of going home. Her mother, Queen Daria, slept peacefully at night, so I heard. She knew that somewhere out there in the wilderness of Termnnia, a white knight, shining brightly like the stars, is slaughtering the darkness."


	105. Part 2: The Return of the King

**Yuri**

* * *

"Ow," Yuri groaned softly when Patty inadvertently elbowed him on the ribs as they lay in bed together.

She tossed and turned again for the umpteenth time. Yuri had grown tired of it. Still, Patty looked rather cute in her little top designed to look like a teal and white sports jersey and she wore no pants. She caressed her pillow and cooed softly. Yuri chuckled and got out of bed with the greatest of care so as not to wake his sleeping beauty. He put on some jeans and a t-shirt then snuck downstairs to see what he got in the pile of presents.

Once he climbed down the steps and reached the foyer, he surveyed the damage. Tyson was asleep on the couch by the fountain holding a statue of a naked goddess in his arms with a party hat over her head. He had a perverse grin hilariously formed on his face with a trail of drool oozing down his chin. The floor was littered with plastic cups, confetti, napkins, and even a few cards someone might have lost.

"Mine now," Yuri said, picking them up. "Cool," he said when he found an ultra-rare Malevolent Nuzzler card. As he approached the pile aiming to get the biggest presents first, he stopped once he heard a peculiar sound. Ringing.

There was a sort of ringing coming from the table, which was buried underneath the presents. To make things even stranger, he felt his musical pendant vibrating. "What in the world?" he muttered. He saw a black velvet box. It was small, but it sure stood out from the others for some reason. He picked up the box, undid the ribbon, and opened it.

There was a pendant inside. The chain was made of platinum that flashed like a thousand stars when the light touched it. Attached to the chain was what looked like a cross with beautifully curved engravings and seven colorful gems going down the base. A ruby, amethyst, sapphire, opal, a diamond, topaz, and a lapis lazuli. They were tiny and were carved with hundreds of facets.

"Wow!" said Yuri, as three cards fell out. Giant Rex. Two Gilasaurus and a fusion monster called Horned Saurus. "Neat," he whispered. He took off his musical necklace and put on the new one. When he did, something strange happened.

Yuri felt as if his soul was sucked right out of his body and he zoomed over the ocean and into the sky. Next, he zoomed through a portal and soared over vast fields, mountains that could touch the sky, and cities with strange, but beautiful-looking castles.

Then, he saw intense and bloody battles taking place all around him. The sky was blood red and he saw the silhouettes of three, mighty titans smashing the earth with their power. Standing atop a mountain was a tall figure clad in platinum armor and a cape of shimmering white cloth flowing behind him.

Another flash and he was back in the entrance of the compound. "What the hell!" Yuri shouted, struggling to take the pendant off. He tried tugging it off. Nothing. It would not budge. Was he just dreaming things or was the pendant actually struggling to stay around his neck? "Get off! Get off!" he shouted. It wouldn't.

"Morning, baby," Patty chimed as she walked down the stairs, not caring at all that she was pantsless. "Enjoying your presents? Get anything good?"

Yuri tried his best to stay calm. But the flash through the fantasy world and the pendant - somehow having a will of its own - were filling him with fright. "Uh...yeah," he croaked. "I've got some pretty interesting things here." He tugged the necklace. "Really...really interesting things."

"You okay, Yuri?" Patty asked. She laughed softly. "You look a little perturbed."

"Uh...I suppose so," Yuri answered, forcing himself to stop tugging at the pendant. "The party was a little rough last night. And you know me." He tugged again. "I'm not a party type of person. I tried telling Crystal that, but naturally, she's not listening."

"Hey, that's a beautiful necklace, Yuri," Patty said. She bent forward unnecessarily so she could examine it and get Yuri to flush being so close to her. "Who gave you that?"

" _Daveed!_ " a powerful voice rang out inside his mind. Yuri jumped and let out a yelp when he heard it. "Wh-wh-what was that?"

"What was what?" Patty asked. "What's going on, Yuri? You didn't have anything to drink last night, did you?"

"I'm hearing voices," Yuri gasped. "Something's wrong. Something is terribly wrong."

Patty chuckled. "You probably didn't get any sleep last night." She took his hand and kissed it. "Come on. Let's go upstairs and take a bath in some really hot water. I can...wash your stresses away...yeah."

" _Tell her no!_ " the voice said again.

Yuri screamed.

"What's gotten into you?" Patty snapped. Now she was getting annoyed. "Am I that bad?"

" _Abandon the girl and listen to me, boy! Playtime is over._ "

Crystal came sauntering down the steps. She heard Yuri's screaming from her room on the third floor and came down to investigate what was riling him up. From the looks of Patty standing there, she supposed that the two of them were having an argument. "What's going on down there?" she asked. "Why is Yuri screaming?"

Patty looked up at her. "You got me," she said. "Yuri, baby, what's going on? Are you okay?"

"Do you not hear his voice?" Yuri shouted. "Don't you hear it?"

"Hear what?" Crystal demanded. "Yuri, calm down you're freaking me out."

"Where is it coming from?" Yuri sobbed.

" _Over here,_ " the voice said from the back of Yuri's brain.

That was the last straw. Yuri let out an ear-piercing howl and ran down the halls of the compound, yelling like a madman. "HELP!" he shouted. "This pendant is cursed! I'm being haunted!"

Yuri ran and ran until he was sprinting through the backyard jungle of the compound. He dashed through palms, pushed vines out of his way, and almost sprinted right over the cliff into the ocean. He felt his body grow stiff and was lifted up into the air.

" _Enough!_ " the voice shouted. " _You're making a fool of yourself!_ "

"Easy for you to say," Yuri wailed, trying to move his stiffened limbs. "You're not the one being haunted. What are you? What do you want from me?"

"I am not here to haunt you," said the voice. "I am here to help you."

"And yet you have control of my body," said Yuri. Upon saying that, he felt the force holding him up let him go. He fell to the ground on his butt. "Ow!" he yelled, rubbing his backside. He looked at a waterfall next to him. The water was so smooth, so clear - one could use its surface as a mirror. He looked at his reflection but he did not see himself. He saw...a knight! A knight in armor made of platinum. His face was concealed behind a helm crafted to look like a dragon's head. Yuri tapped his fingers on his face. The knight was doing the same actions he was. "What the hell are you?"

" _Ever since the beginning of the year,_ " said the knight. " _You've been having dreams. Dreams of intense duels with a boy. A boy with spiked hair and a golden puzzle around his neck._ "

"Oh no," said Yuri. "Not this 'King' business again. I know what this is. I'm seeing things. It seems like every time I attend a party, you and these other figments of my imagination come to me and fill my head with crap. For all I know, you're some champagne that didn't go down right. A glob of hot dog in my guts. There's more of gravy than of grave about you. You're just a figment of my imagination."

" _Figment!_ " shouted the knight in his reflection. He reached for Yuri. Yuri felt like someone grabbed him by the neck and held him up. He coughed and kicked his legs back and forth violently. " _Can a figment of your imagination do this?" the knight growled. "Listen to me, boy! I am not like those kind-hearted fools who came before me. I am not here to speak to you through dreams or Duels. This is a matter of grave importance. You have now reached your eighteenth year, meaning that your life will now undergo a few changes. Changes you will not enjoy."_

"Yeah, well no one said puberty was a good thing," Yuri croaked

"What!" the knight shouted. "Spare me the jests boy and listen well! I am no ghost and I am not here to haunt you! Do you heed my words!"

"I'm heeding! I'm heeding!" Yuri cried, wriggling like a worm on a hook.

"Good!" said the knight. "Am I correct in assuming that there is a tournament to be had here in the summer of next year."

Yuri clasped his neck, trying to find some way to free himself from the knight's grasp. "If you're talking about the Millennium Tournament, then yes, yes it is."

"Just like Battle City?" the knight asked. "So it's happening again. I knew that arrogant fool, Seto Kaiba, couldn't resist adding his brand to these games."

"Seto who?" Yuri gasped. "Why does that sound familiar?"

"That is of no concern of yours just yet," said the knight. "I swore an oath to the Pharaoh to keep you under my watch, and I shall. There is a great evil entering this tournament, boy. Something is coming for you. Something you cannot comprehend."

"Perhaps I would if you stopped speaking in riddles," said Yuri. "If you want to tell me something, just tell me."

"I will in due time, but you must prove it to me when you play in the upcoming games. Prove to me that you are worthy of the knowledge you seek, and I shall tell you all there is to know about who you're up against and what is needed of you." He let go of Yuri.

"Ow!" Yuri cried out when he landed on his butt again. "Hang on, hang on. That doesn't make any sense to me. You said you're here to protect me. Don't you think sharing vital information with me is key to my survival?"

"I am the only key to your survival, boy. I am your shield and sword against the powers of the Shadow Realm. I was tasked to protect you, but I never said I would tell you everything such as who I am or who you are destined to be. To have access to such knowledge, I need to see your Dueling skills. A little _quid pro quo_ if you will."

"So you're saying all I have to do is Duel and then you'll tell me everything? Everything I need to know about all this crap that's been happening? My dreams? These Rare Hunters who are after me? This Black Tyranno card that everyone wants, even if it means killing me and my friends? And all this stuff about being some king? Will you?"

"Perhaps," said the knight. "That all depends on how I see you Duel and who you choose to Duel. I require you to be pushed to your limits, as do those who have sent me to guide you on the road to your destiny."

"Whatever," said Yuri. "I can handle myself. I'm on a winning streak."

"Is that so?" said the knight. "Impressive. Let's see how long that lasts."

He vanished as if he knew Patty and Crystal were already coming. Yuri saw his own reflection on the water. "Yuri!" Patty cried, running towards him with Crystal trailing far behind her. "Yuri!" she called out again. "Yuri, what the hell is going on? Why did you act that way? Come on, baby, tell me what's wrong. You're scaring me."

"Oh...uh..." Yuri said, looking at his reflection. "Nothing. Nothing's wrong. I just had a bad dream is all, and I was freaking out. I'm better now, really. I just needed some fresh air."

"If you say so," said Crystal, crossing her arms in irritation. "But you've been acting really weird lately Yuri. Look, with all the parties and stuff out of the way, I think it's time we spoke a little about your Dueling."

"What's wrong with it?" Yuri asked. "I've been kicking ass."

"Sure you have," Crystal agreed. "But remember, no one is using starter monsters from Metal Raiders or Spell Ruler anymore. A lot of new cards have come out recently, and word on the street is more sets came out today; all of them loaded with monsters that make your Black Tyranno look like a scrawny lizard by comparison. You have to spruce your deck up a bit with a sponsor."

"A sponsor?" said Patty. "I thought this was just a tournament for beginners, not the pro leagues."

"Yeah, but in order for Yuri to get the cards he needs, he requires money. And Jacob Montgomery doesn't let any Duelist slide. Not even his own kids. If he did give Yuri money, he wouldn't have to be working with Sergei at the shop, would he?"

"I guess not," said Patty. "But then again, if Yuri didn't have any money, then how did he buy that new car?"

"Oh...well..." Yuri tried to come up with an excuse. "My dad got it for me."

"You sure about that?" Crystal asked. She could see he was lying. "Jacob isn't one to encourage freeloaders. He forces you and your siblings to work hard for the things you want. It's so unlike him to just give you that expensive car for the sake of giving it to you."

"I got good grades," said Yuri.

"Ha!" laughed Patty. "Bull to the shit. You didn't score any higher than a C on your tests last month. So what the hell are you talking about good grades?"

Yuri started getting furious. "Whatever! He got it for me. End of story!" He could not tell them of the fortune in his account. If anyone got wind of that, he'd be in big trouble, and at that moment he decided not to go too crazy on the cards or material goods. Just buying the car got him into trouble, and it cost him more than what Sergei paid him in two years.

"I have no choice but to believe you," said Patty. "You know if anything's up you can tell us right? We're your friends. And you can tell me especially. I love you. All these secrets and your abnormal behavior are making me worry about you, honey. Are you sure everything is on the up and up? Are you all right?"

Yuri walked towards her and kissed her long and hard on the lips and then he smacked her butt for good measure and with the wan hope that her amorous behavior would keep her from asking so many questions. It worked. "Oh," Patty said when her lips were freed from his. "I guess you are."

"Woo, Yuri," Crystal said, fanning herself. "I didn't know you had that in you. I'm impressed."

"Uh, yeah, my bad," Yuri said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

"No complaints from me," Patty swooned, pressing herself against Yuri and wrapping her arms around his neck. She kissed him repeatedly grunting and moaning in pleasure.

"So..." Yuri said as Patty smooched his chin and neck. "Who's this sponsor you're looking for, Crystal? I have to admit those new cards you're talking about are making me quite nervous."

Crystal suppressed her laughter with a giggle. "Well, once you two lovebirds have cooled down, meet me at the Center Station in two hours. I'll take you to him. And Patty, go easy on him. I don't think he knows what he's gotten himself into."

"Neither have I," the knight mumbled in spirit form next to Yuri.

* * *

"So, any signs of those Rare Hunters?" Tyson asked as they approached the estate of the wealthy Martinez family. Their son, Marco, asked Yuri and his friends to pay him a visit and talk about sponsorship for the tournament. The boy was the son of a billionaire who was also one of the investors of Phobos Corp. They had to travel deep into the center of Sapphire Island, home to the most powerful and richest families on Aquarius. This island has as much security as the Center where Yuri lived - if not more. RAPTOR Black Hawks prowled the airspace like a large flock of birds, and special operations craft patrolled the waters around it diligently as Yuri and the others rode the magnet train towards the island.

"None so far," Patty replied, sharing a box of very salty fries with Yuri. "Still, I'm really worried. What if they're watching us right now?"

"You shouldn't fear them, babe," Crystal said, sitting in front of her and Yuri. "With RAPTOR on patrol, I don't think those goons will try anything soon. Besides, this is Sapphire Island. They got this place secured tighter than Fort Knox. The most powerful men in the world. Wealthy heirs, safe deposit boxes bloated with cash and other goods. There's more money in here than in Jacob Montgomery's wallet. We'll be safe."

The train stopped at the station. When they walked out, they each felt like they walked into an oven. "Don't worry," said Crystal. "Marco's house isn't that far."

"I sure hope so," said Yuri. "But I don't know why Marco wants to sponsor me so badly. Crystal, you know him better than any of us here. Do you know why he called us all out here for?"

"I haven't the slightest idea, Yuri," Patty replied with a shrug. "All he told me was that he wanted to hang out with you. I guess your reputation precedes you. Marco may be young, but getting to know him is not easy. He's strictly A-list."

"And being the son of the island's founder and creator of Duel Monsters doesn't do that already?" Natalya asked, fanning herself to cool her face from the humidity.

They were walking under the shade of palm trees which had sprinklers neatly hidden to spray passers-by with a refreshing mist. Natalya stopped where she was and let the cold droplets sprinkle her face with a refreshing briskness. Crystal found one near the base of a larger palm tree, and she and Crystal ran underneath it to shower themselves. They laughed and hollered. Tyson ran in, grabbing them both, and he held them up like dolls until they were directly underneath the sprinkler. Once they cooled off they followed a white pebble path into a forest of decorative trees with ruby red leaves.

"Wow, this is beautiful," Patty whispered. "And it's not so hot in here. It's like we've stepped into the autumn season or something."

"Glad to see you guys finally made it," said one of two girls who came out from behind a tree. They were twins with chestnut-colored hair that went down to their backs. They both wore black knitted crop tops, pleated skirts, velvet arm warmers, and black boots with leg-length socks. To tell them apart, their color schemes were different. The girl on the right had a black skirt and red socks. Her sister, however, wore a red skirt and black socks.

"Hello," said Yuri. "Where you expecting us or something?"

"I sure as hell hope so," said Tyson. "Damn, you two girls look fine."

"We were," said the girl with the red skirt. "My name is Autumn and this is my sister, Trinity."

"Hello," Trinity said, bowing. "I must say, I've been looking forward to this since you beat Randall Lawson, Mr. Yuri."

"I take it you two ladies want to Duel?" Patty said, placing her hands on her hips. "Why?"

Trinity smirked. "You must be the girl with the Diabolos Dragon. I'll Duel you next when I find the time. Anyways, we seek Yuri for two reasons. One is a surprise and the other is quite obvious. The two of us are here to claim the bounty on you."

"You serious?" Yuri said, backing away nervously. "I should have known." He sighed. "To be honest I'm a little disappointed. You two have far too much class to be running around claiming bounties set up by a low-life sore loser like Randall."

Autumn laughed. "Perhaps, Yuri. But you can never say no to a million dollars. Do you need a spare Duel Disk, sir? We've got one if you need one."

"I do, actually," said Yuri. "Toss it over here."

Trinity ran back to her hiding spot and picked up a canvas bag. She handed it to Yuri and bowed politely before returning to her sister. Yuri unzipped the bag and pulled out a jet-black Duel Disk with A and T in written in curvy letters behind a coat-of-arms, which appeared to be the emblem of their family.

"Wait a minute," said Yuri. "There's only one. Don't I need a partner?"

"No," said Autumn, shifting her leg to the left and placing her hand on her hip. "If you're as good as you say you are, then you'll Duel as both. Alone."

"What!" Carter cried out. "That's not fair!"

"What's not fair is Yuri having such an all-powerful beast like that Black Tyranno in his deck," said Trinity with a beautiful smile. "From what I hear Yuri talks a big game. Now it's time for him to prove it against us. The Lancaster Twins."

Carter squealed with joy and jumped up and down waving his hands in the air in a very feminine manner. "Omigod! Omigod! Omigod! I knew it! I just knew it! You're them! You're them! You're them! Your names sounded familiar but I had to wait to see if it was truly you. You two are the United States Tag Team Champions! This is such an honor."

"You know them, Carter?" Natalya asked.

"That I do. These two ladies some of the best players around. I'm a big fan. My boyfriend and I love your designs from the autumn fashion collection."

"I'm glad to hear that," Autumn said, taking an elegant bow for her adoring fan. "We'll make sure to put on a show for you, my friend." That caused Carter to squeal. "Okay, Yuri. You ready to Duel?"

Yuri nodded and strapped the Duel Disk to his forearm. "Yeah, I am. Let's do this."

"Okay, here's how it's gonna work," said Trinity. "First, my sister Autumn will start. Then it will go to you and finally back to me. Neither player attacks until their first turn is complete. Is that fair?"

"Yes," Yuri replied with a nod. "Good luck."

"Thank you, now ladies first," Autumn said drawing. She smiled confidently and looked at her sister who nodded. "I Summon Queen's Double in Attack Mode!"

She gently placed the card on her Duel Disk. It flashed and whirred before it finally rendered the beautiful, red-haired woman wearing a bluish-purple robe with lavender trim that was so short it barely covered her thighs. She had on long periwinkle boots and wore a blue headdress with three crystals dangling from either side of it.

****

**ATK/350 DEF/300**

"That ends my turn," Autumn said. "Your move, Yuri."

Tyson chortled at the sight of the monster's attack points. "Mm-mmm. She's a fine-looking monster. But those attack points are at the bottom of the charts. There's no way she can win if she plays monsters like that."

Patty scoffed. "Now you're starting to sound like Nick. These girls aren't Tag Team Champions for nothing. I'm sure Autumn played a monster that weak for a reason. I sure hope Yuri doesn't underestimate them the way you have, Tyson. Otherwise, he's in major trouble."

"I draw," said Yuri. "I set a card face-down and summon Tomozaurus in Attack Mode!" He summoned a fifteen-foot-tall carnivorous dinosaur with dark brown scales who stood upright and dragged its tail on the ground. It had burning yellow eyes and smelled of a swamp on a hot summer day.

**ATK/500 DEF/400**

"My turn," said Trinity. "I place a monster face-down in defense position and place two cards face-down. Your move, Autumn."

"Oh, indeed," she agreed. "I set this card face-down and attack your Life Point directly with my Queen's Double! Attack!" Queen's Double conjured six very sharp crystals which she used as daggers to throw at Yuri's chest.

**Yuri - 3650 LP**

"Ow!" Yuri cried. He wasn't really hurt but the hologram was so real he almost felt a sting irritating his heart. "Hold on a minute. How can you attack my Life Points directly if I have a monster out on the field."

Autumn chuckled and tossed some hair over her shoulder. "My Queen's Double was able to bypass your monster with her Special Ability. As you can see, her attack points are much too weak to take on any monster head-on. So, she comes equipped with the skill to sneak by your monsters and take a shot at your Life Points instead."

"I see," Yuri said, drawing. "Good move, but not good enough. I'll still take her down." He looked at his card and smiled. "You wanted my Black Tyranno? Well, here he is. Go!" He finally summoned his ace monster. Tyson and Carter clapped and whooped as they jumped up and down. One strike from him and it was all over for Autumn. But their celebration was short-lived. Black Tyranno stepped on something metallic. A green light on the side of the machine flashed and it started to whirr and beep.

"You fell right into my trap, Yuri," Trinity said, activating her card. "Compulsory Evacuation Device. This card lets me target one monster you have on the field and it sends it right back to your hand!"

"No way!" Patty shouted.

"He's gone!" cried Crystal. "Just like that!"

Black Tyranno was launched sky high. "Oh no!" shouted Yuri. "Black Tyranno!"

Autumn gave her sister a high-five. "Nice! I knew you had my back, sis."

"No problem, Autumn. I knew he was going to play his Black Tyranno as soon as he drew it. There's no way he could resist trying to take you out with it."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," said Yuri. "But you didn't destroy him. You only sent him back to my hand. You're only prolonging the inevitable. I still have my beast in my hand. I'll summon him again next turn and take you two out. In the meantime, I'll rid the field of your Queen's Double. Tomozaurus, attack!"

Autumn laughed. "Are you are so blinded by your overconfidence that you failed to remember my face-down card? Reinforcements! This trap will increase the attack of my Queen's Double by five hundred points, making her stronger than your smelly dinosaur. Queen's Double! Counter Attack!"

Queen's Double jumped out of the way of the charging dinosaur. She held out her hand and conjured a golden rapier. She grabbed the weapon and dove down onto the top of Tomozaurus' neck. She held up the rapier and jabbed it into the back of the dinosaur's head. It moaned in agony and shattered into a thousand pieces. Yuri was left stunned. How could he be so careless as to let this happen? Without a word, he placed a card face-down and ended his turn.

**Yuri - 3300 LP**

"Yuri what are you doing?" shouted Carter. "That isn't like you!"

"I warned him plenty of times," said Crystal. "Overconfidence can lead to your downfall. I had hoped that playing Duel Monsters would have helped boost Yuri's confidence but I never thought it would grow to be this inflated."

Yuri hated to admit it, but Crystal was right. He was careless. Now he was paying for it. "I place two cards face-down and end my turn."

"My turn," said Trinity. "Draw! I flip over my face-down monster. Reveal, Princess of Tsurugi!"

Her monster jumped out of the card. She looked like an exact replica of Queen's Double, only she was blonde and her robes were bright pink and rose red, and the headdress was teal in color. The Princess had a nasty ability of her own. She dealt 500 points of damage for each Spell or Trap card Yuri had on the field. He had two, so he would lose 1000 of his Life Points. She jumped into the air and performed a dramatic flip before she showered Yuri with crystals that damaged his Life Points, shaving the score down to **2300**. Princess of Tsurugi and Queen's Double looked at each other. They bowed.

****

**ATK/900 DEF/700**

**LV 3**

"Wow, they're like twins or something," said Natalya. "Just like Trinity and Autumn."

"Aight, I like where this is goin'," Tyson said bobbing his head up and down. "Man, I love it when Duelists summon pretty little thang-thangs like these two monsters. Hah! It's almost a crime to call them monsters. Those two are hot."

"Chill the hell out, you creeper," Patty groaned in repugnance. "They're just holograms."

"Oh, I'm not through with you yet, Yuri," Trinity chuckled. "You boasted about finishing us off with Black Tyranno on your next turn. Well, sorry, but there isn't going to be a next turn for your beast. I activate the Spell Card, Confiscation. With this card, I can pay one-thousand of my Life Points to see your hand. Then I can select one card and discard it. And you know who I'm looking for."

Yuri balled his fist and growled. "Fine!" he yelled. He sent his Black Tyranno to the Graveyard.

"Did what I see happen...happen?" Natalya said. "They destroyed Yuri's Black Tyranno without him even summoning it to the field."

"I told you they were good," said Carter. "These two girls are some of the toughest Duelists around. I think Yuri bit off more than he can chew in this Duel."

**Autumn - 4000 LP**

**Trinity - 3000 LP**

**Yuri-2300 LP**

"Your go, Autumn," said Trinity.

"I draw!" her sister said. "I play Polymerization, fusing together my Hibikime and a Queen's Double from my hand to form the lovely, Empress Judge!"

The Empress appeared on the field from a vortex of warm light. She stood nine-feet-tall, was tan-skinned and had flowing ruby red hair decorated with gold ornaments. She was wearing a beautiful scarlet dress that exposed her shoulders and was armored with solid gold trim. She carried a golden staff as a weapon.

****

**ATK/2200 DEF/1700**

Autumn flung hair over her shoulder with her fingertips and chuckled confidently. "Lucky for you, the new rules state that Fusion Monsters have to wait one turn before attacking. But that doesn't mean Queen's Double can't take a chip out of your Life Points!"

Queen's Double jumped and threw her crystal daggers at Yuri's chest, dealing 350 more points of damage to his Life Points and bringing them down to **1950**.

"Uh oh," laughed Trinity. "Your Life Points don't look so good. You better come up with something fast or this Duel isn't going to last very long."

"There's nothing he can do, sis," said Autumn. "His best monster is in the Graveyard. That million-dollar bounty is as good as ours."

"That's what you think," said Yuri. "Draw!" He examined his hand. It was completely useless to him. Thankfully, he drew just what he needed to clean that mess up. "I play Card Destruction. Now we toss our hands to the Graveyard and draw a whole new hand." He folded up his hand and drew. "Next, I play Pot of Greed, which lets me draw two new cards. "Okay. Now, I set a card face-down and summon Anthrosaurus in Defense Mode!"

**ATK/1000 DEF/850**

"Running scared are we?" Trinity said, drawing her card. "I will also play Polymerization. Fusing together my Sonic Maid and Beautiful Headhuntress to form, Warrior of Tradition!"

A tall woman walked out of a curtain of cherry blossom petals that fluttered in the breeze. She wore a dark pinkish-orange kimono that fused into yellow at the hems of her sleeve and the bottom towards her feet. Her hair, tied into a traditional ponytail with yellow silk ribbons, was colored teal and she carried a cleaver-shaped katana that was taller than she was.

****

**ATK/1900 DEF/1700**

"But I'm not done there," she laughed. "For I summon the beautiful, the amazing...The delicious," she licked her lips. "Allure Queen Level 3!"

A pillar of flame burst out of the ground. From it, a young and very beautiful woman stepped out, blowing a kiss to Yuri before doing a dramatic spin. Her hair was dull blonde and tied into a small bun. She wore ornate red robes and a black skirt. Queen's Double and Princess of Tsurugi bowed for her respectfully.

****

**Allure Queen LV 3**

**ATK/500 DEF/500**

Carter scratched his head. "That's their ace card? Its attack strength is almost nothing. Anthrosaurus is one of the weakest monsters in Yuri's deck and even he can clobber that queen."

"Allure indeed," Tyson said with a creepy voice. "Hot damn I love the cards in their decks. "But Carter, seeing how those two play, I don't think it's wise to judge their move like that. They wouldn't have summoned that fine-ass queen for nothing."

"No, indeed," chuckled Trinity. "Watch what my rarest and most prized card can do. Okay, my Queen, do your stuff!"

At once, Allure Queen leaned forward on one leg tantalizingly while placing her hand over her upper right buttock. Her eyes started to glow like molten gold, and she wagged her finger lovingly as if beckoning Yuri to come to her. Only, it wasn't Yuri. Anthrosaurus got up from defense position and slowly walked towards the Allure Queen as though it were in a trance.

"Uh, is it just me or does that dinosaur have the hots for Trinity's Allure Queen?" Carter said nervously. "What's going on here?"

Autumn laughed once Anthrosaurus bowed and stood behind the Queen. "Really? As if the name itself doesn't ring any bells? She's the _Allure_ Queen. This beauty can use her good looks to lure in stupid monsters. Once under her spell, they become so madly in love with her that they will even disobey their masters just to be by her side."

"Aw, man," drooled Tyson. "Can she take me, too?"

"It's my turn," said Autumn. "Now, Queen's Double, attack his Life Points directly!"

Yuri yelped when Queen's Double threw her knives at his chest. He fell to his knees and his Life Points decreased to **1600**.

"There's no way you can stop us, Yuri," said Autumn. She looked at her sister. "Where do you think we should go on a holiday trip?"

"I dunno," Trinity replied while rubbing her chin. "Dubai, maybe. The Keys with our boyfriends. Maybe the Maldives."

"Don't go planning your vacation just yet," Yuri said, getting back up. "I still have plenty of Life Points left." He drew. "He may not be Black Tyranno, but he can still pack a punch. I summon Black Dragon Jungle King!"

Black Dragon Jungle King appeared on the field, snarling ferociously with drool oozing down his mandibles. His 2100 ATK points were enough to make both sisters worry. Meanwhile, Yuri's friends cheered for the summoning of the beast, who was by far Yuri's second most beloved monster behind Black Tyranno. Before that beast came around, everyone knew that Black Dragon Jungle King was a monster Yuri heavily relied on to get him out of a tight spot.

"Next," Yuri continued, "I use the spell Double Summon. This card allows me a second Normal Summon this turn, so I call upon the mighty Giga Gagagigo with an attack strength of twenty-four-fifty! Now I'll use the spell Double Attack. Here's how it works. I discard a monster whose level is higher than that of my Giga Gagagigo's. And I choose to discard Gogiga Gagagigo to the grave to give my Giga the ability to attack twice. Now, my beast, attack her Queen!"

"You going to attack our Allure Queen?" teased Trinity. "Please, you're only going to be wasting your time. Allure Queen..."

"Who said I was going after your Allure Queen?" laughed Yuri. "Giga Gagagigo is going to attack your Queen's Double."

Autumn gasped. There was nothing she could do for her monster. She could only watch as Giga Gagagigo slashed Queen's Double to ribbons. Queen's Double screamed in agony and shattered.

"My Queen's Double!" Autumn cried.

"And next, he will attack Princess of Tsurugi!"

"Oh no!" cried Trinity. She counted one mighty slash after which, Giga Gagagigo returned to Yuri's field. Princess of Tsurugi was suddenly assaulted by multiple slash attacks as though Giga Gagagigo was faster than his own strikes. Both girls lost a significant amount of Life Points.

**Autumn- 1900 LP**

**Trinity - 1450 LP**

**Yuri-1600**

He attacked next with Black Dragon Jungle King, this time taking out Warrior of Tradition and reducing Trinity's Life Points down to 1700.

Tyson leaped with excitement. "YES! This outta even the odds."

"Nice moves, Yuri," Patty said, clapping her hands. "You almost got 'em, baby."

"Come on, Yuri," Natalya muttered. She noticed both Trinity and Autumn smiling despite having suffered considerable damage from Giga Gagagigo's double attack. Something didn't feel right.

"It's my turn," Trinity said. "And now, my Allure Queen evolves from Level Three to Level Five." Allure Queen's hair grew longer and her clothes got even shorter.

****

**Allure Queen LV 5**

**ATK/1000 DEF/1000**

Just like before, Allure Queen could take control of one of Yuri's monsters. This time a Level 5 or lower monster. And Trinity chose Giga Gagagigo to be enticed by her Queen's beauty. Yuri grimaced at the sight of one of his best monsters going under her Queen's spell. He was reduced to nothing more than an equip spell to protect her from danger. Yuri checked the card's effect on his phone. If he attacked, the monster seduced by their Queen would be destroyed instead. And there was still one final form left. One who was more alluring and even more dangerous. Trinity ended her turn with a horrid laugh.

 _You seem to be in a rather precarious position._ Ser Norman came out of hiding and stood beside Yuri. Yuri checked to make sure if anyone else saw the giant man clad in platinum armor standing beside him. _Don't bother asking them. No one can see me but you, boy._

"Look, I have a lot on my plate right about now," said Yuri. "The last thing I need is you standing over me and belittling me."

_Belittle you? You have done that yourself. You put too much confidence in a single card that you would turn a blind eye to all the other cards in your deck. It doesn't work like that, Yuri._

"What doesn't work? A deck is a deck. Once it's stacked up, there's no going against it. You saying I can perform a miracle or something?"

_If you put faith in all your cards, miracles can happen. Every card has a heart, Yuri. And their hearts are bound to yours. Give ALL your cards your trust and they will aid you no matter what situation you're in._

"The Heart of the Cards..." Yuri muttered. "That's what Yami and Yugi keep telling me." Yuri looked at his deck. "Are you sure I can just bend my deck to my will? And draw what I need when I need it?"

_All you have to do is believe..._

"Yuri who the hell are you talking to?" Patty asked.

"Uh...nothing. Just an inner monologue."

"Oh, you have those, too?" asked Carter. "I thought you were just really slow or something."

"He probably is," Autumn said drawing her card. "I use the Equip Spell, Invigoration. This will increase my Empress Judge's attack by four-hundred points, making her strong enough to take out your Black Dragon Jungle King. Attack!"

Empress Judge held up her staff and conjured a ball of light that hung over the battlefield. She spun her staff dramatically and aimed it at the ball. She fired a gold-colored laser at the ball of light which then caused it to implode and shower the field with a rain of sparks. Black Dragon Jungle King was destroyed and Yuri lost 500 of his Life Points. He was now at **1100** Life Points.

It was now his turn. He took a deep breath and looked at his three face-down cards. Now was the time to use them. He activated the first, which was Jar of Greed. The trap allowed him to draw one card. He smiled at what he drew, but he knew he had a long way to go to make his plan work. Perhaps the ghostly knight wasn't as crazy as he thought he was. He activated Call of the Haunted, which brought back the 2950 attack point, Gogiga Gagagigo from his Graveyard. With one powerful swipe, he destroyed Empress Judge and reduced Autumn to **1550** LP.

At once, Trinity began her turn and evolved Allure Queen to her final form. Allure Queen LV 7.

Her hair went down to her back and her robes were much more extravagant and revealing. She took control of Yuri's Gogiga Gagagigo. It was then that Yuri realized that they would keep doing this to him again and again and again. He had no more powerful monsters left and who knew how many more Trinity and Autumn had in theirs. If his plan didn't succeed, he would lose the Duel, his winning streak, and what's more, all that boasting would be shoved down his throat.

Autumn recovered her 1000 of her Life Points with the spell, Dian Keto the Cure Master and ended her turn.

_It's all down to this. Yuri, do you have faith that your deck will lead you to victory?_

"I...I..." He felt his cards slipping away. "Oh no, my deck is doubting me, too!"

_Concentrate. Put all your faith in your deck. There are more than just the youths standing behind you who want you to succeed, Yuri. Do you believe your deck will lead you to victory? Have you placed all your trust into it?_

"Yugi..." Yuri whispered. He drew. "I activate Monster Reborn to bring back Black Tyranno!" Yuri shouted. He held the Spell Card up high for his two opponents to see. It started glowing gold and then summoned the prehistoric beast back to the field.

"We took him down once, we can do it again!" boasted Autumn.

"Not this time you won't," said Yuri. "I attack your Allure Queen!"

Black Tyranno stomped forward and instead attacked Gogiga Gagagigo per Allure Queen's effect.

"I told you attacking our Queen would be a waste of time," laughed Trinity. "And on my turn, I'll use Allure Queen to seduce your Black Tyranno to our side. You'll be all out of monsters to use, Yuri. The game is finished no matter what you do."

"Yes, I agree," Yuri chuckled. "I now use the Quick-Play Spell, Revenge Attack!"

"Oh no, Trinity!" cried Autumn. "That card can allow Black Tyranno to attack again!"

"What?!"

"Because your Allure Queen was targeted and not destroyed by battle, Revenge Attack will give Black Tyranno another chance at destroying her."

"And it gets worse," Yuri added. "Revenge Attack will increase Black Tyranno's attack by one thousand, raising his attack points up to thirty-six-hundred attack points?'

Black Tyranno reared up his head and roared at the sky as he felt his power increase. He smashed Allure Queen to the ground with his foot and reduced Trinity's Life Points to 0. Trinity screeched and fell backward.

"Oh no, sis!" Autumn shouted. She looked at Black Tyranno, who was thirsty for another attack. Autumn shook her head and placed her hand over her deck. "The Duel is yours, Yuri."

"Huh?"

"I surrender, Yuri. You win. If my sister goes down, I go with her. She and I fight as a team. And besides, I have nothing else in my deck that can contend with that Black Tyranno. Especially not with a power bonus that great."

The holograms disappeared. A graceful breeze blew through the ruby trees and cooled them all down. "Uh, thanks," said Yuri. "Play you again, one day?"

"Hey, I look forward to that," Trinity said getting back up. "But you won't be so lucky next time. See you around, Yuri. Thanks for taking the time to play with us. Good luck to you."

Trinity and Autumn bowed, then disappeared into the forest.

* * *

They finally made it to the estate where they had to get their ID's checked at a checkpoint run by the family's private security detail. They looked like soldiers dressed in Kryptek Typhon uniforms and gray tactical gear. Their main weapon of choice was the GALIL ACE, a personal favorite of Mr. Martinez. However, this estate didn't belong to him. It was his son's personal property. In fact, the island was enlarged for the sake of accommodating Marco's own land. Once they got through the gate, Marco was there to greet them and so was...

"SAM!" Patty cried out.

"Hey, Patty, baby, it's about time you made it," he said looking at Marco. "What did I tell you, Marco? Isn't she the hottest?"

"Yeah, she is," Marco agreed, lifting his sunglasses to get a better look at Patty, Crystal, and Natalya. "Yuri, I see you keep some very nice company. Welcome, welcome."

"Whatever for?" Yuri asked. "Don't get me wrong, Marco, I'm flattered you invited me down here and all, but it feels so random. You and your family never had any dealings with me before."

Marco chuckled bashfully, realizing that he never did have reason to invite Yuri before. "Well, you're now making headlines. You're the favorite to win the tournament next month and the big one in the summer. Well, in the eyes of some, anyway. My dad and many others have their money on me. After all, I won the Citrus Cup three years in a row."

"These games are going to be nothing like the Citrus Cup," Crystal assured him. "And with all those new cards coming out next week, don't expect the competition to be any easier."

Marco laughed, as did Sam who had high confidence in his friend. "I already know," Marco replied. "I preordered a whole box of new packs."

"It's not the cards in your deck, kid," Crystal continued. "It's how you use them. I mean, everyone thought Yuri's deck sucked, but look how that turned out. Even the weakest cards can become powerful in the hands of someone who knows how to use them."

Marco shrugged. "Whatever you say, dollface. Come on, I didn't invite you guys just to stand around here. Come one, let's head into my place." He led them down a hexagon-tiled path with dense jungle on both sides. There were black railings, rusted by the salty air that blocked off exhibits housing all sorts of wild animals from crocodiles, Komodo dragons, a pride of seven lions, four tigers, giraffes, zebras, even elephants, and a rhino. A lagoon on the bottom of a cliff where his mansion was perched was the home to hundreds of flamingos. He had an aviary where he showed off his collection of exotic birds and a reptile house for his anaconda, which he let Crystal, Patty, and Natalya hold. He let them play and feed his animals. More than anything, he wanted Yuri to play with his lion, Scarface. Yuri was nervous about it, but he finally mustered the courage to pose alongside it.

"I can see it one day, my friend," Marco said. "You're going to be a king."

"Damn right he is," Crystal said, doing all she could to keep herself from biting her nails. Once the stunt was over, Yuri breathed a sigh of relief when he was out of the lion exhibit, surprised that the animal did not get impatient and attack him.

"Your own zoo," Natalya said, helping herself to a vanilla ice cream. "I must say, I'm impressed. Thanks for inviting us out here today, Marco."

"My pleasure, ladies," Marco said, leading his friends up a spiraled path to his home. "Say, you guys look hot and exhausted. Would anyone be interested in chilling in my pool?"

"We didn't bring any swimwear," Tyson said looking at his clothing. "How can we?"

"Not a problem," Marco chuckled while calmly waving of his hand. "I've got everything I need for my guests. I've got rooms in the east wing. You fellas can find what you need in there. Ladies, the same for you. I'll meet you guys out there in a few minutes. I have some business to take care of. You see, I'm about to launch my own gaming console and my father pitched in a little extra for my own E-Sports franchise."

"Well, you've been busy," said Yuri. "Is that where you intend to venture when you get older?"

"I can venture in it now," Marco replied. "Yuri, my man, so long as you have the cash, they don't care what age you are. Oh, by the way, Yuri, while they get changed, why don't you come with me. I'd like to discuss some of my own business with you if you don't mind. I think this will benefit for both me and you."

Yuri looked at his friends and scratched the back of his head. "Hey, I'll meet up with you guys in a little while."

He followed Marco to his room which looked more like an office. Except for the flatscreen television on the wall with the PlayStation and Xbox set up, you'd never guess it was a room for a child. The walls were made of stone with water running down into a river that outlined his room. An aquarium with an array of tropical fish was built in the wall behind his four-poster bed. Posters of Crystal and other female champions clad in bikinis were pinned on the wall left of his bed. Marco walked to his desk where his pitbull puppy was sleeping underneath it. He scratched the dog's head and picked him up as he sat down on his black leather chair. Behind him, the word Blazers was on the wall, the name for one of his shoe brands.

He set his feet up on his desk and instructed Yuri to sit on the chair in front of it.

"Can I interest you in a soda? Water? Anything?" Marco asked.

"No, it's okay," Yuri said, feeling intimidated by the size and glamour of Marco's room. "So what's this about? What do you need me for?"

"It's very simple," he said. "I wanna sponsor you for the upcoming Millenium Tournament. The one hosted by that brother of yours, Leon."

Yuri crossed his arms. "We don't call each other that anymore."

"Regardless," said Marco, "you two were once family, but that's beside the point. I like you, Yuri. I've been watching you and following you on Social Media ever since you defeated that creep Randall Lawson, who I understand has a bounty on you. Talk about low."

"You have no idea," sighed Yuri. "It seems everywhere I go, I get approached by someone who wants that bounty. In fact, I two Duelists wanted to cash in on it while I was on my way up here."

"Ah, yes, Trinity and Autumn. Don't worry about them, I gave them plenty of money just to Duel you. They'll get paid regardless."

Yuri had to ponder on that for a second. "Wait a minute. Do you mean those two girls were some kind of test? You paid them to face me?"

"Of course," said Marco. "I want to invest a lot of money in you and I want to see if my investment is going the right direction. And you took them both out. I'm very impressed. It's a real shame your dad is super strict on the money. If he allowed you a generous allowance like my old man does, you would be King of the Dueling World by now. I want to help you. Think of the cash you and I will be rolling around in."

"And you're not rolling around in it already?"

"Not my money, anyway," laughed Marco. "It's my father's money. I want to go out there and make my own cash so that I can prove to everyone that I don't need just my dad to get money. Yeah, I've got my shoes and my Esports thing on the table, but it's going to take forever before I can make that happen. I need to come up with a way to make money now and show them all that I can take care of myself and make money my own way. And that's where you come in. I can make you into a franchise, my man. You've already got the name for it. You're Yuri Montgomery."

He leaned back in his chair and snapped his finger. "The Prince of Aquarius," he continued, "and the Underdog everyone wants to root for. You already made yourself a big hero for the Stowaways when you stood up for them the way you did during the election. And just think, if you win the tournament, every major Dueling League in the world is going to want you to sign with them. We're talking millions and millions of dollars here, Yuri. We can split the profits. Fifty-fifty. And, I can offer you a very generous starter package to help you go on a Duel Monster's shopping spree. Your deck is good, Yuri, but it needs some work. And just think, you and Patty will no longer have to work in that diner anymore."

He leaned forward. "And she's a fine catch if you ask me. She's a hottie, bro. A babe! She needs the best." Marco held out his hand. "Well, what do you say, Yuri? You in?"

Yuri smiled and shook Marco's little hand.


End file.
